An early photo of Jon clipped from a Silver Laughter group photo.

For some time I have been trying to reach my old friend, Jon Ludtke, to get some more history about the band and perhaps some more memorabilia for the site but with no luck so far. If you think about it, he was the only constant in a band that successfully toured the Midwest for over 7 years. While other band members changed, he was the only one who was there from the beginning until we disbanded around 1980.

When the rest of us resisted rehearsals, it was Jon who insisted we practice and get better. It was also his hard work that made the Beatles Tribute the huge success that it was. And had he not been involved in every aspect of singing and songwriting, our two albums would never have been made. He also challenged us which made us all become better singers.

Paul Staack asked for a more recent photo of Jon. This one was clipped from one taken at the Davenport West High Class of 1968 reunion in 2008.

As a matter of fact, the whole Ludtke family, from Jon to brother, Kim, to father, John, was involved in helping make Silver Laughter the success that it was. It bears repeating, but Kim was a polished drummer and also mastered several other instruments, some of which made it to the studio for “Handle With Care”. John did some of the best photography of the band, in my opinion. And his experience with splicing and slide mounting gave us a leg up when he taught Jon to put together the Beatles films and slides for our tribute.

It is my understanding that Jon still sits in with his old band HiFi (after Silver Laughter) in the Quad Cities. I’m told his voice is still as strong as ever.

Mick Orton

Categories: History, Photos