Blaine Shively Who Lived In Strasburg, Tuscarawas County, Ohio

Blaine Shively was born 17-Nov-1910 in Strasburg, Tuscarawas County, OH and died 12-Sep-2004.  Blaine Shively was the son of George W. Shively and Katherine Kalmbach.  (For more information on this Shively line see the Shively blog article written on Friday, 22-Nov-2013). George W. Shively was the son of George Shively and Elizabeth Gravis. In 1936 Blaine Shively was married to Gwen Wendling. Blaine Shively was a well known musician and co-founded the Shively-Yates orchestra with William Theodore Yates.  

The following article was extracted from The Times-Reporter, Dover-New Philadelphia, Ohio, Monday, August 24, 2009, Page A2, Columns 1-4:

Blaine Shively Made Sweet Music

Blaine Shively of Strasburg was a well-known figure in the Tuscarawas County music scene for more than a half a century, laying drums with popular dance bands such as the Shively-Yates Orchestra and the Rhythm Club.

During his career, Shively performed an impressive total of 61 New Year's Eve engagements, including 53 consecutive holiday gigs.

Shively was born at Strasburg on Nov. 17, 1910. At an early age, his parents made him take piano lesson, something he didn't enjoy. He was more interested in learning the drums. Finally, when he was 14, his father consented to buy him a cheap set of drums. His practicing didn't set well with the neighbors, who thought he played too loudly.

While a student at Strasburg High, Shively formed a band with three other young musicians. The group never landed any paying jobs but did get to play for free at high school functions.

His first paying job was performing with the Johnny Arndt band at Mount View Park at New Philadelphia. Shively earned $2.

After playing with several area groups, Shively joined a band at Ohio Northern University at Ada, known as the Northerners, in 1932. Shively spent two years touring with the band, performing throughout Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Pennsylvania. He earned $28 a week plus free room and board.

Two years of living out of a suitcase proved too much for Shively, who quit the Northerners in 1934 and returned home.

That fall, he and William Yates of Strasburg, a well-known saxophonist and pianist, formed their own group, Shively-Yates and their Ace Collegians.

The orchestra was an instant success. In the years that followed, the group performed in every city in Ohio except Cincinnati.

In 1936, Shively-Yates played 27 nights in December, for a total of 299 engagements that year.

The band's home base was the Spanish Ballroom at Dover, where it played every Monday night. One evening, Shively-Yates drew such a large crowd onto the floor that the dancers cracked the window in the drugstore on the first floor of the building according to Raymond "Skeets" Botdorf, who played trumpet with the group.

At a performance at the Spanish Ballroom in 1935, Shively met his future wife, Gwen Wendling of Dover. They were married in 1936.

Shively-Yates had several "girl singers" over the years, beginning with June Souers of Dover in 1934.

One of the best known was Jerry Baker of Brewster, who later auditioned for Benny Goodman's band after he heard her sing at Ohio University at Athens, where she was a student. Baker often sang in a trio with band members John Stone and Robert Angel. Stone  later became a professor at Ohio University, where his students included the McGuire Sisters.

Other vocalists included Wanda Davis of Dover and Julia Swier of Massillon.

WIth the coming of World War II, Shively-Yates lost most of its members to the military. Shively continued to perform with the Phil Mason band, which played six nights a week at the Casablanca at Canton. After the war, he tried to reorganize Shively-Yates with no success.

In 1947, he formed the Rhythm Club along with Bob Neumiller, Paul Kneppelt and Babe Matthews.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he worked with the Dorothy Blaine Trio and with a group called Night Train in the late 1980s and early 1990s, according to his son, Blaine Shively Jr.

To support his family Shively worked at Republic Steel at Canton, owned and operated by Shively Cleaners at Strasburg and drove bus for Strasburg schools. In addition to music, he drove stock cars in the 1950s, racing at the Strasburg Speedway and other local tracks, his son said.

Shively continued to perform even after he and Gwen retired to Florida, working with the Downing Trio in the Daytona Beach area. His last performance was in 1996. He died Sept. 12, 2004.

Article by Jon Baker. Jon Baker is editorial page editor of The Times-Reporter. He can be reach by e-mail at opinions@timesreporter.com.

The following was found in the Times Reporter, Dover-New Philadelphia, Thursday, September 16, 2004, Page A5, Column 6:

Blaine Shively

Blaine Shively, 93, a resident of Port Orange, Fla., and a native of Strasburg, died Sept. 12, 2004.

Before retirement, Mr. Shively was the owner of Shively Cleaners in Strasburg. He was a lifetime member of the American Federation of Musicians. He was a drummer all of his adult life in several local bands, including the Shively-Yates Orchestra, which he co-founded. He was also a race car driver and owner, having participated in stock car and drag racing.

Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Gwen of Port Orange, Fla.; a son, Blaine and his wife, Janice of Port Orange, Fla.; and a sister, Ruth Pfeiffer of Canal Fulton, O.

Memorial donations may be made to the American Red Cross.