The Downbeats came from Wichita, Kansas, and released one single “1-2-3” / “Trying to Get Through” on Kanwic HFCS-137 in early 1968
The Downbeats were active from 1964 until 1970, with the horns added in 1966. Members were:
Gary Bolen – lead guitar and lead vocals
Marty Ford – bass
Don Sailing – organ
John Bowman – drums
Dave Gaston – sax
Lanny Gaston – trumpet
Gary Bolen and Marty Ford composed “Trying to Get Through”. It’s a stomping soul performance, with a steady beat, funky rhythm guitar and bursts of horns. A scratched copy is audible on youtube:
Early members included guitarist Barry Sigars, vocalist Jim Holmes, John Clampitt on organ and Mike Brittain on bass. Later members included Wayne Avery, Mike Musick and Gary Heitz
Rob McKnight managed the band, and co-produced the single with Don Clyne.
There’s also video of the band performing “1-2-3” live on the All American College Show, and a half-hour tape of the group doing covers of the day live in the studio at KFDI.
While looking into the Kanwic label, I found the news feature on the band above, Downbeats Pick Up Pace by Cathy Henkel, from the Wichita Beacon of February 14, 1968:
Working at High Fidelity Recording, Inc., the band has done radio jingles, and acted as a studio band for other singers.
For more info on Kanwic, an item from the Wichita Eagle & Beacon Magazine on December 12, 1965:
A Wichita recording firm, High Fidelity Recording, Inc, at 445 N. Oliver, has issued its first album under the Kanwic label…
High Fidelity has been in operation for about a year. It is owned and operated by Raymond Creely and Jim Strattan, both natives of Wichita.
The company, which has issued previous recordings under other labels, makes its own tapes and handles promotion and distribution for its recording artists. The pressing of the albums and jacket production is done by other companies. There are no pressing firms in this part of the country.
In July, 2022, Don Sailing wrote to me with an update, and sent photos of the group:
We weren’t able to make any other recordings, but I remember making several commercial jingles … one really good one for Uhlik Music.
In 1999, after almost thirty years after we disbanded, we had a wonderful reunion at Marty Ford’s place in Lampe, Missouri. To have all six of us “brothers” together again was surreal!
After a great weekend of playing music again, and thinking we were getting “old” at around 50 years of age, we made the decision to get the band back together. After many months of rehearsals and hard work in Missouri and Wichita, we booked a two night debut show at Ahoys in Kimberling City, Missouri in August of 2000. It was an unbelievably awesome gig!
After a few more gigs in Missouri, we all decided we had reached a pinnacle that few old bands are blessed to experience, and we decided to hang it up.
Sadly, only four of us remain today. We lost Marty Ford about nine years ago, and we lost Lanny about five years ago. The four of us remaining have all been married to our first wives, and we all have grown kids and growing grandkids!
