Category Archives: Dallas

Categories: Blacknight, Dallas, Empire, In Records, Sellers Company Recording Studio (Dallas), Texas

Kit and the Outlaws “Don’t Tread on Me”

October 5, 2007 Chris Bishop 63 Comments

Kit and the Outlaws, 1967
l-r: Kit Massengill, Joe Jessmer on drums, Jerry Colwell at the mic and Alan Ravkind

Kit and the Outlaws evolved from the Outlaws, the Dallas group led by Kit Massengill. As the Outlaws, they had a great early Texas garage 45 on the In label, produced by Tommy Allsup. Both sides, “Worlds Apart” / “Fun, Fame & Fortune” were written by Kit.

With a change of members, the group hit the big time with their second 45, a fuzzed-up version of “Midnight Hour”. It was picked up by Philips for national distribution in late 1966, mainly on the strength of the a-side. That’s a fine cover version, but it’s the b-side, Kit’s original “Don’t Tread on Me”, that gets the attention nowadays.

The first BlacKnight pressings list the band as “The Outlaws”, later pressings read “Kit and the Outlaws”. Philips licensed the single through its subsidiary Mercury Records, from San-Lin Corporation on November 23, 1966.

Members included:

Kit Massengill – lead vocals and rhythm guitar
Dennis Lowe – lead guitar
Jerry Colwell – keyboards
Alan Ravkind – bass
Joe Jessmer – drums

There is also one further 45 as Kit and the Outlaws, “Now Doubt About It” / “Mama’s Gone” on the Empire label, another of Bob Sanders’ labels. Both sides written by Kit Massengill and published by Tall Pine Music, Black Knight Production. I don’t know the date of this one, or where it fits in to the chronology of their releases, but it seems to be a rare 45.

Alan Ravkind - bass

I recently heard from keyboardist and occasional vocalist Jerry Colwell, and asked him about Kit and recording “Don’t Tread on Me”:

I met Kit in late ’65, he was working with the owner of the Cotton Club, a topless bar on Lemmon Ave. He had a bass player named Alan Rafkin [actually Alan Ravkind], and drummer named Joe Jesmer [Joe Jessmer seems to be correct spelling], but needed a keyboard player and lead guitar. I was on my way out of a band called the Gobyzurks, we were a college and night club band in North Texas.
Dennis Lowe was the lead guitar and I was the organ player. Dennis and I went to high school together and were fairly good friends. Kit told us we had 2 weeks to learn about 50 songs and play nightly at this club.

Kit & the Outlaws, recording Midnight Hour at Sellers Recording Studio, Dallas — Recording Midnight Hour at Sellers Recording Studio, Dallas

After about a year of playing night clubs in Dallas we recorded the record Midnight Hour/ Don’t Tread on Me. The Sellers Studio was close to downtown [2102 Jackson Street]. I sang on the song Don’t Tread on Me, as background.We had it pressed on the Black Knight Label. Frank Jolly at KBOX really liked us and would play the song every night, Finally all the DJ’s at KBOX started playing the song and it went up the charts. [It reached #1 on KBOX on December 2, 1966.] We were shocked that it was doing so good. KLIF wouldn’t play it cause we wern’t with a major record label.
Thanks to Bob Sanders, the recording engineer for the Sellers studio and our manager, we got signed to a 5 year contract with Philips. And changed our name to Kit and the Outlaws.

We played at a daily televised venue called “Something Else” [Sump’N Else] hosted by Ron Chapman, as well as opening for Sonny & Cher, The Hollies, Herman Hermitts, Noel Harrison, and The Byrds. We toured and had some great stories, like me and Kit putting a huge dead fish in the Galvez hotel swimming pool one night at three in the morning. Had pictures of Graham Nash and the Hollies drinking about 14 cases of beer before they went on at Will Rodgers in Fort Worth.By 1968 was almost 20 and still hadn’t completed high school, somehow lost interest due to work and touring. Can you imagine going to high school and having a #1 record. Needless to say I dated just about anyone, and I did!

Early days:

The Malibus, 1964

Started playing bass guitar and got with some older guys called the Centurys in Mesquite. Later [1964] formed my first band “The Malibus” with Don Doss, Gary Stultz, & Glen Milsap. Started playing in old bars down on Grand and Haskel Ave. These places had dirt floors, we used to put a hat down and play Jimmy Reed stuff. Thats how I learned blues harp.

The Kavemen backing Chuck Berry at Surfers a Go go

Later joined the #1 Dallas band The Cavemen and played battle of the bands against Jimmy Vaughan and his band, and the Royals and others. In 1965 the Cavemen was the home band for a Night club “Surfers A Go Go” in Dallas, where we played with Chuck Berry, Roy Head, The original Drifters, Jimmy Velvet and Johnny Green and the Greenmen. We played at clubs all over Texas, my favorites were the “Bamboo Hut” in Galveston, and “Panther Hall” in Fort Worth, a televised event every week. We were also played at Louanns many times.

The Kavemen, Dallas 1965
from left to right: Roland Allen, Jimmy Allen, Rodney Vinyard, Tommy Fonseca, Bill Walden & Jerry Colwell

In 1965 my favorite club was the Purple Orchard in downtown were my buddy Little Anthony was the host. I could go in just about any night club in Dallas and get a drink for free when I was just 16. Had a great time one night with Fats Domino.

The Gobezerks at the Sugar Shack in Mesquite

In 1966 played with “The Gobezurks” a college and night club band, I dressed in drag for some of the songs and would fall off the stage as if I was drunk.The Outlaws broke up in spring of 1968 and I went on to form the Jerry Layne Orchestra with 10 various horns and a stand up bass with Teresa Morrision on vocals.
I still play a B-3 and have recorded and produced 3 live CD’s in Austin.

Jerry Colwell with Kit & the Outlaws — Special thanks to Jerry Colwell for his history of the band and photos.

Update, February 2021:

March 1966 demo tape of Kit & the Outlaws from Sellers Recording

George Gimarc sent this image of an early demo tape of Kit & the Outlaws from March, 1966. “Fame, Fun and Fortune” is a different version than the In single. The other three songs are “Wanted”, “You Are My Sunshine” and “Lonely Avenue”. None have been released. The tape was found in the storage of the Sellers Company Recording Studio.

Update, September 2021:

Ron Lansing wrote to me about early days with the Outlaws:

I started playing with Kit when he joined my band Revelee’ in early 1965. We had met when my band was playing Louanns. Kit played with my band at a Mardis Gras party in February of 1966.
He and I both played with other bands from time to time. Band members came and went just like many of my high school buds who I played with at the time. Ultimately I ended up playing lead guitar with Kit when he and I along with Joe Jesmer and Tommy Johnson (I think that is correct last name) formed The Outlaws.

I am not positive, but I think our trip to Odessa with our ‘Outlaw’ band was in April 1966 to record the two songs Kit and Joe Jesmer came up with.

Categories: B. Ware, Dallas, Garland, Texas

The Chants “Hypnotized”

September 17, 2007 Chris Bishop 21 Comments

The Chants released one great 45 in late 1966, “Hypnotized” b/w “Elaina”. The B. Ware label was owned by William Ware, who ran the Pirates’ Nook club and his booking agency at the 4420 Elm St. address listed on the label. Bill Ware gave me the phone number of Chants’ vocalist Darrel Howard, which led to a long conversation with Darrel and lead guitarist David Norfleet about their time in music.

The Chants formed at Garland High School. David Norfleet had started out on steel guitar, but after hearing Elvis he knew he wanted to be playing rock n’ roll, and Chuck Berry became his main inspiration on guitar. Ron Vargesko played rhythm guitar, Forest Eubank drums, and Brownie Sherrill played bass.

Darrel Howard’s best friend in high school, Tommy Galbert, was the keyboard player for the group. When their original lead singer left to go to college, Darrel volunteered to sing. When Tommy went into the Navy, the band did without a keyboardist for some time.

The Pirate’s Nook nightclub opened in 1963 on the corner of Elm & Carroll in east Dallas, then a hot area for night life. The club had once been an old hotel, with a glass showcase out front announcing the bands. It had high ceilings, a central stage and platforms on the sides for go-go dancers. I was surprised to hear there was no dance floor, though.

The Chants auditioned for the gig at the Pirates Nook and started there in early 1966, taking over for the Chapparals. The Nook previously hosted extended residencies from Oklahoma’s Five Americans, who were discovered by Abnak there; the Allusions (also from Oklahoma); and the Just Us Five.

The band played six nights a week to packed crowds for about a year and a half. Brownie and Forest were still seniors in high school at the start. The Chants’ live act consisted mostly of Top 40 covers, including James Brown, Beatles, and Sam and Dave hits. They played occasional shows outside the Nook if the money was good, including once at Texas Tech with the Chessmen. Unfortunately their live show was never recorded.

The band rarely played original songs while at the Nook. During practice Bill Ware heard them rehearsing a couple of David’s original songs and decided they should make a record. The band went to the old Sumet Sound Studios (later Sumet-Burnet Recording, I believe) in late ’66. Darrel Howard sang lead on Hypnotized, and David Norfleet sang Elaina.

Rhythm guitarist Ron Vargesko had grown up playing the accordion, and while trying the studio’s organ he came up with keyboard parts the band decided to work into the record. After the session the other members told Ron he should move over to keyboards permanently!

Both sides showed commercial potential, leading the big Dallas top 40 station KBOX to chose it as a pick hit. KBOX wanted the Chants to promote the 45 at station-sponsored shows around town. Bill Ware had the band under contract, though, and wouldn’t let them play to promote the record without payment. KBOX, of course, pulled it from their playlist and the record sank.

The band felt Bill had blown this chance, and that if another opportunity came up in the future he might interfere with that as well. When their contract ran out they wouldn’t resign.

The band moved to the Cajun Club at the Quarter Apartments on Maple Ave. This was the nicer of the two Cajun Clubs. The one on the east side, where Dusty Hill played with the Warlocks, was a dive in comparison.

At the Cajun Club the band became friends with the Five Americans who lived at the apartments and were often at the club. The Five Americans worked with the Chants on some songs, but according to David, everything came out sounding like the Five Americans!

David also worked with two bartenders at the Cajun Club, John Broberg and Randy Shelton. Broberg and Shelton had written a song called Help Me Find a Way with Neal St. John. David went into the studio with them a few times, and a 45 of the song was released as by The Upper Class on Charay. It later was picked up for national release by the United Artists Smash label, but never became a hit.

While at Cajun club Ron quit and Forest was drafted. Finding new members, the Chants took to the road, ending up in Lawton, Oklahoma with a residency at the Tradewinds club. One by one band members left; by the time the Chants finished up in California, only the bass player was left. While at the Tradewinds. David quit music for three years to take care of his wife and new baby.

Darrel Howard left the Chants and joined Quest from 1969-1975, singing and playing keyboards, and recording a privately-pressed album with them. He retired from playing music professionally, and started building race cars.

David Norfleet went into the Hyde Park Circus, played at the Fog Club and Soul City. The Fog was an afterhours place, and touring acts like Jimi Hendrix, Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers, and John Fogerty sat in while he was there. David went to Europe in ’77-’80 with the Bandits, sharing bills with Dire Straits, Golden Earring, and the Boomtown Rats at the Paradiso Club in Amsterdam. He returned to Dallas and continued working in music professionally until just a few years ago.

Updates

David Norfleet passed on July 4, 2008.

Bill Ware, proprietor of the Pirate’s Nook and owner of the William Ware Agency passed away on May 9, 2012. When I corresponded with Bill a few years ago he had fond memories of the Nook and the bands that played there. He kindly allowed me to use photos from his site for this article.

Ron Vargesko passed away on June 6, 2013, according to a comment below.

Categories: Commerce, Dallas, Texas, Twilight, Unknown

The Shade “All Is Gone” on Twilight

August 20, 2007 Chris Bishop 2 Comments

A real obscurity here. I’m not sure where the band was from, but the label was based in Commerce, Texas, about 60 miles northeast of Dallas.

“All Is Gone” is a monster of a song, with a spooky organ sound and unrelenting snare beat. The loud mastering leads to some distortion in the 45. The songwriting credits go to Humphrey – Bates, who I suppose were band members.

For the A-side they went with a safer bet, a good cover of “Big Boy Pete”. The Olympics had the big hit with this song, but judging from the Shade’s arrangement I think they probably picked this up from Paul Revere and the Raiders first album.

Their producer was Mike Stanglin, who told me, “My family owned the Twilight Skating Rink in Pleasant Grove section of Dallas. The Shade was a very good band that played there for the “sock hops” that I was in charge of. Roy Clark was the lead singer, who later called himself Royce Clark to keep from being confused with Roy Clark the country singer. I went to college at East Texas State University in Commerce, TX, hence the Commerce address.”

The Shade 45 was recorded at Sumet Studio (the first one) in Dallas. Mike had produced a couple other 45s prior to this, and continued releasing records on Twilight into the late 70’s, including a rap single by FBI…Fresh Brothers International. As for the Shade, they seem to have disappeared.

Categories: Dallas, Ride, Texas, Unknown

Lil’ Henry and his Soul Express

August 18, 2007 Chris Bishop 14 Comments

Not garage, Lil’ Henry and his Soul Express is a Texas soul/funk act that I’m posting because I can’t find any information about this record anywhere.

“Baby” repeats the same couple of themes for its two and a half minutes, but does so with soulful energy. The flip side is a more laid-back piece called “Girls”. Both songs are credited to H. Gentry, so his name may be Henry Gentry.

The Ride label was located in both Dallas and out in L.A. at some point, and may have been one of Mel Alexander’s labels. The publisher, Little “m” Music is a Dallas company, and that’s all I can tell you about this.

There’s also a Little Henry and the Laveers 45 covering “Georgia on My Mind” and Jesse Hill’s “Whip It On Me”, on the Laveer label out of San Antonio. As you can see from the comments below, most agree that Henry Parilla, aka Little Henry Lee is not the same person as Lil Henry from the Ride 45. It sounds like a different singer to my ears.

Categories: Dallas, Earth Records, Guyden, Jetstar, Texas

Floyd Dakil

August 5, 2007 Chris Bishop 38 Comments

Updated April, 2010

Floyd Dakil and Pitmen, the group on the Jetstar 45, l-r: Floyd Dakil, Geoff West, Laurry Michlin, Ronny Randall and Terry Billings

Floyd Dakil formed his group in 1963 with fellow Highland Park High School friend Andy Michlin, and three sophomores of Thomas Jefferson High School: Ronny Randall on guitar, Terry Billings on bass, and Geoff West on drums. Within a year or so, Andy’s brother Laurry Michlin took over on keyboards.

In February 1964 they won a competition to become the house band at the Pit Club, a 2,500 person venue located at the Bronco Bowl in Oak Cliff. “Chuck Berry rock ‘n roll pre-Beatles – that’s how I would best describe the music we played at that time” said Floyd in a 2008 interview.

They soon released their first 45, the classic “Dance, Franny, Dance” b/w “Look What You’ve Gone and Done” on Jetstar. The label says both sides were recorded live at the Pit. Originally I thought it was likely to be a studio recording with overdubbed handclaps and applause at the beginning, but Geoff West says in his comment below that it was recorded in front of a large crowd at the Pit in the Spring of 1964: “on ‘Dance Franny Dance’ it required at least five minutes to get several hundred teenagers to clap together!”

In 2009 original member Ron Randall contacted me about the group:

Geoff’s recollections are correct. The recording of “Dance, Franny, Dance” was done live at the Pit Club. Larry Lavine was the engineer using a 4 track recorder set up in the women’s dressing room backstage. It was just one of those nights when everything came together. A great recording.
The recordings done live at the Pit survive on CDs that Geoff West made from an original, not released LP. There are eight songs, some are covers, some original. I have my copy.
Maybe, to add to the confusion, or clear things, the songs “recorded live at the Pit”, and then released on Jetstar have the name of the group as The Floyd Dakil Combo. This is correct for legal reasons. “The Pitmen” referred to the house band at the Pit Club. We were the first. The original Pitmen backed a long list of entertainers at the Pit Club, and went on to other successes around Texas. There were others, after we left the Pit Club, called the Pitmen.

The eight songs recorded at the Pit Club represent the beginnings of Dallas’s incredible garage rock scene. The songs are “Roadrunner”, “Dance, Franny, Dance”, “Look What You’ve Gone and Done”, “You Got Me Crazy”, “Concentrate on You”, “Bad Boy”, “Maybe Someday” and “Rendezvous”.

Floyd recalled that he and the producers brought the live tape into a studio and “sweetened” the two songs for the single.

“Dance, Franny, Dance” peaked as high as #4 on KLIF in May, 1964, which is not surprising given KLIF DJ Chuck Dunaway’s involvement – he’s listed as co-producer along with Bob Sanders, owner of the Knight and Spectra record labels. When the Phiadelphia-based Guyden label picked up the songs for national distribution, “Dance, Franny, Dance” hit local charts in Pennsylvania and California, leading to a brief tour of California state fairs and DJ hops that summer. Floyd noted that the Beach Boys came out with their hit “Dance, Dance, Dance” soon after (in November 1964).

The Floyd Dakil Combo, l-r Floyd Dakil, Andy Michlin, Dennis Mills, Ronny Randall, and Chris Brown

Floyd Dakil went on to record three 45s on the Earth label as the Floyd Dakil Four. “Bad Boy” is the first of these, a very good rocker, produced by John Anderson. The flip is a good uptempo song “Stoppin’ Traffic” about a girl who does just that.The second Earth single combines the rockin’ “Kitty Kitty” (great guitar solo too) with a neat pop song, “It Takes a Lot of Hurt”. The third 45 on Earth has a good original, “You’re The Kind Of Girl” with “Stronger Than Dirt” on the A-side.It was a later Pitmen group who recorded a couple 45s: “Earthy”, plus “Summertime Blues” b/w “Suzi Q” (released on Earth 401).

Ron Randall:

There was another, later group, called the Floyd Dakil Four. That group was Floyd, Ronny Randall, Mike Giles (drums) and Terry Billings on bass. That group recorded the songs on the Earth label, produced by John Anderson. I have that picture somewhere.
“Earth” was a term coined by John Anderson, our manager/producer to describe the sound we had with the Floyd Dakil Four. I had added a Fender VI Bass Guitar to the instrument mix, along with my Stratocaster. So we had two bass instruments on some recordings and live performances. Terry Billings on Fender Precision bass, Ronny Randall on Fender VI bass. It was/is a hard driving click-bass/surf/rock sound done an octave lower to the Stratocaster. Add Terry’s Precision bass, and Mike’s drums and that was the foundation of the sound called Earth. “Earth” was written in huge letters on the back of that Fender VI bass. Ron Chapman commented on how full the live sound was at the “Sump’n Else” Studio at Northpark.
I continued to perform with Floyd at all kinds of venues until I decided to go to college, get a day job. We continue to be friends today. We participated in a concert about 18 months ago at the Lakewood Theater on Greenville Ave. The concert was dubbed “The Legends of Rock and Roll,” produced by Kenny Daniels. We did a “Reunited” performance live at the Stoneleigh in 2005.

After the Earth 45s, Floyd kept the band together while earning a B.A. from Texas Tech. In 1968 he had a solo 45 “Merry Christmas Baby” / “One Day” on Pompeii. Sometime after that Floyd became the guitarist for one of his idols, Louis Prima, and remained for several years until Prima’s ill health curtailed his touring.

Floyd Dakil ... Live! — Floyd Dakil … Live!

In 1975 he released a LP with his own group, Live! in which he runs through 42 songs in as many minutes. It’s definitely an odd mix, if you can imagine “Everyday People” segueing to a chorus of “Yummy Yummy Yummy” then straight into “Whiskey River”! Also about 1975 Floyd turned down a two LP contract with CBS, feeling that the contract was unfair in charging promotional costs back to the artist.

In the late ’80s he started a band with Larry Randall, and this group’s songs were featured in a 1991 movie, Love Hurts with a brief cameo by the group.

In 2009 Floyd was one of the featured acts at the Ponderosa Stomp at SXSW in Austin. I’ve heard a tape of the show and it’s one of the better sets from that night. Floyd played “Dance Franny Dance”, “Look What You’ve Gone and Done”, “Bad Boy” and “Stopping Traffic”, as well as “Nadine”.

This year Floyd’s friend Phil York released an official new CD Rolling Dynamite, collecting some of his early singles and a number of previously unreleased tracks. I just received the copy I ordered, and can provide an overview:

Included are both sides of the Jetstar 45 and both sides of the first Earth 45 (“Bad Boy” and “Stoppin’ Traffic”, though “Bad Boy” on the CD is an alternate with a shorter intro and piano solo [‘take it Andy!’] instead of the ringing guitar break on the 45). Also included are “Kitty Kitty”, the A-side to the second Earth 45; “You’re the Kind of Girl”, the flip from his third Earth 45; and his Pompeii single, “Merry Christmas Baby”. Everything else on it was never released on vinyl that I know of, though five of the unreleased tracks did appear on a CD collection in the mid-90s.

It’s hard to know when the unreleased tracks were cut, as the notes only include a general reminiscence by Floyd and no recording specifics, nor is the CD sequenced strictly by recording date. Of the unreleased tracks the two highlights are definitely the title song, “Rollin’ Dynamite” (a cover of Scotty McKay’s first single, written by Joann Owen) and “Shiver”. Other early songs include “Cold As Ice” and “Sweet Little Anna” and a ballad “Pretty Girl”. “She Bops a Lot” may have been a later song done as a throwback to his earlier style, it’s hard to tell.

A few tracks sound like they could be from late-’60s or early ’70s sessions, including “I Know”, “Turn to the Night” and “Here I Am”, all excellent songs in a gentler style. “Good Times and Rock and Roll” sounds like a 70s track, at least in it’s nostalgic look at the early rock scene. The rest are definitely from the late ’80s or ’90s and range from country to zydeco to “Old Time Rock & Roller”.

Details on recording personnel and dates would be useful for fanatics like myself, but overall I would consider this an excellent retrospective of Floyd’s work, with all of his essential songs presented in excellent sound quality.

I had been looking forward to hearing him play in Brooklyn, New York this summer, but I’m very sorry to report that Floyd passed away on Saturday, April 24, 2010.

Sources include photos from the bigd60s group and a long interview with Floyd Dakil by WFMU’s Michael Shelley from May 10, 2008.

Floyd Dakil ... Live! - back cover — Floyd Dakil … Live! – back cover

Categories: Bismark, Dallas, Denton, Texas

The Chessmen

April 17, 2007 Chris Bishop 64 Comments

The Chessmen feature in almost every account of the Dallas music scene in the mid and late ’60s. Famous at the time for their live shows, the Chessmen are remembered now for the members who went on to national fame: Doyle Bramhall played with and wrote songs for Stevie Ray Vaughan; Bill Etheridge played bass with ZZ Top before Dusty Hill; and Jimmie Vaughan was in the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

Beyond their legend, the Chessmen’s legacy consists of rare photos of the band and a few 45s. Their second record, “I Need You There” / “Sad”, was their best, recorded before any of the people named above were even in the band. The Chessmen’s story is confusing with many personnel changes, but I’ll try to sort it out as best as I can.

The original Chessmen at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas from left: Robert Patton, Tom Carrigan (drums), Tommy Carter and Ron DiIulio — The original Chessmen at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas
from left: Robert Patton, Tom Carrigan (drums), Tommy Carter and Ron DiIulio

Original lineup:

Robert Patton – guitar and vocals
Ron DiIulio – keyboards
Tommy Carter – bass
Tommy Carrigan – drums

Fine Arts Theatre, Denton (photo taken 1977)
From the University of North Texas library

The Chessmen formed in early 1964 on the campus of North Texas State University (now University of North Texas) in the town of Denton, about 25 miles from Dallas. The original lineup included Robert Patton of the west Texas town of Midland on rhythm guitar and vocals, Tommy Carrigan of Denton on drums, Ron DiIulio on keyboards and Tommy Carter on bass.

Tommy Carter was the only member who stayed with the band until the Chessmen broke up in 1968.

"first Denton public appearance", February 8, 1965 — “first Denton public appearance”, February 8, 1965

They started by playing at basketball games and football pre-game rallies. At the start of 1965 they signed a management contract with George Rickrich, owner of the Fine Arts Theatre in Denton. George had them play between movie screenings, hired a photographer to take promotional photos, immediately brought them into a studio for their first record and began booking them for shows outside of Denton.

Denton Record-Chronicle, February 7, 1965, Tommy Gayle is listed as featured singer with the Chessmen — Denton Record-Chronicle, February 7, 1965
Tommy Gayle is listed as featured singer with the Chessmen

Ron Dilulio: “We were billed to play between showings of the movie ‘Get Yourself a College Girl’. Back then, there weren’t pop concerts like today’s concert that we think of. We were one of the first, and there were people that lined up down the street to see us that night.”

The Chessmen, at Louann's, April 1965 — At Louann’s, April 1965

This first lineup recorded one unremarkable 45 on Bismark, a cover of the Drifters’ hit “Save The Last Dance For Me” complete with a girl chorus. The flip was a good if mellow atmospheric instrumental “Dreams And Wishes” written by guitarist Robert Patton.

Ron DiIulio recently sent me many photos of this first lineup of the Chessmen.

Ron DiIulio left the Chessmen, but stayed on at college, forming two short-lived bands, first the Rejects and then the New Sound in 1966. Ron later joined both Noel Odom & the Group and the Bad Habits in his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana.

May 21 - new guitarist Jimmy Kay introduced, though the photo still shows Ron DiIuliio — May 21 – new guitarist Jimmy Kay introduced, though the photo still shows Ron DiIuliio

July 9 - guitarist Ricky Marshall mentioned — July 9 – guitarist Ricky Marshall mentioned

July 12 - yet another new guitarist for the Chessmen, Richard Dace, left to right: Robert Patton, Tommy Carrigan, Richard Dace and Tommy Carter — July 12 – yet another new guitarist for the Chessmen, Richard Dace
left to right: Robert Patton, Tommy Carrigan, Richard Dace and Tommy Carter

Spinning Wheels Skating Rink, Denton, July 5, 1965

Transitional lineups, May 1965-1966

Robert Patton – guitar and vocals
*Jimmy Kay (aka Jimmy Kay Herbert) – guitar
*Ricky Marshall – guitar
*Richard Dace – guitar
Tommy Carter – bass and vocals
Tom Carrigan – drums

After Ron left the band in April or early May, 1965, the band tried out several guitarists to replace him, including at least three between May and July! The Denton Record-Chronicle lists these guitarists as members: Jimmy Kay (May 21), Ricky Marshall (July 9), and Richard Dace (July 12).

725 North Elm, Denton in 2010 - the former Spinning Wheels Skating Rink? — 725 North Elm, Denton in 2010 – the former Spinning Wheels Skating Rink?

According to a comment by Richard Parker, below, Jimmy Kay is Jim Herbert, who was the Chessmen’s guitarist on their second single, “I Need You There” b/w “Sad”. Either Jim Herbert was in the group for a much shorter time than I thought, or Jim rejoined the band after Ricky Marshall and Richard Dace left. Does anyone know Ricky Marshall or Richard Dace?

The band started appearing regularly at all-ages dances and “sock hops” at the Spinning Wheels Skating Rink on N. Elm.

The Chessmen, mid-late 1965. left to right: Robert Patton, Tommy Carter, Tom Carrigan and Jim Herbert — The Chessmen, mid-late 1965
left to right: Robert Patton, Tommy Carter, Tom Carrigan and Jim Herbert

Robert Patton, Tommy Carter and Tom Carrigan

Second lineup:

Robert Patton – guitar and vocals
Jim Herbert – guitar and vocals
Tommy Carter – bass and vocals
Tom Carrigan – drums

Chessmen Bismark 45 I Need You There At some point in 1965, Tom Carrigan met Jim Herbert while playing gigs around the NTSU campus, and invited him to a Chessmen rehearsal at Carrigan’s mother’s house just off campus. Jim Herbert joined the band as lead guitarist, and they recorded their classic second 45, “I Need You There” b/w “Sad”, released in October of ’65, and a third song which was never released “You’re No Good.”

It’s often stated that the ripping guitar on “I Need You There” is by Jimmie Vaughan, but Jim Herbert told me he is actually the lead guitarist on that song.

Chessmen Bismark 45 Sad On the 45, Robert Patton sings the lead vocals. On live gigs, Robert Patton and Jim Herbert split most of the lead vocals, with Tommy Carter occasionally doing one or two songs. All three would sing harmony. The night they were cutting “I Need You There”, Delbert McClinton and the Ron-Dels were in the next studio recording “If You Really Want Me To I’ll Go”.

“I Need You There” was written by Norris Green and Thomas Sims (or Thomas Patrick Sims). Norris Green also wrote another song for the band, “No More”, but I’m not sure of his connection with the group.

Unissued acetate, scan courtesy of Brandy Herbert.

“Sad” was written by Robert Patton and Tommy Carter. An acoustic guitar carefully picks the melody. That sound and the use of harmonies for both verse and chorus would be expanded upon in the next single.

One unissued demo from this time is “You’re No Good”, written by Patton and done at the very end of a session when they had some spare time. I haven’t heard it, but it’s supposed to sound something like “Ticket to Ride”, with rough vocals from Robert Patton, whose voice was ragged on it.

The Chessmen, 1966, clockwise from left: Tommy Carter, Johnny Peebles, Robert Patton and Doyle Bramhall (front)

The Chessmen on Sump'n Else, from left: Tommy Carter, Johnny Peebles, Doyle Bramhall and Robert Patton — The Chessmen on Sump’n Else, from left: Tommy Carter, Johnny Peebles, Doyle Bramhall and Robert Patton

Third lineup:
(Peebles and Bramhall joined separately, so there was probably some overlap with Tom Carrigan or Jim Herbert)

Robert Patton – guitar and vocals
Johnny Peebles – guitar and vocals
Tommy Carter – bass and vocals
Doyle Bramhall – drums and vocals

Jim Herbert left the band and became one of the Pit Club’s ‘Pitmen’ along with Bill Heald and Rusty Brutsche, and later joined Galen Jeter’s Brass Blues Band. Johnny Peebles took over on lead guitar. Tommy Carrigan also left around this time, and was replaced by Doyle Bramhall. With this lineup they played the Sump’n Else TV show hosted by Ron Chapman.

Chessmen Bismark 45 No More Their next 45 contained two solid songs. “You’re Gonna Be Lonely” was written by Knox Henderson (who also co-wrote Mouse and the Traps’ “Public Execution” and “Maid of Sugar, Maid of Spice” and the Uniques “You Ain’t Tuff”, among other songs) and Larry Mackey. Knox Henderson also did A&R for the session. The Chessmen do a good job on the song, featuring twelve string guitar, group vocals and zooming bass accents by Carter. It’s all over in a minute and a half!

If “I Need You There” was their finest recording, “No More” is probably the next best, and it shares the same writer, Norris Green. Interlocking guitar lines, a mournful harmonica, and melancholy harmonies throughout. The 45 was released in April of ’66.

On April 19, 1966, Robert Patton drowned at White Rock Lake in Dallas after falling off a sailboat at 2 A.M. Also on the boat were fellow NTSU students Colin Mustain, Mike McGrew, Phil Teague and John Hargiss.

Although Doyle Brahmall characterized it as “a hazing accident” in a interview many years after the accident, he was not present at the time. John Hargiss wrote to me: “I was with Robert the night of the accident that took his life. There was no hazing. Robert had already been through pledgeship along with me and Mike McGrew. We were fully initiated brothers in Sigma Phi Epsilon as were the other two members of our party that night.

“Robert drowned when he fell out of the boat after our boat left a wind puff at 45 degrees. Three of us were all leaning over the elevated side of the boat to right it and thus avoid capsizing (called ‘hiking out’ in sailing terms). Exiting the wind puff at great speed, the boat then smacked down hard in the water. This sudden jar caused Robert to flip head over heels. I know this because he was right beside me and I almost went over too. We made all efforts possible, throwing out life preservers, reversing course, etc. However, we never saw him again.

“Robert was one of our most popular and beloved brothers. He was a young man of great talent with a winning personality. We all knew he was on his way to ‘big things’, making his loss all the greater. Our fraternity was in mourning for a long time after his death. His funeral drew what seemed to be the entire population of Denton, Texas.”

Bismark promotional, circa mid-late '67, From left: Doyle Bramhall, Johnny Peebles, Jimmie Vaughan and Tommy Carter — Bismark promotional, circa mid-late ’67
From left: Doyle Bramhall, Johnny Peebles, Jimmie Vaughan and Tommy Carter

Despite the tragedy, the Chessmen continued, with an announcement of an upcoming show in May appearing in the news as well as return engagements at the Campus Theatre on June 23 and the Spinning Wheels Rink on July 4.

Johnny Peebles soon brought in his friend Jimmie Vaughan of Oak Cliff to play lead guitar. Doyle Bramhall became the primary vocalist as well as drummer.

Fourth lineup:

Jimmie Vaughan – lead guitar
Johnny Peebles – guitar and vocals
Tommy Carter – bass and vocals
Doyle Bramhall – drums and vocals

The final Chessmen 45 included a repeat of “No More” from their previous 45, but this time as the A-side, and was released in September of ’66. The flip, “When You Lost Someone You Love”, shows some development in the group’s vocals, but otherwise it’s lightweight. It was likely recorded when Peebles was still in the group. It’s the only Chessmen recording with Jimmie Vaughan, his electric guitar playing the quiet fills in the background.

Final lineup:

Jimmie Vaughan – lead guitar
Bill Etheridge – rhythm guitar, keyboards and vocals
Tommy Carter – bass and vocals
Doyle Bramhall – drums and lead vocals

Johnny Peebles left the band by early ’67 and Bill Etheridge joined on rhythm guitar and keyboards. With this lineup, they opened for the Jimi Hendrix Experience in Dallas in 1968.

Later that year the Chessmen broke up. I have to wonder if any live tapes of the band exist, but if so, none have surfaced in all these years.

Jimmie Vaughan, Tommy Carter and Bill Etheridge first formed a more blues-based group called Texas with Sammy Piazza (often incorrectly listed as a member of the Chessmen) on drums and Cecil Cotten of the Briks on vocals. They were initially managed by Jimmy Rabbit who told me he has “small reel to reel with a few songs from that ‘Texas’ session, [including] B.B. King’s ‘Beautician Blues’ sung by Jimmy Vaughan.”

After Cecil left to California, Doyle Brahmall joined as lead vocalist. That group moved to Austin and became Texas Storm with Jimmie’s younger brother Stevie Ray on bass and Bill Campbell on drums.

Mike Leeman of Ft. Worth, TX sent in the following three photos, taken when he and a friend booked the Chessmen for a private party:

The Chessmen played at several parties for us in Ft. Worth, TX during my college days. First heard them at Luann’s in Dallas. These pictures were taken by me with a Kodak Instamatic August 18, 1967 at the Holiday Inn in Ft. Worth, TX @ I-30 and University Drive. Another motel now is at that same location. Tommy Carter on bass, Jimmy Vaughan, lead, Doyle Bramhall, drums and Billy Etheridge, rhythm guitar and keyboards. I also still have a business card, signed contracts (by Tommy Carter) from the Bismark Agency in Denton, TX which handled their bookings and a picture of the marquee in front of the Holiday Inn with “Chessmen” on it. Their booking agent was George Rickrich.
The New Year’s Eve party, Dec. 31, 1967 was quite a “bash”. I remember some of their songs: Train Kept a Rollin, The Nazz Are Blue, Under My Thumb, Purple Haze, You Keep Me Hangin’ On, Sunshine of Your Love, and Gimme Some Lovin.

Chessmen at the Holiday Inn in Ft. Worth, August 1967, Jimmie Vaughan on guitar and Tommy Carter on bass, with Doyle on the drums

Chessmen at the Holiday Inn in Ft. Worth, August 1967, Jimmie Vaughn and Tommy Carter

Chessmen at the Holiday Inn, Fort Worth, August 1967: Doyle Bramhall singing and playing drums and Billy Etheridge on Fender Telecaster

In 2009 the Fort Worth Holiday Inn was demolished.

Ticket to the Chessmen, at the Red Garter Club, December 31, 1967

Thank you Mike, these are great photos of the band!

Chessmen at Texas A&M, August 1, 1967. Thank you to Bill Thompson for submitting this clip.

Chessmen original 45 releases:

Bismark 1010 Save The Last Dance For Me / Dreams And Wishes
Bismark 1012 I Need You There (Thomas Sims, Norris Green) / Sad (Tom Carter, Robert Patton)
B.R.S. 1014 You’re Gonna Be Lonely / No More (N. Green), A&R by Knox Henderson
Bismark 1015 No More / When You Lost Someone You Love

Sources include an interview with Ron Dilulio in the NT Daily, interview with Doyle Bramhall on Anatomy of a Scream site, and photos from BigD60s@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Brown, Kirby Warnock and Mike Leeman.

This page has been updated in July 2007, January 2010 and February, 2011.

Update, November 2011: I’m sorry to report Doyle Bramhall passed away Sunday, November 13 at the age of 62. For more info please see DFW.com.

Confusing the Beefeaters and the Chessmen

Same group? Victoria Advocate, March 19, 1965

Chessmen with Just Us Four at the Castle Big Spring Herald, Jan. 6, 1966 — with Just Us Four at the Castle Big Spring Herald, Jan. 6, 1966

The Chessmen with a residency in Freeport? At the Rip Tide Inn, Freeport, August, 1965 — The Chessmen with a residency in Freeport?
At the Rip Tide Inn, Freeport, August, 1965

"[George Rickrich] added that most college bookers want a group that can play hard rock, meaning more rhythm and blues than the English or 'Beatle' sound." Denton Record-Chronicle, April 18, 1967 — “[George Rickrich] added that most college bookers want a group that can play hard rock, meaning more rhythm and blues than the English or ‘Beatle’ sound.”
Denton Record-Chronicle, April 18, 1967

"former members of the Chessmen" at St. Davids<br /> Denton Record-Chronicle, October 15, 1965 — “former members of the Chessmen” at St. Davids
Denton Record-Chronicle, October 15, 1965

Categories: Dallas, Dot, Oak Cliff, Spectra, Texas

The Mystics

March 28, 2007 Chris Bishop 74 Comments

The Mystics, Oak Cliff

The Mystics came out of the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. Members were Ron Jobe vocals, David Mitchell bass, Robert Farris and Danny Fugate on guitars, and Glenn Struble on drums. Their original name was the Glorytones, and they often played the Heights Theater.

In 1966 they won a local battle of the bands with the prize being a record contract with Bob Sanders’ Spectra Records, which is when they changed their name to the Mystics.

Spectra hired rockabilly legend Dale Hawkins to produce, and Ron Price (songwriter of “Wishy Washy Woman” and “My Girl” for Jimmy Rabbit) contributed the very catchy “Didn’t We Have a Good Time”. Robert Farris wrote the b-side, “Now and For Always”, a well-executed if ordinary ballad.

The 45 reached #1 on Dallas stations KLIF, KBOX (see survey front and back) and KFJZ and was picked it up by Dot Records for national distribution. The Mystics went on to open shows for the Beach Boys, Sam the Sham, the Lovin’ Spoonful and others, but for some reason never released another 45.

Contrary to what has been written before, the Mystics did not develop into the New Breed, who recorded Ron Price songs like “High Society Girl” and “P.M. or Later”. The In Crowd label used the Mystics name as a way to give credibility to the New Breed, which was actually a batch of studio musicians based out of Robin Hood Brians’ studio in Tyler.

I asked bassist David Mitchell a few questions about the band:

Q. Is that a Gibson Thunderbird you’re playing?
That is a Thunderbird bass in that picture. Wish I still had it now.
Q. Were you still in the band when it became the New Breed?
None of The Mystics were a part of The New Breed. It was never a real band. The record company we were with used our name and said it was the Mystics with a new name. They were studio players. May have been the same players that backed Jimmy Rabbit on his records. They only had the one 45 that I know of.
Q. The one name I can find connecting the Mystics and the New Breed is the songwriter Ron Price, did you know him?
Yes we knew Ron Price. At the time we had won a battle of the bands and a record contract, Ron was working with Spectra records which was also Knight Records and many other label names they wanted to use. Ron was a good song writer, he later wrote songs for Glenn Campbell.
The band broke up in 1968, as we all started getting drafted. Robert Farris went on to play with Sam The Sham and later with The Bellemy Brothers. He also played some with the two Vaughan brothers. I still play some. My son plays drums and has been in bands as well, Speed Trucker, Boy Named Sue, Tall Paul and The Hot Rod Hillbillies to name a few.

Thanks to David Mitchell for sending in the photos, above and answering my questions about the Mystics.

Update, January 2009 – thanks to Barb S. who sent me these two great photos of the original band:

left to right: Ron Jobe, Glen Struble, Danny Fugate (on top), Robert Farris, David Mitchell

left to right: Danny Fugate, Robert Farris, David Mitchell, Glen Strubble and (in front) Ron Jobe

Categories: Dallas, HBR, Josie, Knight (Dallas), Robin Hood Studios (Tyler), Southern Sound, Texas

Jimmy Rabbit and Positively 13 O’Clock

March 2, 2007 Chris Bishop 31 Comments

Jimmy Rabbit cuts Chuck Dunaway's call letters off his shirt — Jimmy Rabbit cuts Chuck Dunaway’s call letters off his shirt after winning a boat race between the stations. Photo from The History of KLIF Radio (http://1650oldiesradio.com/pgone.html – now defunct).

Jimmy Rabbit Knight 45 Pushover Jimmy Rabbit was a prominent DJ at Dallas station KLIF AM 1190 with a show that mixed British Invasion sounds with Texas acts like Mouse and the Traps, Sir Douglas Quintet and the Five Americans. Having tried his hand at singing as a young rockabilly under his real name, Eddy Payne (Dale Payne), he decided to make another attempt in 1965. With help from friends, Rabbit released three good garage 45s from ’65 to ’67.

“Pushover” is distinguished by a popping rhythm and sharp guitar. It was released with three variations in the name. First as Jimmy Rabbit with Ron and Dea on the yellow Knight label, on a blue Knight label as simply Jimmy Rabbit, and then picked up for national release on Southern Sound as Jimmy Rabbit and the Karats (ha ha).

Jimmy Rabbit Knight 45 Wishy-Washy Woman The b-side “Wait and See” is dark and less catchy, but pretty good too. Both of these were written by Lindsey-Kirkland-Rambo, arranged by Bob Rambo and produced by Bob Sanders.

Next came the bluesy “Wishy Washy Woman” from July of 1965, written by Ron Price. “Wishy-Washy Woman” reached #31 on the KLIF charts thanks to Jimmy’s connection with the station. It’s a formulaic blues, but gains momentum a little over halfway through as Jimmy sings just over the drums, with the other instruments coming in at the end of each measure.

The flip side is “My Girl”, credited as a Price original but really more a version of Willie Dixon’s “My Babe” with some different lyrics.

Jimmy Rabbit Southern Sound 45 Pushover Jimmy Rabbit Josie 45 Wishy-Washy Woman

Positively 13 O'Clock photo — Positively 13 O’Clock lineup, from left: Dave Stanley, Bugs Henderson, Jimmy Rabbit and Jerry Howell Jimmy Rabbit: “The picture of Positively 13 O’Clock was taken while we were playing at the world famous Lou Ann’s Teen Club.”

Positively Thirteen O'Clock HBR 45 Psychotic Reaction His biggest hit came in 1966, with a buzzy cover of “Psychotic Reaction” under the name Positively Thirteen O’Clock, recorded at Robin Hood Brians studio in Tyler, Texas with members of Mouse and the Traps: “Bugs” Henderson and Ronnie “Mouse” Weiss on guitars, Ken “Nardo” Murray drums, David Stanley bass, and Jerry Howell organ.

The solo has a frantic, trebly quality that’s a trademark Texas sound. The band ends the song with a final burst of fuzz rather than coming back into the verse as in the Count Five’s original, itself an imitation of the Yardbirds’ raveups. This abbreviated version clocks at a tidy 1:59!

High Yellow film still photo

Mr. Rabbit wrote to me:

The Dallas records [“Pushover” & “Wishy Washy Woman”] were a totally different thing than the Tyler recordings [“Psychotic Reaction”]. When Bobby Rambo and I teamed up in late ’64 we were a part of a new kind of music “thing” in Dallas-Ft. Worth.
We all came out of rockabilly music and we all used to hang out at the Sand-Lin Recording Studio (Bob Sanders and Lewis Lindsey) and played at, among other places: LouAnn’s and The Cellar in Dallas. This was right when the change from American to English music was taking place. We really tried to become/sound English! (like my friends in The Sir Douglas Quintet).
I was a teenager with a Beatle haircut who was the number-one d.j. on KLIF Radio. I had brought the Beatles on stage when they played Dallas [fascinating write up was at http://www.radiodailynews.com/rabbittchapter12.htm but can now be found at https://web.archive.org/web/20120329141938/http://www.radiodailynews.com/rabbittchapter12.htm] and played in several bands, so we all got record deals at different times. There were several bands that hung out and listened to and recorded music. At any given time, there could be a band called ‘Jimmy Rabbit and the Karats’, ‘Jimmy Rabbitt with Ron (Boston) and Dea’ (Kirkland), ‘The Rowdies’, ‘The Bobby Rambo Rock-Kings’ and on and on.
The songs “Pushover” and “Wait and See” were recorded in 1965 and were featured in the movie, High Yellow. The band included Bobby Rambo, Lewis Lindsey, Dea Kirkland, Rex Ludwick, Ron Boston, and others who have been long forgotten!
Bobby Rambo, Rex Ludwick and I (and others) became Jimmy Rabbitt and Texas (on Atco Records) and later Jimmy Rabbitt and Renegade who recorded an album for Capitol with Waylon Jennings producing in 1977. Of all the records that I have made over the years, the only song that Bobby Rambo didn’t play on was “Psychotic Reaction”.

Check out Jimmy Rabbit’s website at www.jimmyrabbitt.com.(defunct)

Categories: Dallas, Texas

Johnny Green and the Green Men – early days in Dallas

February 22, 2007 Chris Bishop 2 Comments

Johnny Green at Surfers A Go Go club in Dallas

Two members of Johnny Green and the Greenmen at Surfers A Go Go club in Dallas

Johnny Green and the Green Men at Surfers A Go Go club in Dallas

Johnny Green was raised near Green Bay WI, then moved to California in the early ’60s, and eventually settled in Bismark, North Dakota. Johnny and the Green Men toured constantly, and ads I’ve found cite the band as from California or Las Vegas.

Johnny Green & the Green Men may not have started in Dallas, but they seem to have been regulars on the live music scene in the area, so I’m including them in the Dallas section for the time being.

The Grand Prairie Daily News-Texan published a photo of the group on August 29, 1965, noting that the Green Men would be playing at the Hi-Ho Ballroom on W. Jefferson would be playing at its “Shabang” with a battle of the bands and go-go girls.

The photos on the right are from the Surfers a Go Go club in Dallas and were sent to me by Jerry Colwell of Kit and the Outlaws. Howard Wales may have been the keyboardist in the Green Men when these photos were taken. I don’t know the names of any other group members from this time.

As far as I know, Johnny Green & The Green Men’s first single was “Something You Got” / “Green Thumb” on Emerald 2001 and picked up by Tou-Sea. Ken Elliott produced and Mickey Miller sang lead vocal. They later recorded for Ranwood, Edmar and Barak labels.

Johnny Green would become one of the Joker’s Henchmen on the Batman TV series. He kept touring as Johnny Green and the Green Men throughout the years, as far as I know, he may still be at it.

Info from an interview on Batmania.com.

Garage Hangover