Friday, January 07, 2011

R.I.P. Terry Trabandt

Terry Trabandt, bassplayer-singer for '60s Detroit band the Rationals, died in Florida on December 28th. A native of Ann Arbor, Trabandt joined the Rationals (originally formed by Scott Morgan and Steve Correll) as a guitarist while still in junior high school, and switched to bass when Correll returned from military school the following year. Under the tutelage of manager Hugh "Jeep" Holland, the four Pioneer High School students recorded a cover of Otis Redding's "Respect" that made the lower rungs of the national charts and supposedly inspired Aretha Franklin to record the song. At the end of 1966, radio station WKNR named them the most popular band in Detroit.

After the Rationals disbanded in 1970, Trabandt briefly played with Morgan in Guardian Angel, then relocated to Los Angeles, Europe, and New York before settling in Fort Myers, Florida. He co-wrote "Turn To Stone" with Joe Walsh, and took part in a Rationals reunion in the early '90s, but did not participate in shows Morgan performed in Michigan under the Rationals rubric in 2009. While not widely known outside of Michigan, he made his mark.



6 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

My name is Katrina, I'm Lee County, Fla. I only just heard about Terry today, and I am at a loss......what a loss. I love Terry and he will be greatly missed. Where I work, we are family and Terry was within that. We have alot of questions and no answers, but we will have an enormous coming together for him and we will make a GREAT NOISE FOR WE ARE ALL THE BETTER FOR HAVING KNOWN HIM!

10:18 PM  
Anonymous jean said...

Hey Katrina~I grew up with Terry. As the sister to the lead singer of the Rationals, Scott Morgan, I was used to seeing Terry all the time. He even lived at our house for a while. All the Rationals were like brothers to me...by birth and/or association.

The last time I saw Terry was during the Rationals Reunion in the early nineties. At the time, he had a lot of big plans for the future. That was Terry, always thinking big!

I/his friends would appreciate any more information/developments you uncover.

I know Ken is a huge fan and Scott also posted a tribute which you can find on his Facebook page . Here's the link~http://www.scottmorganmusic.com/scott_news.html

All the best to you and thanks Ken for your kind words.

Jean Morgan Compton

9:19 AM  
Blogger . said...

so sorry to hear this. the rationals were/are one of my all-time favorite bands. RIP terry.

8:59 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I spent many Friday and Saturday nights going to see the Rationals with Char and Becky from 1966 until 1969. Terry was always so generous with his time and his smiles. I think all the young ladies who followed the Rationals had a spot in their heart for Terry. I know he is still smiling.
Mari-Ann

6:11 PM  
Blogger Dan said...

My name is Dan. Being from Detroit I most certainly remember the Rationals! As a Bass player myself in a local band in Detroit during those years, Terry was an inspiration and great influance on me and I always considered him my mentor from a far. I am saddened to hear of his passing. I will always remember the great music and his contribution to this excellent band... The Rationals.

8:14 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I am floored TODAY because I just found out that Terry died!! I was watching a video on youtube and saw the RIP after his name. That's sad. I often sing his bass line from RESPECT, he was SO CUTE on stage, so talented, he could SING, too, he had it all. REST IN PEACE, Mr. Bass Man, you're MISSED.

7:09 AM  

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