When Napoleon celebrates its 125th anniversary the second weekend of June, the streets will be rocking with some familiar sounds of electric blues.

The Lamont Cranston Band, a red-hot blues band out of the Twin Cities, will perform at 7 p.m. June 12.

The 125th anniversary celebration kicks off June 11 and runs through June 14.

The Lamont Cranston Band and frontman Pat "Lamont" Hayes got their start playing bars and clubs in the Minneapolis area in 1969.

It's been a while since the band has performed in North Dakota, going back to the mid-1980s when they did a club date in Bismarck.

Hayes, who still lives in Minneapolis, says the band and the music has evolved over the years.

"I've probably had three different bands since that time,"Hayes said in a phone interview from his home.

He said the original members, which included brother Larry, had the roots in rock 'n' roll like so many other bands of the time.

Then came the British Invasion.

Captivated by the new sounds from the likes of the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds. Hayes said a friend gave him a Howlin' Wolf (Chester Arthur Burnett) album and that was it.

"We went out to the woodshed and learned the blues," he said.

"It just opened all of that up to us."

After the self-titled release of their first record in 1976, the Lamont Cranston Band followed that effort up with two well-received records, "Specials Lit" (1977) and "El-Cee Notes" (1978), both of which garnered them notice in music circles, but little else.

The later album included the song "Excusez Moi, Mon Cheri," written by Larry Hayes, that was recorded and released by the Blues Brothers as the B side of the hit "Soul Man."

But it wasn't until the 1981 release of "Shakedown" when the band made their first national splash, cracking the Billboard charts with the song "Upper Mississippi Shakedown."

After that record, they were signed by RCA records, a move Hayes said turned out to be a disaster.

Hayes said the record producer working with the band wanted the band to record an album that was more on the pop side, going against everything they felt and believed in as musicians.

"He told us 'you can't be a star playing the blues,' " Hayes said.

"Six months later there was Stevie Ray Vaughn."

The Cranstons have proved over the years they can pack the bars and clubs and satisfy fans with a blend of soulful harmonica riffs, burning guitar licks and a wailing sax.

The list of credits includes opening for the Stones on their "Tattoo You" tour as well collaberations with Bonnie Raitt.

Hayes said fans in Napoleon will hear a few of the old tunes, but the playlist will consist more of material that band has been working on in recent years.

He said it's been that evolution over time that has helped keep Lamont Cranston Band fresh.

"I'm playing a lot more guitar these days, and I have some great musicians with me,"Hayes said.

Hayes said he's working on a new "best of" CD that will include some outtakes he said he didn't know existed.

"I was going through some stuff and found them," he said.

"There's a lot of stuff on them that's never been heard before."

Hayes said the band plays about 100 dates a year, and added that doing live shows never gets old.

"I'm really looking forward to getting back to North Dakota."

The Lamont Cranston Band goes on at 7 p.m. June 12.

(Reach reporter Brian Gehring 250-8254 or brian.gehring@;bismarcktribune.com.)