Grayson’s Tune Town – Part 1

Former CV resident Mike McClish recently wrote a beautiful history of Montrose’s iconic Grayson’s Tune Town. Mike grew to love music, thanks to Grayson’s, and made a career out of it. Here is much of what he wrote:

“My family moved here in 1953, onto Maryann Street, next to a big orchard on Foothill Boulevard. Now, as I revisit the valley, I discover there were so many people I didn’t know, or at least thought I didn’t know.

“Foss was one of them. He came from Illinois, born in 1913 of Italian heritage. Foss, as he was called by his wife, had a very different childhood. His mother died during the great flu epidemic of 1917-19. His father tried to keep the whole family together but, in a few years, the father also died, leaving five kids orphaned. While the older ones were able to earn money and stay together, Foss’ future was a little different. An orphanage called Mooseheart took him in. This was a charitable organization formed by the Order of the Moose. Foss remembered those growing up years with love and joy. They gave him a loving life; he learned trade skills, had a stable home base and still had regular contact with his brothers and sisters.

“But his love of music became his focus. He learned to play saxophone and clarinet. That led him to the music of his day, big-band, swing and early jazz. He formed his own orchestra and became quite popular in the Midwest. He met a sweet, young beautician, Adeline, and married her. They had their first son, Ken, in 1943, and Dennis two-and-a-half years later. Oh, one more thing: he called his orchestra the Val Grayson Orchestra. Foss was now Val Grayson. They were on their way to being one of the top big bands, were heard on radio and played at the Flynn Ballroom in Chicago.

“They moved to California in 1951. Val established a record store in 1953 on Honolulu across from the Bank of America in Montrose. All they sold was records: big-band, jazz and that loud rockabilly-rock ‘n’ roll. In 1960, Grayson’s Tune Town outgrew its little location and moved a couple blocks down Honolulu. That’s the Grayson’s Tune Town I knew.

“By 1964 I was learning guitar on my own, playing my one Peter, Paul and Mary album and my Dick Dale surf-guitar album that I bought at Grayson’s. Two explosions happened around 1964-65: the Beatles, and folk-rock music. ‘Tamborine Man’ opened the floodgates of the Love Generation. Bob Dylan changed his Woody Guthrie persona for striped pants, and thick, unruly hair and led us into a world of folk rock, blues and mind-expanding lyrics. I wanted guitar lessons! So where did I go? Grayson’s Tune Town, of course.

“Val and Adeline had their finger on the pulse of music the entire time. They expanded their store from just selling records to selling guitars, keyboards, folk instruments, records, sheet music, and gave lessons in instruments. I took guitar lessons, bought all my records there, and one of my bands even played in front of Val’s store around 1968.

“Grayson’s Tune Town was the central hub of music in the Montrose-Crescenta-Cañada area. It was always involved in giving school awards, and helping out young kids get lessons, even when they couldn’t afford an instrument. You always felt welcome in the store.

“I remember going in and someone was always at the front, playing a 45 on the turntable. They would play anything for you while you browsed. All of us rock band people were in and out of Grayson’s, taking lessons, buying and selling guitars. Val let you try out guitars, amps. When we played in front of his store, he wheeled out the latest new, solid-state acoustic amps, used by the Doors at that time, and let us play through them.

“Val was always supporting us young kids in our music aspirations.

“And now I can understand why. His life at Mooseheart School instilled the unselfish giving and paying forward of love when he was orphaned so early. He never forgot the kindness he received and gave a hundredfold to the community of Montrose.”

Next week, Part 2.