March 19, 2024

East Providence Music Teacher, John Baldaia - RI Music Hall of Fame Inductee

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RI Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony - Sunday, April 30th at the Met

Riverside Middle School chorus director, John Baldaia, is a 2017 Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame inductee. In 1975, guitarists John Baldaia and Paul Gaudette, bassist Pat Davis, and drummer David Bottai formed The Wild Turkey Band in Pawtucket. Their rootsy repertoire (Van Morrison, the Dead, Reggae, Blues) proved a hit and by 1977, they were on top of the scene. In 1978, after adding Peter Hadden on sax and Eric North on keys, they introduced originals by Baldaia and band mates into the mix and their fan base soon covered the entire Northeast. In 1980, Baldaia left the group to pursue a career in jazz and currently teaches music in East Providence at RMS. The Wild Turkey band eventually became the Hometown Rockers.

Baldaia's band also joins the Riverside - based early seventies band, RIZZZ as Hall of Fame inductees. Six of the 7 original RIZZZ band members were graduates of East Providence High School. educator Frank Potenza; influential Newport alternative band Throwing Muses; the Wild Turkey Band/Hometown Rockers and Ep's Rizzz, a fixture on the local scene in the 1970s. Baldaia and the RIZZZ band will be inducted in a ceremony on Sunday April 30th at the Met in Pawtucket. Tickets may still be available.

See the full article with interview with Ep's Dave Tanury on RIZZZ and Wild Turkey in the March issue of The Reporter.

Photos: John Baldaia on the far right of the Wild Turkey Band photo.

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