By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
September 8, 1986
“We’re just like any other American family,” said Leroy Wolfgramm, the eldest sibling in the Jets, a hot new pop group. “We fight with one another. We eat. We sleep. And we help one another. We’re just all-American kids.”
Well . . . not really.
Although they resemble millions of other American teens in their devotion to hamburgers, television and rock ‘n’ roll, the eight brothers and sisters who make up the Jets have something that most people don’t: a multimillion-dollar, seven-album deal with MCA records.
The Jets, who range in age from 12 to 20, will perform at 8 p.m. Sept. 20 at the Holiday Star Theater in Merrillville, Ind. Also on the bill are fellow popsters Nu Shooz and Force M.D.’s.
Speaking from an MCA office in Universal City, Calif., 20-year-old Leroy and his 13-year-old sister, Elizabeth, seem to enjoy doing interviews. They easily joke about everything from their idols — she likes Wham! and Tears for Fears; he likes the S.O.S. Band and Elvis Presley – to their eating habits. (“If it’s sitting still, he’ll eat it,” Elizabeth said.) Given their recent success, however, they’re not kidding when they playfully refer to themselves as the Jets dynasty.
“I think people like us ’cause they can see that we’re for real,” said Elizabeth, the lead singer on five tracks on “The Jets,” the group’s debut album. “No matter how good you are, people won’t like you if you don’t believe in yourself. Because our mother and father have supported us for so long and encouraged us in our craft, we feel
completely at home on stage, on video and on records.”
Their parents left the South Pacific’s tiny kingdom of Tonga and moved to Salt Lake City in 1965. Mike Wolfgramm, 42, worked at a number of jobs to support his family before focusing full-time on his children’s musical careers. Leroy remembers eating bologna sandwiches for dinner while his father drove them in a small van from one musical job to another.
In 1981, they arrived for one date at a Minneapolis hotel only to find that the venue had gone bankrupt. Lost gig notwithstanding, the Wolfgramms liked the area and settled there. Today, they reside in the nearby suburb of Maple Grove, where Leroy and Elizabeth rehearse with Eddie, 20, Eugene, 19, Haini, 18, Rudy 17, Kathi, 15, and Moana, 12. There are six other siblings waiting to become old enough to join the group.
“We learned early on how hard it was to make a buck,” Leroy said. “Our parents are putting all the money in the bank for us now. We get weekly allowances for ourselves, but they want to make sure we’ll have it for when we’re older. We work hard for it, but we have a fun time or we wouldn’t do it.
“Nobody forced us into becoming entertainers,” he said. “I think the desire to sing or act is something that you’re born with.”
“Well, Mom helped,” Elizabeth added. “She used to be a hula dancer and a singer. So when she was pregnant with each of us, she kept it up and I think that affected us.”
The fact that the Jets are a group of young, good-looking brothers and sisters has led to the inevitable comparisons to the Jacksons, the Cowsills and even the Osmonds. But once Elizabeth and Moana take center stage, performing intricate dance moves and wearing funky costumes created by their mother, it’s obvious that the Jets draw inspiration from Prince and Sheila E. more than from any “family group,” with the exception of perhaps the Jacksons.
“Since we’ve lived in Minneapolis for the last five years or so, we grew up kind of idolizing Prince,” Leroy said. “All of us kids always got a kick out of watching groups like his, which are choreographed so well. They make it look so easy. That’s probably why I like groups like his and Earth, Wind and Fire and the Jacksons so
much.”
Added Elizabeth: “I don’t really remember the Jacksons, but I remember listening to Earth, Wind and Fire all the time ’cause that’s what my brothers listened to. I used to listen to Olivia Newton-John, but now I like watching Sheila E. and the Time, too. It’s just amazing how everyone is in step and everything. That’s what we try to do with our shows. My brother Rudy choreographs the shows for us. He’s good at it ’cause he knows our capabilities.”
A career highlight for Elizabeth came when pop stars Prince and Sheila E. complimented her showmanship after a recent clubdate at the Roxy in Los Angeles. Prince also invited the group to open shows for him on a upcoming tour, Elizabeth said.
”
I can’t believe it,” she gushed. “Who would have thought this could be happening to us, you know?”
Playing with major rock heavyweights is nothing new to the Jets. Last winter, they opened for Tina Turner.
“That was a fluke, really,” Leroy said. “Tina was scheduled to play at the Civic Center in Minneapolis. There was a band that was supposed to open for her, but they dropped out. So, since the promoters knew of us, they called us. It kind of freaked us out to play on such a large stage. It was like a dream come true because we always wanted to do that.”
Despite the fact that they lead a life different from those of their neighborhood pals, Leroy and Elizabeth insist that their friends don’t treat them any differently than they did before songs such as “Curiosity” and “Crush on You” brought pop stardom to the Jets.
“We think we lead pretty normal lives,” Leroy said. “There are some people who all of a sudden try to hang around with us and say they’re our friends, but we know they’re not, and they do, too. We get every Friday off to just hang out and relax with our buddies. The boys play basketball and the girls go shopping or to the movies. We don’t hobnob with the rich and famous.”
Leroy and Eddie are the only two Jets who are finished with school. The others are taught by tutors or through correspondence courses. They have no plans for college at this point, but neither Leroy nor Elizabeth rule it out.
“Some people just realize at a young age that they know what they want to do with their lives,” Leroy said. “I’ve known that this is what I wanted to do since I was 5. My brothers and sisters showed an inclination for music, so I taught them what I knew about playing the guitar and the drums. We’re all self-taught.”
The Jets have come a long way since their first gig, when they played 10 songs, including “Hound Dog,” over and over again.
