Biography
A group of Minnesota teenagers known as the Grasshoppers spent four years active in the 1960s without gaining broad national attention, yet they achieved a regional hit and drew consistent crowds to their performances. Their sound blended energetic rock & roll with pop hooks reminiscent of the Beatles and prominent guitar jangle; although the bulk of their sets consisted of covers, guitarist Ben Hamar supplied original material that stood out for its melodic character. During their initial existence the band issued only a single 45, but in 2023 the BeatRocket label expanded their recorded legacy by issuing the archival collection Let It Be That Way, which contained fourteen additional tracks.
The ensemble first formed under the name the Escorts while its five members were still attending the same high school in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, roughly twenty miles from Minneapolis. Jiggs Lee handled lead vocals, Ben Hamar played lead guitar, Tom Acheson handled rhythm guitar, Tim Black played bass, and Phil Scollard sat behind the drums. The musicians began performing publicly in 1965; by the following year they had established themselves among the area’s strongest teen acts. Local booking agency Marsh Productions signed them and suggested the name change to the Grasshoppers; in 2021 Tom Acheson explained the decision to journalist Debra Neutkens by noting, “It was thought at the time, since the Beatles were so successful, to stick with a bug theme.” The musicians’ skill, drive, and professionalism helped Marsh Productions secure steady engagements that took the group across Iowa, Wisconsin, and North Dakota in addition to frequent dates throughout the Twin Cities. In 1968 they cut a single at Minneapolis’s Kaybank Recordings facility for the regional Fox Records imprint; the A-side was an upbeat reading of the Searchers’ “Sugar & Spice,” while the B-side offered a rock & roll treatment of Peter, Paul & Mary’s “Very Last Day.” The A-side received solid local airplay and reached the Top Ten on both KDWB and WDGY. At the 1968 Connie Awards, which honored achievement in the Upper Midwest music scene, the band was named “Best New Band of the Year.” Shortly afterward they began supporting major touring acts such as the Young Rascals, and in 1967 they were tapped to back Peaches & Herb for a Twin Cities appearance when that duo needed an accompanying group.
Although the lone single spotlighted outside material, the Grasshoppers also performed originals composed by Ben Hamar, eight of which were tracked during the Kaybank sessions. Despite the first release’s regional success and the existence of further recordings, no follow-up single appeared. The band’s final performance took place at Augsburg College in Minneapolis in March 1969; by then all five members had finished high school and were pursuing separate musical and professional paths. With the exception of Tom Acheson, each continued to play music whenever time allowed, and in the 1970s Jiggs Lee led the hard-rock outfit Cain, which recorded two albums and toured regularly across the Midwest. Decades later, in the 2020s, BeatRocket Records—a sister label to Sundazed that had arranged to issue material from the Kaybank archives—located a cache of Grasshoppers tapes. The reels contained both sides of the 1968 single along with fourteen previously unreleased songs, among them Hamar’s previously unheard compositions. After remastering, the material surfaced in 2023 as the album Let It Be That Way.
The ensemble first formed under the name the Escorts while its five members were still attending the same high school in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, roughly twenty miles from Minneapolis. Jiggs Lee handled lead vocals, Ben Hamar played lead guitar, Tom Acheson handled rhythm guitar, Tim Black played bass, and Phil Scollard sat behind the drums. The musicians began performing publicly in 1965; by the following year they had established themselves among the area’s strongest teen acts. Local booking agency Marsh Productions signed them and suggested the name change to the Grasshoppers; in 2021 Tom Acheson explained the decision to journalist Debra Neutkens by noting, “It was thought at the time, since the Beatles were so successful, to stick with a bug theme.” The musicians’ skill, drive, and professionalism helped Marsh Productions secure steady engagements that took the group across Iowa, Wisconsin, and North Dakota in addition to frequent dates throughout the Twin Cities. In 1968 they cut a single at Minneapolis’s Kaybank Recordings facility for the regional Fox Records imprint; the A-side was an upbeat reading of the Searchers’ “Sugar & Spice,” while the B-side offered a rock & roll treatment of Peter, Paul & Mary’s “Very Last Day.” The A-side received solid local airplay and reached the Top Ten on both KDWB and WDGY. At the 1968 Connie Awards, which honored achievement in the Upper Midwest music scene, the band was named “Best New Band of the Year.” Shortly afterward they began supporting major touring acts such as the Young Rascals, and in 1967 they were tapped to back Peaches & Herb for a Twin Cities appearance when that duo needed an accompanying group.
Although the lone single spotlighted outside material, the Grasshoppers also performed originals composed by Ben Hamar, eight of which were tracked during the Kaybank sessions. Despite the first release’s regional success and the existence of further recordings, no follow-up single appeared. The band’s final performance took place at Augsburg College in Minneapolis in March 1969; by then all five members had finished high school and were pursuing separate musical and professional paths. With the exception of Tom Acheson, each continued to play music whenever time allowed, and in the 1970s Jiggs Lee led the hard-rock outfit Cain, which recorded two albums and toured regularly across the Midwest. Decades later, in the 2020s, BeatRocket Records—a sister label to Sundazed that had arranged to issue material from the Kaybank archives—located a cache of Grasshoppers tapes. The reels contained both sides of the 1968 single along with fourteen previously unreleased songs, among them Hamar’s previously unheard compositions. After remastering, the material surfaced in 2023 as the album Let It Be That Way.
Albums
