Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Bob Kuban & The In-Men




Best known for their 1966 #12 pop hit, "The Cheater", Bob Kuban & The In-Men hailed from St. Louis, Missouri. Band founder Bob Kuban is honored in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's permanent exhibit on one-hit wonders. Kuban was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and graduated from the St. Louis Institute of Music. In 1964, he formed the group Bob Kuban and The In-Men. Kuban was both drummer and bandleader. The group was an eight-piece band with horns, somewhat of a throwback for the time, considering that the British Invasion was taking place during that period.
After "The Cheater," Kuban never scored high on the pop charts again - he had two other top 100 hits: "The Teaser" peaked at #70 and a remake of the Lennon/McCartney song "Drive My Car" went to #93 - but he remained a fixture on the St. Louis music scene for decades. Bob Kuban and The In-Men performed for opening ceremonies of Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis on May 10, 1966, and The Bob Kuban Brass performed before the last regular-season baseball game there on October 2, 2005. Bob Kuban raised his family in St. Louis, Missouri and his living relatives still live in St. Louis. In an ironic and tragic twist, Walter Scott, frontman for The In-Men and singer of "The Cheater" (whose lyrics speak of the downfall of an unfaithful lover), was murdered in 1983 by his wife's lover. Scott disappeared shortly after Christmas 1983. In April 1987, hiss body, having been hog-tied and shot in the back, was found floating face-down in a cistern. Scott's wife pled guilty to hindering prosecution in his murder. She received a five year sentence. Her lover, James H. Williams Sr., whom she married in 1986, was found guilty of two counts of capital murder in the deaths of his previous wife, Sharon Williams, and Walter Scott.




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