Category Archives: Mercury

The Tyme of Day “Listen to What Is Never Said”

The Tyme of Day, from left: Robert Anderson, Chris Rogers and Shelby Rogers

The Tyme of Day came from Irving, Texas, northwest of Dallas.

Members were:

Shelby Rogers – lead vocals and guitar
Bob Anderson – bass
Chris Rogers – drums

I found this photo of the group in the April 7, 1968 Irving Daily News, announcing their appearance at the Irving Teen-a-Go-Go with the Phase V, the Glenda Harris Dancers and emcee Ralph Baker.

The group traveled to Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis, New Mexico several times, cutting Shelby’s original songs “I Wanna Know” and “Persuade Me” in March of 1968, In June they cut another original, “Listen to What Is Never Said”.

Norman Petty added keyboards, and “Listen to What Is Never Said” / “I Wanna Know” saw release on Mercury 72861 in November, 1968. Besides the Rogers brothers, session notes from https://www.norvajakmusic.com/t-v.html list Larry Shaw on bass, though it appears Robert Anderson played bass at some sessions.

The group made two further sessions at the Petty studio, cutting “Am I Really Me” / “The Word ‘Because'” in August, 1968, / “You Don’t Want Me” and “The Game” in March of 1969. All of these have remained unreleased.

The Ground Floor People

The Ground Floor People Parfait 45 Walkin' on EggsThe Ground Floor People cut two fine singles, first “Walking on Eggs” / “It’s All Right Now”, produced by Ronnie Eden and Joe Simmons on Parfait 101, from September, 1966, then “Treat Me Better” and “Workaday World”, produced by Morty Croft and Ronnie Eden, and released on Mercury 72719 in mid-late 1967.

Tom Ciulla wrote to me and answered my questions about the group:

The Ground Floor People was my group and I played drums and wrote songs. My brother Don Ciulla originally put the group together. He played rhythm guitar and lead vocals. Lead guitar, Tommy Morrow and Freddie Davidson on bass and background vocals. I played drums and sang lead, background vocals and did the screaming (“Treat Me Better”). I came up with the name “Ground Floor People”. We usually rehearsed in a ground floor apartment or basement. Everyone was from Brooklyn.

We were playing in a club called Freddie’s. The owners were trying to sell the place. The group became very popular and after a few months there was a line down the block. The owners decided not to sell and we played there for over nine months. I am pretty sure that was where we met Ronnie Eden (Edelstein).

The Ground Floor People Parfait 45 It's All Right NowJoe Simmons was a real sweetheart. I wrote “It’s All Right Now” with Joe and collaborated on another song that I wrote and he did the arrangement on. It was called “My Man’s a PHD”. Ronnie Eden produced the session and discovered a young “Aretha type” singer to record the song. I remember Ronnie saying that he got a drummer, Perdie Persaval [Bernard Purdie?], who he said played for James Brown, and Perdie got the other musicians to sit in on the session.

Q. I haven’t heard of a Perdie Persaval, but Bernard Purdie played on tons of NY sessions, including one with James Brown.

That was probably the guy. How many drummers named Purdie could there be?

Ronnie claimed he operated on a tight budget. We never had a chance to correct anything in the studio. Like Don Krantz [of Yesterday’s Children, also produced by Eden] said about the bad note on his recording. We all thought the songs “Wanna Be With You” and “Feelings” were really hit tunes. I never met anyone from Yesterdays Children.

I realized later on Ronnie was more interested in having the publishing and recordings of the artists than the quality and promotion of the production. He told me on several occasions he had publishing on several hit songs and recordings that he produced before they were successful. Unfortunately, I made several recordings but was unable to hold on to any of the demos.

The Ground Floor People Mercury 45 Treat Me BetterMy brother was drafted and the group broke up. I played with a few different bands for a while and eventually put together the second Ground Floor People. Sammy Sicalo, lead guitar, George Mandel on keyboard, and Tony Radicello on bass and lead vocals. I played drums and sang lead, background vocals as well. I wrote “Treat Me Better” and “Work A Day World” with Tony. When Ronnie got a recording contract form Mercury records, Tony and I wrote two more songs, “Wanted To Be With You” and “Make A Little Room”. All four songs were recorded at the Mercury session. I always felt “PHD” and the last two tunes at Mercury were my best efforts.

Tom Ciulla

“I Wanted to Be With You Girl” / “Make a Little Room” would show up on a 45 by the One Way Street on the Boutique label, both songs credited to Anthony Radicello, Jr., Tom Ciulla and Ronnie Eden for Impeccable Music, BMI, with production by Ronnie Eden.

Ronnie Eden’s name only comes up in Billboard in conjunction with Ted Black. Together they sold masters by John Gary to Cameo/Parkway and were sued for it by RCA (Billboard, November 13, 1965).

Tom also tipped me to this article about Ronnie becoming New Orleans record shop legend, Record Ron, who passed away in 1996. I used to go to Record Ron’s shop during the two times I lived in New Orleans in the ’80s and ’90s, but I had no idea of his previous career as a producer.

Thanks to Christian for the Parfait 45 scans.

Noe Pro and the Semi-tones

Noe Pro and the Semi-tones, 1964
Noe Pro and the Semi-tones, 1964
from left: Jesse Salinas, Noe Pro, Gonzalo Gonzales, Alfonso Saenz, Gregorio Reyes and David Garcia

Noe Pro & the Semitones Pharaoh 45 I Know What's Been Going OnJesse Salinas, rhythm guitarist for Noe Pro & the Semi-tones writes about his time with Noe’s band and his later group, the Staffs:

I joined Noe Pro’s band in 1963. Original members started with inexpensive instruments mostly Sears Silvertone, Harmony or Alamo guitars and amps. Guitars, bass and microphone were plugged into one Silvertone amplifier. What started out with mostly high school musicians, Noe turned into “Noe Pro and the Semi-tones”.

Noe Pro & the Semitones Norco 45 I'm Gonna Leave This Town
“I’m Gonna Leave This Town” excellent soul-funk number

The band recorded several 45s on the Pharaoh label in McAllen, Texas in 1963, ’64, ’65 and ’66 at a small two or four track studio owned by Jimmy Nicholls. English record “Yesterday’s Dream” and flipside “Come Along My Baby” was the first recording for the Semitones, picked up by the Mercury label. The band also recorded the single “I Know” and its flipside “Reina De Mi Vida” and “I Know What’s Been Going On” and flipside “I Love You My Darling” at the Pharaoh Studio. All records had some local success.Noe Pro and the Semi-tones recorded most of the Spanish 45s at Ideal Records Studios in San Benito, Texas. I recall recording engineer and owner of Ideal, John Phillips had Baldemar Huerta (Freddy Fender) working the recording equipment. We spent numerous nights at the Ideal studios recording until 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning. The LP was done at Falcon Studios.

Noe Pro and His Semitones Brownsville Civic Center
Semitones, L-R, front: Gabriel (Gaby) Garza (sax), Gilbert Colunga (trumpet), Bobby Vill (bass); back: Jesse Salinas (guitar), Noe Pro (singer, drummer) and Carlos Cantu (sax)

Noe & the Semitones Benja 45 Oh DarlingNoe was also a great guitar and bass player, he could play numerous instruments, he arranged all the melodies for our horn section. Noe was known as the singing drummer which was unique for that time. Everyone loved to hear Noe sing and could dance to the music we played in English and Spanish.

La Vox Internacional de Noe Pro Falcon LPIn 1965 Noe was picked up by an orchestra service agency in Dallas that arranged for him to tour. They used their musicians. Some of us were either still in school or were not hired. Noe Pro’s band had new beginnings, and his music played on. Noe’s roots are in the Rio Grande Valley where he continues to record, and entertain his fans with tejano, country, rock, blues and big band music. Though it’s been over 40 years, this is some of what I recall about the early years of Noe Pro and the Semi-tones.

I played bass guitar with another school band The Staffs. By the middle of 1966, most of us were drafted into military service. It seems everyone left Brownsville, Texas.

Sadly, we have lost two of the early years Semi-tones, Gregorio (Goyo) Reyes: trumpet and Guadalupe (Lupio) Hernandez: lead guitar.

I ask anyone with knowledge of the band to submit photos, stories or any information about Noe Pro’s band “The Semi-tones”.

Jesse Salinas

Noe Pro and the Semi-Tones business cardQ. Were you part of the Blue Valiants with Noe? “I Know (You Don’t Love Me Anymore)” / “Reina de Mi Vida” is credited to Noe Pro and the Blue Valiants.

Jesse: I was never with the Valiants. Noe joined the Valiants as a drummer. The Blue Valiants did record for Jimmy Nicholls at Pharaoh when he was with them. Later Noe formed his own band the Semitones and we recorded “Yesterday’s Dream” and its flip at Pharaoh, it was the first recording for the Semitones. Noe tells me that “I Know” and its flip was actually the second recording. We all noticed the error on the label at the time we got copies but it was too late to change.

Noe Pro Falcon promo photo

Noe Pro and the Blue Valiants Pharaoh 45 I KnowNoe Pro’s 1960s record releases

45s:

Noe Pro and the Semitones:

Mercury 72341 – “Yesterday’s Dream” / “Come Along My Baby (and Dance with Me)” (1964)

Pharaoh 118 – “I Know (You Don’t Love Me Anymore)” / “Reina de mi Vida” (credited to Noe Pro and the Blue Valiants)
Pharaoh 124 – “I Know What’s Been Going On” / “I Love You My Darling”

Noe Pro y Los Semitones Bego 45 Para Ti
“Para Ti” for the Bego label, a wild adaption of the Animals “I’m Crying”

Bego BG-167 – “Para Ti” / (as Noe Pro y Los Semitones)

Benja 103 – “Oh Darling” / “What Shall I Do” (both written by Benny C. Mendez and credited to Noe and the Semitoness)

Norco 110 – “If You Would See Me Tomorrow” / “I’m Gonna Leave This Town”

Ideal 2163 – “En Que Pierde una Mujer” / “Gracias”
Ideal 2285 – “Usted” / “Quizas, Quizas, Quizas”
Ideal 2370 – “Gorda” / “Mi Baby”
Ideal 2372 – “Extraños en la Noche”
Ideal 2382 – “El Destgastado” / “El Soltero”

Falcon 1656 – “Yo Te Daria Mas” / “Llora”

Album:

Falcon FLP-2055 – La Voz Internacional de Noe Pro

songlist: Llora, Mi Razon, Sin Verte, Incomprendida, Humo en los Ojos, Yo Te Suplico, Yo Te Daria Mas, Yo Soy Aguel, Aunque Me Hagas Llorar, Ya No Me Quieres, Cuando Comienza Elamor, Que Injusticia

Thank you to Jesse Salinas for the photos and scans in this article, and to Chad Burnett for the scan of the Bego 45 “Para Ti”.

The Chessmen (British Columbia)

Chessmen Mercury promo photo. From left: Bruce Peterson, Larry Borrisoff, Myles Kingan, Terry Jacks and Guy Sobell
From left: Bruce Peterson, Larry Borrisoff, Myles Kingan, Terry Jacks and Guy Sobell

Chessmen Vancouver business card

Clockwise from left: Al Wiertz, Bill Lockie, Guy Sobell and Terry Jacks
Clockwise from top left: Al Wiertz, Guy Sobell, Terry Jacks and Bill Lockie.

Chessmen London 45 Meadowlands

Chessmen Jerden 45 Mr. Meadowlands

The early roots of The Chessmen began in the late 1950’s with musical influences from the Swedish group The Spotnicks and the English group The Shadows. Guy Sobell was a guitarist in a Vancouver band, The Ken Clark Trio, and while in Europe, he had heard these groups and decided to form his own band when he returned to Canada.

At the same time, a 17 year old named Terry Jacks had put together a “surf” band”, The Sand Dwellers. The group never played live but recorded two unreleased songs including one original penned by Jacks and fellow member John Crowe called “Build Your Castle Higher”. It was later recorded and released by a California group Jerry Cole and The Spacemen with the title changed to “Midnight Surfer”. When the Sand Dwellers folded, some of the members re-formed as The Vancouver Playboys.

Jacks and Sobell were introduced by a mutual friend, Sam Bawlf, who later became the Environment Minister of British Columbia. (Sam,Terry, and Guy all happened to be going to the University of British Columbia at the same time). Guy and Terry teamed up with two other UBC students, Bill Lockie, a guitar player who was learning to play bass, and Erik Kalaidzis, a singer who played chess with Guy. Thus `The Chessmen’. They started out doing gigs at UBC fraternity houses for $40 a night without a drummer. Kalaidzis later left the group because his vocal style was more classical and not geared to what the group was doing at the time. So the band became an instrumental group.

The Chessmen played in the Okanagan (the interior part of British Columbia) in the winter of 1963 and stayed at some strange motels; namely the `Tell-a-Friend’ in Vernon, and ‘The Davy Crockett’ in Kamloops. Lockie recalls Jacks swimming in the motel pool at night while it was snowing and way below freezing. The next day, their newly found drummer, Tom Meikle didn’t show up and they had to play with no drums.

At a gig in Kelowna, Jacks met a guy named Craig McCaw who was played in a band called The Shadracks. He had come to The Chessmen concert with his friend John Tanner (who later went on to become a well known disc jockey in Vancouver). It was a fateful meeting as Craig would later play with Terry in The Poppy Family, an internationally acclaimed group.

Back in Vancouver, The Chessmen got a new drummer, Kenny Moore, who played with them on their first single, “Meadowlands” b/w “Mustang” and a third previously unreleased song called “When I’m Not There”. These were recorded at Robin Spurgin’s Vancouver Recording Studio in 1964.

Red Robinson, a highly acclaimed Vancouver disc jockey who had a lot of connections in the music business passed the tape on to Alice Koury, Vice President of London Records and in December 1964, London released The Chessmen’s first single, “Meadowlands” b/w “Mustang”. It did really well locally and Red Robinson who was undoubtedly instrumental in launching The Chessmen, was credited as the producer of the record. With Red’s help, the single was also released in the U.S. on Jerden Records out of Seattle, with the A-side listed as “Mr.Meadowlands” just to spice it up a bit.

With the success of their first single the band toured, playing roller rinks, high schools and dances across British Columbia throughout the spring of 1965. Terry recalls that because he wasn’t a great guitar player, the other band members were thinking about replacing him in the group. Then, he wrote a song called “The Way You Fell”. Because no one in the group could sing, Terry ended up singing the song and adding his own harmony to it. Up to that point the band had considered other possibilities for a lead singer including adding a female vocalist to their line up. They had tried out a girl named Bonnie Huber, who played some shows with them and even recorded some demos with the band. She was great but the band was too gross for a little girl.

Chessmen London Recording Artists business card

Chessmen London 45 The Way You Fell

Terry Jacks & Chessmen news clipping

Chessmen Mercury 45 Love Didn't DieWith Terry now in place as the band’s vocalist, “The Way You Fell” b/w “She Comes By Night” was recorded at Vancouver Recording Studio with their new drummer, Al Wiertz and released on London Records in April 1965. That single ended up being one of The Chessmen’s most successful records, peaking at #4 on the CFUN Top 50 in Vancouver.

1965 was turning out to be a busy year for the group.

Terry had gone to see Brenda Lee at The Cave Supper Club in Vancouver, wanting her to hear a song he’d written with the hope that she would record it. He ended up becoming good friends with Brenda and her manager, Dub Allbritten who was one of the biggest managers in Nashville. Besides Brenda, he had worked with Red Foley, Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb, and Roy Orbison just to name a few. He also had co-written Brenda’s huge hit “I’m Sorry”. Dub offered to manage The Chessmen and got them a recording contract in the U.S. with Mercury Records. They recorded four songs in Nashville with producer Jerry Kennedy who had produced Roger Miller, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Charlie Rich among many other famous artists.

It was an incredible step forward for the band. It was almost unheard of at the time for a little Canadian band with moderate success going to Nashville to record, and being signed to a major record label with one of the biggest managers and most prominent producers in Nashville.

In September 1965, The Chessmen made their way down to Nashville for a recording session via a Greyhound bus. New drummer Myles Kingan and electric accordion (Chordovox) player Bruce Peterson had since become members of the band.

Bruce Peterson was well known among the other band members for his dry sense of humour and the trip to Nashville was no exception. He had brought along a small box, wrapped up very carefully. As people walked by him on the bus they would ask him what was in the box. He told them that it was his pet aardvark. During the trip, when the bus entered a tunnel somewhere in Colorado, he stood up suddenly and announced loudly that his aardvark had escaped. Astonished passengers on the bus lifted up their feet as he pretended to search the bus for his fictional pet, which of course was never found.

Once in Nashville, the band was put up by the record company at a sleazy motel, where they all had to share a room. The walls in the room were full of holes and huge cockroaches had infested them; so the guys sprayed shaving cream into the holes to prevent the cockroaches from coming out. However, now it turned out even worse. These monster cockroaches would emerge from the walls, covered in shaving cream, and would run around the floor all night long! Guy’s memories in Nashville included buying Beatle boots and striped pants, and visiting Hank Snow’s guitar store.

Mercury had booked the group into Fred Fosters studio, where many famous hits had been recorded including all of Roy Orbison’s records. During the recording session, the group found it amusing that their producer Jerry Kennedy kept going to the vending machine, throughout the session, purchasing peanut butter filled Ritz crackers, which he seemed addicted to.

Following the session on September 16th and 17th, the band returned to a busy schedule in Vancouver. On September 24th they played the The Beach Boys show along with Charlie Rich and The Castaways at the PNE gardens. On November 5th they played with Buddy Knox, then toured the dance halls and high school circuit, and on November 28th ended up doing a show with Roy Orbison at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

The songs they had just recorded on their first trip to Nashville “Love Didn’t Die” b/w “You Lost Your Game” were released in December 1965 on Mercury Records. On December 29th the band played with Gary Lewis and The Playboys in Vancouver.

With new members Al Weirtz and Larry Borisoff.
With new members Al Weirtz and Larry Borisoff.

Chessmen Mercury 45 What's Causing This Sensation

Chessmen C-Fun chart May 7, 1966

On February 25th 1966, The Chessmen returned to Nashville for two sessions. This time the record company had booked them a flight to Nashville. Larry Borisoff, a new member on this trip, replaced Bill Lockie on bass guitar and also helped out on vocals.

While waiting for a connecting flight at the airport in Chicago, a drunken Jacks bet the guys he could get a bottle of rum from the bar without being seen. But the bartender spotted him as he swiped the bottle and he fled, running down the wrong way on the escalator to escape. In the parking lot he ditched the booze and jumped into a surprised girl’s car to hide. Although he wasn’t caught, the delay caused the band to miss their connecting flight to Nashville.

When they finally arrived, The Chessmen cut what was to be their last single “What’s Causing This Sensation” b/w “For Running Wild” which was released in April, 1966 on Mercury Records. Prior to the session Guy Sobell had shown up looking a bit pale, he had apparently been hit by a car outside the studio. Although shaken, he wasn’t seriously injured and proceeded to record his solo in “What’s Causing This Sensation”.

On the flight home from Nashville, drummer Miles Kingan passed out having had a bit too much to drink prior to leaving the airport. Terry and Guy remember pulling down his pants and putting his hand down his underwear, then calling the stewardess and complaining that Miles was acting in an obscene manner. The stewardess woke him up and told him to get his act together or she would have to report him to the pilot.

Upon their return, The Chessmen continued touring across British Columbia with their new drummer Duris Maxwell, their fifth and final drummer. Guy recalls the time when someone threw a beer bottle at Duris while the group was playing in Victoria. Duris stopped playing, walked up to the front where Jacks was singing and said “Whoever threw that bottle would you please come up to the stage”. Despite his polite request, he did not look like a guy you would want to mess with and no one responded.

The Chessmen’s final gig was in Ladner, British Columbia on July 15th 1966 where the band was paid $180 to play. Terry and Guy recall that there was a lot of drinking before the performance. Local mobile sound engineer Douglas Gyseman (aka Kurtis Vanel) recorded the last gig. (Two of these tracks plus a bonus track that he recorded appear on the Chessmen Collection CD).

The break-up of The Chessmen occurred after Guy’s father gave him a choice of either going to London University (because Guy was quite “a brilliant guy”) or getting out of the house and continuing music with Jacks. He chose University. Checkmate.

While in England, he met Jimi Hendrix who purchased his white Fender Stratocaster guitar for £80. When asked in a 1966 Chatelaine Magazine interview if success had changed The Chessmen in any way, Jacks replied, “No, we all still eat raw eggs for breakfast!”

A CD of British Columbia’s Chessmen re-mastered from the original master tapes under the supervision of Terry Jacks contains their eight rare single sides, plus bonus tracks of the group live at their last concert in 1966 and a previously unreleased demo of ‘You Lost Your Game’. Fans of tough garage sounds will dig the never-before-heard “No Blood in Bone”.

The Whatt Four

 The Whatt Four photo: Greg Sanders, Tom Ference, Tom Bitters and John Langdon
The Whatt Four l-r: Greg Sanders, Tom Ference, Tom Bitters and John Langdon

Whatt Four ESP 45 Our Love Should Last ForeverThe Whatt Four released two amazing 45s in ’66 and ’67, both regional hits on KFXM in San Bernardino. The band cut two original songs for their first 45 on producer Gary Paxton’s own ESP label. “You Better Stop Your Messin’ Around” alternates between moody verses, deadly lyrics (“you say you’re shopping, but … someone else is buying you!”) and an upbeat chorus. Great harmonies and a driving bass line really propel this track. It was backed with the raver “Our Love Should Last Forever”, featuring Tom Ference’s slamming drum beats and John Langdon’s piercing guitar work.

Their next 45 went straight to national release on Mercury. “Dandelion Wine” is a tripped-out gem, sounding like a mix of Donovan and the kitchen-sink production of the Stones’ Her Satanic Majesties Request, but with greater focus than most of that LP. It was written by Jerry Scheff, a member of bands like Goldenrod, the Millennium, Friar Tuck and later Elvis Presley’s touring band. For the flip of “Dandelion Wine” we have “You’re Wishin’ I Was Someone Else”, a Greg Sanders original that would have qualified as the A-side for nearly any other group.

Whatt Four Mercury 45 Dandelion WineWhatt Four Mercury 45 You're Wishin' I Was Someone ElseI contacted the Whatt Four’s drummer Tom Ference who kindly shared these photos and comments about his time with the band:

The band members are Greg Sanders (bass and lead vocal), Tom Bitters (guitar), John Langdon (lead guitar), and myself as the drummer. Greg and I are cousins, Bitters was my neighbor growing up, so we three grew up together and started playing music off and on about 1965. Langdon was added later as lead guitar. Don’t remember how the name came about other than they’re was four of us, and adding WHAT, but spelled WHATT made it cool.

We were in Riverside, California. Played that whole area and into LA and San Diego. The Bush was our biggest local competition. But they played a different type of stuff. More of a dirty rock sound. The equipment we used were Fender amps and guitars, except Bitters used a Rickenbacker sometimes. We did have a really big Altec-Lansing PA system, which set us apart from most groups at that time. We were able to mike my drums and standard guitars for what ever effect we wanted.

We met Gary Paxton at the Decca Records office in LA. We were seeing Bud Dant of Decca, pushing some demo stuff. Paxton just happened to be there. Bud said he wasn’t interested, but Paxton spoke up and said he was. So we hooked up with him back at his garage, that’s where his studio was, and the rest is history. ESP was Gary’s own thing. The only picture of us and Paxton is us and him by his bus that had all his recording equipment in it.

“You Better Stop Your Messin’ Around” was mostly a So-Cal thing. I think Gary hoped a major label would pick it up and do it national. I did hear it was getting a little play in other parts of the country. Not much really became of it. “Our Love Should Last Forever” was written by Tom Bitters, our rhythm guitar player.

We didn’t know Scheff [Jerry Scheff, the writer of “Dandelion Wine”]. His stuff was in a pile of songs Gary wanted to see if we could do something with. Greg Sanders was told to sound “loaded” by our producer Gary Paxton.

It came out on Mercury Records, a big deal for us. It was really starting to get some action. Then Greg got drafted, a few months later I got drafted, so the group went down the drain. No group, no record. We were lucky, Greg went to Germany as a radio operator, I auditioned and made it into the 98th Army Band (Ft. Rucker Ala). Much better than Vietnam.

What was Ken Johnson’s role with the band? – he’s co-credited on the flip, “You’re Wishin’ I Was Someone Else”

Johnson was a guy who helped Greg put the words on paper with music. And maybe some words.

Greg and I both got out of the army in 1969. We did reform with Bitters, but Langdon had gone his own way out of music. We added Larry Reid and renamed ourselves as “Allis Chalmers”. We did make one record. “Sing a Song” on Cream Records (1971). It was written by Gary Wright, we got covered by that guy from “Blood, Sweat and Tears”. Shortly after that we went our own ways. Just couldn’t go back to playing bars and stuff like that. Never saw Paxton again, I hear he’s into religious country stuff now, boy what a difference from when we knew him. Greg works for the State of California, not sure what Bitters is doing, I retired from Verizon in 2003 and enjoy every day.

I’m always amazed and happy that what we did is still remembered. It was a fun time of musical experiments. I think that was the best part, the only rule was there were no rules. It was what sounded good to you that mattered.

Tom Ferrence, 2009

The Whatt Four with Gary Paxton
The Whatt Four with Gary Paxton, second from right.
The bus served as his studio’s control room.

Greg Sanders wrote to me in December, 2011 in answer to my questions about Gary Paxton:

Working with Gary was an experience. We were young and innocent, though we probably didn’t think so and he matured us quickly. Always willing to assist and took a real interest in who we were. Learned alot about recording and “inside” music stuff from him. Hal Blaine (prime session drummer) was visiting Gary during one of our sessions and he joined us for the hand clapping part on Dandelion Wine.

There is one person I want to mention who played a large part in helping us along the way: Bill (Kid) Corey. He was the owner/operator of the Mystic Eye teenage club in Riverside. He hired us in the beginning to be the house band. It was there that we practiced and got tight as a band. Sadly, the club closed sometime in 68 I believe.

The Whatt Four photo
The Whatt Four, l-r: Tom Bitters, Greg Sanders, John Langdon and Tom Ference

In a comment below, Kimberly Langdon-Sauceda sadly reports that her father John Langdon passed away in 2002 after fighting esophageal cancer.

See the entry on the New Wing for more about Gary Paxton and Ken Johnson. All four tracks by the Whatt Four will be appearing from the master tapes on an upcoming Big Beat comp dedicated to the Riverside and San Bernardino scene being produced by Alec Palao. “You’re Wishin’ I Was Someone Else” will also be on “Where The Action Is: LA Nuggets 1965-68” box set on Rhino, due to be released in late September ’09.

Special thanks to Tom Ferrence for sharing his memories and photos of the Whatt Four. Thanks to the G45 Secret Society and Jim Wynand for label scans. KFXM chart reproduced from ARSA. Also a tip of the hat to transoniq for name-dropping Dandelion Wine in a comment about the Rites.

"Better Stop Your Messin' Around", at #12, KFXM, December 9, 1966
“Better Stop Your Messin’ Around”, at #12, KFXM, December 9, 1966
 "Dandelion Wine" at #27, KFXM, November 3, 1967
“Dandelion Wine” at #27, KFXM, November 3, 1967

The Elegant Four

The Elegant Four: Back row: Tom Cosgrove, Billy Dennis and Pete Santora. Front row: Dennis Sousa and John Tomany
Back row: Tom Cosgrove, Billy Dennis and Pete Santora. Front row: Dennis Sousa and John Tomany

Elegant Four Mercury 45 Time to Say GoodbyeFrom the Bronx, the Elegant Four were also known as the Elegants. Tom Crosgrove was lead guitarist and vocalist, and wrote both songs on their only 45. Other members included Bill Dennis and Pete Santora.

The chanted vocals and echoing chords give “Time to Say Goodbye” a downcast mood, brightening momentarily during the chorus where the singer gives the boot to the girl holding out on him.

On the flip is the uptempo “I’m Tired”, with more fine harmonies and a good guitar solo.

These songs were originally released on the Cousins label, produced by Mike Barbiero. It was picked up for a December ’65 release on Mercury, but doesn’t seem to have made much chart impact.

Sources: photo from Pete Santora’s site. Thanks to Tom for clarifying the photo IDs.

A couple other photos are available on Tom Walsh’s site Bronx Bands of the Past (warning: Angelfire sites like this one always have pop-up ads).

The Riddles

The Riddles, from left: Wes Dobson, Ron Fricano, Lee Adams and Rick Harper
from left: Wes Dobson, Ron Fricano, Lee Adams and Rick Harper

The Riddles were all from the well-to-do western suburbs of Chicago, around Elmhurst. Members were:

Patrick Harper – lead vocals and lead guitar
Lee Adams – vocals and bass
Weston Dobson – rhythm guitar
Ronald Fricano – drums.

The Riddles Quill 45 It's One Thing to SayThey recorded a cover of the Searchers hit “Sweets For My Sweet” which made the charts on Chicago stations WLS and WCFL in April of 1967, but it’s the b-side that I dig, the very cool original “It’s One Thing To Say”, written by Pat Harper and Wes Dobson. Edgewater music publisher Peter Wright often placed records with Mercury Records, so the 45 was released locally on Qull and with national distribution on Mercury.

The Riddles were frequent guests on the local Chicago TV program Kiddie A-Go-Go. They played a benefit concert with the New Colony Six in Grant Park on September 27, 1967, then disappeared, probably off to college to avoid the draft.

Thanks to Chris S. for sending in the photo of the band, and to Jim M. for alerting me to the interview with Jack Mulqueen of Kiddie A Go go by Phil X. Milstein. Mercury promo photo sent in by John ‘Nusound’.

Riddles Mercury promo photo