It's no secret that Marquette University's Raynor Memorial Library is home to an unrivaled, world-class collection of J.R.R. Tolkien papers. But, amazingly, few people know that it is also home to the Jean Cujé Milwaukee Music Collection, overseen by veteran Brew City drummer Bruce Cole.
The collection was born in 1993 and named for a Marquette librarian, who was also a musician, and who had died the year previous.
In the public area of the library, students can browse through a few hundred CDs by local bands and musicians. But down in the archive, where access is allowed, but controlled, Cole oversees a collection that comprises more CDs, alongside tapes, vinyl LPs and 45s, posters, band business cards and other memorabilia that can help academics and fans trace the history of pop music in Milwaukee.
The Mills Music Library at the University of Wisconsin in Madison maintains a similar collection of Wisconsin music.
"The Milwaukee Music Collection was launched with donations from local musicians in 1993," says Cole, who still looks the part of rock and roll drummer and, as such, stands out on campus.
"I became the Collection Development Librarian a few years later. At first the Collection was archival only, but in 1998, second copies of recordings were acquired. CDs are now available for students, staff, faculty and -- for research purposes -- the public for checkout. All recordings are, eventually, cataloged and made available worldwide through inter-library loan."
Cole says that Cujé's passion for music was the catalyst for the collection and her love for classical music guided the original intent.
"Prior to coming to Milwaukee, Jean had played bassoon with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the American Ballet Theater in New York," says Cole. "Jean had long encouraged Marquette libraries to collect Milwaukee music, and, on her death, the library determined that it would be a fitting memorial to establish just such a Collection in her name.
"At first, I think, the 'vision' of the Collection was, perhaps, a small archive of classical, chamber music, maybe some jazz. But, that was not to be..."
And why, you might ask?
Well, because Cole was put in charge and he's been playing on the rock and roll circuit here since the 1960s. The Beatles - not Beethoven - are in his blood. But Cole doesn't look to exclude any genre or style. In fact, he's about the most wide-ranging collector out there, when it comes to the Collection.
"Milwaukee has a rich and varied musical heritage, so the scope of the collection is very broad," he says, "and, I think we hope it will stay broad. We take all local product, regardless of genre. I'm always looking for early recordings (of) any kind of music. Early rock and jazz, obscure bands -- groups that maybe just did a demo and nothing else."
The result is that you'll find music by Those XCleavers and the BoDeans and the Violent Femmes, but also Blue in the Face and the Wooldridge Brothers, by Harvey Scales and The Baroques, by Barry's Truckers and Bad Boy.
The catholic (with a small "c") nature of the collection helps ensure that it gets used, says Cole.
"Checkout slips on the CDs show Marquette students, staff and faculty are using the Collection. It's interesting that over half -- and, of course, many of these recordings are strictly local product -- these recordings have been checked out at least once."
Being a passionate music fan and the consummate cool music geek, it makes sense that Cole has a few favorites himself down in the archive ...
"Personally, some of the late 1950s 45s and 1960s rock LPs are 'gems' to me," he says.
"The first -- I believe, anyway -- LP by a local rock band was ‘Meet the Bonnevilles,' and we have that; first Legends LP, the R&B Cadets LP, Tony's Tygers ... also some early cassettes, early Miltown punk recordings, 1950s country vinyl. Some Vaughan Monroe, Woody Herman, Pee Wee King, Hildegarde, Liberace vinyl. Also, we have some very important memorabilia--paper ephemera, photos, etc.
Got a trove of this kind of stuff in the basement? Why not donate it to Cujé and share it with the rest of Milwaukee?
"We're always looking for memorabilia, as well as vinyl donations -- while maintaining and keeping up with current music, of course," says Cole.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
