The Leer Brothers Band

Inducted Members: Doug Bittner, Ted Maus, Don Miller, Bob O'Connell, Mike Polinchak, Jerry Sechleer, Larry Sechleer, John Twardzik, Tommy Wynder

For most of their career, the Leer Brothers Band were just on the edge of stardom. Their identity was often in flux, as they were known under quite a few different names during their decade and a half run, including Freedom and Salvage. The individual members were known by their designated stage aliases rather than their true names. And still, through these challenges and oddities, the Leer Brothers Band remain one of the greatest groups to originate in Luzerne County.

The story of the Leer Brothers Band truly begins with the dissolution of Mel Wynn & The Rhythm Aces, another of the region’s most important bands. Jerry Sechleer, a founding member of the original Rhythm Aces, had a backlog of original rock songs to his name, and was searching for a vehicle to play them. The Leer Brothers Band — which would include other Rhythm Aces alumni Bob O’Connell, Ted Maus, Tommy Wynder, and Jerry’s brother Larry — were formed in 1969.

The band attempted to sell their rock-centric music to a number of record companies, but none budged until Mercury Records opened the door for the Leer Brothers Band to put their names on the national map. Under the Intrepid Label, the band recorded songs like “Love Fever,” “Mystery of Love,” and “I Wanna Take You Down,” and bubbled around the Billboard charts for their efforts. They broke out especially in smaller metropolitan areas, and became known as "The Kings of the Secondary Markets."

Perhaps their biggest success as recording artists came at the suggestion of record company power players Charles Fach and Paul Vance, who was the master of novelty songs. The Leer Brothers Band were recruited to record Vance’s latest creation: “Hot Pants.” Skeptical of the song’s seriousness, the Leer Brothers Band released the song under the artist name Salvage, but the song was an unexpected smash, peaking at number 54 on the Billboard charts in the spring of 1971. It was one of the only songs they ever recorded that they did not write themselves.

In addition to his pronounced creative mark on the band’s groovy sound, Jerry Sechleer was the main business force behind the Leer Brothers Band’s success. He was an important behind-the-scenes voice in the Mercury Records artists and repertoire division, opening the band up to the company’s view in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In his role at Mercury, Jerry Sechleer advocated and contributed to hits like Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May” and Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye,” as well as albums by Gunhill Road, John Van Horn, and Melba Moore.

Beyond Jerry — who was known in the context of the band as “Jay Leer” — the Leer Brothers Band consisted of a number of colorful characters and talented musicians. In addition to those who came from the tradition of rhythm and blues, those who played in the Leer Brothers Band had experience in pop, jazz, and everything in between. The titular brothers “Jay” and “Lars” — the alias of Larry Sechleer — were perfectionists who surrounded themselves with some of Luzerne County’s most talented artists.

While working at Mercury Records, Jerry found the time to travel back to the Wyoming Valley to play live with the Leer Brothers Band. They shared bills with some of the other big acts of the era, including their old colleague Mel Wynn and Joe Nardone & The All Stars. They continued to play locally until their own dissolution in 1983.

The Leer Brothers Band made a final big stand on the local music scene in 1999, when their original, fragile recording tapes from the Mercury days were recovered from a Sechleer family basement nearly 30 years after being stored there. The tapes, with a bit of help from Rock Street Music in Pittston, were preserved before their demise, and released as the 14-song album Better Late… Than Never. The songs on the album, which is still available physically and digitally, were recorded between 1969 and 1972.

From the ashes of another iconic local group, the Leer Brothers Band served as Luzerne County’s greatest musical second wind. Through their musical and business prowess, the band was able to survive the harsh record company storm. On the other side of that storm, the Leer Brothers Band are recognized as one of the most accomplished local bands.