Category Archives: Evansville

The Sunday Funnies “Sunny Covington Avenue” / “It Won’t Happen to You” on Skoop

Photo card included with some copies of the Sunday Funnies 45 on Skoop. From left: John Rice, Luke Pride, Gary MacShara and Tom Sheffer.

The Sunday Funnies 45 on Skoop 1070 has two excellent original songs, “Sunny Covington Avenue” an uptempo rocker, and “It Won’t Happen to You”. The labels list Gary McShara (actually Gary MacShara) as the song writer on the labels, with publishing by Buna Music. I don’t own a copy of the 45, unfortunately.

A photo card included with some copies of the record has a photo that predates Pat Berry joining the group, and has the name of manager Wayne Watters crossed out.

Sunday Funnies profiled in the Evansville Press, March 30, 1967

I came across this profile of the group from March, 30, 1967, which would date the single to about April, 1967:

The group … has become known through various appearances at such Evansville places as the Community Center at the Coliseum and on local television.

The Messenger of Madisonville KY, Friday, Oct. 14, 1966
The Sunday Funnies combo also has performed throughout the Tri-State area, but is hoping to become still better known through its recording of ” soon to be released

The group’s drummer, Gary MacShara, an 18-year-old employee of Our Lady of Mercy Hospital at Morganfield, Ky., wrote both of the tunes. The recording, which will be the Sunday Funnies’ first, is expected to be released soon on the Skoop label from the Santa Claus, Ind. studios.

Also in the combo are John Rice, 17-year-old Union County High School senior from Morganfield, on lead guitar; Luke Pride, 14-year-old Pride, Ky., resident who is a freshman at Sturgis Junior High, the organist; and Tom Shaeffler [Tom Sheffer], 16-year-old junior at St. Vincent Academy near Waverly, Ky., on bass guitar.

Newest member of the group is the singer, Pat Berry, 21, of Morganfield. Richard Young, a disc jockey for a Morganfield radio station, is the group’s business manager.

The group has been together since last September performing “mostly as a hobby and something to do,” Rice explained.

None of the group’s members are now planning to make music a career, he said.

In their appearances, the group strives for a different sound. “We don’t try to get real loud because we don’t especially care for that, but at the same time we try to move away from the old surfing sound,” Rice said.

“Our’s is a straight, no beat, but melodious sound lacking the tangy guitar sound. We’re trying to develop the Utah sound Gary played with a musical group before moving from the western state to the Tri-State,” Rice explained.

The instrumentalists each previously played with other combos, he noted.

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

The Villains (aka The Villians on Bullet)


left to right Steve Hacker (bass), Larry Mattingly (rhythm guitar, vocals), Alan Hoover (lead guitar, backup vocals), Roger Walker (drums, vocals), Bob Ledbetter (lead vocalist)
 

The Villains first 45, “Don’t Ever Leave Me” is a classic, featuring some of the most savage screams in garage music.

The Villains were long thought to be from Tennessee because their records were on the Bullet label from Nashville, but after hearing from lead guitarist and co-founder Alan Hoover, I can confirm they were from Evansville, Indiana, just 150 miles north of Nashville. Their records were produced by Leon Beaver (a country singer himself) and Jack Bulleit (the son of Jim Bulleit).

Here’s their story as told to me by Alan:

Actually, we spelled Villains correctly (after looking it up!), but many people put the a/i in the wrong order, including the guys at Bullet Records. Jim Bulleit (“pronounced Bullet”) of Nashville was the producer/owner of Bullet. He attempted to revive the label with our record, but I don’t know if he ever did get it going.

Anyway, the folk classic “Shortenin’ Bread” was the “A” side of our first record, not “Don’t Ever Leave Me”. Shortenin’ Bread acheived number one in Evansville, IN, for a good run, and also other towns in the area. We had to play it 2 or 3 times a gig or they wouldn’t let us leave. Really! Don’t Ever Leave Me was also locally popular, but much less so than Shortenin’ Bread. Also, Shortenin’ Bread was a 4-star pick hit in Cashbox Magazine, and (we were told by Bulleit) “broke” in the Tallahassee, Florida market and some other markets. I have also been told by several people over the years that the Bullwinkle cartoon show featured it in an episode, but I have never personally verified that. We actually heard it on an Astronauts (Boulder CO) record as a rock song in ’63, and thought we could improve on it.

Here is some history of the band:

Bob Ledbetter (Led) and I started the Villains in our hometown of Evansville, Indiana, in summer of 1963 (after we graduated from high school), with Roger Walker, a local drummer (we had no bass yet). I was lead guitar, taught Led some rhythm. Led was also our lead singer. We started playing beer parties, dances, etc. I went to college that fall, and Bob met Larry Mattingly (Midget), a local E’ville guitar player who sang good backup. They continued the band during the ’63/’64 school year, adding Bob’s girlfriend Julia Hadad for backup harmony and sex appeal. Still no bass guitar. Then, I quit college, came back in the summer of ’64.

We practiced all day all summer and fall in Bob’s basement, improving our chops. In the fall of ’64, we picked up Steve Hacker, a local bass player. We played loud, solid rock, and crowds were attracted to the atmosphere that we created. Our reputation kept increasing, and we became the top local band. We had lots of fans/friends around the area. We were known for inciting rowdy behavior with our music, particularly if beer was running freely. The “Villains” name fit, although we chose it largly because we were from “the ‘ville”. We were definitely one of the party bands of all time, I’m not exaggerating either. Larry and Led had a natural comedic talent, which added to the showy aspects of the band. (They formed a “Led and Larry” duo for about 10 years after the Villains broke up, also known for inciting rowdiness.)

In ’65, we got a new drummer, Pat Ziemer, from another local band (The Aragons). Also, we picked up Bruce Blythe, a local keyboard player, from the same band. Bruce and my brother Mike Hoover (now a doctor in Evansville) wrote “Don’t Ever Leave Me”. We actually recorded Shortnin’ Bread/Don’t Ever Leave me in late summer of ’65 in Nashville, after Jim Bulleit saw us and liked what we were doing. He personally auditioned us in Evansville, and had us to his house for a cookout immediately after we recorded Shortenin’ Bread etc. He mentioned that he was reviving the label after being out of the business for some years.

It quickly became #1 in E’ville. A local DJ started managing our bookings, and we were playing all over the southern Indiana/Illinois, northern Kentucky area, with Shortenin’ Bread boosting our visibility in the area. We also regularly played fraternity parties in Evansville, IU (Bloomington IN) and Vanderbilt (Nashville), as well as numerous Louisville and Indinapolis gigs. Fraternities always asked us back, for obvious reasons.

Bruce Blythe had other ambitions, and left later in ’65. We picked up Danny Brown, another local keyboard player, to replace Bruce. In ’66, we recorded a Gary Bugg song called “Love is the Treasure”, our second record, and we put “Midnight Hour” on there too (actually the “A” side). Danny and Garry Bugg both came from another Evansville band, The Circles. We recorded that in the basement of a funeral home in Evansville!


The Passions (l-r): Althea Mitchell, Sandy King, Cynthia Bennet

In 1967, a local Supremes tribute group called “The Passions” joined us, as we started playing more and more soul. They were Cynthia Bennett (lead singer), Althea Mitchell, and Sandy King. These girls danced, sang, looked great in short dresses, and the crowds loved them. They liked our white soul, and sat in on a couple gigs. They were sweethearts. Everybody liked them, so we made them part of the band. About that time, we joined Triangle Talent of Louisville, KY, who put us into many venues that we didn’t previously have access to.We pretty much split up in ’67 or ’68, with Larry and me quitting. Led, Dan, a new drummer (Tommy Thompson), and Steve Hacker teamed up with super guitar player Denny Browder (who is said to have refused a membership with Chicago because of fear of flying), along with Cynthia of the Passions and formed a touring band. They might have called themselves The Villains, but no one can recall.

In 1984, we decided to do a 20-year reunion in Evansville, with Led, me, Larry, Pat, Danny, and Steve (our serious party lineup). It went over big, with all the original members showing up to jam. We continued this every year until 1997 with good crowds. The rowdiness would always recur, even though many of the audience were entirely too old to be behaving in such a manner. But, they couldn’t help themselves! Then, Led had a stroke Christmas Eve of 1997 at the young age of 52. The stroke damaged Led’s speech, and he can no longer sing. So, that sadly ended the Villains. He can still make me fall over laughing though, he is such a natural comic.

Everybody went on to have families, etc., some in professional fields. I became an engineer, designed, patented, and now make and sell a guitar invention called the Sustainiac, that produces infinite sustain for guitar. (Sustainiac.com) Larry Mattingly and Pat Ziemer are in sales, Danny Brown a counselor, Roger Walker a hairdresser, Steve Hacker still playing bass I think, Bruce is doing well as a nationally recognized consultant with business on dealing with catastrophic events. Cynthia Bennet became a nurse, but I don’t know about Althea Mitchell or Sandy King. I hope I got all the facts right.

Thank you Alan for your input and the great photos.


“Photo taken at the Surf Club (a regular Friday gig for us for a couple of years): Danny Brown (right, keyboards) and Pat Ziemer (our main drummer for most of our run) are shown in this picture.
We would pack the place with 400-500 people, and it got loud and rowdy without fail. Most of our old fans recall the Surf Club as some of the most fun of their youth years. By the way, Pat would usually stand on his drums during Shortnin’ Bread, and never fell off that I can remember!” – Alan Hoover