Category Archives: Kentucky

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.

Teachers Pet “Trying to Get Back to You” on B-Rod Records

Teachers Pet B-Rod 45 Trying To Get Back To YouThe obscure group Teachers Pet cut this one single on the equally obscure B-Rod Records. “Trying to Get Back to You” is crude swampy boogie. The A-side was the comparatively sleepy “Say You Love Me”. Both songs were originals by Larry Sims and Mike Zimmerman.

BMI lists Sims’ full name as Larry Clifton Sims, but it may be confusing him with the bassist and vocalist with the Sunshine Company and Loggins & Messina. BMI also lists two other original songs by the duo, “Seven Days a Week” and “Yes I Do”. I’m not sure either song was recorded.

Kingsbury-Wilson published the songs, now listed as Kingsbury-Wilson Enterprise of Louisville in BMI’s database. Mountain Music did the production. Released on B-Rod Records, without a catalog number on the label. The runout has “1269 – 1948”, I suspect the 1269 could mean December of 1969, but it’s just a guess.

I know of two other releases on B-Rod Records. Don Woolett’s “Rock to Kentucky” / “Ballad of Abraham Lincoln” is on a blue label similar to the Teachers Pet single, released in May, 1971.

A different red label design has Robin Kay Waggoner’s “We’ve Got to Try” / “Your Friend”, with “product of MMP in Lebanon Junction, KY”. Music Mountain Productions also recorded the Sound of the Zounds 45, covered previously on Garage Hangover.

Teachers Pet may have been from Lebanon Junction, Kentucky, or possibly Louisville, a half-hour’s drive north.

Unit VI “About That Time” on Trump Records

Unit VI Trump 45 About That Time

Unit VI is an unknown group, possibly from the Louisville, Kentucky area, but also possibly from southern Indiana.

“About that Time” is a good garage original, danceable but relaxed. “Mother May I” has a chunky rhythm. R. Bundy and A. Stultz wrote both songs.

I’ve searched for info on the group but have no leads yet.

The publishing of both songs is Brownsboro Music SESAC, unusual for Trump singles, which usually have Falls Music publishing.

The Precision Record Pressing codes of PRP-211/2 date this to early or mid 1967.

Unit VI Trump 45 Mother May I

The Sensations of Middlesboro, Kentucky

Sensations, Middlesboro-daily-news-jan-27-1965-p-1
The Sensations, from left: Mark Steele, Lee Cochran, Stephen Moody, Joe Willis and Brown Carr.

The Sensations were 12 and 13 year-olds from Middlesboro, Kentucky, a rural town in Ball County, close to the Tennessee border and about 60 miles northeast of Knoxville. Members were: Mark Steele, Lee Cochran, Stephen Moody, Joe Willis and Brown Carr.

They did not record as far as I know, but the article in the Middlesboro Daily News from January, 1965 notes that “Mark has written two of the groups songs: ‘Stay Away from Me’ and ‘I’m in Love.'”

If the group did record or if the members went on to other bands, I would be interested in hearing about it.

Sensations Middlesboro-daily-news-jan-27-1965-p-1b

Once again, thank you to Matthew B. for helping me access this news clipping.

The Dynamics “Later On” Farrall Records

Dynamics Farrall 45 Later OnThe Dynamics were from the west side of Louisville, Kentucky, and cut a great instrumental single from 1962 or 1963 on Farrall Records.

Jerry Hargrove wrote the A-side, “Later On”, which starts out with a solemn intro for 15 seconds then kicks into high gear with a driving guitar riff and growling saxophone. That slow intro was cut when this song appeared on a volume of Strummin’ Mental many years ago.

Gary King wrote the flip, “Departure”, a ballad all the way through. Tronic Music published both sides. Issued as Farrall Records FAR-45-694.

Max Waller alerted me to an entry in Brenda & Bill Wood’s book Louisville’s Own which gives an extensive band member list. On this instrumental, the likely lineup is:

Jerry Hargrove – lead guitar
Gary King – saxophone
Bob Webb – bass
Johnny Coffman – drums
and possibly Freddie Witzelhouse on rhythm guitar

According to Louisville’s Own, the Dynamics formed in 1961, most members students from Shawnee High School.

Other members would include:

Tinsley Stuart – lead vocal
Gary Harrod – vocal
Kenny Flowers – vocal
Tommy Flowers – vocal

In 1963, most of the band (Tinsley Stuart, Gary Harrod, Bobby Webb, Gary King, and Johnny Coffman) joined members of two southern Indiana bands (the Citations and the Imperials) and Frank Bugbee (later in Soul Inc. and Elysian Field), and formed the ten-member group, the Shadows, who released one single “Shake Sherry” / “That’s All” on Jam 45-109 in September 1964. That band later became the Chateaus. The Chateaus had three singles including ones on Jam and Boss Records.

Farrall Records released a number of good rockabilly and country-bop singles by Ken Turner, Paul Wheatley, Jimmie Dale, & Fannom Patrick, among others. It may be best known for the original version of “Scorpion” by Jimmie McConville & the Shamrocks. The label had an address of 1834 Nelligan Ave, near Portland Ave.

Thank you to Max Waller and Louisville’s Own for information on the group.

The Children on Atwell

Along a scenic mountain parkway stretch of I-65 heading south, past Bowling Green and just north of the Tennessee border, in a tiny Kentucky town called Mundfordville, in Hart County, tucked on the hill above the moving Green River, a group of teenage boys formed a band in the winter of ’65.

Hearing the happening mid-sixties sounds of the Byrds, the Animals, the Beatles and the Stones, these boys got stars in their eyes and took up instruments, calling themselves December’s Children, named after the cold season upon them.

The members were:

  • Mike ‘Hoot’ Gibson / guitar, vox (Gibson ES 330)
  • Sam Goodman / lead guitar, fuzz ( Fender Telecaster)
  • Clint Nickols / bass (Fender)
  • Mike Rife / drums, vox

Honing their skills and gaining local popularity in Munfordville at the town’s teen club called ‘The Nightmare’ – the group of high school boys shortened their name to ‘The Children’ and  went on to play Hart County ‘courthouse fairs’, gigs in nearby Glasgow and also competed in the State Fair in Louisville about an hour north.

With a solid high school fan base and local support, the community was pushing them to make a record. By 1968, the members were all seniors and would graduate that following summer- all except Sam who was already a few years older and had his own wheels. The band had about 50 cover songs in the pocket, mostly dialed in on current rock radio hits of the day.

Children Atwell PS I Long To See Her

Disappearing to the parent’s basement, Mike and Sam penned two original songs that year and a recording session was appointed at Atwell Studio about an hour and a half’s drive south in Lafayette, Tennessee. The band loaded their gear in Sam’s car and excitedly roared down the road. The resulting session yielded two amazing tracks, done in one take that summer of ’68.


“I Long To See Her” b/w “Lost Soul Seeker In the Rain” was released later that year on the Atwell label and was issued with a simple picture sleeve of the band with a portrait that was made in a small photography studio along the way in Glasgow. It is not known how many copies of the record were pressed. Sources say that Lorne Atwell would often only have 100 run pressings done of the secular groups that came through the door, as Atwell was mostly a gospel/country label. The group never had any other draft or sketch of another original song, but stayed active as the Children until around ’72. Nonetheless, the two sides made for Atwell that summer have forever set them in garage punk unknown history stone.

The Children from the 1969 Hart County High School yearbook
The Children in December 1968, from the 1969 Hart County High School yearbook

Mike Gibson still lives in Mundfordville and continues to write and perform contemporary christian music. Many thanks to him for sharing his memories of the band from which this article was produced and for the photo from the class of ’69 Hart Co. High School yearbook that shows the band in action (Christmas of ’68).

Mike Rife died in Mundfordville in 2011.

The other band members are still residing in Kentucky, and were unable to be contacted for this article.

Extra special thanks to John Freeman, mayor of Mundforville for sharing his memories, sourcing the record and arranging the interview with Hoot.

Lee Bryant and Mike 'Hoot' Gibson

Conception “Babylon” / “The Game”

Conception Perfection 45 BabylonThe Conception came from Louisville, Kentucky, releasing only one single circa 1969 when the band were in their teens.

“Babylon” is an excellent cover of the Blue Cheer song from Outsideinside, featuring a heavily phased guitar break. “The Game” is an original by lead guitarist Charlie Day: a very different sound featuring acoustic guitar and harmonies.

Charlie Day listed the band members in a comment on youtube:

Bill Tullis – rhythm guitar and low harmony vocals
Charlie Day – lead guitar and high harmony vocals
Mark Zurlage – bass
Jim Dant – drums

Mike Siebold was also in the group at some point.

Stuart Paine produced the single and also played Fender Rhodes on “The Game”. Paine released it on Perfection P-1001, and published “The Game” through Stuart Paine Music BMI.

Paine also co-produced the Waters “Mother Samwell” with Fred Baker as “A Paine-Baker Production”.

Anyone have a photo of the group?

Conception Perfection 45 The Game

Ronnie & the Sinsashuns

Ronnie & the Sinsashuns photo
(Left to Right) Ronnie Wilson, Ronnie Mobley, Ronnie Hellard, Ricky Hackworth and Ronnie Moore

Ronnie Hellard – vocals
Ronnie Mobley – rhythm guitar (Fender Jazzmaster)
Ricky Hackworth – drums
Ronnie Wilson – bass guitar (Gibson EBO)
Ronnie Moore – lead guitar (Fender Telecaster)

Ronnie & the Sinsashuns on stage
Moore and Mobley on stage at Danceland, Lexington, Ky.

Ronnie & the Sinsashuns were a teenbeat/surf/rockin’ combo formed in ’62 around Versailles, Kentucky just outside of the small college town of Lexington, Ky.

Vocalist Ronnie Hellard was born and raised in Versailles, Ky. Ronnie Mobley was born and raised in Lexington and moved to Woodford County in 1962; he played a Fender Jazzmaster he bought from local rock n’ roll singer Jimmy Lee Ballard, who recorded for REM.

Drummer Ricky Hackworth and Ronnie Wilson were both from Lexington, and lead guitarist Ronnie Moore came from Woodford County.

Ron Mobley recounts his memory of how the band started in his own words:

“I was 15, all the others were 16 except Hellard, who was 18 when the group formed.  I met Moore at Woodford County High School in 1962.  He knew of a singer and contacted Hellard.  Moore had met Larry Wilson, a good Lexington guitarist and brother of Ronnie Wilson, so we got him on bass and he knew of a drummer, Ricky Hackworth.”

“Our initial rehearsals were at Ricky Hackworth’s parents’ home. We all lived with our parents in 1962.  Moore and Hellard had cars and drivers licenses, so they transported the rest of us and our gear.”

“The first time the band received recognition was when we competed in a “Battle of the Bands” in Lexington and won. There,  Bill Stakelin, a student at Georgetown College and part-time disc jockey at a daylight to dark AM radio station WAXU in Georgetown heard us play. He had been booking The Castaways, a group that attended his college.  He approached us and asked to represent us and we agreed; a move that was not popular with The Castaways.  He kept us busy with frat parties and events during the school year and in the bars during the summer months.  We were all under age but the bar owners didn’t care because we attracted customers.”

Ronnie and the Sinsashuns Wham 45 Laugh It Up BabyThey recorded and released one 45 in the summer of ’64, both original sides penned by Ronnie Hellard and the band. Recorded in Lexington at Lemco Studio, it has a heavy reverb’d production quality and was released on the band’s own custom moniker through Lemco, on the WHAM label – named after neighboring Ohio rocker Lonnie Mack’s song on Fraternity. It is noted that the 45 is the first 2-sided vocal release to come out on a Lemco label – all previous releases having an instrumental b-side.

“Laugh It Up Baby” is the rockin’ side- it has a cool country drawl on the playful lyrics, back-up vocal group chatter, reverb’d guitar and production, handclaps, along with a raucous scream by guitarist Ronnie Moore right before his blistering guitar break.

Ronnie and the Sinsashuns Wham 45 Sonya“Sonya” is the ballad side penned by Hellard, Moore and Mobley- it has a nice laid-back rhumba-beat, with a sparse guitar break, exotic drums and pleading vocals.  The song is said to have been written about the prettiest girl in Woodford County who just happened to also be the daughter of a local deputy state trooper.

The group had previously recorded an Audiodisc 5-song 12″ acetate at WVLK, a local radio station situated in the top of the Lafayette Hotel on Main Street in Lexington.  This record contains 3 vocal tracks- “True Fine Mama” – “Pretty Girls Everywhere” and “Peepin’ and Hidin'” along with two tasty surf instrumentals called “Caliente” and “San Jose”. This demo was recorded on January 20th 1964,  shortly before they recorded their original sides at Lemco.

Ronnie & the Sinsashuns news clip, March 6, 1964

Kingsmen show poster, October 2, 1964 at Joyland Casino, Lexington, Kentucky
Ronnie & the Sinsashuns shared the bill with the Kingsmen at Joyland Casino, October 2, 1964

Ronnie & the Sinsashuns had a regular presence around Lexington performing at Danceland, The Palms and on The Nick Clooney Show to name a few. They also did a brief tour up through Ohio and Indiana to promote the record. They competed in and and won local Battle of the Bands competitions and were well plugged and promoted  by WVLK.

They were the featured opening band for shows with the Kingsmen and Bo Diddley on the stage at Joyland, a popular amusement park on the north end of Lexington,  circa 1964. In recent interview, Mobley jokingly commented that the Kingsmen only knew about four songs and the Sinsashuns had to play longer to fill out the concert’s bill. He also noted that Bo Diddley was a super nice guy and even sent him a Christmas card that following year.  Joyland Park closed down soon after the Kingsmen show and was destroyed by fire in June, 1965.

Ronnie Mobley (rhythm guitarist for the Sinsashuns), who was very in-demand around town, once was called-in as a last minute player for a rockin’ Conway Twitty, circa ’64, at a rough joint called The Palms – another memorable moment and highlight of the band’s short career.

Ronnie & the Sinsashuns on stage
(Left to Right) Moore, Mobley, Hellard and Wilson on stage at Danceland, Lexington, Ky.
Ronnie & the Sinsashuns on stage
(Left to Right) Moore, Mobley, Hellard, Hackworth (drums), Wilson, and a dedicated fan who frequented Danceland on maracas.

Pepper Swift and the Monzzas Whirlaway 45 FunRonnie Hellard made another similar sounding record, “My Yo-Yo” / “Fun” on the Whirlaway label in Lexington, Ky in 1965 as alter ego “Pepper Swift” with a backing band called the Monzzas, having no known relationship to the Sinsashuns. He later moved to Nashville and became a famous songwriter, penning tunes like “I’m No Stranger to the Rain” and many others.

Ronnie Mobley continued to play music and became an accomplished mandolin player in a professional bluegrass group called Kentucky Blue, who toured all over the US, Europe and Japan- and released 5 albums during their career.

Ricky Hackworth continued playing drums and toured professionally with the Charlie Daniels Band, David Allen Coe, Johnny Paycheck and others. He died in 2004.

Ronnie Moore became a barber and co-owned his own shop, was a US Navy Vietnam veteran and died in 2015 at the age of 69.

Ronnie Wilson is deceased; it is unknown at this time what he went on to do after playing bass with the Sinsashuns.

Ronnie and the Sensations news clipping
Ronnie and the Sensations [sic] play a variety show
WKLX Paris, KY Survey August 28, 1964
“Laugh It Up Baby” at #25 on the WKLX survey on August, 28, 1964, Paris, KY
Ronnie & the Sinsashuns photo records
Ronnie Hellard and Ronnie Mobley posing with their new 45rpm release, summer of ’64.
Lee Bryant and Ronnie Mobley
Lee Bryant (author of this article) with Sinsashuns guitarist Ronnie Mobley, October 2015.

The Sound of the Zounds

Zounds Music Mountain 45 Me And My Girl

The Zounds released their only single in June of 1967. “Me and My Girl” is the more uptempo side, while the organ leads the melody for “Love Has Found Me”. Both have fine performances by the band and singer, though the lead guitar and rolling drums on “Me and My Girl” stand out. The horn sounds a little out of place on “Me and My Girl” but fits in better on the flip.

The group came from Lebanon Junction, Kentucky, about 25 miles south of Louisville.

Zounds Music Mountain 45 Love Has Found MeI’ve seen a photo of the group as a six-piece. I had an incomplete lineup listing until Roger Smith commented below. Members were:

David Berry – bass & vocal
Roger Smith – guitar
Wayne Hawkins – organ
Doug Hawkins – drums
Wayne Fernback – trumpet

Michael Giorgio – backing vocals
C.W. Warden – backing vocals

I’d read Thomas Troutman was a member but Roger did not recall him.

David Berry and Roger Smith wrote “Me and My Girl”; Doug Hawkins and W. Hawkins wrote “Love Has Found Me”. Both songs published through Falis City Music Co. BMI.

The Music Mountain labels list the band as The Sound of the Zounds. Music Mountain was a recording studio in Lebanon Junction run by Bill Masden with Grant Watson engineer. It was active into the 1970s. The U4KM-9950 shows this was a custom RCA pressing.

I looked for mention of the band in local newspapers and could only find one reference from the Louisville Courier-Journal on August 6, 1967. The discussion of the ‘combo contest’ lists a number of local groups, but limits coverage to the winner, the Frogs from Jeffersonville, Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville. The Frogs never recorded to my knowledge but their performance on WHAS is sometimes available on youtube.

‘Frogs’ Jump to Win ‘Crusade’ Combo Spot

If their Jeffersonville neighbors knew what 17 teen-age talent judges know, they’d be more tolerant when The Frogs roar into a practice session. This guitar-banging, organ-pounding, drum-beating quintet last night topped seven other finalists in the second annual WHAS Crusade for Children combo contest, combining the loud and the soft in today’s Mod music taste. The selection by the teen-age panel on an hour-long WHAS program makes them the best among more than 90 area combos which auditioned for a place among the eight finalists.

Popular as they may be among the younger set, the “Monkee-suited” group has its problems with the older generation. “It’s kind of tough to find a place to practice,” leader Douglas Decker, 18, of 608 Kewanna Drive, Jeffersonville, said. They’ve tried basements and backyards, but the sound of The Frogs isn’t always in tune with the neighbors. Right now they’re practicing in Doug’s basement. “The folks don’t mind, as long as we practice and don’t goof around,” Doug said. “Of course they bug out when we start to play.”

Other finalists were The Zounds, of Lebanon Junction; the Cavaliers, The Silhouettes, The Dynamic Imperials and The Dark Shadows, of Louisville; The Exotics, of Leitchfield; and… “I thought The Dark Shadows were going to win,” Decker, the base guitarist, said. But the other members of his group were convinced that The Dynamic Imperials were the combo to beat.

Other members of the winning Frogs are: Rhythm guitarist Rob Roby, 16, of Utica Pike, Jeffersonville; lead guitarist David Rowan, of 210 Spickert Knobs Road, New Albany; organist John Shaughnessy, 17, of 716 Roma Ave., Jeffersonville; and drummer Richard Wolfe, 17, of 401 Chippewa Drive, Jeffersonville. While they reluctantly admit- their zany outfits are patterned after the famed Monkees, The Frogs’ favorite big-name groups are The Beatles and The Young Rascals. They organized their group only six months ago, although most of them had played with other combos which drifted apart. Shaughnessy had been a member of the Centrics, last year’s winners, before that group competed in the 1966 Crusade combo contest. The Frogs will be one of the acts to perform on this year’s WHAS and WHAS-TV Crusade for Children program Sept. 23-24. Last year’s Crusade provided $415,592 in charity for handicapped children of Kentucky and Southern Indiana.

The Marquis from Louisville could be the Marquee Monsters who recorded “I Love The Beat” (B. Cason) b/w a favorite of mine, “Laws and Restrictions” (Mac Gayden and Bill Fennell) on Our Bag Records in Sept. 1966.

The Blazers “Poison”

Blazers Photo: Harry Alexander, Bob Houghland (obscured), Ronnie Griffith, John Adler
The Blazers, from left: Harry Alexander, Bob Houghland (obscured), Ronnie Griffith and John Adler

Blazers Century Custom 45 PoisonThe Blazers were an obscure group who cut one fine instrumental single “Poison” / “Blue Blazin” with a Century Custom franchise out of Paducah, Kentucky, in the far west of the state.

Members were:

Bob Houghland – drums
Ron Griffith – rhythm guitar
John Adler – lead guitar
Harry Alexander – bass

Lead guitarist John Adler sent in the photo at top. Check out the skull in front of the bass drum, not to mention the instruments: a Kay Value Leader bass, a Danelectro Shorthorn double-cutaway, and a Gibson SG.

“Blue Blazin” was the original A-side, a bluesy guitar workout with plenty of room echo, written by Bob Houghland and Ron Griffith.

“Poison” has achieved some fame since appearing on an early volume of Strummin’ Mental (available now through Crypt Records). John Adler and Harry Alexander wrote “Poison”.

Bob Houghland passed away in 2014.

The Blazers recorded through the Century Custom Recording Service of Thomas F. Morris at 3029 Oregon St., Paducah, Kentucky. Fellow Paducah band the Moxies recorded their great last single, “I’m Gonna Stay” / “Drinkin’ Wine” through Century.

The Century Custom release number 18054 dates it to 1964.
Blazers Century Custom 45 Blue Blazin