Take a genre-leaping bow!
The styles performed by the San Diego Music Hall of Fames 2024 inductees cover a suitably broad range, as befits an annual event that champions eclecticism.
Retired San Diego Symphony percussionist James Plank is also an esteemed jazz drummer and vibraphonist. Singer-songwriter Catherine Beeks has mentored numerous musicians and hosted her weekly Listen Local radio show since 2007. Fellow troubadour and music teacher Cindy Lee Berryhill emerged from the same anti-folk music movement as the then-unknown Michelle Shocked and Beck.
Jazz guitar great Peter Sprague is also a standout as a veteran record producer who has nurtured many young talents here. And guitarist and singer Robert Harvey is by day an attorney and by night the leader of 35-year-old Electric Waste Band, one of Californias most accomplished Grateful Dead tribute groups.
This years inductees to the San Diego Music Hall of Fame, front row from left, Cindy Lee Berryhill, Peter Sprague and Jim Plank. Back row from left, Cathryn Beeks and Robert Harvey. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Despite such distinctions, the honorees in the halls Class of 24 share some key commonalities.
Each has been a consistent artistic force. Each has been a much-admired mainstay of the scene here for decades. And each has had an impact that extends beyond their own music. This also holds true for this years two posthumous inductees, San Diego jazz patriarch Daniel Jackson, who died in 2019 at the age of 77, and blues stalwart Tomcat Courtney, who died in 2020 at the age of 91 and performed multiple gigs each week until shortly before his passing.
There are many metrics by which one can judge a musical career, said Jefferson Jay, the nonprofit halls founder and driving force since its inception in 2018.
For the San Diego Music Hall of Fame, we honor their dedication and contributions to San Diego music, to enhancing music and musical life here, and to representing San Diego elsewhere. Thats what we see as most important — the things that make a musical community a community.
San Diego Music Hall of Fame founder Jefferson Jay. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Jay is himself a veteran San Diego singer-songwriter who has a masters degree in history from San Diego State University.
In 2005, he founded the nonprofit San Diego Musicians Collective. Jay is also the curator of La Jolla Athenaeums 15-year-old Acoustic Evenings concert series and the founder of Good Vibe Network, a music-fueled website and YouTube channel.
One of his key goals with the San Diego Music Hall of Fame is to celebrate artists who have made a lasting and positive impact here, regardless of whether they are household names or have never made a hit record. Talent, tenacity and quality are key considerations, not mainstream commercial success.
A lot of times, musicians give a lot to the community but dont get to feel the response or know how much they have meant to others, Jay said. This is our way of letting them know their contributions re very important and really appreciated. I think that people who come to our annual induction events feel that and what to celebrate these musicians, who may be friends, mentors or friends of theirs.
This years celebration takes place Friday at Vision in Mission Valley. Here is an alphabetical look at the new inductees.
Music radio show host Cathryn Beeks is a 2024 inductee to the San Diego Music Hall of Fame. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Cathryn Beeks
Birthplace: Norco, California
Website: listenlocalradio.com; cathrynbeeks.com
Next gig: Friday at the 2024 San Diego Hall of Fame inductions
First and most recent recordings: Junkqueen — Yellow Boots (1998); The After Times (2024)
What drew you to music? My parents love of music, my love for creative expression, the culture, the people, the feeling of making music with friends
What drew you to going on the radio in 2007 to host your ongoing weekly show, ListenLocal? The ability to reach people and share the music that was inspiring me, the freedom of having an online platform to share the magic of music
Key mentor? Jeff Berkley has been my mentor and best pal for years. His talent as both a creator and for helping creators realize their dreams is inspiring. I love that guy!
What was the first record you bought and the first concert you attended? I purchased the Eagles’ “Long Run” with my own money and I saw Tommy Tutone with my brother at the Antelope Valley Fair in the very early 80s.
What made you become a singer-songwriter? When I first started playing music I was a singer in rock bands and lyrics werent as important as the sound. When I started playing guitar and then ukulele, and having to accompany myself, then the songs became the main focus. Trying to create little stories that were set to music became the goal.
First band: The Prairie Dudes in Lancaster, California, in 1988.
When did you realize you would devote yourself to music? At a Judds concert in Las Vegas in 1980. My sister got us front-row tickets and I was mesmerized.
Had anyone told you when you were 20 or 30 that — in 2024 — you would be inducted into the San Diego Music Hall of Fame, how would you have reacted? In my 20s and 30s I had very high hopes of becoming famous, so I would have been like Well, of course! But if youd have asked me in my 40s, I would have been very skeptical.
Your best and worst day job: My worst day job was phone sales, selling coupon books out of a motel room with other young first-time workers, while the boss was selling cocaine out of the adjoining room. Best might be my current one where I am a personal assistant to a (very famous) spiritual medium. His work is fascinating and he is super fun to work for.
What musician or piece of music continues to inspire you that inspired you when you were young, and how does it inspire you? I found Ani DiFranco in the early ‘90s and her music and spirit were a gift to me at that time, when I was finding my way as a musician and human. Her unapologetic righteousness is inspiring to me and her rhythm and lyrics speak to my soul.
Music is: A time machine. A lottery ticket. An escape. Therapy.
If I wasn’t a musician, I would be: A photographer and/or movie maker.
Singer-songwriter Cindy Lee Berryhill is a 2024 inductee to the San Diego Music Hall of Fame. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Cindy Lee Berryhill, singer-songwriter, music teacher
Birthplace: Los Angeles
Website: cindyleeberryhill.com
Next gig: 3 p.m. today, Palo Verde House Concerts
First and most recent recordings: Whos Gonna Save The World (1987); “The Adventurist” (2017)
What drew you to music? My dad always would teach me to sing songs as a little kid. Then, my folks took guitar lessons when I was 9 and I started taking lessons myself. I wrote my first song at 10, and I was off and running.
Key mentor? The first working musician I met was Charlie Rosenberger from the band Montezumas Revenge. I met him after one of their shows at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. We exchanged letters for a few months and he was very encouraging. Then, an older friend, Rick Saxton, taught me how to play Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil” and how to get gigs. He became the host at Drowsy Maggies Coffee House in North Park. Rick wrote songs and played around San Diego. His sister, Lois Navrkal, was a poet and blues singer, and I learned a lot about how to get by with little money and stay true to your creativity.
What was the first record you bought and the first concert you attended? The Beatles Rubber Soul. I was super bummed because the record I wanted was The Beatles Help, but the store clerk said it wasnt as good as Rubber Soul. He sure steered me in the right direction!
First concert? Up With People. Ha! Later, when I was a junior at Ramona High School, some guys took me to see Led Zeppelin. They were sure I would love it. I didn’t. There was so much pomp and light show, I could hardly see the guitars being played. A month later, someone else took me to see Bachman-Turner Overdrive and I said: Yes, this is great. That same summer, I saw Montezuma’s Revenge every night at the (then-named) Del Mar Fair and they were fantastic!
What made you become a singer-songwriter? I was taking guitar lessons at the age of 10 and learning songs. I remember thinking: So many of these songs are not very well written and they are almost all about love. I decided to write a song about dinosaurs, “Cretaceous Times.” My teacher said 12 verses was too many, so I figured it was bad. My second song, Pompeii, was shorter and better. It was about the ancient city of Pompeii and how it was covered with volcanic stones and ash in 79 A.D. That song was a family favorite.
First band: I had a slumber party at the end of 6th grade. I taught everyone how to play percussion instruments and we all sang my song. “Pompeii,” with a call and response vocal thing. In 1979, I moved to L.A. and started a punk rock band, The Stoopids, but we fell apart before we could gig.
When did you realize you would devote yourself to music, full or part time? Is that a trick question? I dont really know. Maybe in the mid-1970s when I became enthralled with the Beatles. Like me, John and Paul had lost their mothers in their childhood, and they were able to go forth and be creative and do something worthwhile in life.
Had anyone told you when you were 20 or 30 that — in 2024 — you would be inducted into the San Diego Music Hall of Fame, how would you have reacted? Ha ha ha! I would have been shocked, at age 20, because my punk-rock band in L.A. at the time hadn’t played our first show. We actually never did a show. We completely, dramatically, imploded and I came back to Ramona.
Your best and worst day job? Too many. Maybe the singing messenger gig where I had to dress up like a French maid and sing happy birthday to an embarrassed employee? Or, was it being a singing waiter out on Shelter Island? Or was it working at selling the Los Angeles Times San Diego Edition, door to door, and stopping at every other street to cry a little bit, after a certain amount of rejections, then getting up and getting back to doing the job.
What musician or piece of music continues to inspire you that inspired you when you were young, and how does it inspire you? Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. The music is simply heavenly, but you may have to get past the songs being about surfing or cars. Just the music itself is God-given. And the truth is, when you or I are writing a piece of music, a song, you have to be in that zone where you catch the songs as they fall out of the sky. Hold out your butterfly net. Some of the best ones arrive nearly finished, God-given.
Music is: An expression of the thoughts and feelings you can’t say with just words. How do you express: “I love you?” Or: “This means so much to me?” Or: “This thing happened!” Music can express that.
If I wasn’t a musician, I would be: If I wasn’t a writer of songs Id be a writer of books. Im working on my second novel now.
Guitarist, singer and bandleader Robert Harvey is a 2024 inductee to the San Diego Music Hall of Fame. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Robert Harvey, guitarist, singer, leader of Electric Waste Band
Birthplace: Chicago
Website: facebook.com/ElectricWasteBand
Next gig: Every Monday at Winstons in Ocean Beach.
First and most recent recordings: We haven’t recorded original material as a band since the 1990s. But we have livestreamed every Monday night at Winstons since the pandemic, and that all gets recorded and put up on Facebook and YouTube and Shoutingfire.com.
What drew you to music? I’ve always had a thing for music for as long as I can remember, from being a little tyke playing my sister’s old 45s to being gifted (Pink Floyd’s) “Dark Side of the Moon” as my first album the summer before 5th grade and cranking it every time I had the house to myself.
Key mentor? We were very lucky to have had Bill Walton in the band since about 2014, and he was a great teacher about life, happiness and success. So, we are all so grateful to have gotten to know and love Bill and his wife, Lori.
What was the first record you bought and the first concert you attended? Either “Frampton Comes Alive” or Kansas’ “Song for America.” My first show in 6th grade was Kansas and the Pat Travers band at Chicago Stadium.
What made you become a guitarist and singer? Ive always wanted to play guitar for as long as I can remember, but it always seemed like a pipe dream. I bought a Hohner Les Paul copy and got an amp in high school, and gave it a go. But I figured I didn’t have it, I just wasn’t a musician, and sold my gear. I bought an acoustic guitar in college and have been playing ever since. At California Western School of Law, there was band of third-year students I ended up joining as a first-year student. When they graduated, I was by default the leader of the student band. I recruited other student players and that band eventually became Elastic Waste Band.
First band: Harv Rock Band in high school in Illinois. Guitar, drums, piano and kazoo. We never played a gig, but we had shirts.
When did you realize you would devote yourself to music, full or part time? Probably in college when I bought a decent acoustic guitar. It’s not like I decided I would devote myself to music as much as it was that I just had to play.
Had anyone told you when you were 20 or 30 that — in 2024 — you would be inducted into the San Diego Music Hall of Fame, how would you have reacted? I wouldn’t have believed it. I started playing in the band when I was 25. Our first gig outside of law school was a 3-hour gig and we only had 90 minutes of material. We played everything twice and, on our second pass through, we got one of the easier songs right. Given our talents at the time, there’s no way I would have believed anyone who said: “Keep it up, boys; one day you’ll be inducted in the San Diego Music Hall of Fame!
Your best and worst day job: I’ve enjoyed the practice of law and it’s been supporting my family for the last 20 years. It’s a great profession. But it is also very time-consuming, stress-filled and can be extremely frustrating, so perhaps its both best and worst. I became an attorney at the same time I got into the band, so it’s all I know other than my two years in sales. I tried to be a full-time musician for a bit in the 90s, and worked most every night for three months. But instead of it being the greatest, I found that I wasn’t playing the music I loved and it turned playing and performing into a job, rather than a celebration of the music I love to play that I have with Electric Waste Band.
What musician or piece of music continues to inspire you that inspired you when you were young, and how does it inspire you? Obviously, I’m a Deadhead, and have been since I was about 19, so Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead have been a huge inspiration these last 40 years. I was listening to the Dead yesterday, and Jerry was ripping a lead (guitar) line, and I can’t help myself as I yell out: “Jerry!” His playing inspires me to keep pushing forward.
Music is: Magical, spiritual, it’s what your feelings sound like, a celebration, a centerpiece for community, healing, life-saving, a collective give and take of energy where the feedback of the energy between band and crowd propels the music. (It can be) gut wrenching, a mythical exploration, a universal language. Singing a ballad and having the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Music transcends time. And yet as the musician, you can seemingly live an eternity in every beat of a song, one beat at a time. Of course, if the music is played badly, it can be none of those things and worse.
If I wasn’t a musician, I would be: My whole life would have been different. I stayed in San Diego after graduating law school because I was in Electric Waste Band (EWB). Without EWB, I probably would have moved back to the Midwest, and resume my life racing sailboats on the inland lakes of Wisconsin instead of playing music.
Guitarist Peter Sprague is a 2024 inductee to the San Diego Music Hall of Fame. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Peter Sprague, jazz guitarist and composer, record producer and engineer
Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio
Website: petersprague.com
Next gig: Nov. 29 at Ki’s
First and most recent recordings: Dance of the Universe Orchestra, “You Make Me Want To Sing” (1978); “Sunshine of Your Love, Peter Sprague Peter Sprague Plays Cream” (2024)
What drew you to music? It was playing in our home when we were kids, and it was captivating. So, it was a natural fit to create it myself.
Who are your key mentors? Chick Corea and Pat Metheny
What was the first record you bought and the first concert you attended? It was probably a Beatles’ record. My first concert was a classical guitar performance in downtown San Diego featuring Sabicas.
What made you become a guitarist? I played drums at first, but one of my older sister’s boyfriends played guitar. He showed me some chords, and that was it.
First band: A Del Mar garage band, literally, in Mark Murray’s garage, playing “Do What You Like” by Blind Faith.
When did you realize you would devote yourself to music, full or part time? During my last couple of years of high school — and it felt like jumping off a cliff! It was an unsure path but having the support of my mom and dad meant everything, and gave me the courage to wander into the great unknown.
Had anyone told you when you were 20 or 30 that — in 2024 — you would be inducted into the San Diego Music Hall of Fame, how would you have reacted? With gratitude and, hopefully, humbleness.
Your best and worst day job? I’ve been fortunate not ever having to work a day job. It’s always been music. However, I did work 2 consecutive Sunday mornings selling newspapers at Zel’s Liquor store in Del Mar when I was 13 years old. I promptly quit after that!
What musician or piece of music continues to inspire you that inspired you when you were young, and how does it inspire you? The Beatles, for sure. They illuminated the path as I started playing music. And still, to this day, when I hear the line And shes making me feel like Ive never been born” from “She Said, She Said” I still feel inspired to keep creating.
Music is: Happiness is music.
If I wasn’t a musician, I would be: A surfer. Well, I am a surfer already. But if I didn’t do music as my main thing I’d be shaping surfboards and taking trips to exotic locales. But I am glad that I chose music as my main thing.
Drummer/percussionist Jim Plank is a 2024 inductee to the San Diego Music Hall of Fame. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
James Plank, drummer-percussionist
Birthplace: San Diego
Website: None
Next gig: Jan. 26 with the Bill Mays Trio at Tio Leo’s
First and most recent recordings: The Music of Jerome Kern, with Mike Wofford (1986); Intersection, with Road Work Ahead
What drew you to music? My parents were musicians and listened to music on the radio. There was a DJ here named Don Howard who later on had a nightclub on El Cajon Blvd that became a real jazz happening spot. He played quite a bit of jazz. And there was Earnhard Records on El Cajon Blvd., which had a sound booth to listen in. That was in 1955, and when I walked home from Woodrow Wilson Junior High School and stopped in the store, the owner would tell me about all the new jazz records. Ratner’s record store, downtown at 8th and Broadway, is where I met (trumpeter) Don Sleet, (drummer) John Guerin and (pianist and 2023 San Diego Music Hall of Fame honoree) Mike Wofford. The four Miles Davis album that came out on Prestige. Wed all listen to albums at Ratners and then we started playing music together.
Who is your key mentor? Shelly Manne
What was the first record you bought and the first concert you attended? The first record I bought was Shelly Manne’s “Swinging Sounds, Vol. 4” with his long thematic drum solo on Bud Powells “Un Poco Loco. The first concert I attended was Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers at the El Cortez Hotel. I was 13 or 14 and went with John Guerin.
What made you become a drummer? Listening to the great drummers inspired me. I was really influenced by Philly Joe Jones. And the intensity of Art Blakey’s personality was indelible. I also really liked the album Max Roach and Buddy Rich made together.
First band: The first organized working band I worked with was the Bill Green Orchestra in the early 1960s.
When did you realize you would devote yourself to music, full or part time? I realized Id be a full-time musician after graduating from SDSU in 1965. My major was social science, but I never did any work in that field because they required a graduate degree and I was already working full- time as a musician. The first time I played with the San Diego Symphony was in 1958 when I was 15. I became a contract player in the symphony in 1972, when I also became a contract player for the San Diego Opera orchestra. Playing in the symphony was a part time job for everybody then, and we did a lot of outside freelance work.
Had anyone told you when you were 20 or 30 that — in 2024 — you would be inducted into the San Diego Music Hall of Fame how would you have reacted? I would not have believed it, because I would have been thinking: “I’m not deserving.”
Your best and worst day job? I’ve never had a “day job.” I’m very fortunate to have always been able to earn a living as a musician.
What musician or piece of music continues to inspire you that inspired you when you were young, and how does it inspire you? The music that inspires me is Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.” Its harmonic and rhythmic complexity and dramatic use of percussion have influenced my music.
Music is: For me, music is essential for a rich life.
If I wasn’t a musician, I would be: If I weren’t a musician I would be deprived of one of life’s greatest gifts.
Sixth annual San Diego Music Hall of Fame
Featuring performances by: Peter Sprague, Fred Benedetti, The Cindy Lee Berryhill Band, The Cathryn Beeks Ordeal, Electric Waste Band, Israel Maldonado, The Tomcat Courtney All-Stars, featuring Chickenbone Slim, Scottie Blinn & Tony Tomlinson
When: 7 p.m. Friday. Concert will be preceded by a silent auction, outdoor entertainment and food and beverages at 6 p.m.
Where: Vision: A Center for Spiritual Living, 4780 Mission Gorge Place, Suite H, San Diego
Tickets: $55, general; $100, premium seating in first three rows
Online: sdmusichalloffame.com