Interview -- John Melnick (Zazu, songwriter, keyboadist, vocals)
"...but then they started playing the whole side
of the Zazu album. For some reason, that became our trademark whenever the radio played us."
~ John Melnick ~
This is the 50th anniversary of the little-known 1975 "Zazu" album filled with tasty prog-rock and prog-pop nuggets. Led by John Melnick, Zazu's self-titled square fries and bakes while still maintaining a slice of pop sensibility. Add the lightest of lysergic dustings, and it's a fun spin. Upon its release, radio stations in Chicago, St. Louis, and New York, among other places, began spinning Zazu on their after-midnight airfare, and the album became a staple of late-night radio. Then disaster. Zazu's debut album had barely started shipping out the door before their record label, Wooden Nickel, suddenly closed up shop. No forewarning. No heads up. Wooden Nickel was gone faster than 'Hey, Hi you.' And unfortunately, so too, the band. Zazu did a few shows here and there afterward, and then it was all over.
However, John Melnick was soon asked to join up with singer-songwriter Tim Moore as the opening act for the up-and-coming comedian Steve Martin at colleges throughout the Northeast. Afterward, John began teaching classical and jazz piano at the conservatory in the Fine Arts Building in Chicago. Still staying heavily involved with the music, playing, and instructing. And then, one of those mysterious out-of-the-blue musical happenings...happened. John Melnick was asked if he would be interested in singing…commercial jingles. And for nearly twenty years, John sang nationwide jingles for a wide range of advertisers. He was good at it. All of this is to say...John stayed pretty busy. Starting off with Zazu's ambitious self-titled album in 1975, and despite some of the record business muck and mire along the way, John Melnick has surprisingly become a bit of a musical badass by whatever bar you choose to measure. John Melnick…go get you some.
John Melnick Interview -- September 2025
John Melnick
[The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.]
Casey Chambers: It's the 50th anniversary of the prog band Zazu's wonderful, nearly lost, self-titled album, so I'd like to begin by asking about the first song that I ever heard from Zazu. The fantastic 10 1/2-minute trip, "Ittsanottasonatta, But It's Close." What a great song filled with left turns, tempo changes, ducks, dips, and louies. A nice dip in the pool.
John Melnick: Thank you so much. The opening part of "Ittsanottasonatta, But It's Close," with the acoustic piano and acoustic guitar, came from a sonata I had to write while attending the conservatory at the Fine Arts Building. I attended the American Conservatory for four years to earn a Bachelor's degree in piano. I was a composition and piano major. The guitar player and I at the time wanted something that would sound somewhat like Chick Corea and John McLaughlin. We wanted to show that we could play in that particular kind of style, you know? And the rest of the song just kind of developed from that. I had an ARP 2600 synthesizer that would never stay in tune. I finally got rid of it. (laughs) But we did it.
"Ittsanottasonatta, But It's Close" - Zazu / "Zazu" (1975)
And after the gong starts with the trade-off licks between the guitar and synthesizer, we wanted that sound to be reminiscent of Emerson, Lake & Palmer and a little bit of Yes. It was just a 7/8 thing. That kind of groove. And there's even a little bit of Frank Zappa thrown in, too. (laughs) At least those were my influences at the time. As for the song title, "Ittsanottasonatta, But It's Close," that was inspired by Gilda Radner on "Saturday Night Live." She had a character she used to do called Roseanne Roseannadanna. And I thought, well, I'm gonna have a play on words. Roseanne Roseannadanna and "Ittsanottasonatta..." (laughs) I thought it was a good name, so we left it at that.
Casey Chambers: Prog can be a bit of a dice roll. Like it, yes. Like it, no. But "Zazu" gets it right. It still sounds fresh and progs out in unexpected directions without noodling too far off into the void. I was into it.
John Melnick: We wanted one full side of the album to prove what we could really do musically. We wanted to show that we weren't just some band from Chicago looking for a hit. We were musicians who could actually play our instruments, and we insisted that the second side of the album show that. A journey from beginning to end. And I believe side two really demonstrates that. The first side was to be just single songs. And we were searching to get a hit or some airplay. The song "Just Friends" was going to be a single if Wooden Nickel had released one.
However, what was truly interesting was that the radio stations in Chicago, such as Triad Radio, an underground station, and WSDM, used to host a midnight show featuring underground rock. "Underground Time" is what they called` it. They'd play Hendrix and artists like that. And they started playing "Ittsanottasonatta..." from our album. But then they started playing the whole side of the Zazu album, which included "Morning Rain." For some reason, that became our trademark whenever the radio played us.
Casey Chambers: In the '70s, FM radio seemed to play everything. It was unfettered. And I've heard Zazu played on many KSHE radio playlists as well. I remember hearing "Upon The Island Unisphere" slapping my car speakers a time or two. Another gem. It's interesting how a few of the more proggier songs from your album were generating the most buzz on FM radio.
"Upon The Island Unisphere" - Zazu / "Zazu" (1975)
John Melnick: Yeah, they did. And in our own minds, that's what Zazu wanted to do. And it's all pretty good stuff, I think. Before Wooden Nickel folded, we were going to get a second album. But then Wooden Nickel was just gone. We had a joint lawsuit with Styx to remove ourselves from Wooden Nickel Records. Styx never made a dime on their first three albums while they were on Wooden Nickel. Nothing. As a matter of fact, Dennis DeYoung told me that they had to re-record "Lady" on A&M just to be able to release it and make money from it. Things were really bad. I mean, Wooden Nickel was the loss leader for RCA. We didn't know that. We were young kids. We had a lot of energy, and we were so happy to have a record. We knew nothing. And we never made a dime from the album. We do know that the records were being sent out to various locations, and sales were going quite good. And then Wooden Nickel folded.
Casey Chambers: The music business can be a real pigsty. That's brutal.
John Melnick: We thought A&M might pick us up, and maybe Zazu would get another album out of it, and we could keep going. I talked to Barry Mraz, who was the engineer at Paragon Studios at the time. Barry mixed our album and made everything crystal clear. It was a lot of work, and he did a really nice job. So I submitted some tapes to Barry Mraz. One of the songs was "It's Always Somethin'," and once again...Roseanne Roseannadanna, because that was one of Gilda's catchphrases.
The song had a very anthem rock sound, and I said, 'Barry, I know you have an 'in' at A&M, and I know that maybe you can help us get a contract.' And he said, 'I would, but I can't get behind it. A&M is looking for bands that sound like Fleetwood Mac.' And I said, 'Well, you know we're not Fleetwood Mac. Do I look like Stevie Nicks? Can you at least give me the number so I don't send them a tape unsolicited because I don't know anybody at that record company.' He goes, 'Well, I wish I could do that, but I can't.' And that severed that relationship. After that, the band was gone.
"It's Always Somethin'" - John Melnick
Casey Chambers: A lot of 'shouldas' and 'couldas' got laid to waste. And it's just a terrible way it had to go down.
John Melnick: We had bad management from the get-go. We did a few gigs. We opened for Ted Nugent at what might have been the Hammond Civic Center. I know we opened for REO Speedwagon. And we had a few other nice gigs, but not many. And then our manager had this ridiculous idea. He thought we should keep the mystique of the band going...see, we were getting a lot of airplay on midnight and late-night radio. And it's funny because I later wrote a song called "Late Night Radio." We'll talk about that in a sec. But since Zazu was getting a lot of late-night airplay, he thought it would be a good mystique to keep the band from playing live. He thought this would keep Zazu fresh in everybody's minds. Like...'What happened to Zazu? What happened to Zazu?' But we told him...the 'mystique' is a mistake. People aren't heading off to work every day, wondering about what's happening with Zazu. I don't think so. (laughs) We thought this whole thing was ridiculous. Anyway, we did one more gig, and that was it.
But the tune, "Late Night Radio," it was by happenstance that the song turned out the way it did. I was doing a lot of work for Jim Peterik during and after my jingle career. He was working with .38 Special, and he would call me to do demos at his house. "Late Night Radio" was a song I wrote in my basement on a 16-track Fostex machine. It was just something I was doing for fun and giggles. And Jim comes over and he goes, 'What's this?' And I said, 'Oh, I figured ELP hasn't released an album in a long time, so I'll do it for them.' (laughs) And he goes, 'I love it. I'll put words to this, and if you'll sing it, we'll do the vocals, and I'll try and pitch it to Kansas.' So he did try to pitch it, but they turned it down. A few years ago, Dennis DeYoung was doing a solo album and asked if he could use that song. He changed the title of the song to "East Of Midnight" and some of the lyrics to talk about growing up in Chicago. And it became the opening song for his album, "26 East Vol. 1" (2020).
Casey Chambers: Very cool. Light up, everybody. A couple of Wooden Nickel survivors still kickin' it.
"East Of Midnight" - Dennis DeYoung / "26 East Vol. 1" (2020)
John Melnick: I was flattered that Dennis wanted to use it. We've known each other from way, way back. We used to open for Styx back when they were still called TW4. (laughs) We grew up in the same area, more or less, in the southwest side of Chicago. Many good musicians came from the southwest side of Chicago, but very few made it. Styx was very lucky. Jim Peterik obviously was very fortunate, but not too many other bands.
Casey Chambers: Big fan of Styx. Always have been. And I know Jim Peterik from Survivor. He wrote the song for "Rocky III".
John Melnick: Oh, absolutely. "Eye of the Tiger," yeah. And he also wrote "Vehicle" for the Ides of March.
Casey Chambers: I didn't know that. Killer stuff. And early stuff, too.
John Melnick: Yeah, very early on. He would call me to do a lot of his demo stuff. He'd say, 'I need to demo this or I need you to demo that.' And I'd go over to his house to sing it. Jim also wrote the song, which I ended up singing for the John Candy movie, "Delirious" (1991). It was a movie with John Candy and Mariel Hemingway. The song was called "Beyond Our Wildest Dreams," and it plays at the very end of the movie during the closing credits.
Casey Chambers: Who doesn't love John Candy?
"Beyond Our Wildest Dreams" - John Melnick / "Delirious" STK (1991)
John Melnick: Yeah, it was really cool. Jim wrote everything and asked me to come in and demo it. Jim goes, 'I'm gonna try and get them to use you.' I said, 'Well, what's the deal otherwise?' He goes, 'Well, they're thinking about getting Aaron Neville.' But they liked my version and decided to give it to me. So I sang it for the movie, which was kind of cool for the credits. But you know what's really funny, and it's not really funny. They re-released the soundtrack of the movie "Delirious" on CD, but didn't include that song. I mean, it's the soundtrack for the movie. Why wouldn't they include the song? It's a beautiful song. But you know, this is the nature of the business. (laughs) And that's why I was fortunate to get into the jingle business.
Casey Chambers: Tell me about that. How'd that happen?
John Melnick: The way it started...one of my favorite singers, who was also a jingle singer, as well, was Josie Falbo. And it's funny. I happened to be at this seminar, and I was holding the microphone, sharing something. And when I sat down, a lady behind me...at the hotel ballroom...tapped me on the shoulder and she goes, 'Excuse me, are you in radio at all because you really have a radio voice. I have a friend who does commercials.' And I said, 'Oh, really? Who?' And she said it was Josie Falbo. And I almost fell out of my chair. I used to play keyboards for her years ago. Since I had worked with her, I asked if she wouldn't mind giving Josie my number. And Josie called me and said, 'John, what are you doing?' I said, 'I've been teaching a lot. I went back to the conservatory, teaching classical and jazz piano.' And she said, 'Why don't you put out a demo because you could get jingle work in Chicago. Take the stuff you did with Zazu.' And I did. The next thing I knew, I was working on jingles.
My first job was a commercial for Schlitz Light. And after that, I did Coors. And then the rest is history. I was working all the time in the studio. I had a pager, and I could be in a dentist's office. They'd page and it was, 'John, could you make a two o'clock for McDonald's? We're gonna do one, and it's going on TV this Super Bowl.' (laughs) It was my first career in music that actually made legitimate money. Other than just playing at tuxedo gigs. Weddings and corporate parties. My jingle career was very good. My wife was able to stay home and raise the kids. I loved it. I enjoyed it. I mean, I was finally being recognized for what I had done. That was important to me, and I don't mean it in an egotistical way. But to be acknowledged for being able to sing. That I was good enough. Everybody looks for some validation as they're growing up. That they're actually doing the right thing. And that was very good for me.
Casey Chambers: What a cool niche. We take jingles for granted, but we all love'em. Before I forget, where did the band's name Zazu come from?
Zazu
(L-R) Mickey Lehockey (drummer), John Melnick (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ricupero (guitars, vocals), Randy Curlee (bass, vocals)
John Melnick: Mickey (Lehockey), our drummer, initially came up with the name ZaSu Pitts for our band. However, Bill Traut, the producer and owner of Wooden Nickel, told us we couldn't use ZaSu Pitts. The estate would sue us. I'm not sure how it worked out, but we ended up changing the name to Zazu. The cover for the Zazu album was designed by the people from Oui magazine, a subsidiary of Playboy Magazine. Oui magazine came up with the little silver rose on the front, along with the rainbow and all that stuff.
Casey Chambers: As Paul Harvey liked to say, "And now, you know...the rest of the story."
John Melnick: (laughs) I'll tell you something else. Another thing I did after Zazu was I worked with a guy named Tim Moore. The bass player Bob Lizik, who had worked with Brian Wilson for years, asked me if I wanted to go on the road with Tim. Tim Moore wrote a song called "Second Avenue," made famous by Art Garfunkel. It's a beautiful song. I played in Tim's band, and we lived in Woodstock for a while and did a tour. That was one of the things I did in the interim between Zazu and the jingles. We used to open for Steve Martin at some college shows when he was doing his 'Wild and Crazy Guy' act. He wore the white tuxedo with bunny ears. And nobody knew who he was at that time. We didn't even know who he was.
We did all of New York. Woodstock. Rhode Island. Massachusetts. Boston. All those areas. He was the headliner, and we were the opening act. And it was so funny because he was such a quiet guy backstage. He was like, 'Oh, hi guys. How you doing?' Real mellow. And then he walks out on stage, and he turns into a crazy man, right? His alter-ego. Nobody knew who he was, but we knew this guy was great. We knew it. And about a year later, after the tour, he went on "Saturday Night Live" and became an overnight sensation. And Tim and the rest of us were all going, 'Yeah, overnight,' because when we were talking to him backstage, he goes, 'I've been doing this for about 18 years.' (laughs) And then he becomes an overnight sensation. (laughs)
Casey Chambers: What were some of your favorite albums?
John Melnick: Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Those are my guys. They are my biggest influences. I heard "The Barbarian" from Emerson, Lake & Palmer's first album, and man! I was with a friend of mine named Jerry from the southwest side of Chicago, and he says, 'Melnick, you gotta hear this, man. It's a rock trio.' And he puts the turntable on, and I hear the beginnings of "The Barbarian," and it blew my mind. That album changed my musical life forever. It was like, 'This is what I want to do for a living.' I was in high school and decided to attend music college. I loved this. It was opening my head. That's one of my favorite albums.
Casey Chambers: Wasn't "Lucky Man" on that album, too?
John Melnick: Yes, "Lucky Man" was on that album. That's right. It's the self-titled album of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. (1970) It's got a picture of a guy with a dove coming out of his brain. Another one of my favorite ELP albums is "Brain Salad Surgery" (1973). Of course, I like a lot of things Keith Emerson did. Even the stuff with The Nice. I followed his career up until the very end. And Frank Zappa...I followed all the way from the first album. But it wasn't until he started writing things on "Hot Rats" (1969) that I started really paying attention to Frank.
Casey Chambers: "Peaches En Regalia." I'll take all of that you got!
John Melnick: Yeah, "Peaches En Regalia." I love it. Love it. And the album..."Chunga's Revenge." (1970) I love the jazz waltz that he did..."Twenty Small Cigars." And also "Transylvania Boogie" is on that one too. I mean, there's some good stuff on that album. And I could take all his comedy stuff with a grain of salt. You know, it's like, yeah, I get it. "Camarillo Brillo." And the dental floss song..."Montana"...it's clever. I like it. And it's very good music. But for me, it's his instrumental stuff. When he breaks out into something like..."Peaches En Regalia," then my ears are really perked.
And Genesis, too. I never followed them as closely with Peter Gabriel. I liked the albums, but they didn't turn me on until I heard "A Trick of the Tail" (1976) when Phil Collins was singing lead. And I really like that Genesis album with the song, "Mama" on it, but I can't think of the name. It had a yellow cover and triangular blocks or something on it. That's one of my favorites. I followed Genesis all the way through. And "Close to the Edge" is a great Yes album. A great title track. But it's the one before that with "Roundabout." No, no, no...that's not the one I mean. It was the album right before that..."The Yes Album." (1971) It's the one with the green film strip cover with a mannequin head hanging from the ceiling. It has "I've Seen All Good People" and "Starship Trooper." That was the first stuff from Yes I discovered.
My buddy Jerry and I had tickets to see both shows at the Auditorium Theater. Two shows. And we sat there amazed. Yes sang all their stuff. Did their whole set. And then my buddy turns and says, 'Melnick, guess what? We're blown away by these guys, and now Emerson, Lake & Palmer are setting up the stage to play next!' And I recorded both of them. At that time, you could bring a tape recorder to the concerts. I have both those shows on cassette.
Casey Chambers: You guys must've floated out to the parking lot after the show. (laughs)
John Melnick: (laughs) I guess what I'm listening to now is a lot of jazz. Stuff I never really heard before. I always liked Miles Davis. Any of the stuff on Blue Note. I loved all the Columbia albums. I listen to Bill Evans. John McLaughlin. I have his entire catalog. There are many people whom I have consistently followed throughout their careers. That's kind of where I'm at now. I have no interest in writing songs. I really don't. Everything I write now is mostly ambient that could work for a soundtrack or whatever. I enjoy that freedom.
But here's another thing about the Zazu album. It was re-released on CD, and I had no idea. Every now and then, I'll go on eBay to see if anybody is selling any Zazu albums. And I happened to find someone selling Zazu CDs. I was like, 'What?' The CD was put out by South Side Records, but with no way to contact them. All we know is it was in Georgia somewhere. I had no idea. Anyway, I contacted the seller, not the guy who did it, but the guy who was selling them on eBay, and I said, 'Look, my name is John Melnick from Zazu. I wrote everything on this album. Would you gimme a discount on the CDs?' He goes, 'I'll sell you six for the price of one.' And he did. I bought six copies. (laughs) For my kids and whatnot. And that's the strange story behind the CD.
"Country Eyes" - Zazu / "Zazu" (1975)
But here it is...50 years later! We were young kids then. (laughs) And we had a lot of energy. We were on fire, is what we were. And we were going to set the world on fire. We were gonna be the next big thing. We thought we could be like Genesis or maybe ELP or Yes. We had the talent. We just didn't have the opportunities. And without the opportunities, you're just spinning your wheels. But I loved what I did, man. I can't say I didn't enjoy it. And in the process, it taught me how to be a better player and a better musician. And alright, look, I ended up with a great jingle career, which I never expected. The music took me a long way. And I'm happy for it.
Casey Chambers: This has been a real pleasure talking with you this morning. Thank you so much for sharing some of those early times. And I want you to know how much I enjoy your Zazu album. And again, it's been an honor hanging with you today.
John Melnick: Oh, Casey, absolutely. This is a really nice thing, and I appreciate it. Thank you so much.
******************************************************
Comments