ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was made possible through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee History Department's Theodore Saloutos Fellowship. Special thanks to Professors Victor Greene, Michael Gordon, Glen Jeansonne, and Walter Trattner for providing academic and scholarly support. I am indebted to the generosity of Jim Kirchstein, owner of Cuca Records, for providing access to his personal collection and his willingness to share his history. Thank you to Greg Drust, Carlo "Spike" Micale, and Gary Myers for their time and effort which greatly aided my research. Thank you to Steve Sundell of the Mills Music Library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for guiding me through the archives.

Special thanks to my parents, Pat and Dick Filzen, for their encouragement. Most especially, thank you to Joe Van Lanen for providing the inspiration and support to start and complete this project.