History of The Savoys
Jim Fish was invited to join The Savoys in 1957, as a middle school 7th grader, with a brand new fancy trigger-trombone. The Savoys were then known as "The Portland (Michigan) High School Stage Band." Eldred (Skip) Spurgeon and Jim were not friends yet at this time. It was a few months later when they were attempting to come up with a name for this band that they became friends.
They were sure that the band was going to hit the "big-time" and maybe even get to play for free at a wedding reception at the local KC Hall! They sponsored a "name the band" contest in the school. None of the entries struck a chord with the band and they began looking through sheet music for inspiration. "Stompin' at the Savoy" jumped right out at them and they thought that naming the band after a hardy variety of cabbage was pretty catchy. The theme song was born!
The Savoys carried on for many years and appeared in many forms, from a 5-piece combo to a 16-piece true Big Band, playing for all kinds of events. They played for wedding receptions, sometimes in genuine dance halls, all the way up to the Crystal Lake Palladium. A 24-hour dance marathon at Cobo Arena in Detroit, benefiting the Jerry Lewis Telethon for Easter Seals, gave the band the publicity to get bigger and better paying jobs. As members graduated from high school, most moved on to college, a job in a factory, or the service. There evolved a core group that stuck together after school, which moved The Savoys forward. Central to this group were Jim Fish and Skip Spurgeon. By the middle 1960s they were playing college J-Hops and fraternity parties on a regular basis.
The Savoys were packed away sometime in the 1980s, and in 2006 or 2007, Skip heard that the Fishes had retired and moved to Florida and The Villages. Skip had been living and working in southwest Florida for 20 years, and he called Jim up --- right out of the blue! He wanted to bring The Savoys back to life and wanted Jim back in the picture. Jim had some ideas of who would fit in with the band and the music that they played. It was surprising how quickly good musicians agreed to join The Savoys.
Skip contacted the friend up in Michigan that had stored the music, music stands, and other equipment in his house for all of those years. Now they were ready to go! The Savoys were back! Skip played with the band until he "retired" in 2018, but Jim is still playing his trombone.
Mike James became the leader of the band in 2018, and the Savoys are still going strong! To learn more about all of the musicians in the band, check out our webpage called "Meet the Band."
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by Jim Fish
