The Apollos, c. 1965, from left: lead singer Paul Speck, Lanny Orner, Eddie Zebert, George McCormick, lead guitar Al Naugle.
The Apollos came from Pleasant Hills, a suburb south of Pittsburgh. The top side of their only 45 is “I Know Your Mind” a doo-wop influenced ballad. The flip is an instrumental, “Room 4”, marred by the guitarist being out of tune.
Top side was written by Speck-Snyder, flip by Snyder-Naogle. Produced by Jim Hudson for Bobby Records and Dominator Music.
Phil Haines sent in the photos of the band seen here and added these comments:
The Apollos graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, Jefferson Hills, PA in 1964, except Eddie Zebert, 1963.
The Apollos had four singers: lead singer Paul Speck, Lanny Orner, Eddie Zebert and George McCormick. The singers didn’t play any instruments.
Instrumentalists in the original group: lead guitar Al Naugle, rhythm guitar Dave Ferguson, and drums Dave Bruggeman. This was the makeup of the group 1964 – 1966.
George asked me, at home in Pleasant Hills, to borrow my bass amp for the record. They piled into a car and went into town (Pittsburgh) for the recording. When George brought the amp back, he said something about it didn’t work with the studio equipment, so they plugged directly into the board. My guess is that the rhythm guitarist Dave Ferguson (?), who played low notes on a 6-string, sounded better in the board than through a bass amp, if indeed this was the personnel on the record.
There was a line “I Know Your Mind” in the Bobby Marchan song, “There Is Something On Your Mind.” Don’t know if they borrowed it consciously from the record or not. I always took the record as being ahead of its time, the first of introspective songs to come later in the sixties. They were a great band. The first to come out of “the drugstore,” local hangout “Sun Drug.”
They also put on a heck of a show. They acted out “Big Boy Pete,” by the Olympics. They also performed Eugene Fox’s “Sinner’s Dream.” They may have also, in this earlier period, acted “Along Came Jones,” by the Coasters. When I played bass for them in 1967, we sang the song, but no acting. They had a huge following in Pittsburgh.
The Apollos, c. 1965, from left: Paul Speck, Lanny Orner, Al Naugle, Eddie Zebert and George McCormick.
Later photo of the Shan-Dells, after they added horns At top is Kenny Branoff (lead guitar), below him Dave Troutman (keyboard, trumpet) and Dave “Gino” Giorgini (drums) In front, left to right: Bob Bolash (rhythm guitar), Chuck Jones (vocals), Jeff Bowen (sax) and Harry Brewbaker (bass)
Updated July 2011
The Shan-Dells came from Enola, PA, across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg and Middletown. They had two 45s on the Bridge Society label. The band covers a lot of ground between these releases, from psychedelia to pop to upbeat blue-eyed soul.
Their first 45 has the slow trippy psychedelia of “Chimes”, with droning organ and repetitive sharp guitar lines inspired by “Eight Miles High”. The solo break is excellent raga-rock!
The B-side is the much lighter and less essential pop dittty, “Little Girl”. Both sides were written by Ken Branoff and Charles Jones and published by John Ulrich Music. My copy is signed by bass player Gary McElrath, if I’m reading that correctly.
Their second 45 has a northern soul classic, “I’ve Got to Love Her”. With full horn charts and falsetto vocal it’s a much different sound from their first, and the record trades for more money as well. I haven’t heard the flip, “Idle Excursion”. Chuck Jones, David Troutman and David Giorgini wrote “I’ve Got to Love Her”.
I couldn’t find much info on the group until rhythm guitarist Bob Bolash contacted me. Below is info from the comment that he left below along with some more info he sent to me by email:
I was one of the original Shan-Dells, we started out as the Wonders with Chuck Jones lead singer, Jim Wyman on drums, Gary Wyman on bass, Kenny Branoff on lead gutiar, myself on rhythm guitar. Jim was a little older and when he left the band David (Gino) Giorgini joined as the drummer. We then changed our name to the Shan-Dells. Dave Toutman was added about a year later.
Our first paying gig was at the Midway firehall in Enola with DJ Ben Barber. We got paid $28.00 that night. Our record “Chimes” went to #14 in the Harrisburg area, at the time WFEC rated the songs by how many you sold at Caplain’s in Harrisburg. We did the Kirby Scott show at WBAL TV in Maryland. We played everywhere, there were so many places to play back in the day.
Kenny stayed in the house a lot a was very dedicated to his guitar. I think he just wrote some music and Chuck added some words.
We recorded them at Virtue Studios in Philadelphia. Actually “Chimes” and “Little Girl” should have been on two separate 45s with a dummy song on the B side like we did with “I’ve Got to Love Her”. But we were just learning and I still wonder how swift our promoter was, we ran out of records.
We added some horns a little later and mixed some soul with our rock, that’s why “I’ve Got to Love Her” sounds that way.
Chuck then got drafted Dave left and Gary moved away and Gino’s older brother Rob joined us, he played organ and sang. He played with Frank Fabian’s Fabulous Fugitives, a very good band. We changed throughout the years, from the Shan-Dells to the Collection (we have an unreleased song that we went a different direction with, it has alot of harmony, “Feelin’ a Dream”).
Then it was Mystic Revelation, and then Dry Mud. Kenny, little Gino and myself were all in those bands. Later when Chuck came back we started a band with Neil Harvey, Dave Bennet and Dave Troutman called Green Apple Quick Step. Later I joined Dick Styles in a group called the 7th Sun, That was fun, we remodeled a school bus and had some fun in that. My last stop was mid 70’s with a band we started called the Bizzare Brothers Band. Bob Souders guitar, Buzz Deuscth drums, Darwin Oakes organ, then Jim Krall replaced him, Harry Brewbaker on bass and me on guitar and crazy Tom Gamble singing. Seriously this was the most talented band I ever played in, but we did toooo much partying.
Bob Bolash
In July, 2011 Jeff Bowen sent me the photo at top and wrote about his time with the band:
I was the sax player and eventually bass player with the Shan-Dells in Harrisburg Pa. from just after the release of “I’ve Got to Love Her” in ’68 or ‘69 till the band dissolved in early 1971. I wasn’t the sax player on the records though, that was Scott Zahn (not sure I spelled his last name right) who I ended up playing with during the summer and fall of 1971 after the band (Shan-Dells, Mystic Revelation, Dry Mud) broke up.
Dave Troutman and I went to Redland High school together and were in the high school’s band. “I’ve Got to Love Her” had a sax and trumpet in the background so they needed to find a sax player to do the live shows. That’s when Dave asked me to join the band since Scott Zahn was already playing with another band at that time. I’m so sorry to hear that Dave passed away. After the band broke up, I hadn’t really heard anything about him until I stumbled onto Garage Hangover a few days ago and read the comments from his son.
Both records were recorded before I got into the band, so I can’t take any credit for them. I did do a recording around that same time but I’m not sure it was with the Shan-Dells or not. I do know it never made it from tape to 45 and I don’t know what happened to the tapes.
I still have both the 45’s and the promo photo of the band that was taken just before we went on the Kirby Scott show in Baltimore. I remember we went to Eddy’s Mod shop in downtown Harrisburg and bought the matching paisley tuxedos for that show.
Soon after I joined, Chuck Jones got drafted and left, followed by Harry Brewbaker getting drafted too. That’s when I bought Harry’s bass and amp and took over as bass player for the band till we broke up and went our separate ways.
I got drafted in November 1971, which pretty much ended my musical career. I jammed on bass with a few people after I got out of the army but never actually got into another real band. By that time DJs had taken over all the places that used to have live bands.
Who knows what would have happened if Chuck and Harry hadn’t had to leave the band to serve in the army. I’m glad they both served and came back OK. I don’t remember for sure if they went to Viet Nam or not but I don’t think they did. When I got drafted in Nov. 1971, I ended up serving a year in Korea instead of Viet Nam.
One of the most common band names of the ’60s was the Rogues. This particular group attended prep school at Mercersburg Academy, located southwest of Harrisburg, close to the Maryland state line.
I’d be interested in knowing how a band in Pennsylvania came to release their 45 on a label in Roanoke, Virginia, 240 miles away down Interstate 81. Maybe one of the band’s members came from that area.
The only name I can associate with the group is David Anthony, who wrote both songs here, the thumping put-down “Don’t Follow Me” and the sedate “Mr Sandman” on the flip. “Don’t Follow Me” lacks a guitar solo during the break, but the drummer provides excellent fills throughout the song.
The Changing Tymes, from left: Tom Shapiro, Jimmy Mahoney, Ray Tilli, (not shown: Wayne Tort)
The Changing Tymes came from Philadelphia and cut a great single “You Make It Hard” / “Try a Whole Lot Harder” in 1966. I was struck by the similarity of the opening of the Changing Tyme’s “You Make It Hard” to the Quiet Jungle song “Everything”, but that seems to be a pure coincidence.
Thomas Shapiro and James Mahoney wrote both songs, released on the R.D. #1 label with Don White publishing registered in early December, 1966. It seems the group recorded two other songs at the same session, but these seem to be lost.
Ray Tilli commented below and in 2020 wrote to me with more info and the photos seen here:
My name is Ray Tilli and I was a founding member of “The Changing Tymes” from Philadelphia, PA. We started the band in 1965. The first iteration of the Changing Tymes were (as shown in the photos):
Tom Shapiro – lead vocals, guitar, bass (on live gigs) Jimmy Mahoney – lead guitar, vocals Ray Tilli – guitar, bass (on the record), vocals Wayne Tort – drums (not shown)
The Changing Tymes were founded by myself and Jimmy Mahoney in 1965. We were fortunate to have come of age at a time when we saw and experienced the birth of Rock and Roll, and we were deeply influenced by the greats of that early era. Then in 1964, the Beatles and the subsequent great bands from England and America invaded our brains! Every week there was some new artist, song or album to get really excited about, and to pour ourselves into and absorb. It was a time of great creativity, inspiration, and expression, and it drove us to practice, practice and practice more!
Our record was recorded at Impact Studio, located in Northeast Philadelphia, on or about September-October 1966, and released in November 1966. I lost track of the other two recordings. I don’t think they were put on vinyl.
When Jimmy Mahoney began to play lead, he used his big hollow body Gibson ES-175 guitar with the new Fuzz Tone pedal. It caused a type of feedback they had never heard before – but it was controlled feedback. There was a shout from the control room: “What’s that noise!.” Unfortunately, Jimmy had to switch to his backup guitar to get the sound they wanted. The recording would have been wilder if we recorded it the way we wanted!
The engineers in the recording booth were laughing so hard that they had trouble “slating” the tape for recording because they had to say the name of one of the tunes: “You Make It Hard”! We actually didn’t get the joke; talk about naive and clueless …
The meaning of the record label, R&D #1 Records: the “R” stands for Roy Howell who funded the production, and the “D” for Dave Wilson, our manager. We never heard of the band Quiet Jungle, nor did we ever hear their song “Everything”. The musical universe is huge, and once in a while, similar riffs or parts can occur.
The Changing Tymes, from left: Tom Shapiro, Jimmy Mahoney, Ray Tilli, (not shown: Wayne Tort)
We got pretty damn good, and quickly gained a reputation as being one of the best bands in the Tri-State area (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware). Word got around and we were asked to appear on all the regional music TV shows. American Bandstand had just moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles in 1965, so we missed that opportunity. The next most popular TV show was called “Summer Time at the Pier with Ed Hurst”. The “Pier” was the world famous Steel Pier in Atlantic City, NJ.
We appeared on the live broadcast of “Summer Time at the Pier with Ed Hurst” in the summer of 1966 along with Freddie and the Dreamers, and the Ramsey Lewis Trio. After playing the Pier gig, we drove about 20 minutes south to Margate, New Jersey to play our regular five-night-per-week gig at the White House – a club near the beach. During that summer we were the house band at the White House. All TVs in the club that day were showing our live appearance on Steel Pier, so when we arrived back at the club we were greeted with a rousing applause and back-slaps!
A similar occurrence happened when we played a live TV show in South Philadelphia, PA called “Aquarama”. The backdrop was a huge fish tank with hundreds of exotic species of marine life. After the show we had to immediately rush to our evening gig at Penn State University’s Ogontz Campus outside of Philly. The crowd was getting annoyed because we were late, but when we finally arrived we were greeted with cheers and applause! We made about a half dozen TV appearances on regional tri-state television that year.
A funny fact: our looks belied our music. Both Jimmy and I were in college at the time (I was also in the Army ROTC and Army Ranger ROTC training program), and the other guys had jobs that had dress and hair codes. We looked squeaky clean cut, but our sound was wild!
The first discotheque in Philadelphia was the “Underground Discotheque” in the basement of the (giant) Atlantic-Richfield building at Broad and Spruce Streets. It was the beginning of psychedelia – black lights, strobe lights, gel projections etc. We were playing that night with an excellent band called The Down Children. When both bands showed up for setup before the gig, we were thoroughly intimidated by the other band; they were older and looked like a bunch of Hell’s Angels – a look way ahead of any band we’d ever seen in 1966!
They looked like they could (and wanted to) kick our asses – they were scary! Fortunately, the setup went on without incident. When the gig started the Down Children [“I Can Tell” (Jimmy Rowland) / “Night Time Girl” on Philips] went on first. They were a really good band and looked badass tough and cool. When they finished they disappeared into the dressing room. Then it was our turn. Looking rather “preppy” the audience seemed to take little notice or interest when we took the stage. That was until we started playing. We won them over almost immediately – we played our hearts out! We couldn’t help but notice that the other band came out from their dressing room and watched us intently. We weren’t sure if that was good or bad – we wondered if they going to crush our heads after the gig!
After the first set (each band played 2 sets), a couple of the scary dudes from The Down Children came up to us and started asking questions: “Hey man, how did you get that tone?” “How did you get the sound on ….”, “You sounded EXACTLY like the record”! Man, were we relieved – they were impressed by us. Needless to say, we felt validated!
Another sticky situation was when our lead singer got arrested on stage during our stint at the White House. We were all too young to drink: 21 years of age was the minimum age in the tri-state area. We were 19 years old (and had to have special permits to play in the bars). Our lead singer, Tom, acquired a phony ID card to get into a different club the previous night to get some drinks. Somehow, the police were able to track him down to our club, and during our first set, a few cops arrived and came up on stage. They asked Tom his name, then put handcuffs on his wrists and hauled him off to jail.
So there we were, no lead singer who was also the bass player at the time, and the rest of the band still having to play 5 sets per night, 5 nights per week! His bail was set at $500 which neither he, nor any of us had. We improvised the best we could. Once we were finally paid, we took our full $500 cash pay to the courthouse and bailed him out.
There are too many stories of the Changing Tymes to relate here, like the time our cars crashed into each other on the way to a gig and we were 3 hours late! We played gigs at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple, Penn State, St. Joseph’s University and other various colleges and fraternities in the region. Also, many, many rock clubs and bars in the area.
I was fortunate to have had a relative in a high level executive position with RCA Records in New York City. After our record was released, and feeling a rush of confidence, we met in with my relative, John Rosica, head of promotions for RCA. He patiently and intently listened to our new record and said, “The best advice I can give you is to go back to collage and get a good education”!
We were shattered! He then said, you guys need to sound and play like full-time musicians – like these guys who we just signed, they’re called The Youngbloods. He put their new (yet unreleased) LP on the turntable and played “Grizzly Bear”. So we left NYC with our tails between our legs, demoralized, but not defeated.
The second iteration of The Changing Tymes were:
Ray Tilli – bass, vocals Jimmy Mahoney – lead guitar, vocals Nicky Indelicato – lead vocals Mike Laurence – guitar, vocals various drummers (unfortunately, no pictures)
This version of the Changing Tymes added more challenging songs to the repertoire. The nail in the coffin for the group breaking up was the successful recruitment of Nicky Indelicato to become the lead singer of a new group The American Dream. The group was the very first band to be produced by Todd Rundgren. They opened shows for The Doors, Hendrix and many others. They were an exceptional original band. We were sad to see him go, but happy for his success. Nicky passed away in March of 2020.
Jimmy Mahoney went on to do studio work and appeared on the Robert Palmer album, Double Fun. He also recorded at Sigma Sound for Philadelphia International Records. He played with band members from Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea and Larry Coryell. He was also a member of the band Medusa on Columbia records.
I also played with other bands including one with the former lead guitarist from the Bill Black Combo who had a few international hits. Later, I got into the business part of music as an agent, and then as a Manager/Road Manager with a band called Cats who were signed to Electra records. They toured and opened for Van Halen for the entire 1980 US summer tour.
After the Changing Tymes disbanded in 1968, most of us went on to other bands and careers. I became a Psychologist (now retired). Jimmy Mahoney passed away in January 2015. I miss him to this day. We remained close to the very end. He sent some of his memories to me about the band a few years back, and I have included some of them in this Changing Tymes history.
Ray Tilli
Note: this isn’t the same Changing Tymes as the Gate City, Virginia group who recorded cool songs like “Go Your Way” and “The Only Girl I Love” for the Moss label.
“Don’t Ask Why” is a solid garage number from John Harrison & the Hustlers, with a nice scream before the guitar break. “You Don’t Want That” is a lighter number for fans of that sound. Both sides were written by Johnny Harrison and Jim McMillen (or Jim McMillan) and produced by George Goodman.
I didn’t know anything about the group until Lloyd Stamy left his comment below, which I’ll repeat here in the main article for its useful information:
An outstanding and very popular mid-Sixties band from Fox Chapel, a suburb of Pittsburgh, that could “cover” any Beatles tune better than the Fab Four itself, The Hustlers comprised four guys who attended Shady Side Academy: John Harrison (lead singer and bass guitar), Jim “Bugsy” McMillen (lead guitar), Doug Harrison (drums and John’s younger brother), and Bill Bickerstaff (rhythm guitar).
Incomplete Ideal discography:
Vibra-Sonics – “Thunder Storm” / “Drag Race” (1964) Four Challengers – “Love Me When You Can” / “Rayburn Street” (Ideal 11111, 1965) 7 Dwarfs – “Stop Girl” / “One By One” (the Blues Magoos tune) (Ideal 1168) John Harrison & the Hustlers – “Don’t Ask Why” / “You Don’t Want That” (Ideal IR 10) Al’s Dynamics – “Breakdown” / “Disappointed in You” (Ideal IR 20)
Augie Bernardi owned the Ideal label, it was located in Sharpsburg, PA
Bink Curti wrote to me:
The Four Challangers were from Kittanning, PA and included brothers Dale & Gary Bowser on rhythm and lead guitar respectively.
Thanks to Lloyd for the helpful info and to Robin for contributing to the Ideal discography.
The Scholars (white sweaters) with vocal trio the Perennials, plus manager Nat Segal Cameo Parkway Studio, Philadelphia, January 28, 1967
The Scholars were a quintet of Drexel and Temple University students from the Bridesburg, Port Richmond and Mayfair sections of Philadelphia.
Members were:
Bernie Winski – lead vocals and cordovox Joe Macie aka Joe Macijewski (spelling?) – guitar Bob Wilkowski – bass Tony Tokarczyk (spelling?) – drums Richie Dombrowski – saxophone
Bernie Winski wrote both songs on the 45, “I Need Your Lovin” and “Please Please”.
Opening with a pounding snare, “I Need Your Lovin'” is intense garage. The sound is dense, with background vocals by the Perenials [sic] and heavy swirling organ. A sax solo is followed by some great surf-type runs on the guitar. A remastering from the original tape, if it exists, might really bring out all the elements.
“Please Please” is competent but less exciting, I’m including it for the completists out there. They also cut one unreleased song, “I’m Gonna Make It”, that really shows doo-wop influence. “I’m Gonna Make It” originally appeared on the Crude PA compilation.
The 45 was released in February, 1967 on the Ruby Ray label out of Cornwell Heights (northeast of Philadelphia, I believe) and distributed by David Rosen Inc. Mastering by Frankford/Wayne.
Be sure to read the comment below from Bernie Winski’s brother Edward for more information on the Scholars.
The Perennials at Cameo Parkway Studios, Philadelphia, January 28, 1967
Update, June 2011
The Perennials, from left: Jack Donadio, Gene (surname?) and Jim Tucker Backing vocalist Jack Donadio wrote to me about the session with the fine photos seen here:
I am one of the Perennials who recorded the songs featured on your website: “I Need Your Lovin'”, “Please Please”, and “I’m Gonna Make It”.
The Perennials (background vocals) consisted of three doo wop singers from Philadelphia who answered a newspaper ad and auditioned to provide the background vocals for the Scholars who had recently signed a recording contract with Nat Segal. Nat was the group’s manager and contract holder, who also produced the master tape and subsequent recording under the Ruby Ray label.
Gathered around the microphone is me (Jack Donadio), Gene (don’t know his last name) and Jim Tucker (my brother-in-law). With regard to Gene, we only met him for the first and last time at the recording session. All that I remember about Gene is that he resided in Philly and sang with various doo wop groups, as we did.
Shortly following the release of the record, the Scholars appeared on the local TV show, “Summertime on the Pier”.
The was no further musical collaboration of the Perennials and Scholars following the recording session. There was not much of a musical career for me and Jim. We sang with a lot of different groups (Frankie and the Fashions, among others). We both eventually became law enforcement officers. Jim was a Sergeant in charge of the Homicide Division in Philly and retired from there about five years ago. I became the Police Chief of New Hope Pennsylvania for seven years, then Oneonta, NY (retired from there after 25 years) and finally Hawthorne, Florida for two years. I am presently retired and living in Gainesville, Florida.
Jack Donadio, 2011
Thank you to Jack for providing the photos and information on the recording session.
Nat Segal was a clarinet player who owned the Downbeat Club in Philadelphia and booked jazz shows into the Academy of Music in the ’40s and ’50s. In the early 1960’s he went into personal management for Danny & the Juniors, the Orlons, the Dovells and DJs Bob Horn and Jerry Blavat before working with the Scholars.
Sources on Nat Segal: Jersey Jazz’s December 2009 issue (PDF document) and “To the Geator, Bob Was Horn of Plenty. To this Day, Jerry Blavat Feels Debt of Gratitude to the Show’s Founder … and its Biggest Victim” by Jonathan Takiff, Philadelphia Daily News, August 5, 1997, accessed through Philly.com.
The Perennials at Cameo Parkway Studio, Philadelphia, January 28, 1967
Frank Stallone sent in these photos of his first band, the American Tragedy. Frank’s playing the ’58 Gibson Explorer. Frank didn’t give me all the members names but Midgie Geiger is one. The band never recorded.
Frank wrote, “I had a band the American Tragedy out of Philadelphia from 1965 to ’68. We played all the hops and were in the Battle of the Bands and came in 2nd. I went on from there to form a group called Valentine with John Oates.
“Also the Hangmen are from Maryland, I’m from there as well. I saw them open for the Lovin’ Spoonful at the Shady Grove Music Fair, Rockville MD in 1965.”
The Escape Machine produced their own 45, recorded at Wayne Sound in a small town called Jersey Shore, located not anywhere close to what most east coast folks would think of as the Jersey Shore. It’s in central Pennsylvania, about 50 miles northeast of State College and 95 miles north of Harrisburg.
“Stop!” is a gloomy psychedelic piece written by M. Paige and A. Womer.
The flip, “I’ll Go on Loving You” is totally different, a country vocal written by K. Shingara and E. Shingara. Engineer on both tracks was J. Goditus.
The Vestells, from left to right: John Kegley (drums), Bob Schick (lead guitar and vocal), John Smoke (rhythm guitar), and John Schick (bass)
Updated September 2010
“Won’t You Tell Me” is a song I used to cover when I played with a couple friends in the Trip 9’s. Running through those chords over and over would about make my arm fall off, but I never got tired of playing it.
The Vestells were a quartet from around Stroudsburg, northeast of Allentown. Their name seems to come from the vests they wore as stage outfits.
Two brothers, Bob and John Schick formed the basis of the band, originally with John Smoke on rhythm guitar and John Kegley on drums, later replaced by Clair Whitmore and Jim Cadue. They cut their only record at Cameo-Parkway studios in Philadelphia in 1966, then most of the band was drafted the following year.
“Won’t You Tell Me” was written by Bob Schick, and seems to feature only two guitars and drums, as I can’t make out any bass. The rhythm guitarist must have been pretty excited to be in the studio, he starts the song off so fast the drummer has a hard time getting the beat down! The song ends up at a noticeably slower tempo than when it began, but the shouts and spirited delivery really put this across. I love the ending, too, when first the drums then the guitars drop out.
The much more sedate flip side, “Please Walk Away”, was written by the group and features a different singer, Clair Whitmore. With harmonies and a bass line, I’d say the band spent considerably more time recording this song. It’s not bad if you like mellow pop ballads.
Bass player John Schick sent me the photo above and wrote to me about the band:
The pic is an earlier Vestells. I couldn’t find one with the players on “Won’t You Tell Me”. The band that recorded “Won’t You Tell Me” was Jim Cadue on drums, Clair Whitmore, rhythm guitar and vocal on “B” side of 45, and of course Bob and myself.
We played just about every bar and resort in the Poconos, including Mount Airy Lodge (now a casino), Buck Hill Inn, Fernwood, Pocono Manor, etc. We did get radio play in New Jersey (years after the band broke up).
We pressed a thousand. I’m not really sure how many we sold, given away, and lost. I still have 16 (just counted them).
Bob is now an organic farmer in Maine. He still writes songs, books, and articles on organic farming. Jim Cadue was Monroe County Commisioner for years (now retired), Clair Whitmore I believe has a sign business, and I’m still in the music business as a full-time composer. Some of my credits can be found on AudioSparx.com. All members except for my brother still live in the Poconos where the band originated.
John Schick
Update: drummer Jim Cadue passed away on May 14th, 2015.
The Noblemen 4, from left: Dave Henry, Lou Penzera, Roy Albert and Rich Yusko
Pennsylvania’s Noblemen 4 came from the towns of Greensburg and Irwin, southeast of Pittsburgh.
Members were:
Dave Henry – lead guitar, vocals Rich Yusko – organ Lou Penzera – bass Roy Albert – drums
Andy Anderson, a friend of the band, wrote to me about their early days:
I’m originally from Greensburg, and know three of the members of the Noblemen 4. Actually I should say “knew” as I’ve been gone for about 38 years. The three guys that I know/knew are Dave Henry (lead guitar/vocals), Roy Albert (drums), and Joe Smartnik (bass guitar).
There was a mail-in contest to vote for your favorite band, and they had a form letter to vote. I recall Dave ripping the phone book into sections so everyone had their own part of the book to copy names from. I was one of the guys who was signing any name I could think up, and stuffing the letter into the envelope. Dave’s wife, Carol, and her sister Barbara were sealing the envelopes and putting on the stamps.
Needless to say, they won the contest and “Get Outta My Life Woman” / “What’s Your Name” was the record they cut for winning the contest. Both of the songs are covers.
My involvement with the band ended right around the release of the first record, and I moved out of state and lost touch with them. Sure would have liked to see them hit the big time.
“What’s Your Name” was a cover of the Don and Juan doo-wop hit from 1962. I prefer the flip, an uptempo version of Lee Dorsey’s “Get Out of My Life Woman”.
Though the band may have won the contest by rigging the vote, they must have done a good enough job on the first record, as Recap had them cut a second. The Recap label was owned by Norman and Tony Candelore. Tony would also be manager of the Noblemen 4.
Their second 45, the bittersweet ballad “I Can Hear Raindrops” was written by Ty Lemley and Philip Rowe, and the rowdy and non-sensical “Hang It In Your Ear” by keyboardist Richard Yusko. Both songs were produced by Tyler-Perell for Georden Productions, and published by Triver Music BMI.
The Noblemen 4 reach the finals of the WIIC Channel 11 Battle of the Bands, January 15, 1968
In 1968, the band won Come Alive’s Battle of the Bands on WIIC-TV, beating out the Pilgryms of Follansbee, West Virginia. The prize was a recording contract with Mercury Records, which led to a single I haven’t heard yet, “Beach Umbrella World” / “Lady Flora” on Mercury 72828.
One article also mentions Mad Mike presenting local group Light with a record contract from Cleo Records in Cleveland.
Thanks to Andy for the label scans and mp3s of their first record. Special thanks to Rich Yusko for the photo and news clippings seen here.
A fraudulent 1980s “acetate” of “I Can Hear Raindrops” made by a Michigan dealer. Credited to the Aces, this is actually the Noblemen 4’s version lifted off their record.
As an interesting side note, in the 1980s, the Noblemen 4’s record of “I Can Hear Raindrops” was used by a Michigan dealer to make a fraudulent acetate credited to the Aces, with “Punch Record Company” listed to give the false impression this was one of Punch Andrews’ productions. The dealer sold this at an expensive price to a collector who hadn’t known the Noblemen 4’s record, and it was also used in a compilation called Thee Unheard Of which had other misattributed songs, some of which have not been identified to this day. For more info see the Ugly Things compilation site. If anyone has more info on these acetates, please let me know. Thank you to Gregor Kessler for the scan of the “Aces” acetate.
This site is a work in progress on 1960s garage rock bands. All entries can be updated, corrected and expanded. If you have information on a band featured here, please let me know and I will update the site and credit you accordingly.
I am dedicated to making this site a center for research about '60s music scenes. Please consider donating archival materials such as photos, records, news clippings, scrapbooks or other material from the '60s. Please contact me at rchrisbishop@gmail.com if you can loan or donate original materials
The Apollos came from Pleasant Hills, a suburb south of Pittsburgh. The top side of their only 45 is “I Know Your Mind” a doo-wop influenced ballad. The flip is an instrumental, “Room 4”, marred by the guitarist being out of tune.
One of the most common band names of the ’60s was the Rogues. This particular group attended prep school at Mercersburg Academy, located southwest of Harrisburg, close to the Maryland state line.
The Changing Tymes came from Philadelphia and cut a great single “You Make It Hard” / “Try a Whole Lot Harder” in 1966. I was struck by the similarity of the opening of the Changing Tyme’s “You Make It Hard” to the 
“Won’t You Tell Me” is a song I used to cover when I played with a couple friends in the Trip 9’s. Running through those chords over and over would about make my arm fall off, but I never got tired of playing it.
Pennsylvania’s Noblemen 4 came from the towns of Greensburg and Irwin, southeast of Pittsburgh.
In 1968, the band won Come Alive’s Battle of the Bands on WIIC-TV, beating out the Pilgryms of Follansbee, West Virginia. The prize was a recording contract with Mercury Records, which led to a single I haven’t heard yet, “Beach Umbrella World” / “Lady Flora” on Mercury 72828.
