Commission Recommends City Plaque for Local R&B Group

On Tuesday, the Recreation and Parks Commission voted to recommend that the City Council support a plaque to honor a local R&B group at the Convention Center.

According to the recommendation, Troop would receive a plaque alongside the plaque commemorating Van Halen.

The group was started by Pasadena High School students and went on to record three number-one singles and 10 top-ten singles on the Billboard R&B Singles chart between 1988 and 1992, and three gold albums and one platinum album.

The commission considered four options: Renaming a portion of a street where the group practices to Troop Way, renaming the dance room at Robinson Park Recreation Center to “Troop Room,” installing a plaque at Central Park, and the plaque at the convention center.

Efforts to honor the group have faltered prior to the commission’s recommendation.

Three times, residents on local streets have told the City they did not want the names of their streets changed to honor the group.

The City’s Legislative Policy began discussions on Tuesday to establish a renaming policy for local streets in honor of residents.

Also, after Pasadena Now reported the commission would consider the recommendation on the dance room, members of Jackie Robinson’s family called on the City to instead name the dance room after Robinson’s mother Mallie.

The family lived on Pepper Street, a few blocks away, after they came to Pasadena in the 1920s.

The item is scheduled to come back to the City Council at its Oct. 21 meeting.