Category Archives: Kustom Kut

The Mixed Emotions (Alabama)

The Mixed Emotions were from the town of Coden, on the Gulf in Alabama. Members were:

Ronnie Ghetti – lead vocals
Jerry Simmons – lead guitar
Wendell Herrington – keyboards
Tim Hayes – bass
Rodney Linder – drums

The highlight is the great “Can’t You Stop It Now”, featuring a bass player who hits all the right notes, a singer who’s halfway between being hurt and not caring a bit (I like how he tosses off the line “I need a little peace!”), and a guitarist with an ill-sounding fuzz tone. “Go Jerry, do it,” says the singer right before the solo.

The flip is a mellow, bluesy original, “I’ll Fade Away”. This was released in the summer of ’68 on the Kustom Kut label out of nearby Grand Bay, and as it turns out, was recorded at Sun Studios in Memphis.

Jerry Simmons wrote both songs with the bands manager, James Bowers.

Jerry Simmons wrote to me about the group:

Making the record was my idea. We met a fellow that had connections with Sun Records in Memphis so naturally I wanted to go there and record some original material.

The bass player, Timmy Hayes and the drummer Rodney Linder and I played together in a couple of more bands in the 60s. I also cut a record in about 1973. As of late I wrote and produced a Christmas album for singer Malcolm Slater.

Our lead singer, Ronnie Ghetti moved to Georgia shortly after we made our record. Our keyboard player, Wendell Herrington didn’t play much anymore.

Anyone have a photo of the band?