For a song

Lance Gehl isn't much of a movie buff, but the Illinois man plans to watch Touchstone Pictures' "The Proposal" when it comes out June 19. He's not interested in Sandra Bullock's smile or Ryan Reynolds' quips, but in what's hidden beneath. At some point in the movie, 54 seconds of music will add to his father's fame.

"It's pretty exciting for a guy who's 70 years old," said Lance's father, Len. Nearly half his song, "Take Some Love," will play during the film.

Len Gehl, who grew up in Hawthorne and graduated from Northwestern High School, has lived a life surrounded by music. It started at age 10 when his brother dropped an accordion in his lap and challenged him to learn to play. It continues to this day on stages in Florida, Illinois and the Antler Inn in Minong. He has been part of numerous groups, from Len Gehl and the Gehltones and Johnny Lidell and the Tempests to his current duo, Len & Lois.

Len wrote the song "Take Some Love" (renamed "Love Me Tenderly" for the movie) in 1961 and recorded it in Nashville with Johnny Lidell and the Tempests. The tune hit number one in the upper Great Lakes chart for 18 weeks in 1962.

More recently, Lance cleaned up the old 45 version of the song at his home production studio and started shopping it around for use in television or movies.

"Dad's stuff is just easy," said the Illinois man. "They're great songs."

"Take Some Love," for instance, was recorded in Studio One, where Elvis used to record, using the same backup singers as the King. Lance calls his father's work "time capsule pieces."

"They capture that essence, that great moment," he said.

His mother, Lois, agreed.

"I've always felt his music was awesome," she said of Len's work. "His music always intrigued me. It all had so much meaning." And, she added, it's great to dance to.

More musical fame is coming Len's way. An upcoming independent film starring Jane Seymour, "The Assistants," will feature another of his works, "Immune to Love."

"I'm thrilled, I'm amazed," Len said. "It's a great thing when you create something and somebody wants it."

He and Lois were married in 1961 when he returned from serving in the U.S. Army. The Superior girl and country boy raised two sons as Len worked as an ironworker. He rose to a position as vice-president of Northern States Steel Builders, Inc. of Duluth, working out of Chicago.

But when Lance graduated, Len turned back to his first love - music. He and Lois took their songs on the road in a motor home 28 years ago and haven't stopped since.

"It's been a trip," Lois said. "We live together 24/7; we work, play and sleep together."

Len is writing songs again, including one with Lance. And the Illinois man is following his "rock star" father's footprints. Lance is a songwriter/guitarist when he's not working his day job at a nuclear power plant. He's written for John Schlitt of "Petra" and "Head East" fame and Stephen Pearcy, the lead singer of Ratt. One of the tunes he co-wrote and played, "Face To Face," landed on the Green Bay Packers' "Tailgate Tunes II." And now the son is acting as curator for his father, helping his 1960s tunes resurface.

"It's exciting for me and it's exciting for him," Lance said. "He says, 'I can't believe people care about these old things.' People care."

And with a helpful push and the right connections, they can return.

"You can write all the songs in the world," Lance said. "If you don't know who or where, they are just songs on a shelf."

"I'll definitely be seeing this one," Lance said.

For more information on Len & Lois, look them up online at www.lenandlois.com/ .