Categories: Birmingham, Brooke, Ed Boutwell Studios, Tommy Tucker

The Ramblers

July 10, 2011 Chris Bishop 11 Comments

Bob Ellis from the Alabama Record Collectors Association sent me this history of the Ramblers of Birmingham, written by Chip Sanders.

Back in 1961, the guitar playing Terrell brothers, Tommy and Eddie along with classmate Chris Covey found a junior high school drummer, Johnny Robinson, to play music. It was decided that the eldest brother, Eddie, would be the bass player, and Tommy would play rhythm guitar. Fellow Ramsey High School classmate, Van Veenschoten joined in to round out the group and play lead guitar. The group named themselves The Ramblers, and began playing for high school functions and fraternities and sororities in the Birmingham area. When Eddie Terrell received a tennis scholarship and headed to The University of Alabama, The Ramblers had no trouble in convincing Chris Convey, with the unusual nickname “The Spook,” to take over on the bass.

By mid-1962, The Ramblers were playing weekends regularly in and around Birmingham and cut their first record, “Stop That Twisting” / “Hundred Miles Away”, at Boutwell Recording Studio in Birmingham. Shortly thereafter, guitar player Van Veenschoten met Chip Sanders, a junior at neighboring Shades Valley High School, who was a piano player. The Ramblers auditioned Chip on a Sunday afternoon at Van’s parents home in Mountain Brook, and the nucleus of the group, that would become synonymous with “party band” was established.

An important early performance by The Ramblers at a state-wide Alabama high school Key Club Convention gave the group name recognition throughout the state, and soon The Ramblers of Birmingham were playing in Alabama cities and towns from Huntsville to Mobile. Practicing in a store room in the back of Johnny Robinson’s garage in Mountain Brook, Alabama, or in the basement of the Sanders’ home in Vestavia, The Ramblers were truly the proverbial garage band.

By fall of 1963, it was time for more of The Ramblers to make a decision, music or college! They decided on both, and as Tommy and Spook headed off to the University of Alabama and Johnny and Chip still in high school, the group began playing college fraternity parties at the University of Alabama.

By 1965-1966, The Ramblers were working regularly, primarily at Fraternity Parties around the southeast. Eddie, Tommy, Spook, and Chip had all become members of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at The University of Alabama, while Van was at Samford University and Johnny at the University of Montevallo. No longer rehearsing on a regular basis, the guys would meet up whenever and wherever the group might be playing.

In 1967, the group recorded another record at Boutwell Recording Studio, “Come Back, Come Back” / “Whole Lot Of Woman” written by keyboardist, Chip Sanders. The record experienced moderate success in the Alabama area, but college priorities prevented the group from properly promoting the record. Ed Boutwell, Birmingham recording pioneer, continued to use The Ramblers as back up musicians on many recording sessions at his studio.

Throughout this period, local radio station “sock hops” gained popularity amongst the Birmingham teenage population, and The Ramblers worked with local personality Duke Rumore of WYDE radio at Duke’s sock hop at the Ensley National Guard Armory, as well as Dave Roddy, from WSGN Radio at the Aporto Armory, across town. Also during this period the Ramblers were the backup band of choice for singers passing through Birmingham like Bobby Goldsboro or Billy Joe Royal.

As a “special added attraction” The Ramblers added a new set, featuring “Little John,” Chip’s kid brother, 11-year-old John Lee Sanders, who sang and played harmonica. John Lee Sanders, is now a successful song writer, performer and composer in the Bay Area of California. For the last 20 years he has worked with Long John Baldry, Starship, Paul Williams, Linda Arnold, and other popular entertainers.

As 1966-1967 came along, the world was quickly changing and The Rambler’s music began to change as well. Inspired by the psychedelic sounds coming out of the west coast, The Ramblers found a new sound with a young female vocalist, Vicki Hallman. Covers of the Jefferson Airplane, Linda Ronstadt and other female artists were added to their repertoire. After a brief marriage to drummer Johnny Robinson, Vicki continued her career in Nashville as a member of Buck Owens and the Buckaroos group and as a permanent cast member of the long running TV series, Hee-Haw.

With the Viet Nam War continuing to escalate in the late sixties, members of the group began to worry about the draft. This was definitely not the time to quit school and loose a student deferment to become a rock ‘n roll star. At various times during the next few years, Tommy joined George Bush in the Alabama Air National Guard, Chris joined the Coast Guard Reserve, Chip got in the Army National Guard three days before his draft notice, and Johnny became a reluctant member of the Talladega National Guard.

During their respective intermittent absences the group stayed together, with Terrell brother, Eddie, rejoining the group, along with a variety of substitute and fill-in players. As the sixties came to a close, one by one, the group began to graduate from college, get married and begin careers other than music. All the members of the group initially took jobs in Birmingham so that the band was able to stay together, but soon, the pressures of new careers, new wives, and even children began to put a strain on the group. “I don’t remember us ever officially deciding to break up. I just recall playing in a little town somewhere in South Alabama. We all brought our wives. It was a fun weekend. I remember staying in some ‘Bates Motel’ place and we all went swimming in their pool. That’s the last band job I can recall, but there may have been others,” said Sanders.

Johnny Robinson, who had tried to hold things together began touring with a new group, The Homestead Act, and subsequently moved to California to help his new wife start a music career. Chris moved away to seek his fortune, Chip moved near Memphis to start an insurance agency, and Tommy became a bank examiner for the Treasury Department.

The Ramblers were history, or so they thought. They stayed in touch with one another and by 1978 all of the remaining members of the group were thinking the same thing. They wanted to play again.

In 1979, the band regrouped as The Rambler Reunion Band adding Jim Burford on lead guitar to replace Van who died in a motorcycle accident in 1972. Chip moved out of state and was replaced by John Livingston on keyboards. Eddie rejoined the band to replace Chris who resides in Treasure Island, Florida. During the 80’s and 90’s the band continued working around the southeast entertaining at events with their 60’s music. Currently the RRB entertains at wedding receptions, reunion parties, company parties, club dances, and most any event that requires authentic 60’s rock and roll music.

Chip Sanders, 2011

The Ramblers, left to right: Chip Sanders, Chris Convey, Johnny Robinson, Tommy Terrell, Van Veenschoten

Johnny Robinson answered some follow-up questions I had about the photos and recording sessions.

The picture of the four of us [top of page] was taken at Highland County Club in December 1961. Van played lead guitar, Tommy rhythm guitar, Eddie bass. At this time we had very few vocals. That one mike and the small guitar amp (lower right corner) was our PA system. We bought the vests at Pizitz downtown.
The two professional photos were taken by Ken Ives at his studio in English Village down the street from Boutwell Recording Studio, where we recorded “100 Miles Away”. Chris Convey replaced Eddie on bass when Eddie left for college on a tennis scholarship. We have tons of other pictures through the years.
B.Temple is Brook Temple. He went to Shades Valley High School. We met him through Lee Shook, a mutual friend. Brook wrote “100 Miles away” with words about a girl he dated in Montgomery (100 miles from Birmingham) and asked us to record it. His mother paid for the recording session and the cost of the records. We did not like the words to the song, so we made it an instrumemtal. He also wrote “Stop That Twisting”. The Brook record label is his name. After all his mother paid for everything.
The second record, “Come Back, Come Back” was made in April 1967. The total for the packing slip was $123.10 for 510 records. That made them 24 cents each. The studio time was $300 as I remember. That made the total cost 83 cents each. Of course we did not made the records to make money, we gave most of them away to try and book more jobs. We have other studio recordings and live recordings.
The music scene in Birmingham was very active at this time – 1961 to 1968. The Distortions, Sammy Salvo, Willum Fowler, The Tremolos, Larry Parker, The Nomads, The Strangers, The Reflections, The Brood, and The Gents are just some of the local bands that recorded and released records on labels like Jo-Jo, Vibrato, Vesta, Lemon, Gold Master, Modern Enterprises, Malone, Vaughn-LTD, Malcolm Z. Dirge. There were many more. The ones I listed are part of my 45 collection. Others we were friends with: The Bassmen, Larry and the Loafers, The Kingsmen (not the famous ones), Daze of the Week, and Circus.

Packing list for the Ramblers 45 “Whole Lot Of Woman” / “Come Back, Come Back”

The Ramblers, left to right: Johnny Robinson (seated), Chip Sanders, Chris Convey, Tommy Terrell and Van Veenschoten

Categories: Houston, Texas

The Pacers (TX)

July 10, 2011 Chris Bishop 2 Comments

Here’s another fine instrumental from Texas.

“Settin’ the Pace” has some sharp guitar playing, though the horn lines basically reprise James Brown’s “Good Good Lovin'”. I still haven’t heard the flip side to this, or even know the title, so if anyone has a copy please contact me.”Settin’ the Pace” appeared on a 1988 LP on Gulf Coast Records LP Texas Guitars. Most of the songs on that compilation came from the Van Recording label, which originally led me to think this was a Van release as well.

One of the comments on my post about Van pointed out this was actually issued on Gemini Records from Freeport, close to the location of Van. DrunkenHobo sent me this scan from on an old auction of the 45, thanks! It provides me with a little info, but I have no clue as to who was in this band or their history.

The ACA-5112 number indicates the Pacers recorded at Bill Holford’s ACA Studio in Houston. “Settin’ the Pace” was written by someone named McQuarter, published by Glad Music, BMI. I’m not sure of the date, but from the sound and catalog #6301, 1963 is a good bet.

Categories: Canada, Columbia, Ontario, Toronto

Bobby Kris and the Imperials

July 7, 2011 Chris Bishop Leave a comment

Matt Faulkner spoke to Bob Burrows, vocalist and leader of Bobby Kris and the Imperials, and writes this article about the group:

Bobby Kris and the Imperials stood at the front of Toronto’s fruitful R&B scene in the mid-60s, alongside other notable acts like Richie Knight and The Mid-Knights, Mandala and Little Caesar and the Consuls. The group was one of the fourteen groups to take stage at the legendary “Toronto Sound” show at Maple Leaf Gardens, where they shared the stage with Toronto garage and psych greats such as Luke and the Apostles, The Ugly Ducklings, and the Paupers.

Originally titled J.S. and the Imperials, with Jimmy Snowden on vocals, the group had a number of lineup changes and recruitments from other bands. In early 1965, Bobby Kris joined the line up, and shortly after the key recording line up of the band was formed.

Bobby Kris (Bob Burrows) – vocals
Jerry Mann (aka Jerry Shymanski) – tenor sax
Rick Loth – tenor sax
Marty Fisher – piano
Gene Martynec – guitar
Dave Konvalinka – bass
Gordon MacBain – drums

The band fashioned themselves primarily an R&B outfit, having a hit with the Dionne Warwick classic “Walk On By”, and boasting a seven part line up, including two saxophones and keyboards. However, their recorded output does little to reflect this side of their sound, as the bulk of the songs on their two singles are more on the folky garage side of things. “Walk on By” was in fact the B-side of their first single, with the Bobby Kris/Gene Martynec penned “Travellin’ Bag” on the top side.

Their second single was fronted with a cover of Dylan’s “She Belongs to Me”, and a Byrds-like Kris/Martynec original, “A Year from Today” on the flip. It only took a lone three hour recording session for all four tracks to be laid down by the group, whom at the time consisted of Bobby Kris on lead vocals, Marty Fisher on keyboard, Gord MacBain on drums, Dave Konvalinka on bass, Gene Martynec on guitar, and Jerry Mann and Rick Loth sharing saxophone duties. Despite the recordings being a departure from their regular material, these singles hold up as worth while listening today, with “Travellin’ Bag” being one of my personal favourite recordings to come from the mid-60s “Toronto Sound”.

“We wrote the two songs as you know. To the best of my recollection we never played either one of them ever again,” said Kris, in one of our many online conversations. “For our normal fan base in Toronto, those songs were, well… an embarrassment, which explains why we never played them live. People who were into James Brown and Ray Charles didn’t want to hear Herman’s Hermits. If we played ‘Travellin’ Bag’ at one of those dances people would have thrown stuff at us.”

“The powers that be behind the recording session – including that wizard in the control room Stan and our supposed manager at the time, Fred White – determined that rhythm and blues was dead meat and that the only way for us to be successful was to make British style recordings. It didn’t occur to them that a lot of those British bands were in fact listening to American R&B. They didn’t want us to record ‘Walk On By’ at all. Not sure how we got away with that. In fact it was the B-side to ‘Travellin’ Bag’. Thankfully some DJ in Toronto turned it over! For some reason or other Eugene and I got commandeered or volunteered to write some songs, although we had never written any songs before. Somebody stumbled across a Dylan song that nobody had covered yet that we all liked. Not sure who did the arrangement on ‘She Belongs to Me.’ Likely Konvalinka.”

“We continued to be an R&B band after the session. We ended up trying some rather extreme experiments with some really fundamental blues songs by Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters and such that was somewhat imitative of The Hawk’s recording with John Hammond Jr. – So Many Roads. But even then we were still fundamentally in the same musical neighbourhood. Unfortunately the pressure from all these supposed wise men to change our evil ways led to us throwing out the horns. No more three-piece silk and wool suits. Now we had flowery shirts or polka dots. Talk about not cutting your own path. Everyone in the world was doing that. Chances of being ‘discovered’ in that environment were about the same as winning the lottery. They say Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil. We sold ours to a bunch of dorks on Yonge St.”

“By the way, not long after that, along came Paul Butterfield and others who showed there was still a great market for that approach and style. We did have lots of fun eventually covering a new kind of material. We tried to be selective about it, and still leaned towards the bluesier stuff. That was the most fundamental problem Bobby Kris and The Imperials always had: We were exclusively a cover band. That’s mostly because we were playing teen dances and, later, bars where people expected to hear certain tunes, and you either played them or you didn’t play there. There was very little if any interest in original material in those venues.”

When doing some research on the group, I stumbled upon an interesting ad for one of the band’s shows later in their career. It was in 1968 at the Brass Rail Tavern, and the ad boasted that the show would feature “4 Topless Psychedelic Go-Go Dancers”. “We drank our brains out to get through the night there,” was Kris’s only remark.

During their tenure, the group managed to share the stage with an impressive list of bands, including The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Beach Boys, Jose Feliciano, and Wilson Pickett, who at the time boasted Jimi Hendrix on guitar. Hendrix actually joined The Imperials on stage during one of their sets at the Night Owl. However, by late 1967, enough band members had gone on to other projects, that the group decided to call it quits.

Gene Martynec went on to form Kensington Market in May, and in September Marty Fisher and Gord MacBaingot recruited for Bruce Cockburn’s Flying Circus. Kris auditioned for the vocal position in Flying Circus with a favourable outcome, until, as Kris puts it “they decided that no one could sing Bruce’s songs better than Bruce, which was true.” Kris went on to front Livingstone’s Journey for a brief period before reforming an altered line up of The Imperials in mid-1968. A year later Gord MacBain left the reformed Imperials to go to England and join Mapleoak with Marty Fisher and original Kinks bassist, Pete Quaife, and thus Bobby Kris and the Imperials were done for good.

Special thanks to Nick Warburton and Bob Burrows (aka Bobby Kris). You can check out Nick’s article for a more detailed history of the band here.

Thanks also to Ivan Amirault for the RPM article scans.

Bobby Kris also put out an EP in 1995 titled “Now” which you can check out on iTunes.

Nick Warburton assembled this list of advertised live shows:

Advertised gigs

June 18 1965 – Mimicombo, Mimico, Ontario
July 9 1965 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario
July 17 1965 – Purple Candle Club, Wasaga Beach, Ontario
August 7 1965 – Purple Candle Club, Wasaga Beach, Ontario (new line up with Wayne and Loth)
August 27 1965 – Dunn’s Pavilion, Bala, Ontario
August 28 1965 – Club 888, Toronto
September 4 1965 – Club 888, Toronto
September 24 1965 – Mimacombo A Go-Go, Mimacombo, Ontario
November 5 1965 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario (not sure about date)
November 28 1965 – Avenue Road Club, Toronto
December 18 1965 – Club 888, Toronto
December 25 1965 – Gogue Inn, Toronto with The Sparrows and The Twilights
December 26 1965 – Hop in the park, Toronto
January 28 1966 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario
January 29 1966 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto
March 19 1966 – North Toronto Memorial Arena, Toronto
April 13 1966 – O’Keefe Centre, Toronto with National Ballet Company and Susan Taylor
April 15 1966 – North Toronto Memorial Arena, Toronto
May 8 1966 – Massey Hall, Toronto with The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Big Town Boys and Little Caesar & The Consuls
May 14 1966 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto (one of Wayne and Loth’s final dates)
June 12 1966 – Modern Age Teen Lounge, Toronto (one of Davis’ first dates)
June 26 1966 – Broom and Stone, Scarborough with The Five Rogues
July 8 1966 – Balmy Beach Club, Scarborough, Ontario
July 9 1966 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto
July 13 1966 – Whitby Arena, Whitby, Ontario with The Five Rogues, The Ugly Ducklings and Jon and Lee & The Checkmates
July 20 1966 – Don Mills Curling Club, Don Mills, Ontario with Jon and Lee & The Checkmates, The British Modbeats and Dunc & The Deacons
July 22 1966 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario
July 23 1966 – Hunter’s Beach Pavilion, Lake Simcoe, Ontario
July 26 1966 – Balmy Beach Club, Scarborough, Ontario
July 30 1966 – Purple Candle Club, Wasaga Beach, Ontario
July 30-31 1966 – Purple Candle Club, Wasaga Beach, Ontario with R K & The Associates
August 2 1966 – North Toronto Memorial Arena with The Stitch In Tyme and Luke & The Apostles (one of Shymanski’s final dates?)
August 20 1966 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto
August 21 1966 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario
August 30 1966 – North Toronto Memorial Arena with The Five Rogues and The Fiends
September 3 1966 – Port Carling Surf Club, Port Carling, Ontario
September 9 1966 – Hawk’s Nest, Toronto
September 16 1966 – Jubilee Auditorium, Oshawa, Ontario
September 24 1966 – Maple Leaf Gardens with The Last Words, Luke & The Apostles, The Ugly Ducklings, The Tripp, The Paupers, The Big Town Boys, The Stitch In Tyme, The Spasstiks, Roy Kenner & The Associates, Little Caesar & The Consuls and others
September 30 1966 – Gogue Inn, Toronto (blue room)
October 8 1966 – Club 888, Toronto with The Tripp
October 22 1966 – Club Kingsway, Toronto with Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs, The Ugly Ducklings and The Ardels
November 27 1966 – El Patio, Toronto
December 18 1966 – Boris’, Toronto
December 23 1966 – Horseshoe Valley, Barrie, Ontario
January 6 1967 – Gogue Inn, Toronto with A Passing Fancy and The Dana
January 27 1967 – Shelburne Arena, Shelburne, Ontario
March 1967 – The Syndicate Club, Toronto
March 24 1967 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto with Franklin Sheppard and The Good Sheppards and R K and The Associates
May 13 1967 – Whitby Arena, Whitby, Ontario with Shawne Jackson, Jay Jackson & The Majestics, The Last Words, E G Smith & The Power, Jack Hardin & The Silhouettes, Roy Kenner & The Associates, The Tripp, The Ugly Ducklings and others (possibly one of Martynec’s final dates)
May 27 1967 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto
June 9 1967 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto
June 10 1967 – Scarborough Arena Gardens, Scarborough, Ontario with Eddie Spencer & The Mission, The Magic Circus, The Tripp, Roy Kenner & The Associates, The Lords of London and others
June 16 1967 – Bramalea Arena, Bramalea, Ontario with James and Bobby Purify with The Mission
June 17 1967 – Don Mills Curling Club, Toronto with The Symbol
July 29 1967 – Broom and Stone, Scarborough with BTB 4 and The Dynamics
June 13-14 1968 – The Night Owl, Toronto
July 19 1968 – Brass Rail Tavern, Toronto
October 5 1968 – The Hawk’s Nest, Toronto
June 19-21 1969 – The Night Owl, Toronto

Dates taken from the Toronto Telegram’s After Four section, Globe and Mail and Toronto Star.

Bobby Kris & the Imperials reviewed in RPM, November 15, 1965 — RPM, November 15, 1965

Bobby Kris & the Imperials, Columbia Records ad, April 18, 1966 — April 18, 1966

Bobby Kris & the Imperials, Columbia Records ad, RPM, May 16, 1966 — RPM, May 16, 1966

Bobby Kris, the Associates, Ron Scribner ad, RPM, June 6, 1966 — RPM, June 6, 1966

Bobby Kris & the Imperials, Columbia Records ad, RPM, June 6, 1966 — RPM, June 6, 1966

Categories: Angleton, Brazosport, Freeport, Texas, US, Van

Van Recording discography

July 6, 2011 Chris Bishop 21 Comments

Raiders Van 45: Stick Shift, Gone — Above, the original limited pressing of Van V-00262, with extra track “Gone”

Van V-00262, as released to the public “Stick Shift” moved to the A-side

The Van Recording label was owned by Bobby Van Meter, his brother Charles Van Meter and Lonny Roberts, who sang on at least two 45s of his own on the label. They ran the label and studio out of a music shop in Lake Jackson or Clute, Texas, though the label shows different addresses, first Angleton and later Brazosport and Freeport.

Any help with this discography would be appreciated.

The numbering is systematic – the first three digits are the release # and last two are the year, so the Raiders “Stick Shift” (Van 00262) is the label’s second release (002) and dates to 1962 (62).

45s:

00162 – Lawrence Flippo & the Futuras – Let’s Do It / Cry, Cry, Cry
00262 ¹– Raiders – (It’s a) Stick Shift (J. Caster, T. Simpson) / Skipping Around (also released on Vee Jay 504)
00362 – Lonny Roberts and the Futuras – Don’t You Know / One More Try
004 – ?
00563 – The Futuras – The Hum / The Walk
00663 – Raiders – It’s Motivation (J. Castor, T. Simpson, B. Pitcock) / On a Straight Away
00763 – Raiders – Supercharged / Cruising Low
00864 – Walter Crane with the Raiders – Everyday I Have the Blues / My Chances
00964 – Bobby Clanton – Angel / I Needed Love
01064 – Raiders – Raisin’ Cane / Repetition
01164 – Larry Dallas – The Two Step / I Forgot To Remember To Forget (also on Dallas DS 1)
01264 – Bobby Reed – Twistin’ Petition / Girl Of My Dreams
01364 – Lonny Roberts and the Raiders – Rugged But Right / Room Full of Roses
01464 – Originals – Scatter-Shot / Lucille
01564 – Melody-Aires – Surely I Will (A.E. Brumley) / River Of Jordan (H. Houser)
01664 – Bobby Clanton – The Way That You Are (M. Angel) / Was It Wrong Loving You
01764 – Herb Torres – Dalia / Tribute to J.F.K.
01864 – Ronnie Ellis and the Originals – Honey Blonde / One Little Raindrop (prod. by Wallace Schlemmer)
01964 – (The) Drag Rags – Judy / An Empty Cup (and a Broken Date)
020 – ?
02165 – Originals – Stick Shift ’65 / Blast-Off!
022 – ?
02365 – Larry Dallas – Cheatin’ Woman (Louis Hobbs) / Have I Waited Too Long (also on Majestic 1001)
024 – ?
025 – ?
02665 – Bobby Clanton and the Plateaus – You Can Have Her / An Adventure To You
02765 – The Gudell Brothers featuring the Melody Makers – Heart Full of Country Music / E-String Boogie Rock “recorded live on stage”
02865 – Ronnie Ellis – Goodnight Little Sweetheart / The Right Way of Doing Things Wrong
02965 – Marvin Paul – None of Your Business (Marvin Laqua) / Help Me, Mister Blues
03065 – Originals – Night Flight / Comanche!
03165 – The Hi-Rollers – Slave Chain / Runaway
03265 – The Dinos – Baby, Come On In (Bobby Lira) / This is My Story
033 – ?
034 – ?
03565 – Originals – Searching for Love / How Much of Your Heart (dir. by Lonny Roberts, rec. by Billy Snow)
03665* – Rex Eaton – Lying Lips, Cheating Arms / Shackles and Chains (Taylorville, IL)
03765 – White Twins (Ronnie and Tommy) – I Can Dream / Just Another Face
03865* – Dave & the Detomics – Detomic Orbit (Dave Bethard) / Shatter (issued Jan. 1966)
039 – ?
04066 – Originals – Hop, Skip and Jump / No Love For Me
04166 – Originals – I Can’t Forget / Old Enough to Break a Heart (D. McBride)
04266* – Dave & the Detomics feat. Jeanne Eickhoff – Soft White Gloves (Lillie Bethard) / Why Can’t I
04266 ²– Lonny Roberts & the Originals – Each Night At Nine / Only Want a Buddy (Not a Sweetheart)

Majestic issue of Van V-02365 – which came first?

04366* – Oglethorp & Othelow – I’ll Still Love You / Please Don’t Go Away (both by Donnie Bearup)
04466* – Embalmers – You’re a Better Man / Somewhere Land
04567* – Stingrays – In the Midnight Hour / Girl You Said It Again (Butch Ramelow)
04669 – Bobby Sanders & the Psychlones – Come Over to My World / I Can’t Take It
70-46 – Red Mann And The Country Continentals ‎– Heartaches And Honky Tonks / The One Who Changed Is Me
70-47 ³– Lynn Hendrix and the Country Blue Boys – I Don’t Need Anything / I Let You Go (Freeport TX, prod. by Lonny Roberts)
70-48- Lonny Roberts with music by the Raiders – My Sweet Love Ain’t Around / Guys Like Me
70-49 – Walter Crane & Exposition – Someone Special (P. Pennington) / A Place! (prod.: B.J. VanMeter, dir.: James Henry, eng.: Ray Doggett)
V-70-50 – Larry Weathers and the Raiders – The Crying Man / Driving Wheel, produced by L. Roberts, eng. by Ray Doggett, with pressing numbers LH-7384 and LH-7385
70-51 – ?
70-52 – ?
70-53 – Moonlighters – I Destroyed Myself / My Possessive Love (described as a country ballad, Pee Wee Kubon vocals on both sides)
70-54 – Larry Weathers – Believe In Me / Please Tell Me
V-7201 – The Western Four ‎– Butter Beans / Blueberry Hill
V-73-02 – Mike Pepper, music by: “Pepper & Spice” – Let Me Be The Judge (C. Twitty) / A thing Called Sadness (C. Howard) (Mgr. Bob Geer, Producer: Lonnie Roberts, Director: Mike Pepper, Engineer: Ray Doggell)
V-73-03 – Russell Davis and the Country Alibis ‎– The Devil Made Me Lie / Down On Skid-Row
V-73-06 – Mike Pepper – Seasons of the Past (C. Phillips – C. Kirk) / Take A Look Into Your Mind (M. Pepper) (Producer: L. Roberts, Director B. Sanders, Engineer C. Kirk)

LPs:

1-69 – Lonny Roberts – Presenting … the Sage of the West
(The Bottle Is My Jailer; Loving You; The Devil & Me; Road To Your Heart; I Don’t Love You Anymore; Old Heartaches; Old Mountain Dew; Lonely, Lonely Man; False Impressions; Too Much Wine From The Bottle; You’re Just A Memory; What About Your Mistakes)

* denotes a Van record produced by Oscar Wells in Taylorville, Illinois.

In the mid-’60s Van released at least six 45s produced by Oscar J. Wells: two by Dave & the Detomics, one each by Rex Eaton, the Embalmers and Oglethorp & Othelow, and one or two by the Sting Rays. I’d like to hear those and learn the story behind them. Dave and the Detomics came from Morrisonville, Illinois. Mike Markesich tells me the Embalmers came from Mason City, IL, and the Sting Rays from Springfield, IL. If anyone has good scans or transfers of these 45s, please contact me.

Notes:
¹ Very rare three-song EPs of Van V-00262 were pressed prior to the two-song issue, probably as demonstration copies to decide which of the three songs to release. The A-side had “Skipping Around” and the B-side “Stick Shift” and “Gone”. Confusingly, “Gone” was actually the Raiders’ version of the Duals song “Stick Shift” but mislabeled. On the EP scans, publishing and song writing info is written in pen (Jessie Caster and Terry Simpson, Glad Music BMI), along with the prefix “(It’s A)” before “Stick Shift”. “Gone” also has “-Gone” written next to it, which I think means to not include this song in the finished two-track 45. I still haven’t heard “Gone”.

² Two 45s issued given the 04266 catalog #, the Lonny Roberts & the Originals was a Texas recording, Dave & the Detomics were from Illinois.

³ In 1970, the numbering changes, so the first two digits are the year recorded, and the second two seem to indicate release # (a Walter Crane disc has LH-7281 which indicates a May, 1970 pressing).

Thank you to Mike, Brian Kirschenbaum, DrunkenHobo, Jim, Laurent Bigot, Barry Wickham, Billy Gibbons, porcupine, eleelandc, Chris Harpe, Eric Lelet, Jeff Brant, Jason Chronis, Dennis Wilson and Bob of Dead Wax for their help with this discography.

For more on Ronnie Ellis and the Originals see the article I’ve posted here.

Demo pressing of Van V-00262, “Skipping Around” listed as A-side

Another rare copy of the Raiders’ 3-song EP, sent to me by Jessie Caster

Categories: Reviews

Rob Chapman – Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head

July 3, 2011 Chris Bishop Leave a comment

Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head by Rob Chapman
(Faber and Faber [UK]; Da Capo Press [US], 2010 hardcover/2011 paperback)

Review by Rebecca Jansen

I’ve managed to avoid reading much about Syd Barrett, other than Nick Mason’s lavish Floyd book of a few years ago, and one chapter of Richie Unterberger’s Unknown Legends. Which isn’t to say I haven’t admired and enjoyed his music many times. Unlike some of the people quoted in this book, however, neither he or his work have come close to changing my life or becoming a major obsession. Here is my outsider’s take then, which seems appropriate as in many ways Syd was an outsider to the commercial pop music scene he functioned within for awhile.

Unlike Syd’s own prose, at 400+ pages the biography is not economical; it is full of details and cross-references pertaining to poets and painters mostly outside the commercial arts, and of eras beyond Syd’s own. How necessary this is may depend on how much the reader wants to see Barrett’s work as singular and fueled by intangible outer realms of mental mystery. The author argues for the influence of his peers and surroundings rather than chemical inspiration, such as the often overlooked influence of Mike Leonard’s light show on the music of Pink Floyd. Personally, I like my non-fiction cluttered with details and tangents, so encountering John Clare, Bob Cobbing, Chaim Soutine and Edward Lear in these pages heightens my interest and appreciation.

Another way in which this book seems very unlike its subject, and my only real criticism of it, is in the sharply dismissive criticisms of music made by the author and other fans of Syd Barrett. I suppose that in their zeal to impress their love of Syd’s best work they think savaging such things as later Rolling Stones and Lennon & McCartney music will make Barrett’s work shine the brighter. There is even the opinion that all pop or rock music since the late sixties is retrograde or simply not trying in the least. This in a book about the virtual poster boy for retreat, inactivity and regression? These sorts of harsh judgements are only aimed at Syd’s work in so far as the author castigates the 1965 demo “Lucy Leave” as unworthy of much notice. The first original recording by the book’s subject and Pink Floyd not worth much attention? Only for somebody overly fixed on one style and time period of music. Many people have found that recording genuinely awe inspiring. Syd’s surly proto-punk vocals are startlingly on a par with Mick Jagger, Sky Saxon and Iggy Pop here, making it seem a shame that a “Lucy Leave” b/w “King Bee” single couldn’t have materialised at the time. I wonder what might have followed such a single.

The author is probably right in it ultimately being a good thing that nothing came of the recording and that Bob Klose the lead guitarist left soon after. The breakthrough psychedelic Pink Floyd sound might never have happened otherwise, and the pop music business would have forced Syd into retreat that much earlier. The opinions about other musical artists here are all about their authors and nothing really about Syd himself. If something wasn’t interesting to him it seems he simply opted out and gave it no attention or effort to the point of seeming rude. Having no opinion, or suspending closure to use the psychological jargon, did have a lot to do with his creativity. The reader is regularly shown how during the height of production Syd created stream-of-consciousness style without editing or censoring, or closing off from what was current in his surroundings. The few times he does voice an opinion in the few interviews he gave it is always amenable to being altered with any pressure. His facile mindset is part and parcel of the creator and his human condition.

That aspect aside, anybody interested in further exploring Syd the artist will find a lot in this book to think about and follow up on. If your interest is more for a good read storywise, as many music bios are, you will probably find this pretty bumpy and a bit dry. Chapman spends a fair amount of the time debunking and questioning the scale of the purported negative influence from drug use, and I think does a good job of untangling that layer of sensationalist hype from what the reality was. Other factors to do with the restrictions and demands of commerce and the stultifying influence of some people literally surrounding him are as or more likely to have caused the gradual backing away and undoing as the taking of too much acid. A number of friends, family and associates were interviewed for the book who have not been heard from before.

Rebecca Jansen is the one of the English-speaking world’s foremost authorities on Los Machucambos. Her writing and artwork can be seen at Hippies stole my blog! *.

Garage Hangover accepts recently-released LPs, CDs, books and DVDs for review. Please contact us for a mailing address.

Categories: India, Madras

The Frustrations Amalgamated from Madras

June 23, 2011 Chris Bishop 8 Comments

Frustrations Amalgamated at the 1972 Simla Beat Contest in Bombay

Previously I’ve written about Simla Beat in regards to the 1970 and 1971 contests and the records released at that time. Shyam Sunder Damoda of the Frustrations Amalgamated wrote to me about the group’s participation in the 1972 Simla Beat Contest, and sent the photos seen here.

I was the lead singer from the Frustrations Amalgamated from Madras, which won the All India Simla Beat Contest Award in 1972 at Shanmukhananda Hall, Bombay. We won the Best Group Award, the Best Singer Award and the Best Own Composition Award that year! Jaya Bhaduri gave the awards to us. On winning the Simla Beat Contest we did do a recording at the Royal Gems studio, but nothing came out of it.
Manu (Manohar Roberts, our lead guitarist) is in Chennai and still plays a mean lead guitar and is still in music. Ramji, our drummer was with the Abhaswaram and is in Chennai, still very much into music. Dumbu, our bass guitarist is in the U.S.A. and we are trying to get into contact again. Lawrence, our rhythm guitarist, is in Singapore and I believe, still in music.
I am presently in Bangalore and very much in music. I had a group called the West Wind here but am presently singing with my keyboard accompaniments and MIDIs, along with a good guitarist Dominic.
Shyam Sunder

Frustrations Amalgamated at the Bristol Beat Contest in Madras

Jaya Bhaduri presents an award at Simla Beat '72 — Jaya Bhaduri presents an award at Simla Beat ’72

The Purple Flower from Ahmedabad and the Crimson Fire of Bombay. Vispi was judged best drummer, and Clifford from Crimson Fire voted best lead guitarist. Other groups included the Rolling Beat from Goa, the Gauls from Delhi, and the Living Dead from Gauhati — The article above has additional info about that years contest:
The Purple Flower from Ahmedabad and the Crimson Fire of Bombay were sensational.
The Purple Flower’s drummer Vispi (sp?) was judged best drummer, and Clifford from Crimson Fire voted best lead guitarist.
Other groups included the Rolling Beat from Goa, the Guals (sp?) from Delhi, and the Living Dead from Gauhati.

Categories: Buena Park, California, Los Angeles, US

Mojo Men at the Retail Clerks Auditorium, 1965

June 22, 2011 Chris Bishop 1 Comment

Gary Myers sent in this great poster of his band the Mojo Men playing the Retail Clerks Auditorium in a “Retail a Go Go” with the Things, the Stymees and the Little Rascals on October 1, 1965. A news clipping from Gary dated September 29 lists the Only Ones instead of the Little Rascals, and names the Things as winners of a recent Battle of the Bands.

These Mojo Men were not the San Francisco band that hit with “Dance With Me” and “She’s My Baby” on Autumn Records.

Gary and his group had some lineup changes, signed with Mike Curb in 1967 and became the Portraits. I don’t believe any of the other bands mentioned recorded – has anyone ever heard of these groups?

The Retail Clerks Auditorium in Buena Park, Los Angeles had been a famous venue for surf bands in the early ’60s. By 1965 this had changed, and beat groups such as the Heathens did shows there.

If anyone has more info or clippings about the Retail Clerks Auditorium, it would be appreciated!

Thanks again to Gary E. Myers for his help. For more on Gary’s career see his website www.music-gem.com.

Categories: Reviews

A Song For You: The Quest of The Myddle Class by Kathy West

June 21, 2011 Chris Bishop 10 Comments

A Song For You: The Quest of The Myddle Class by Kathy West (Xlibris)
Review by Chris Bishop

Myke Rosa, Rick Philp, Dave Palmer, Dan Mansolino and Charles Larkey

The Myddle Class were a sensation in New Jersey, in Greenwich Village and even in Albany, but none of their singles made the national charts and the band faded away as members went off to college and found other musical avenues to pursue. This was a common story in the 1960s, and one that usually would not be worth writing a book about, but the Myddle Class was not an ordinary band, and their story is far more intricate and compelling than most. It’s welcome to read Kathy West’s A Song For You: The Quest of The Myddle Class, a personal history of her experiences with the group, especially with their guitarist Rick Philp and one of their producers, Carole King.

Kathy started dating Rick when the band was known as the King Bees. Al Aronowitz became the band’s manager and introduced them to Carole King and Gerry Goffin, and Kathy became good friends with Carole as a result.

Rick and Kathy maintained their relationship for the next several years despite long separations at different colleges, she in Virginia, he first at Gettysburg and later Emerson College in Boston. They wrote frequent letters to each other while away, and reunited during vacations. Kathy portrays Rick as a talented musician and loyal friend who was sometimes withdrawn or occupied by conflicts such as his father’s disapproval of his musical pursuits. Kathy has not just her own memory to draw on, but letters from Rick, Carole and other friends to round out the picture.

Rick and Kathy spent the summer of ’68 together in Los Angeles for Rick to record with Carole King on early sessions of The City album. Kathy briefly enrolled in school at U. Mass in Boston to be closer to Rick, but she returned to Virginia after less than a month in order to give Rick room to work out the personal and academic pressures he faced. One of Rick’s problems was his Emerson roommate “Dog”, a closeted homosexual who purposely worked to undermine Rick’s friendships (including his relationship with Kathy), stole his mail and guitars and tried to exert control over Rick.

Despite the obstacles Rick faced, there were promising developments happening in his life. He was on his way to finishing college, an important personal goal. He was also writing songs with Gerry Goffin and Myddle Class vocalist Dave Palmer, cutting demos and planning to form a new group with all the members of the Myddle Class plus pianist Lloyd Baskin.

Kathy last saw him on a visit home in early May, 1969. A few weeks later she heard the terrible news that Rick was dead, murdered by the former roommate who was jealous that Rick was exerting his independence. It’s a tragedy that clearly still hurts all the people who knew Rick. This loss of a lover, good friend and promising musician lies at the heart of A Song For You and makes it a very touching story to read, even if, like me, you only know the band through their music.

Kathy published this book herself through Xlibris. Like many self-published books, it has idiosyncrasies: over-large type, a cover illustration that fits the subject but is somewhat generic, and occasional repetition or digression that a good editor would have corrected. Kathy provides a number of yearbook photos, news clippings and shots of locations around Boston, but I would have liked to see some candid photos to accompany the fine account she has written (Kathy sent me additional photos of the band to add to this review, including a striking shot of Dave Palmer on stage with Charlie and Dan, below.) Ultimately these are minor quibbles that do not lessen the book’s importance.

Kathy West’s A Song For You is a rare portrait of the Myddle Class that I find invaluable and recommend highly.

A Song For You is available in printed and digital editions through Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Kathy also has signed hardcovers editions for sale; email her directly at kklew99@optonline.net.

On stage: Charles Larkey, Dave Palmer and Dan Mansolino

Categories: Brownsville, F Empire, Graves Recording Service (Eugene), Oregon, US

The Barber Green “Gliding Ride” on F-Empire

June 18, 2011 Chris Bishop 15 Comments

The Barber Green, circa 1968 Top left to right: Doug Collver, Don Harding, Mike McNeil, bottom left to right: Don Hurb and David Harding — The Barber Green, circa 1968, left to right top: Doug Collver, Don Harding, Mike McNeil; bottom: Don Hurb and David Harding

The Barber Green came out of Brownsville, Oregon, about a half hour north of Eugene. Like the Moguls, the Dominions, and other acts in the area around that college town, the band recorded at Alan Graves studio. They released one excellent 45 in 1968 on the F-Empire label, which is most well-known for the Beauregarde LP.

One side of the Barber Green single is “Life”, a gentle musing on a search for love and family, with harmonies and nice guitar picking. The flip “Gliding Ride” is more energetic. The guitar plays some excellent repetitive riffs as well as a good, short solo and the bass and drums are clear and well-played.

The lyrics are worth quoting:

Do you want to take a ride
A gliding ride, oh yeah, a gliding ride
We can see our city,
Yeah, our pretty city
We can see our city,
From a perch, it’s so pretty
We can see the lights all through the night
We’ll be in a daze until the break of day
Then tomorrow will come
We will go downtown
You’ll be wearing a frown
As you go downtown
The people will stare
As if they don’t care
Then you say, what is this (?)
Do you want to take a ride
A gliding ride, oh yeah, a gliding ride
We can see our city,
Yeah, our pretty city
We can see our city,
From a perch, it’s so pretty

Besides the polished songs on the single, there are four unreleased songs also cut at Graves which are much rougher. One is a cover of “Proud Mary”, but for me the other three are much more exciting, all single takes recorded live, with distorted guitar and vocals that peak in the red.

First comes “Destruction”, with a four-minute long repetitive section featuring guitar chords clipped by turns of the volume knob, a marching drum beat, and a long monologue. Halfway through the song, everything breaks loose for one of the wildest minutes of feedback since “Sister Ray”, then it’s back to the guitar motif and monologue for another three minutes to the close.

“(Thinking About The) Good Times” vaguely reminds me of the Pretty Things song of the same name in the way the lead guitar sustains distorted, wailing notes while the drummer cuts loose. Last is “Toe Jam (That Song)”, fourteen and a half minutes that build and extend into one of the more interesting jams I’ve heard from the time.

The band has plenty of attitude on these tracks, with even the vocalist willing to improvise with abandon for extended periods. Although it sounds excessive at times, I liked hearing this session because it shows a side of bands you don’t usually hear: creating music only for themselves without thinking of how it would come across to an audience, either live or listening to their record.

The Barber Green’s guitarists Mike McNeil and Doug Collver wrote the following history of the group:

We were a Pacific Northwest Rock and Roll band, playing in Oregon from 1966 until 1970. We played rock, pop, R&B and a few country & western tunes. We had a number of original songs and recorded a hit single 45 rpm record. The “A” side was the hit song “Gliding Ride”, the “B” side was a song simply called “Life”, recorded by Graves Recording Service in Eugene, Oregon, circa 1968.
The recording was not generally distributed, but was on the top ten list of a number of radio stations, and went to #1 on some West Coast stations, including KGO 810 AM, in Seattle, WA and KSFO 560 AM in San Francisco.
Band members included the late David Lee Harding, (lead singer), Donald Harding (bass guitar and vocals), Douglas Collver (lead guitar and vocals), Michael McNeil (rhythm guitar, harmonica and vocals) and Donald Herb (drums and other percussion). The band’s manager was the late Jack Richardson.
All the band members were students at Central Linn High School except for Doug Collver who attended Harrisburg Union High. We called Brownsville home and rehearsed in the old Brownsville Theater.
We played all over Oregon from Medford to Salem and from the Oregon coast to Oregon’s eastern border. In Eugene we were the opening act for the premier showing of the Beatles Yellow Submarine movie. Other memorable moments included more than one gig at the U of O student union which translated into frat parties. Crazy!
Our manager, Jack Richardson connected with country star Dottie West and she had us lined up for a USO tour in Viet Nam but the Tet offensive of 1968 prompted the cancellation of that tour.
40 years later The Barber Green reunited and that’s another story all together.
As well as our memories will allow this information was provided by:
Mike McNeil of Portland, OR and Doug Collver of Bend, OR

I followed up with some questions for Doug Collver:

Q. How did the band get that unusual name?

If you google “Barber Green” you will find a company that once manufactured a paving machine. Some one in the band came across one of these pavers one day and we became The Barber Green.

Q. How did the band break out of the Brownsville area to start playing shows around Oregon?

We were just kids who wanted to play our music. Jack Richardson was the one who did all the leg work and all the booking.

Q. Who did the song writing for the group?

I’m sure that David come up with the lyrics for “Gliding Ride” and “Life”. The music and orchestration was a collaboration that involved all of us.

Q. How did you find Alan Graves and his studio?

We purchased all of our equipment from Graves Music (Vox Super Beatle amps & Gibson guitars). Again the credit for the connection must go to Jack Richardson. He did all that stuff.

Q. Can you tell me about the four unreleased songs the band recorded?

We only had one recording session that resulted in the two releases mentioned above. With the rest of the studio time that was paid for we jammed. David made up the lyrics as we played. When the band reunited in March of ’09 we all brought whatever memorabilia we had saved over the years including copies of the LP that was cut from that session. I was able play it one time – one take, scratches and all and capture it forever.

Q. Did you or any of the other members stay in music after the Barber Green?

Don Hurb still plays a little. I put it down after the band broke up then started to play again in 1996. For the last 11 years I’ve been in a band called Blues Quarter playing clubs, resorts & special events in and around Central Oregon.

Categories: Detroit, Michigan, Reviews, US

The Pleasure Seekers – What a Way to Die (CD)

June 17, 2011 Chris Bishop Leave a comment

The Pleasure Seekers – What A Way To Die (2011 Cradle Rocks Music)
Review by Rebecca Jansen

Following an entertaining intro (by DJ The Lord, of Shangrlaradio.com), the Quatro sisters original composition “Gotta Get Away” comes on heavy with a wall of organ and guitar likes a snarly Detroit version of an Avalon ballroom mainstay! This is the first taste of seven previously unreleased ’60s recordings by Michigan’s Pleasure Seekers. It was long rumored the girls had laid down more in the studio than the three singles well known to serious rock & roll fanatics, but now the wait is over.

The first thing that becomes clear is how Arlene Quatro’s organ work is impeccable throughout, providing a solid foundation to the tracks she performed on. The second track “Never Thought You’d Leave Me” is of an earlier vintage however, when the Ball sisters, Nan and Mary Lou were in the group, and Arlene, the eldest Quatro had yet to join. Not yet out of their teens, Patti Quatro’s lead guitar and Suzi’s vocals are already solid on their 1966 debut on the Hideout record label, from the people who gave Detroit it’s Hideout club. Suzi’s bass is a real highlight here. On the title track from the same single you can hear how the Pleasure Seekers held their own on the same stages as The Rationals and Bob Seger & The Last Heard. In fact Suzi Q’s vocals are pretty much as strong they would be later at the height of her solo ’70s fame.

From the Mercury era the standout track here is “Light Of Love”, an upbeat rocker that equals the best sides by labelmates The New Colony Six. There is a cool chant aspect to the chorus here making me wonder why some glam group didn’t cover this in the ealry-mid ’70s, it would’ve outshone much of the repertoire from the period! Stax/Booker T style organ with soul harmonies tend to dominate the remaining cuts, but Patti’s guitar licks get elastic and really shine making possibly average material something more engaging. There is one great vocal performance, by drummer Darline Arnone apparently, on “Good Kind Of Hurt” also worth mentioning. The set closes with a slower experimental freak-out song called “Mr. Power” which comes over like Joe Meek, a great surprise and a cool note to end on definitely leaving me still wanting to hear more.

A pre-Hideout recording titled “White Line” for the Golden World label is missing or in that label’s archives. The CD also doesn’t include the song “Shame”, the b-side of one Mercury single. With the addition of Nancy Quatro The Pleasure Seekers evolved into the group Cradle, and there is an album’s worth of this material also available for the first time on CD.

Disc ordering info at: www.quatrorock.com.

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