| "Don't" is a great side of UK style pop by the Orbits. I'm not sure what the connection is to the Boss Sound label from El Monte, California, as the band is supposed to have been from the central Wisconsin town of Stevens Point. Members included Ron Hanson on guitar and "Don't" has all the elements of a good pop song. The song was written by Lena Davis and, as far as I can tell, originally done by UK act Joe Brown and the Bruvvers in June of 1964. That Piccadilly 45 didn't receive a U.S. release to my knowledge, so the Orbits more likely heard it on the Roemans' first 45 on ABC-Paramount from 1965, even though that wasn't a hit. Less inspiring is the flip, a slow take on the Searchers' "Goodbye My Love". This 45 received a mention as a 'Former Instant Pick' on the local charts of WSPT in April of 1967. The band likely recorded these songs at Cuca in Sauk City, Wisconsin, indicated by the J-6744 catalog number on the label. However, I do not believe this was released with a Cuca label - the WSPT chart for example lists Boss Sound. This band is not the Orbits from Portage, WI who had an earlier 45 on Cuca, "Orbit Rock" / "Slow Burn". The Orbits - Don't Sources include: Do You Hear That Beat: Wisconsin Pop/Rock in the 50's and 60's by Gary E. Myers. |
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The Orbits
Submitted by Chas Kit on November 15, 2009 - 8:22pm.
Orbits | US | Wisconsin | Stevens Point | Boss Sound
Orbits from Stevens Point
Hi Chris, thanks for the book credit, however I learned a lot more about the Orbits for the follow-up book and it turned out that the Eddie Merwin name was incorrect. The band went through many changes (I now list 15 names) over a period of many years and there was much intermingling of personnel with other area bands. They had a total of 4 releases (one as the Kansas Road Band) and some members went on to bigger things.
(BTW, you have "Hear" misspelled as "Heart" in the book credit).