That Time Grand Junction’s Ralph n’ Clyde Were in a Movie

If you've been in Western Colorado for long, you certainly know the band Ralph N' Clyde. Do you recall when they were in a Warner Brothers movie?

Brothers Ralph Smith and Clyde Jorgensen (they're brothers, and the story behind the different last names is too long to tell here) performed together as Ralph N' Clyde for decades. I grew up listening to these two back in the 1970s.

Did you know they were in a movie with Molly Ringwald back in the 1980s? The movie was called "PK and the Kid." It starred Paul Le Mat, Molly Ringwald, and Alex Rocco. According to Wikipedia, the movie was filmed in 1983, but wasn't released until 1987. For what it's worth, the movie received fairly strong reviews, receiving an 81% on the "Tomatometer" at Rotten Tomatoes.

Paul Le Mat was an absolute pleasure to work with:>) - Clyde Jorgensen

Ralph N' Clyde first appear in the movie at 24:06. The scene was shot at Grand Junction's old Flamingo. Do you remember the Flamingo? It was in the corner building at 2nd and Colorado. The building is still there, but it has undergone a major facelift.

The plot of the movie involves something of a cross country trek with the star, Molly Ringwald. Portions were filmed in Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, as well as parts of Utah, and Monterey, Petaluma, and San Francisco, California.

So, when it comes to Ralph N' Clyde, which is which? Ralph Smith is at the center of the group singing lead and playing guitar. That's Clyde Jorgensen at far right playing bass and whistling. I've never known Clyde to whistle. Here's the story behind that:

Not sure if we ever told you how it came to be that I whistled in that song. As you know Duane and Deed Eddy came over from Lake Tahoe to do that session with us. They came in the Flamingo and Duane got up and done some numbers with us. We had mentioned the night before he might come in . Well, the place was packed from floor to ceiling with folks wanting to see and hear our buddy do some picking with us. As usual, he was fantastic and everyone in the place LOVED him. As always I whistled on "Lights" as we did to make it last longer for folks dancing. In the studio, I wasn't planning to whistle at all. When it came to that part Deed wanted to know why I wasn't whistling. I quickly explained why I had did so at the club but, she insisted I do so on the session as well. Duane backed her up so I did. It was a hoot for sure. - Clyde Jorgensen

This movie is definitely worth checking out. While it's kind of hard to find, it just so happens you can watch the full movie on YouTube. Enjoy.