Messengers

There is much debate on the topic, but depending on who you ask, the Messengers were either the first -- or merely one of the first -- white acts ever signed to Motown Records. Their history is so convoluted it required a book, Gary Myers' Wisconsin rock history tome, Do You Hear That Beat, just to make some sense of it. The group was founded in Winona, MN, in 1962 by Greg Jeresek (aka Greg Jennings), and also featured guitarists Greg Bambenek and Roy Berger, keyboardist Chip Andrews, and drummer Jim Murray. Winona's very first rock & roll band, the Messengers were also notabl...