Both sides of the Zephyrs 45 on Colonial are very sedate ballads.
“Take Her Back” has a loner garage feel to it, though I find the backing vocals intrusive. “The Price of Love” is a folky duet, and if it’s awkward as music, the downbeat vibe is somehow endearing.
Don’t know a thing about the Zephyrs other than the Berkeley Springs, West Virginia location and the songwriting credits – R. Fulton and J. Newbraugh for both songs.
The Zephyrs were a garage band from Berkeley Springs, WV.(circa 1964-1967)The group had one release on the Colonial label in 1967. The record was recorded in Harrisburg, Pa. and pressed in Nashville.
The group actually disband(no pun intended) in the summer of 1967 but reunited at the Pa. studio in the fall of 1967 to record both sides of the single. They had not seen each other or played together for several months.
At the time of the recording session the group was actually separated by thousands of miles: The lead guitarist and lead vocalist had joined the Air Force and was stationed in Texas, The female vocalist and rhythmn guitarist was a student at West Virginia University, The Bass Player was a student at Bucknell University and the drummer was a student at Shepherd College (now Shepherd University)
The previous reviewer says that the background vocals are intrusive and this person is probably correct but the reviewer did not have access to all of the facts.
When the foursome met in Harrisburg, the female vocalist had just had her tonsils removed and had trouble talking let alone singing. Side A featured her on backbround vocals but when it came time to do Side B her voice was shot and the drummer and the bass player sang her part and as the previous reviewer stated it may be intrusive but this is the side that got the most air time by far in 1967 and beyond….
Hindsight is 20/20 and both of the songs should have been released without any background vocals….
Take Her Back has been released on several compilations. Most recently by Arf Arf Records out of Massachusettes ….plus there have been some other previuosly unrelased material by The Zephyrs put out in recent years from live performances that is much more upbeat than the 45 rpm record.
NBT RECORDS (also of Berkeley Springs)took over the Colonial label and they are still in business today.
There is a picture of The Zephyrs in Mike Kuzmin’s book entitled “Sounds From The Woods – Pennsylvania Rock Bands On Record 1964 -1970” Again it is important to remember that The Zephyrs were from West Va. but recorded in Pennsylvania.
The songs on the Colonial 45 are now the property of NBT RECORDS and are published by Newbraugh Brothers Music BMI.
NBT RECORDS
P.O. Box 9
Berkeley Springs, WV 25411
Hey…
I love both these sides and would love to find more…
(haunting songs that really stick in your head)