About Us

Ooh La La and the Greasers started in early 1975 at the University of Cincinnati. Calhoun Hall and Sidall Hall (two residence halls on campus) were putting on a student talent show. A group of jocks, mostly football players, got together over a few eight-packs of Stroh's beer and tried to come up with an act for the show. One could strum guitar a little, and a few could carry a tune if they had a big bucket, so we set out to choose a song or two.

The first one that came to mind was "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers. The ending, the most exciting part of the song, had many different vocal parts that gave a lot of people a chance to show off their singing talent. Now we only had to limit the number of people to a workable number to put on stage. Since the talent show was for fun, and cutting people was out of the question, we had to find another approach.
Shortly before this time, Sha Na Na, an oldies act who appeared at Woodstock, performed on campus. Someone suggested that old rock 'n' roll songs might be better for this semi-talented group of jocks. After all, most old rock 'n' roll songs were three chords and relatively easy to sing. There was only one problem now: we had one acoustic guitar; not quite the instrumental makeup of a rock and roll band. We also found out one of the guys was a drummer, but didn't own a set of drums. We then went on a crusade to borrow equipment. Somehow we found some and started rehearsing.

We chose the name Ooh La La because it sounded like Sha Na Na. The original lineup consisted of Dan Hauser, Keith Grothaus, Larry Wiegele, and Jim Hixenbaugh on vocals, Mike Connell on drums, Dan Shepherd on bass guitar, and Jim Kelly on guitar and vocals. The three songs selected for the talent show were "Runaround Sue" by Dion, "Tell Laura I Love Her" by Paul Peterson, and "Houndog" by Elvis Presley. Ooh La La was the winner of the first Calhoun/Siddall talent show.

Besides playing at all of the areas’ key events and festivals. Ooh La La had opened shows for the who’s who of National Oldies Entertainment as they have come through the Greater Cincinnati area. Acts such as The Rascals, Leslie Gore, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Del Shannon, Jan and Dean, Freddie Cannon, Bo Diddley and others have had Ooh La La open their shows.
 
Ooh La La entered the talent show again in 1976 and won again. We were asked not to enter the show the following year, but were allowed to perform. In June 1977, graduation sent several members off into the sunset, but we added several new members.

Ooh La La played at the Pour House in Oakley on Sunday nights for many years. The first night at the Pour House we were to perform with another band, The Greasers. The advertisements ran on the radio all week. However, The Greasers never showed. So Dan, in his usual wit, repeated what had been on the radio: "Welcome to the Pour House featuring Ooh La La and The Greasers." That infamous line Dan jokingly said on stage that night has stuck ever since!
 
Forty years later.....after performing as one of Cincinnati's premier classic rock/old time rock and roll band, Ooh La La and the Greasers is scaling back and providing a soft but sophisticated version of a blend of the old rock and roll that made the band famous, with a mix of new and current hits with a new name Ooh La La Unplugged.

Led by extraordinary lead vocalists, Brenda and Dan Hauser, soft ballads, authentic pop hits, and wonderful 4 part harmonies are as present as they were during the bands 40 year tenure on stage.  Add in Rod Wright on keyboard and vocals, and Jim Kelly on guitar, harmonica, mandolin and vocals, you have a full sound but still offer music where people can talk over as they listen.  Of if the spirit moves them to dance then so be it, even if it's in their seats.

If interested in information about booking Ooh La La Unplugged for an upcoming street fair, festival, concert venue, restaurant or lounge, contact Jim Kelly at (513)600-7321 or email jimkellymusic77@gmail.com