Tag Archives: Nomads

The Nomads on Discotech

Nomads Discotech 45 I Need Your LoveThe Nomads were from the Toledo and Sylvania, Ohio area.

Members were:

John Radabaugh – lead vocals
Carter Rae – lead guitar
Jerry NcNutt – bass
Jim Smith – drums

They released their only single in June, 1967, it was actually recorded at Motown Studios in Detroit.

“I Need Your Love” is stellar 12-string harmony rock, with an interesting middle section. It was written by Carter Rae and John Radabaugh and published by B-W Music, Inc. BMI.

“Willow Wind” is a Kingston Trio cover; the Nomads version is a favorite of some teen doo-wop fans.

The Nomads opened for the Byrds. Johnny Paris of Johnny and the Hurricanes used to sit in with them sometimes. Chip Davis, later of Mannheim Steamroller, was a drummer with the Nomads for a time.

The band broke up when members entered college.

Gary Rhamy produced the 45. Discotech was his label and also released the Last Exit’s “It’s The Same The Whole World Over” and the Sands ov Tyme.

Credited as a WilMat-Rhamy Production, his partners were Willis Parker and engineer Bob Matthews.

Gary Rhamy became chief engineer of United Audio in Youngstown, which he renamed Peppermint Productions Recording Studio in the early ’70s.

Nomads Discotech 45 Willow Wind

The Nomads “Coolsville”

Jeff Davis of the Nomads on stage at the Washington, Indiana YMCA
Jeff Davis of the Nomads on stage at the Washington, Indiana YMCA

Nomads Skoop 45 Coolsville

The Nomads came from Evansville, Indiana and played live throughout the southwest part of the state. Members included:

Eddie Karges – rhythm guitar, lead vocals
Max Emmick – lead guitar

Chuck Dowd – organ

Jeff Davis – bass

Gary Varden – drums


In 1965 they recorded their only single in Santa Claus, IN, released on Skoop 1065, one of the labels owned by Ray Scrivener. One side is the disaffected “Coolsville”, written by Max Emmick and Jeff Davis, with some of the classic lyrics of the era:

Walking down the street with my baby,
In my baggies?? so tight,
Yeah, I was whistled at,
By a gang of girls.

Went to a dance that night,
Danced with all my might,
Walked into the gym,
Boy what a crowd of hicks,
Yeah they were doing the Twist,
C’mon and twist, twist, twist, twist, ahhh!

Strolled up to a chick,
Smiled and I said to her,
Do the Twist or (?) the Charleston?

I’m a gonna leave this town,
Yeah, I’m a gonna leave this town,
I’m a gonna leave this town,
Never to return again.

The flip is the more tender “Shy Girl”, written by Max Emmick.

Despite the Buna Music BMI publishing credit on the labels, I don’t believe these songs were registered with either the Library of Congress or BMI.

I’ve read Ed Karges and Chuck Dowd later played in another Evansville group, the Misfits, who cut “I’ll Feel Better (In the Morning)” / “Please Don’t Go Away” (both by Kneeland – DeVillez) on the Showboat label in 1967.

Jeff Davis moved to Tennessee where he formed the Amazing Rhythm Aces in the early ’70s.

Photo and some of the info from the North Knox High School website.

Nomads Skoop 45 Shy Girl

Tornado Records of Greensboro, NC

The Nomads
The Nomads

Nomads Tornado 45 Thoughts of a MadmanNorth Carolina had many record labels in the 1960’s, but few were as prolific as Tornado Records. Based in Greensboro, the label had offices at 1712 Farrell Avenue, but also did business via PO Drawer 6787.

Tornado’s stock in trade was regional Country & Western music, although artists from as far away as Pennsylvania and Maine were released by the label. Tornado was owned by David Lee Perkins, whose name appears frequently with author credits on many releases.

The years of operation for the label seem to have been rather compact, roughly estimated to range from late 1964 to mid-1967, referencing Mike Markesich’s excellent tome, “Teenbeat Mayhem.”

Caravans Tornado 45 Twistin', Rockin', BabyAlthough typically beyond the scope of Garage Hangover, Tornado registers in the minds of garage fans as the home of the second single by The Nomads of Mt. Airy, North Carolina. As far as Tornado was concerned, The Nomads were a “Sensational New Discovery,” and said just that right on the record label. “Thoughts of a Madman” b/w “From Zero Down” was released in April of 1967, and ranks high among garage rock enthusiasts nationwide. It was the Nomads second single, the first being on the Stark label profiled on this site.

Also of note are the Caravans from Greensboro. Their single, “Twistin’ Rockin’ Baby” b/w “Rainbow of Love” from a couple of years earlier rocks pretty well, with an occasionally cool, John Lennon-esque vocal on the A-side.

Profile of Tornado Records artist Gail Day, Feb. 2, 1967
Profile of Tornado Records artist Gail Day, Feb. 2, 1967

Tornado Records Discography (if anyone can help fill in the gaps, more power to them):

Tornado EP-100 – Roy & Jackie Baker & the South Mountain Boys – You’re Not the Girl I Used to Know, I’m Showing You the Way/Little Heart, What Life Could Have Been

Tornado T-101 – Glenn Thompson “My Mary” / “What A Line”
Tornado T-102 – South Mountain Boys featuring Little Debbie Baker – “Twistin’ Rockin’ Baby” / “I’m Falling for You, You, You”
Tornado T-103 – Dewey Ritter & the Panhandle Boys “I Walk A Lonely Road (Because of You)” / “Be My Sunshine Forever”
Tornado T-104 – South Mountain Boys “Gonna Hand You A Ticket” / “Dial My Number”
Tornado T-105 – Roy Baker & the South Mountain Boys “Jocassee Nona” / “Close As The Nearest Phone”
Tornado T-106 – Caravans “Twistin’ Rockin’ Baby” / “Rainbow of Love” (Greensboro)
Tornado T-107EP – Gloria Weston “Missing in Action (In Vietnam),” Kenny Craft “What A Fool Am I,” and Rod Rodgers “Hot Game of Dice” and “A Daughter Never Fools Her Mother”
Tornado T-108 – Joyce Mills “You’re Not the Boy I Used To Know” / “Cry On My Shoulder”
Tornado T-109 – Dewey Ritter – “Big Deal”  /  “Georgia Took My Name”

Harold Crosby
Harold Crosby

Tornado T-110 – Harold Crosby “Big Big Truck” / “I Will Mend Your Heartaches Tomorrow” (Maine)
Tornado T-111 – Cloyd Sullivan “I Don’t Have the Heart” / “My Love is Guaranteed”
Tornado T-112 – ?
Tornado T-113 – Dick Mosely “Cry No More” / “Wagons-Ho”
Tornado T-114 – Henry E. Noe & the Calvary Gospel Team – Tell Them When You Saw Me, Cry Aloud & Spare Not/Ananias, I’m Moving Up
Tornado T-115 – Joyce Love “Judy Judy” / “Strawberry Sundae”
Tornado T-116 – Gord Worrall – “Wagon’s Ho” / “Freedom Will Take Command”
Tornado T-117 – Joyce Lynn “Touch of Heartache” / “Heaven Help Me (Another Lonely Day)”
Tornado T-118 – Dick Mosely “Getting My Kicks in ’66” / “Nascar-Circuit”
Tornado T-119 – Margie Lee “It’s Too Late” / “Let’s Fall In Love Together”
Tornado T-120 – ?
Tornado T-121 – Carl Pride “You Can’t Catch My Mustang” / “If I Don’t Miss You” (Greensboro)
Tornado T-122 – Lorene Weaver & the Country Boys – “I’m Leaving You”/ “Mr. Blues Walks In”
Tornado T-123 – Larry Campbell & the Country Playboys “Break-Through” / “Bluegrass Mountain Home”
Tornado T-124 – Bobby Adkins & Allen Mills “Bluegrass in Kentucky” / “I’m So Sorry That I Threw Your Love Away”
Tornado T-125 – George Dry & the Daydreamers “One Lung Charlie” / “Hard-Rock Sam” (PA)
Tornado T-126 – Jimmy Hart – Symbol of Love/I Think I Know
Tornado T-127 – Joe Stone & Bobby Atkins “Singing Love Songs (Bluegrass Style)” / “Tears and Roses”
Tornado T-128 – Jimmy Osborne – “Though Not As Yet” / “Walk Away Memories”
Tornado T-129 – Billy Beal “Rainy Day Blues” / “Cold, Dark And Deep”
Tornado T-130 – Tommy Jones & the Hayriders “Ballad of Gamblin’ Lil” / “God – Dollar”
Tornado T-131 – Glenn Eck “Bittersweet Love” / “Clock On the Wall”
Tornado T-132 – Joni Day “I Wonder If” / “Again He Said to Me” (PA)
Tornado T-133 – Johnny Jones “You’ve Turned Me Down” / “A Million Times”
Tornado T-134 – Harold Crosby “Bright Lights (and Blond Haired Women)” / “Let’s Fall in Love Together” (Maine)
Tornado T-135 – Rosie Lartigue – “Walking With My Baby”, “Million Heartaches” / “Little Echoes of Love”, “Take Me Back Again”
Tornado T-136 – Joe Stone & Bobby Atkins “Stolen Kisses Are The Sweetest” / “Mister Bluegrass (Here’s To You)”
Tornado T-137 – Gail Day “Santa Didn’t Come” / “Please, Mr. Santa” (8 year old daughter of George and Joni Day) (PA)
Tornado T-138 – Bobby Adkins “Bluest Guy In Town” / “You Stopped Loving Me”
Tornado T-139 – Ray Josey “Orchids & Diamonds” / “Silver Tears”
Tornado T-140 – Joyce Lynn – “Stop That Knockin'” / “Though Not as Yet” (Clint Thompson, D.L. Perkins)
Tornado TLP-141 – George & Joni Day EP “Tears In My Heart,” “Sorry,” “The One You Left Me For,” “Make Up Your Mind,” “Too Many – Too Few,” “We’ll Work It Out” (PA)
Tornado T-142 – Tommy Jones – Country D.J./He Started With a Quarter
Tornado T-143 – Glenn Thompson “Bad, Bad Dream” / “Thirteen Stripes in Old Glory”
Tornado T-144 – Glenn Thompson “Walk Softly (You’re Walking On My Heart)” / “You Didn’t Want Me Yesterday (I Don’t Want You Today)”
Tornado T-145 – Hank Brooks & the Midnite Rangers “Big, Big Heart” / “Pretty Picture On My Wall”

Lefty Hales
Lefty Hales

Tornado T-146 – Lefty Hales & the Carolina Partners “Stop Me” / “Anywhere, Anytime” (Goldsboro)
Tornado T-147 – Mettie Lou “A Mother’s Heartache” / “A Soldier’s Prayer”
Tornado T-148 – Bobby Adkins “Soldier’s Return” / “There’s Not Enough Words”
Tornado T-149 – Tommy Jones & the Hayriders “The Commies Are Coming” / “Love Is A Mountain Of Gold”
Tornado T-150 – Tommy Jones and the Hayriders “Tell Me Darling, Tell Me” / “See-Saw Love”
Tornado T-151 – Wyona Lambeth – “Lost Below Heaven” / “I’ll Never Get Over You”
Tornado T-152 – Garland Atkins & the Sunny Mountain Partners “I Miss You Most Of All” / “Singin’ The Blues”
Tornado T-153 – Tommy Harrell & the Country Valients “One Drink Too Many” / You Sure Got The Best Of Me” (Eastern NC)
Tornado T-154 – Evelyn Hooper “Now There’s An Ache In My Heart”/?
Tornado T-155 – ?
Tornado T-156 – ?
Tornado T-157 – Cousin Lee & Little Hank EP “Lonely and Blue,” “Don’t Judge Another Person,” “Lifetime To Forget,” “Little Hank’s Shuffle”
Tornado T-158 – Tommy Jones & the Hayriders “You Got Something Gal” / “Let Her Go”
Tornado T-159 – The Nomads “Thoughts Of A Madman” / “From Zero Down” (Mt. Airy)
Tornado T-160 – Glenn Thompson Sunshine Through The Rain” / “You’re Not The Girl I Used To Know”
Tornado T-161 – Dick Mosely “Truck Stop Number Three” / “Under the Double Eagle”
Tornado T-162 – Billy Beal  “A Lifetime to Forget”  /  “Queen Without a Throne”
Tornado T-163 – Bobby Adkins “Ballad of Gamblin’ Lil” / “What About My Blue Heart”
Tornado T-164 – Bobby Adkins “Miss Thirteen, Teenage Queen” / “Day of God’s Wrath”
Glenn Thompson Tornado LP Best OfTornado T-165 – ?
Tornado T-166 – Glenn Thompson “Where The Red River Flows” / “King of the Endless Highways”

One Tornado LP has been identified thus far:

Tornado LP-102 The Best of Glenn Thompson

Thanks to Chris Bishop for additions, Lightnin’ Wells, Bob Clere for jpegs and helpful comments, and to Mike Markesich for key dates.

Glenn Thompson Tornado 45 What a LineGeorge Dry & the Daydreamers Tornado 45 One-Lung Charlie

Tommy Jones & the Hayriders Tornado 45 The Commies Are CommingCarl Pride Tornado 45 You Can't Catch My Mustang

The Nomads
The Nomads
The Nomads
The Nomads

The Happy Hoss “Call Me Baby” and Stark Records Discography

The Happy Hoss Stark 45 Call Me BabyStark Records in Mount Airy, North Carolina is famous for the single by the Nomads, “Not For Me” / “How Many Times” as well as a good rockabilly 45 by David Southerland and the Southerns. I don’t have the Nomads, but I’ve picked up this oddity, a soulful and very crude single by the Happy Hoss, which seems to be a pseudonym for song writer Alan Westmoreland.

The top side is “Call Me Baby”, the vocalist shouting out the repetitive lyrics in a hoarse voice (ha ha) answered by high-pitched backing vocals. The flip “You’re The One (I Love)” is a ballad with saxophone.

Years later I found a copy that had white labels pasted over what appear to be maroon Stark labels. Most of the info was identical, except a 1972 date and “Prod. by Paul E. Johnson” have been added, and the release number changed to PBR-100. Whatever the second label name was, it has been pasted over again, so it reads “HELLO RECORDS”! This may be a second pressing, as the shape of the vinyl under the labels is different.

White labels are pasted over what look to be maroon Stark labels, then “HELLO” pasted over the label name!
Mount Airy is a small town very close to the Virginia border, 37 miles northwest of Winston-Salem. Stark Records had at least fourteen singles and a couple albums. The label seems to have been run by Thomas Paul Stark, as every release has Tom Paul Music Co. BMI in the publishing.

The Nomads single is their first, and they recalled the studio being in a basement when they cut their 45 and demos. Their next 45 “Thoughts of a Madman” / “From Zero Down” was released on the Tornado Records label (Tornado 159 in April of 1967), which also featured a release by Joe Stone and Bobby Atkins (Tornado T-136, “Mister Bluegrass”) who have a 45 on Stark. Tornado Records was similarly dominated by country releases.

Stark Records Discography (any help with this would be appreciated):

Stark S-001 – Cara Stewart with Lee Hudson Orchestra – “My Darling” / “Be Sure That You Mean It” (both by Jerry Thomas, W-300/W-301)
Stark SR-002 – Joe Stone and Bobby Atkins & the Dixie Mountaineers – “Love Is A Lot To Understand” / “Bob’s Special”
Stark SR-003 – Bobby Atkins & the Farm Hands – “Lonesome Banjo” / “My Darling And Me”
Stark SR-004 – The Country Cousins – “Wrong Side Of Town” / “Bought Me A Farm”
Stark SR-005 – David Sutherland and the Southerns – “You Better Leave My Baby Alone” (Sutherland) / “Whispering Bill” (“A Product of Pilot Record Co.”)
Stark SR-006 – Randy Scott – “If Seeing Is Believing” (David Sutherland) / “You’ve Lost Too Much”
Stark SR-006 EP – Siney Ann Wooten – “Darling You Don’t Love Me Anymore” (Paul Johnson, Johnny Long) / “Crazy Mixed Up Town” (David Sutherland)
I believe the A-side of the EP repeats the two songs from the Randy Scott SR-006 single, but I need confirmation of that.
Stark SR-007 – Randy Scott – “So Welcome to the Club” / “Back Up Troubles”
Stark SR-008 – Bob Hastings – “Crazy Mixed Up Town” (David Sutherland) / “Two Kings and One Kingdom” (Johnny Long)
Stark SR-009 – The Nomads – “How Many Times” / “Not For Me” (Bruce Evans, Larry Deatherage, Tom Paul Music Co. BMI, July 1966)
Stark SR-0010 – Intellectuals Combo – “Our True Love” / “That Ain’t Nice” (instrumental, written by Mike Dee Love)
Stark SR-0011 – Siney Ann – “I’m So Lonesome (I Could Cry)” / “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You)”
Stark SR-0012 – Jimmy and Wesley and the Twin County Pardners – “Make Me A Pallet On The Floor” / “The World Is Still Waiting For The Sunrise” (Jimmy Arnold and Wesley Golden)
Stark SR-0013 – Hank Riley – “Record Of Heartbreak” / “Consolated Egotated Love”
Stark SR-0014 – Deep Valley Boys – “Please Don’t Honey, Please” / “Some Dark Hollow”
Stark SR-0015 – The Happy Hoss – “Call Me Baby” / “You’re The One (I Love)” both by Alan Westmoreland, Tompaul Music Co.
Stark SR-0016 – Four Souls – “Freedom Bound” / “Louise” (both by Paul Cain, Dennis Inman)
Stark SR-0017 – Tony Zito – “Hide Away Moments in Prayer” / ?
Stark SR-0018 – Bobby Atkins – “Memories Of President John F. Kennedy” (Paul Johnson) / “Love Valley” (1968, recorded by Lookabill’s Studio, Greensboro)
Stark SR-0019 – Don Sawyers and the Grangers – “My Favorite Way to Cry” (Larry D. Alderman – Don Sawyers, vocal by Larry D. Alderman and Don Sawyers) / “Imagination Trapped Within My Mind” (Don Sawyers, vocal by Don Sawyers) 1970
Stark SR-0020 – Carl P. Tolbert – “Liquor By the Drink” / “Changing of the Time” (1974)
Stark 100 – Pete Holden & the Baux Mountain Boys – “Truck Driver’s Vow” / “Legend Of Charlie Monroe”

LPs:

Stark SR-200-1 – Easter Brothers & the Green Valley Quartet – Bluegrass & Country Hymns (1967)
Stark SR-0001 – The Carolina Gospel Singers (1969)

Most of Stark’s output was country music, but as Bob pointed out in a comment below, the first release on Stark seems to be a lush arrangement of song-poems: see The Wonderful and the Obscure for more info. This single has light blue labels and a 1301 Park Drive address.

Other early singles have deep red labels and give the address as 1312 Summit Drive, Mt. Airy, North Carolina. Later ones read 628 South Street, Mount Airy, N.C. Later singles were produced by Paul Johnson.

Max Waller writes: “The Intellectuals had at least one further 45, “I Don’t Want To Cry” (as Mike Watson & the Intellectuals) / Danny Boy (as Glenn Wall & the Intellectuals) on M.K.B. 120 from Jan 1968 (SO 4898)”. MKB Recording was located in Tobaccoville, NC, just northwest of Winston-Salem.

Thank you to Max Waller, Lightnin’ Wells and Franz Kunst for help with this discography.

The Happy Hoss Stark 45 You're The One (I Love)

Review: Teen a Go Go (DVD)

Teen a Go Go DVD cover

In the mid-’60s, Fort Worth, Texas had an almost ideal teen band scene. The city was large enough to support dozens of semi-professional bands, it had several clubs that catered specifically to teens and even a few small studios and record labels. Most of all, it had a lot of musical talent, aware of the city’s own rhythm and blues heritage but soaking up the edgy sound of the English bands on the charts in ’64-’65.

Fort Worth bands cut incredible covers of British Invasion bands: the Cynic’s take on the Yardbirds’ version of “Train Kept a Rollin'”, the Mods’ version of “Evil Hearted You”, the Jades take on Van Morrison and Them’s “Little Girl”. They recorded great original songs as well. As a guitarist I can tell you how much fun it is to play Larry & the Blue Notes’ “In and Out”, with its bent-string breaks between every line of lyric. Other classics that come to mind: “Alibis” by the Bards, “My Confusion” by the Elite, “Don’t Burn It” by the Barons, “Be Nice” by the Nomads.

The records these bands cut were sold to the local teens and played on local radio. Few of the bands made it out of Fort Worth, and only a handful of Fort Worth records broke out to limited national exposure, such as “One Potato” by the Elite or “Night of the Phantom” by Larry & the Blue Notes.

Despite the lack of national recognition at the time, these records have made the Fort Worth Teen Scene legendary among garage fans in the years since. Now there is a DVD release to document it in detail, Teen a Go Go, a film by Melissa Kirkendall, Mark Nobles and James Sterling Johnson.

The filmmakers have done a spectacular job of interviewing many participants in the scene, including members of most of the important bands along with DJ Mark E. Baby (Mark Stevens), studio engineer Phil York, and Sump’n’Else producer/director Bud Buschardt. The interviews are casual and in-depth, with high quality audio and video. With so many interviews, it helps that the editing breaks them up so we return to the participants throughout the film, making the faces familiar to viewers who might not know the different bands.

Teen a Go Go starts with a general overview of the mid-60’s band phenomena, which surprised me by featuring a number of interviews with members of non-Fort Worth bands like the Novas from Dallas, the Excels of McKinney, the Vipers from Henderson, Arkansas and Eric & the Norsemen of Lawrence, Kansas. However, these interviews do a good job of showing the similarities between the teen band scenes throughout the United States.

After this introduction, the movie focuses on Fort Worth, briskly moving through discussions of the teen clubs, go-go girls, TV appearances by the bands and more. There’s a good segment on Major Bill Smith with footage of him in the studio from the ’70s. It’s fun to watch the Elite describe the making of their “One Potato” / “Two Potato” single – I could only wish there was more on about the making of records, the studios and the labels. There is a short discussion of the rivalries between different sections of Fort Worth which I’m sure is enough for most viewers, but I would like to have seen explored in more depth.

The film brings up the complicated shadow of Dallas, a larger city with more resources and commercial possibilities than Fort Worth. Ron Chapman’s Sump’n’Else TV show was influential throughout the region, and since footage of any Fort Worth bands on the show is lost, the film shows clips of the Five Americans (an Oklahoma band signed to the Abnak label of Dallas) lip-synching to “Western Union Man” and “I See the Light” and the Kingsmen doing “Louie, Louie”.

Returning the focus to Fort Worth, the film gives good background on some important Fort Worth acts that influenced the teen bands, notably Ray Sharpe and Bruce Channel, who cut “Hey Baby” with Delbert McClinton for Maj. Bill Smith.

Although the filmmakers have gathered a huge collection of photos and clippings, I found there to be too much panning across photos and not enough use of the little surviving film footage from the time. We see all-too-brief glimpses of the Cynics, the Elite and The Bluecoats. There are a few seconds of the Jades and the Sundown Collection from the Panther Hall, but I would like to have seen more of the fragmentary footage that survives – such as a ferocious half minute of the Phaze V performing “7 and 7 Is”. This is a minor quibble and after all, we can turn to the internet for that kind of video.

I highly recommend Teen a Go Go. For more information on the film, or to order a DVD, check out Teen-a-Go-Go.com.

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