Category Archives: US

Categories: Akron, Buccaneer, Cleveland Recording, Faux Pas, Ohio, Rite Record Productions custom pressings, Suburban

Bobby Runnel’s Faux Pas “True Love – Heartaches”

September 3, 2010 Chris Bishop 39 Comments

Given Bobby Runnel’s career as a lounge act during the mid-late ’60s, you’d think it unlikely that one of his songs could become something of a classic of mid-60s rock. His original song “True Love – Heartaches” has been a favorite of mine since hearing it on Teenage Shutdown vol. 11. He certainly must have believed in the song, as he recorded it three times in as many years.

Bobby Runnel was born Robert Wilson, the son of a Southern Baptist preacher, and raised in eastern Arkansas, a rural area now part of Little Rock. Across the river was Memphis, where he picked up some of the early rock ‘n roll styles of the ’50s. He moved to Miami and started the Faux Pas trio, touring the east coast and mid-west.

In Nashville he recorded “True Love – Heartaches – False Love” as the b-side of his first single, released in September 1965 on the Buccaneer label from Jackson, Mississippi. The A-side is what I’ve heard is a soul ballad featuring flute, “If Your So Mart”. The artist is listed as Bob Runnel’s Faux Pas III with John Sherwood and Ivano Comelli (sp? – Ivann Comelli?). He had a second 45 on Buccaneer (509) “For My Baby” / “Where’s Willie Walker” that I haven’t heard.

I recently heard a clip of this first version of “True Love – Heartaches – False Love” and it’s pretty cool, slower with piano as prominent as the guitar and good drumming. If anyone has sound transfers or label scans please email me.

In 1966 the band found long-term work in northern Ohio, based mainly in Akron at Ninos’ restaurant and lounge. The clientele was older and Runnel’s repertoire ranged to all kinds of pop styles from folk to mainstream pop. The Faux Pas trio changed personnel from time to time, but always with Runnel playing lead guitar and singing. The two records I’ve heard also feature piano, so at least in the studio they were more than a trio.

Runnel cut “True Love – Heartaches – False Love” for a second time at Cleveland Recording (not in Little Rock as noted elsewhere) in 1966, released on Suburban Records CRC 2031 (white labels). On this release the band is listed as simply the Faux Pas III. It was the b-side of “Baby What You Gonna Do”, a good New Orleans-type r&b.

Songwriting credits on both sides are listed as Runnel, Comelli and Lott. Also on Suburban is another single featuring the Faux Pas backing a Janet Stewart, “What Can I Do” / “Brand New Love”.

In January 1968 he released the third and best version of “True Love – Heartaches”, recorded at Akron Recording and released on his own Faux Pas label (a Rite pressing: 21131/21132 with black labels). The A-side this time was a cover of “Black Cloud”, a hit for Me and Dem Guys on Palmer from late 1966. It’s a song I’m not very fond of but the Faux Pas do a great job, especially the drummer who lays down a beat like a locomotive. Whatever the limitations of their lounge act, this band could rock when it wanted to.

On this 45 the band is credited as Bobby Rúnnel’s Faux Pas, with an accent over the “u” in Rúnnel. Rúnnel is also listed as sole song writer on “True Love – Heartaches”, as well as producer.

In 1969 they released a pop 45 as the Faux Pas that I haven’t heard, and also during the late ’60s Runnel had two LPs featuring his typical lounge repertoire and probably sold as souvenirs of his club act. Bobby Runnel, A Winning Streak Of One on the Hawk label features a photo of Bobby with an acoustic guitar, and lists some of the songs: “Big Boss Man”, “A Place in the Sun” and “Malaguena” along with original jokes!

In the early ’70s he broke up the Faux Pas and did well as a songwriter in Nashville.

All info cribbed from Buckeye Beat, with some 45 release info from Mop Top Mike.

Categories: Aurora, Band Box, Colorado, Denver, Rite Record Productions custom pressings

The Lidos “Since I Last Saw You” on Band Box

August 31, 2010 Chris Bishop 6 Comments

The band’s names are on the song credits – G. Nole, G. Fick, D. Silvis and R. Saunar. I didn’t know anything about the group until J.C. commented below, which I’ll excerpt here:

The band was from Aurora, Colorado (suburb of Denver). All 4 original members attended Aurora Central High School and included bandleader Gary Nale on vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, Gary Fick on vocals and bass guitar, Dwight Silvis on vocals, keyboards, lead and rhythm guitar and Robert Sauner on drums.
The 2 songs were primarily written by Gary Nale.

I’ve read that the Lidos disc predates the British Invasion, but from the Rite pressing number, 13555, it dates to mid-late 1964. So the Invasion had started, but the Lidos weren’t really paying attention. “Since I Last Saw You” is repetitive and crude, with its cool opening bass line, pounding drums and a great shout before the guitar break, which comes earlier than usual. I think this would make a great instrumental. The ensemble vocals are a little bizarre. It ends with a fantastic drum break and repeat of that sliding bass line.

The chorus of serenaders on “Trudi” turns it into a parody of the doo-wop style. The band must have been disappointed in the absolutely crappy fidelity they got out of the Band Box studio, even though that cloudy sound is part of the charm of “Since I Last Saw You”. However, I do like the intense decay on the last chord of “Trudi” – so, you have one reason to take a listen to it.

Anyone have a photo of the Lidos?

Vicky Morosan started Columbine Records in Denver Colorado, changing the name to Band Box Records when Columbia objected. After starting on East Sixth, she moved locations to 220 S. Broadway. Releases started with drummer Ronnie Kae’s “Boom Boom” in the late ’50s and continued into the late ’60s, totaling almost 200 singles altogether.

For more info on Band Box check out this article from the Denver Post on the documentary Gears, Grease and Guitars, as well as Rockin’ Country Style, and this extended, though partly incorrect list of releases (the Lidos are not listed and #359 is attributed to “The Royals and The Shades”).

Categories: Columbia, South Carolina

Crossfire

August 27, 2010 Chris Bishop Leave a comment

Jack Montgomery writes about his band Crossfire from Columbia, South Carolina, who unfortunately never recorded despite having some original songs.

Crossfire formed in January of 1968 when two high school friends, Jack Montgomery and Bobby Bond acquired some very basic musical instruments and began to practice playing tunes from the Beatles, the Turtles and Rolling Stones to name a few. Soon Jack acquired his new Mosrite guitar and Bobby got a set of Slingerland drums. They then found another classmate, Leonard Lehew who played guitar and also wanted to play bass.
The band rehearsed and began to perform small gigs at local church dances, restaurants and teen dances which were held at armories, as well as local swim and country clubs as “The Gross National Product.” After hearing people struggle with their name, they changed it to “Crossfire in 1970.
By early 1970, they were playing weekend gigs at local nite-clubs near the USC campus and travelling to Myrtle Beach, S.C. for weekend gigs at clubs and hotels and many private parties.
While most groups were playing an R&B covers format, there were a small cadre of Columbia bands that embraced the new rock sounds from the west coast and New York. In this musical vacuum there existed a non-competitive, friendly atmosphere between these bands and often one group would go to hear a certain band one night and then that band would reciprocate. The premier psychedelic bands in Columbia were bands with names like Medusa’s Head, Speed Limit 35, and Christopher who actually produced a LP called “Whatcha Gonna Do!”
The social atmosphere in Columbia, S.C. during the late 1960s was difficult at times due to the presence of Fort Jackson Army base, the civil unrest that followed the end of racial segregation, as well an anti-war movement on the USC campus which produced a negative reaction to anything alternative. At an audition in 1969, one local DJ told us in 1969 that “this hard rock stuff is just a flash in the pan; you guys should be playing beach music.” We ignored his advice and soldiered onward. During that time, you had to take care where you booked yourself or you could find yourself facing an angry mob as you left to go home. Crossfire was very lucky in this respect.
The guys in Crossfire soon realized that there was very little money in teen dances and began to focus on playing for private and corporate parties. They also learned what it meant to be economically exploited by bad management, so they went independent in 1970.
In 1971, there was a strike of union musicians and Crossfire, not being unionized, took full advantage of the situation. They played a lot of gigs at Columbia’s hotels for convention groups. With this audience change, they moved away from their original psychedelic format to doing pop and rock covers. On occasion, the sponsoring groups would give them money to purchase matching apparel which they thought was amusing.
In 1971, Crossfire appeared on WNOK, a CBS affiliate for a one hour concert special called “Rock Saturday” which featured our music and every visual effect the studio could muster. It was sponsored by the McDonald’s franchises in Columbia. Later that year, they did a similar 30 minute concert show on WOLO, an ABC affiliate that was sponsored by a local music studio. These events produced a local recognition for the band that we enjoyed. I do not know of another band that received so much local TV air-time during that period. I think Crossfire was not as socially threatening as some of the other “hippie” bands in that we were still high school students.
By June of 1971, Leonard and Jack graduated Irmo High School and Bobby followed in 1972. Their last formal gig was for a banker’s convention in the Sheraton Hotel ballroom in downtown Columbia in December of 1971. Leonard moved to Atlanta, Bobby went to work in corrections and Jack went to Newberry College. In 1973, Jack began to perform in lounges owned by the Best Western hotels in Columbia who shared a stable of performers between them. As “Jack Monty” Jack performed every week for the next three years and then retired from performing in 1976 until he reappeared musically in 2000.
Jack Montgomery
myspace.com/shadowdancerjack

Crossfire, 1971 from left: Leonard Lehew, Bobby Bond, and Jack Montgomery

Categories: Beaver Dam, Midgard, Wisconsin

The Suns of Mourning

August 24, 2010 Chris Bishop 26 Comments

The Suns of Mourning do a ripping version of one of Eddie Cochran’s signature songs on the A-side. It could be 1960 except for the organ bubbling away and that pounding style of drumming. The flip is a sappy vocal over a decent rhythm backing.”Come On Everybody” is incorrectly credited to [Gene] Vincent – it was written by Eddie Cochran and Jerry Capehart and is correctly titled “C’mon Everybody”.

“I’m Not Worth It” sounds like it’s an original but has no writing credit on the label and is listed with Beat Music BMI.

In On That Wisconsin Beat Gary E. Myers noted that the band was from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and wrote “Originally the Chaotics, this band began circa 1964 and worked mostly in Wisconsin, including a 1966 show at Madison’s Capitol Theater with the Association and the Left Banke. Label owner Chuck Regenberg produced their session at a Madison radio station.”

Members were Eric Goetz (vocals), Steve Hassemer (rhythm guitar), Tim Gunther (lead guitar), John Schmid (bass) and Ron Skalitszky (drums). Goetz and Skalitszky had been in an early version of Spectre, Inc. George DuFre’ (George Durfee) was the Suns of Mourning’s manager.

The RCA mastering number TK4M-6765/6 denotes this as a late ’66 custom pressing made at RCA’s Indianapolis plant. Midgard Records has fine print listing it as a “Div. of International Promotion Production and Recording Unlimited”.

Chuck Regenberg owned Midgard – the label’s first release was his own 45 under the name Joules Regan, “Hey Girl” / “The Night Winds Blow” from 1962. He seems to have revived the label in 1966 to release the Bacardis “This Time” / “Don’t Sell Yourself”, a real garage classic, and very rare. These are the only other releases on Midgard that are known at this time.

There was a Suns of Mourning from Boise Idaho, but one of the members of that group informed me that they never recorded.

Thank you to Gary E. Myers for sending the photo of the Suns of Mourning, and for all the info on the group and Midgard in his book On That Wisconsin Beat.

Categories: Deland, Florida, Ormond Beach, Tropical, Unknown

The Mixed Emotions (Florida)

August 21, 2010 Chris Bishop 2 Comments

The Mixed Emotions give us two beautiful downers on their only release. The songs are similar in style but each is a gem of moody garage, especially “I Lied” which is all regret and a plea for forgiveness.

“I Lied” was written by Mike Schneider and “Marie” by Mackey / Schneider. I don’t know anything else about the group, however.

Bob Quimby ran the National Songwriters Guild in Deland, Florida, pairing lyricists and arrangers and for a fee setting people’s lyrics to music and making a record for them. Tropical was one of his labels for the various song-poems he recorded (the earlier Carellen label being the other).

Local bands such as the 2/3rds used Quimby’s studio in Ormond Beach and sometimes would pay him for a vanity release, which is what the Mixed Emotions single seems to be, recorded January 19, 1967. The Mixed Emotions was released on Tropical, the 2/3rds on April, while the Offbeets had an acetate on April (“Double Trouble” / “I Wanna Do It”, as by the Nonchalants) and Tropical (“Double Trouble” / “She Lied” as by the oFfBeEtS). All of these releases share publishing – Alison Music.

Bob Quimby died in 1994, but some of his many studio tapes were released on a series of CDs called Drive-In a GoGo where you can hear these songs in better fidelity than my worn 45.

Sources include: the American Song-Poem Music Archives and Savage Lost.

Categories: Chicago, Den Ric, Illinois, Lemont

Enchanters IV

August 11, 2010 Chris Bishop 13 Comments

Updated January/February 2011

The Enchanters IV (also known as the Enchanters 4 or Enchanters Four) came from Lemont, Illinois, a half-hour’s drive southwest of downtown Chicago.

The band included Bill Shedosky (guitar), Norb ‘Butch’ Polvalish (drums), Drew Hoinacki (organ, guitar and vocals) and Dick Baranowski (bass).

The A-side of their first 45 is “I Don’t Know”, a good pop vocal ballad enlivened with surf-type reverb on the guitars. The flip “Like Tuff” is an incredible rocker, with the guitar line so strong it’s hard to believe this isn’t from twenty or thirty years after its original release date of 1964.

All four members wrote “Like Tuff” and Bill Shedosky wrote “I Don’t Know”.

This release was on Den Ric, a label owned by local jazz drummer Ellis “Stukey” Stukenberg who named it after his two sons, as Sue Shedosky-Apgar comments below. Ellis Stukey had put out his own 45 on DenRic a few years earlier, in 1961 (see Davie Gordon’s comment below). Ellis was friends with with Bill Shedosky’s father, Ed “Smitty” Shedosky, a jazz trumpeter with the Vaughn Monroe and Dick Schory orchestras, which may be why he revived his label for the Enchanters 4.

I originally thought there might be a connection between Den Ric (also given as DenRic) and the Den-Lay label that released a 45 by the Cobblestones which was reissued on Mobie, but that seems unlikely.

The band had a second release, this time as the Enchanters IV, featuring a very different sound on “Lost You”, another original by B. Shedosky. I haven’t heard the flip, a version of “Route 66”.

Bill Shedosky passed away in 2003.

Additional info on Ed Shedosky is at the Vaughn Monroe Society.

Dick Baranowski wrote to me about the group:

This is being submitted by Dick Baranowski, the bass player of The Enchanters IV. To the best of the ability of my memory, these are just some anecdotes of the life of our band.
Originally we were just The Enchanters and we consisted of Butch Povalish, an organist Ed Misenbach, a guitarist Stan Forzley and I. At that time we actually had two guitarists rather then one guitar and a bass. Ed was a polished organist who played an organ that needed a U-haul trailer to carry around to every gig and Butch was a drummer that had taken lesson for quite some time prior to us getting together. Stan and I were more your “learn to play on your own types who lived close to each other. In fact, I actually got the bug to play from Stan. We played all instrumentals at that time since none of us were really singers.
I’m not really sure how long we played together, but eventually I believe that Ed (who was older then the rest of us) went into the service (this is the sixties). So Butch knew a couple of guys who could fit right in and could even sing, so it seemed to be a great match. Along came Bill and Drew. Again, I believe that both Bill and Drew had taken lessons and on top of that Bill’s dad was a trumpet player with some big names in the Chicago area. So the five of us started practicing and playing locally whenever and wherever we could.
Again Uncle Sam intervened and Stan (who was also older then the rest of us) went into the service. I believe it was at that time that we changed to the Enchanters IV (obviously since we now only had four musicians). We still had three guitarists and a drummer, so at that point we decided that we needed to have one of us switch to bass for a more realistic sound. I’m sure I was the obvious choice since I had no formal training and a lot of what I was doing could be easily transferred to the bass. Drew also had talent at the keyboard, so we added that option on some songs to start with and then as time went by I believed he ended up playing more on the organ then the guitar. And thus the “sound” of The Enchanters IV was born.
I think we all started out with non-name equipment (except Butch’s drums) and eventually ended up with a Fender Bass, Gretsch, Gibson, Rickenbacker guitars, Fender and Vox amps. Bill also had an Echo PA system which had an internal tape to create reverb and echo. I really thought it was ahead of it’s time and it did give us a different sound on stage. The 12 string Rickenbacker is very evident on the second release “Lost You”.
Our venues started out as high school dances and evolved to college parties, teen clubs, weddings, bar mitzvah’s, debutante parties, Dick Clark’s Battle of the Bands, pretty much anything that had entertainment like corporate parties in downtown Chicago. Bill’s dad became our manager, which worked out great since he had a lot of contacts in Chicago already. We got hooked up with several agencies that booked us almost every weekend, and some weekends even more then one gig a day.
I think the big outdoor personal parties in the north suburbs of Chicago and the parties in the big hotels downtown Chicago we loved the best. We would normally be booked along with a big band and would rotate playing time with them. We’d be on for half an hour to play for the younger crowd and then the big band would play for the older crowd. It was great pay and limited playing time.
We had some favorite places to play, probably the local venues around Lemont because we knew a lot of the crowd, but it was always great to meet new people and win them over with your music. One of my favorite places was Western Illinois University. My older brother was attending college there and I think he took some of our records (I Don’t Know) to the local on campus radio station. I guess as soon as they started playing our record it became the most requested song at the station. So he easily got the commissary to put one of the records on the campus juke box and again it became the record played over and over again. I Don’t Know (pun intended) if you’re familiar with the movie That Thing You Do with Tom Hanks, but I can really relate, as the band did on the movie, that when you hear your music for the first time being played on a local radio station or in some juke box at a bar or in a school, the feeling is just overwhelming. I can’t thank my brother enough for getting us hook up with the school. We went there for several weekends and played every night to packed crowds.

Bill Shedosky and Dick Baranowski of the Enchanters IV — Bill Shedosky and Dick Baranowski “That [amp] was a Vox and I actually used it for my bass, which I’m sure was a little unusual.”

We also played some military gigs, I believe the Naval station in northern Illinois and a couple of military balls in Chicago hotel ballrooms. I gave up a lot of social activities and sports to play in the band, which required a lot of time between practice and playing, but I’d be hard pressed to say I missed anything because we had fun every night we played. Thinking about it now, I can’t remember any night that we had a bad time. I think our biggest asset was our ability to get people to dance. The dance floor was always full and people were always havin’ fun, and that’s what it was all about.
We had a lot of different outfits and always matched when we played. We had Neru (collarless for those of you under 55) jackets, double breasted pin striped suites, Tom Jones outfits (puffy sleeve white shirts and white jeans) and a series of embroidered tuxedo jackets. We played a lot of the downtown hotels in Chicago and pretty much always had a tux on for them. I think that said a lot about the band in that we were committed to each other and our music.
We did have two studio recording sessions, the first one was on the Denric label, which I believe was owned by a friend of Bill’s dad. The A side was “I Don’t Know”, written and arranged by Bill and the B side was a collaboration of the band as a warm-up instrumental when we practiced. It is a piece that easily showcases Butch’s talent as an outstanding drummer. Unfortunately, Bill and Butch are no longer with us, but I will always remember the great times we had.
The B side of “Lost You” was a cover of the original “Route 66”. It’s a long story, but it didn’t really come out like we would have wanted. Bill’s dad handled all of the details on both recording sessions so I’m not really up on it, although I do believe we paid for the first one because we used to sell copies of the “I Don’t Know” / “Like Tuff” record wherever we played. I think the second session was taken care of by the people who produced it and they had some strange idea to have Drew (back up singer) use a falsetto voice for the back up and we didn’t think much of it. Also, “Lost You” was a little too fast, but obviously sounds completely like a British invasion band (probably the 12 string Rick’ that Bill had). I think that if we would have been in control of it, it would have come out a lot better. Bill was very talented in putting things together. In the second session we actually recorded about 6 songs if I remember right and they were put on a one sided demo LP (only one copy that I know of). I wish I knew what happened to it (or maybe the tape is still alive?), because I can’t remember what else we recorded. It was some kind of demo disk because it was only good for so many plays.
I would call us a R&B 60’s cover band. I think most of our songs were R&B classics like “Mustang Sally”, “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”, “Have Mercy”, “My Girl”, “Grapevine”, etc. Every night we would play what we called our Soul Medley. It was an arrangement which Bill put together that ran six or eight soul songs together seamlessly, taking the tempo up and down without missing a beat. It was probably the best part of every night. The only thing I wish I could change is to have some video of the band from the 60’s. I did actually make an old reel to reel recording at a basement practice session once, but you have to remember that was the 60’s. At one point it got transferred to an 8 track (yes an 8 track) and then from the 8 track to a cassette. Unfortunately, I don’t know (the pun again) what happened to the reel, but I do have the 8 track and the cassette. The quality is pretty poor since I was trying to play and do the engineering at the same time, but it still brings back some memories. I also wonder what happened to my sequined tuxedo’s. I know they wouldn’t fit, but the grandkids might get a kick out of them..
Dick Baranowski, 2011

Thank you to Ken Price for the Den Ric scans and alerting me to this great band, and to Mop Top Mike for the Mal scan and info. Special thanks to Dick Baranowski for the photos, clippings and additional info about the band.

Categories: California, Los Angeles, San Fernando, Sanctus, Tarzana, Unknown

The Caretakers of Deception “Cuttin’ Grass”

August 10, 2010 Chris Bishop 15 Comments

A legendary disc since its inclusion on the original Psychedelic Disaster Whirl LP. Nothing is known about the band except they might have been from Los Angeles or somewhere in the San Fernando Valley. Tarzana is a possibility.

“Cuttin’ Grass” and “X+Y=13” were both written by T. Jones and released on the Santus Record Company label, SS-11/12, in 1967. The publishing was by Hoblong Music, produced by Long-Miller Enterprises. Half of Long-Miller was Joe Long of Encino, who had a 45 as Big Joe Long, “Just For a While” / “The Things You Do”.

The Caretakers of Deception 45 has recently been booted.

Categories: Nassau County, New York, Rockville Centre, Showcase

Yesterday’s Children “Wanna Be With You” / “Feelings” on Showcase

August 8, 2010 Chris Bishop 10 Comments

Yesterday’s Children, one of many groups by that name. Released in September, 1966, “Wanna Be With You” / “Feelings” was this particular group’s only 45, both sides written by Don Krantz.

“Wanna Be With You” was the top side. It starts off cooly as can be and builds, but the chorus comes as something of a letdown after the tension in the verses.

For me, it’s “Feelings” that has the magic. The bass floods the opening and I’m immediately hooked. The patented garage rhythm and Farfisa organ kick in and the background chorus repeats what, as far as I can make out, is the phrase “sure enough!” over and over through the verse.

There’s a great moment before the chorus as the bass (plugged directly into the board but still so well recorded and mastered) slides down the neck. You couldn’t ask for a better scream at the end of the chorus. The guitar break is nicely by the book – four bars of bluesy soloing and four bars of just one note picked in sixteenths until the emphatic return to the rhythm.

My feelings inside are [of?] this day and age
And society.
Those people walking around down there they say
“Alright now, who are you?
You walk around looking like a girl wearing boots up high and pigtails”.
What’d I say?
Who are you?
You tell me what I should do,
You got your feelings,
But mine are true – whaah!
My feelings inside are this day and age
And society
Those people walking around down there they say
“Alright now, who are you?”
They tell you how to dress, how to wear your hair,
Not giving you the chance to think for yourself.
What’d I say?
Who are you?
You tell me what I should do,
You got your feelings,
But mine are true – whaah!

The Showcase label was part of Pickwick International based out of Long Island City in Queens. This 45 was produced by Ronnie Eden and Joe Simmons, with publishing by Impeccable Music and Barmour Music. Joe Simmons had a long career dating back to the late ’50s as both singer, song writer and producer, with many releases in one of those roles on Josie, Diamond and other labels. He had one other co-production with Ronnie Eden: The Ground Floor People “Walking on Eggs” / “It’s All Right Now”, (on Parfait 101, from 1966).

Exactly where Yesterday’s Children came from and who was in the band was something of a mystery until recently. I’d read them listed as being from Valhalla in Westchester County, but the only basis for that was the fact that Don Krantz also was in a hard-rock group called Valhalla. In actual fact they came from Rockville Centre in Nassau County, Long Island.

I reached Don Howard Krantz who answered some of my questions about the band:

Q. Who else was in Yesterday’s Children besides yourself?
Bob Huling – vocals
Don Howard Krantz – guitar
Rich D’Benideto
Dave Natis – keyboard
Joe Delio – bass
Fred Davenport – drums
Q. So was Yesterday’s Children your band between the Vibratones and Valhalla? Did you have other bands before Valhalla?
I had many bands thru the years (I won’t list them because we didn’t last long). The Vibratones included Mike “Eppy” Epstein (my oldest friend) who went on to own Never When (store) and was the owner & manager of My Father’s Place, famous club in Roslyn, Long Island. Eppy & I grew up together, his book is coming out in the fall. Yesterdays Children lineup was brand new.
Q. Did the band last long?
Probably three years…with various band members.
Q. How did you get the Pickwick contract?
Ronnie Eden heard me play at a club & approached me, we talk’d & he offered me a recording contract / management and I (being the only song writer) went with it. Remember I was only 17 yrs old at the time. Started playing guitar at 9 yrs. I will never forget the drive into New York City in the back seat of Ronnie’s car…but that’s another story.
Q. Do you remember any specifics about the recording session?
After the 45 was released i told the bass player (best friend at the time) to leave the band. We were all changing musically & he couldn’t. The sessions were tuff as I recall, get’n the bass right, & if you listen real close to “Wanna Be With You” the bass hits a wrong note.
The president of Pickwick was in the sound booth with the whole family….wife & kids….& I thought that was killing the moment/feel. I think I ask’d to have the light turned down so have a live club feel.
I have three or four Yesterday’s Children tunes that were rough demos done by me & Bobby Huling. I may add some other parts, mix down & upload on YouTube …. but that’s way in the future.
Bob Huling & I (best friends) went on to start Euphoria with Mark Mangold later to become Valhalla. Mark went on to play with many bands & co-wrote with Michael Bolton for Cher. For a long time I was teaching guitar & producing some & doing the unplugged thing on acoustic guitar. The Don Howard Band – Poet’s Road came next & was mixed & mastered by Jack Douglas who won a grammy for John Lennon’s last album. The DHBand is now “Poets Road” and we work on a new album in 11/12.

I’ve seen photos of the Vibratones from 1963 and Valhalla from 1967 on, but none featuring Yesterday’s Children. If anyone has any please contact me at rchrisbishop@gmail.com.

Categories: Iowa, Mount Vernon, Stomp, Studio City

The Stompers

August 6, 2010 Chris Bishop 26 Comments

The aptly-named Stompers cut one of the wildest rock records of the ’60s, “I Know”. The drummer slams the cymbals while pounding the toms, a great intro that they come back to after each chorus accompanied by intense screams. The rhythm of the guitars is ferocious and the lyrics are delivered in clipped phrases of a few words at a time. “I Know” was released in February 1965, with a cover of Bruce Channel’s “Hey Baby” on the flip.

It took me years to find a copy of “I Know” after hearing it on Root ’66: The Frozen Few where they were mistakenly thought to be a Minnesota band because of the Studio City label. The Stompers were actually from Mount Vernon, Iowa, a town east of Cedar Rapids and 300 miles away from the studio in Minneapolis where they recorded.

It seems like every state in the Midwest has a rock music association to formally recognize the great local acts of the ’50s and ’60s. The Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Music Association Hall of Fame inducted the Stompers in 2006.

The Association’s website gives this intro to the band and is the source for the photo:

Inducted Members:
Donald A. Bradford, Steven M. Edwards, Bill Bauman, Greg Harman, Randy Harman, Brian Harman, Michael S. Sexton, Scott Bascom
In 1963 … Steve Edwards exposed southern-oriented R&B to the small-town, upper-Midwest ears of Greg Harman, Randy Harman and Bill Bauman who at that time were immersed in Beach Boys/Surf music. By 1964, the Stompers’ sound had become heavily influenced by British R&R (especially the Beatles and the Rolling Stones). During this time, the Stompers played a regular circuit of ballrooms (Danceland, Dance-Mor, Highway Gardens, The Col) and other eastern Iowa venues. They opened for the Everly Brothers, Buddy Knox and the Rhythm Orchids, the Hondells and backed Chuck Berry at Danceland in Cedar Rapids.
In the fall of 1964, the Stompers recorded their first record in Minneapolis which featured “I Know” b/w “Hey Baby”. “I Know” was an original song written by Greg and Randy Harman which gained a notoriety long outliving the band. “I Know” made it as high as #19 on a number of regional charts.
The summer of 1965 brought the release of a second record “You’re Gone” b/w “I Still Love Her” (two Greg Harman originals). “You’re Gone” peaked at #24 on regional charts. The Edwards, Bauman, Harman, and Harman version of the Stompers ended in the fall of 1965 with the departures of Edwards and Bauman.
The Stompers, the Untouchables with the Animals at Danceland on May 1, 1966, ad from the Cedar Rapids Gazette, April 29 (sent in by Donald Bradford)
Version Two of the Stompers included Greg and Randy Harman and the addition of Scott Bascom, Don Bradford and Mike Sexton. The Stompers’ venues expanded to include several Chicago-area clubs. The Stompers opened for Eric Burdon and The Animals at Danceland Ballroom in Cedar Rapids.Later that spring, Randy Harman and Don Bradford made contact with Nathan Weiss. He told Randy and Don to send him a tape and he would give it a listen. The tape was recorded at Fredlo Studios in Davenport and sent to Weiss. He invited the Stompers to come to NYC. Weiss produced a record-company-exec showcase at The Scene in Manhattan with the Stompers featured. Present at the showcase were Brian Hyland, Tiny Tim, The Cyrcle, and The Tokens. Weiss helped the Stompers get a gig as the house band at the Village Purple Onion. In the fall of 1966, version two of the Stompers disbanded.
In 1969, Steve Edwards, Greg and Randy Harman reunited and with Brian Harman opened a show for The Paul Butterfield Blues Band at Vet’s Coliseum in Cedar Rapids. This turned out to be the precursor to a series of annual reunions that continue to this day. In September of 2004, Edwards, Harman, Harman, Harman, Bauman and Kansas City keyboardist Everett DeVan recorded a group of original songs by Steve Edwards for distribution among friends. Individually, many of the Stompers continued their much varied musical interests.

The Studio City label shows “I Know” written by Stonie Beecher and Randy Harman instead of Greg and Randy Harman. I hadn’t heard their second 45 on their own Stomp label, “I Still Love You” / “You’re Gone” until November 2011.

This 45 doesn’t match their name, as both sides are very calm originals by Stonie Beecher. They’re excellent sides, especially “I Still Love You” which reminds me of the Zombies.

I asked Donald Bradford some questions about the band and he kindly provided the following info about the band:

There were two basic compositions of the Stompers over the years. The original foursome included the Harman brothers (Greg and Randy), Bill Bauman and Steve Edwards, all from Mt. Vernon, IA. On most songs, Randy Harman played drums, Greg Harman played bass, Bill Bauman played rhythm guitar and Steve Edwards played lead guitar.
It was this foursome that recorded “I Know” / “Hey Baby”. Greg (under the pen name Stony Beecher) and Randy wrote “I Know”. It peaked at #19 on the local radio charts.
The second record “I Still Love you” peaked at #23 (I think). I still have the newspaper Top 40 listings somewhere.
After Bill and Steve left the band in 1965 to go to college, Scott Bascom, Mike Sexton and myself (all from Cedar Rapids, IA area) joined the band. Randy Harman played drums, Greg Harman sang lead vocals and played rhythm/lead guitar, Scott Bascom played lead guitar, Mike Sexton played rhythm guitar and I played bass.
There was a lot of competition between bands in the area for bookings, appearances, etc. The Untouchables were definitely one of the premiere bands of the era. Really a great group throughout all its permutations. No one from the Stomper group, that I was a part of, had anything but admiration for the many fine bands playing in the area at that time.
After contacting Nathan Weiss (the Beatles US lawyer and manager of the Cyrcle and other bands) he invited us to NY where he featured us at a showcase event at the Scene in Manhattan, NY and subsequently got us a gig as the house band at The Purple Onion located in the village district of NYC.
Q. Were you on the single as “The Group” on Freak 9240 in January, 1967?
I was not part of The Group which put out a record with “5/4 Bathtub” / “Why Does My Head Go Boom?” (both originals). The Group featured the third Harman brother, Brian on vocals and rhythm/lead, Greg Harman on bass and vocals, Craig Chapman on vocals and rhythm/lead and Randy Harman on drums.

Thank you to John Owens for the scans and transfers of the Stompers second 45. Special thanks to Don Bradford for his help with this article.

Categories: Agar, LeJac, Minnesota, Stillwater

Keith Zeller and the Starliners

July 30, 2010 Chris Bishop 5 Comments

The Starliners, 1961 from left: Keith Zeller, Rick Forga (drums), Russ Wurst (on bass) and Bill Strandlof (bottom right on guitar)

The Starliners in 1962: Russ Wurst (with bass), Bobby Lee (top), Rick Forga (with drumsticks), Keith Zeller (front, seated on bass drum) and Bill Strandlof (guitar on right)

An early version of Keith Zeller & the Starliners had a successful 45 “Yellow Bird” / “Carry Mae” on Agar, a label owned by Ron Gjerde and distributed by Soma in 1961.One member of this first group was Bill Strandlof, the first lead guitarist for the Litter. Bill played on “Action Woman”, “Soul Searchin'” and “A Legal Matter” before leaving that band to be replaced by Zippy Caplan.

With a change of lineup, the Starliners recorded their 1966 LP on LeJac, Live! at Papa Joe’s Northern a Go Go, one of the rarest of all garage LPs. Their last release was a single as the Transplant in 1968.

1961
Keith Zeller – guitar and vocals
Billy Strandlof – guitar and vocals
Russ Wurst – bass
Rick Forga – drums

1962 – 1965
add Bobby Lee – vocals

1965 – mid 70’s
Keith Zeller – guitar, piano, vocals
Jack Kollodge – bass, harmonica, vocals
John Rasnur – drums

Scott Schell, who previously wrote about the More-Tishans for this site, presents the story of Keith Zeller and the Starliners:

Keith graduated from Stillwater High in 1962. He started playing guitar in 1959 after an inspiring lesson from Sonny James of “Young Love” fame.
Keith’s dad Laurn (Bud) Zeller worked as a road manager for some of the top groups and singers in the ‘60’s. To mention a few- Bobby Vee, Gene Vincent, The Fireballs, Bill Black’s Combo, Roy Orbison, The Ventures, and many others.
Keith started the Starliners in 1961 as a four-piece band and then added vocalist Bobby Lee in about 1962. Keith played his own “after senior prom dance” in Stillwater.
The Starliners played most all of the local teen clubs in the ’62-’65 years. To name a few, Mr. Lucky’s, The Prom Ballroom, The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake Ballroom, YES Club in White Bear Lake (a teen club) and various armories.
The Starliners were one of the first bands to play the State Fair in 1963. Keith also played that year with Johnny and the Galaxies filling in for Johnny Caola who had cut his fingers. One Thanksgiving Hop in St. Paul, they backed up Little Eva, Fabian, and Roy Druskie.
The Starliners, 1966, from left: Jack Kollodge, Keith Zeller and John Rasnur
After a few personnel changes, the Starliners became a trio in about 1965, after Keith returned from basic training from the Minnesota Air National Guard. The trio was Keith- guitar and piano, John Rasnur- drums, and Jack Kollodge on bass and harmonica. The trio recorded a live album at Papa Joe’s A-Go-Go in Minneapolis in 1966. This is a rare record as only 280 copies were made. It contains an original song by Keith called “Broken Engagement”.
The Starliners were put to rest in the mid-70’s and Keith started a band called Group Therapy and played the Twin Cities Club scene until 1978.
Keith moved to Hawaii where he had country bands and backed up country Hall of Famers Tennessee Ernie Ford and country legend Hank Thompson and many others.
Keith played in a 50’s group called Paul Flynn and Company till he moved back to Minnesota in 1991. He’s sill active and playing live music weekly- blues, jazz, country, and good old rock and roll. Music has been good to him and he has been good to the music!

Scott Schell is author of Garage Sounds: Bringing Down the House, a pictorial survey of the St. Croix Valley garage bands of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s published by the Washington County Historical Society.

A few days after posting Scott’s article I spoke with Keith Zeller about his career. I asked him about the Transplant single and for some more detail on his early days with the Starliners.Bobby Lee sang “Carry Mae”, though it was the flip “Yellow Bird” that got the airplay. Keith has an unreleased acetate with an instrumental “Joyride” on one side and Bill Strandlof singing “Ubangi Stomp” on the other. Keith didn’t like that LeJac overdubbed laughter and noise on “Joyride”, and felt it ruined the track. Bobby Lee got married and Russ Wurst graduated college about the same time Keith had to serve in the National Guard, so the quintet broke up.

New bass player Jack Kollodge had been half of the Denny & Jack duo who cut “One More For The Road” / “Love You Everyday” on LeJac in 1965.

Using his two-track and one microphone Jack recorded a week’s worth of shows and selected ten for the Live at Papa Joe’s album. The Starliners ordered 500 copies but only about half were shipped. They sold what they had to friends and didn’t bother to inquire about the other copies. On the 40th anniversary of the album Jack sent Keith a 3 CD set that included all the songs they left off the record!

The Starliners trio of Zeller, Kollodge and John Rasnur also made a 1968 single as The Transplant on LeJac, one side being a slower, rerecorded (or at least remixed) version of “Broken Engagement” and the other Jack Kollodge singing a wild take of the bizarre horror-spoof classic “With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm”, probably learned from the Kingston Trio.

In the late ’60s the group expanded to a quartet, with keyboardist John Fritz from St. Cloud joining for a couple years.

John Rasnur left the group and moved to Hawaii where he bacame a top session drummer. Jack didn’t want to work without him, so Keith formed Group Therapy. Keith mentioned jamming with Bill Doggett a couple years before he died in 1996 as being a highlight of his career.

For more info on the LeJac and Agar labels, see the discographies I’ve posted on this site.

Special thanks to JP Coumans for the transfers and scans of the Transplant 45.

The Agar label scans taken from the Rockin’ Country Style site.

More info on Bill Strandlof is available on The Litter’s website.

Garage Hangover