Val Stecklein

Val Stecklein was the lead singer and main songwriter in the Kansas folk rock group The Blue Things, who have achieved cult status as one of the great lost bands of the 1960s. Stecklein played in regional rock & roll bands like the Dukes in the late 1950s before turning his attention to folk music. He recorded a demo with the Hi-Plains Singers in 1963, and worked on an album by a group called The Impromptwos before joining the Blue Things (then known as The Blue Boys) in 1964. The group recorded several demos that year, as well as a pair of singles for Ruff Records, who listed them as The Blue Things. The Blue Things were a solid live act, combining folk rock with British Invasion stylistic touches and Buddy Holly rhythms, all led by Stecklein's unique vocals, which combined a Gene Clark-like baritone with the range and emotional depth of John Lennon. Based on the group's strong regional success, RCA signed them to a recording deal in 1966, which led to the Blue Things' only official album, Listen & See, released that same year. The group moved in a hard psychedelic direction following the album, recording two of Stecklein's finest (and oddest) songs, "The Orange Roof Top of Your Mind" and "You Can Live In Our Tree," in a style laced with backwards guitars and other druggy touches. Unfortunately the RCA album and the subsequent experimental tracks received little national attention, and the Blue Things remained a Great Plains phenomenon. Poor health forced Stecklein to leave the group in 1967. He recorded several tracks for a solo project called Grey Life a year later before vanishing from the pop music radar. He died in 1993. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi