from left: Kent Klinkenbeard, Dennis Chitwood, Frank McCaslin and Bill Leach Location is possibly Hedrick Junior High, Medford
“Denny and the All Americans was pre-Us Kids. I believe that was the time we opened for Gary Lewis and the Playboys.”Dennis Chitwood – rhythm guitar, vocals Bill Leach – lead guitar Frank McCaslin – bass Kent Klinkenbeard – drums
I’m constantly amazed at the quality of rock ‘n roll cut by young teens during the mid-’60s. Billy and the Kids from Washington state is one example, another is Us Kids from Medford, in southern Oregon.
They recorded their single at Rex Recording Service in Portland, both songs written by their vocalist Dennis Chitwood. “Check-Out” is a great A-side, with tough lyrics from a thirteen year old boy:
You’re thinking the smiles they gave you were because you’re pretty Well the smiles you got were actually out of pity!
Dennis Chitwood, Frank McCaslin and Bill Leach at Rex Studios, PortlandI recently spoke to Bill Pitts, who was known as Bill Leach when he played lead guitar for the group:
We were very young at the time. When we made the record, I was the oldest by a month or two and I was 14. The singer, Dennis Chitwood would have been 12 or 13.
We met through word of mouth in those days. Somebody told somebody that I played guitar or that Kurt played drums. Just good old fashion networking. Then we would have “try-outs” to fill or change a spot. Dennis played the Fender and I the Rickenbacker.
In actual fact, “I Love The Rain” was the chart song or “A” side. I have two original copies of those “K-Boy Top 25 Pop” charts. August 19, 1966 – #19; August 26, 1966 – #3 (#1 was the Beatles, #2 was Tommy Roe so I guess you could call that “good company”).
We saved our money and our parents helped pay for the session. If memory serves, it was around $200.00 each. I’m not sure who searched out Rex, most likely Chitwood’s parents. I do remember how excited we all were to travel to the studio (Portland). I remember vividly how nervous I was when the “Recording” light came on over the sound control booth. I remember sitting around the control room with the engineer, listening to the final cut and us giving our approval.
Our biggest gig (in my mind) was opening for Gary Lewis and The Playboys. As I recall, that’s the only time we played the Medford Armory (which was the only large auditorium in the day). I have pictures of us playing in (I believe) a battle of the bands at the Medford Shopping Center parking lot. These venues happened once a year to a very large turn-out.
Us Kids on local TV
The pic of us on TV was taken of us on the show Woman’s World. It was local interest type programming. We also did a short interview and, I believe, announced some news and the weather on our local rock station of the day, KBOY AM.
“I Love the Rain” reaches #3 on KBOY’s Top 25, August 26, 1966
At that point, our parents managed us. We were happy to just play music but our parents got involved (we were very young remember) and agendas won out. Ultimately what broke us up. A shame, as we were starting to draw some interest.I just found out that Dennis Chitwood has passed, I believe last year. I did hear a great blues band in Jacksonville while visiting once. Entered the bar and saw my old friend Kent Klinkenbeard still playing drums. Damn good too. Not sure where the others ended up. I played rock for a few more years and ended up trading my electric in for a Lyle “Dove” twelve string and went all Simon and Garfunkel. Now I pluck through Jimmy Buffet and some mild country.
It was a magical time. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!
Bill (Leach) Pitts
Special thanks to Bill for sending in these great photos and for answering my questions about the band.
from left: Kent Klinkenbeard, Dennis Chitwood, Frank McCaslin and Bill Leach Location is likely Happy Camp, California“I Love the Rain” enters KBOY’s Top 25 at #19, August 19, 1966
Note upcoming show listed at bottom of flyer: The Blue Boys (should be the Boys Blue) from Sacramento with the Nervous Navarros.The Navarros were from Ashland and cut “Tomorrow Is Another Day” / “Sad Man” at Golden State Recorders around this time. That went unreleased until many years later, but there’s an earlier 45 I haven’t heard on the Corby label from Corvallis, “Ikie”.
Bob Sanders ran the Knight and Spectra labels, among others, during the mid-’60s in Dallas, Texas.
The Knights 45 was completely unfamiliar to me until Brian Kirschenbaum wrote to me with the scan and transfers of the record. He was surprised to find a Texas 45 had made its way to upstate New York. It’s an interesting single, very much influenced by the British sounds of the time in changes and feel, especially on “I Know It Now”. Bob Kissell wrote both sides.
I had no information on the group until a couple comments were left (see below). As it turns out, this band made an unlikely journey from upstate New York to work in Dallas, Texas. In Watertown they were known as Dick and the Knights.
I’ll repeat most of Dick Kissell’s comment here:
The group consisted of Chuck Martuzas, bass (now deceased); Bob Lawlor, drums; Bob Kissell, lead guitar; and myself on rhythm guitar. The vocals were done by Bob and myself.
On a whim, we went to Dallas in the fall of 1964 because we had a friend down there who said he might be able to help us find some local clubs needing bands. We started out at a place called The Haunted House Club then moved on to the Disc-A Go Go and eventually LouAnns. We became house band at LouAnns.
Lewis Lindsey played the organ part on the “Stay” side. A guy named Bill Petty was friends with Lewis Lindsey and was also part owner in the Haunted House club; that’s how we got the recording deal. Only 300 copies were pressed. Later the following year, we became friends with The 5 Americans and played around Dallas for awhile until returning home.
Dick Kissell added in an email to me:
The single “Only You Hold The Answer” was a regional hit for us around 1967. My brother Bob Kissell wrote the melody while I wrote the lyrics. He plays (blues) around the Daytona Florida area in the winter, and then comes home and plays here (Watertown, NY) summers.
The Knights second single, “Only You Hold the Answer” b/w “Walkin’ The Streets” may have been their own production with no involvement from Bob Sanders of Knight Records in Dallas. The labels credit their last name as Kisslle (sic). The single had publishing by Pinent Music, BMI and the band recorded it at Dayson Studio in East Syracuse, NY.
Many thanks to Brian Kirschenbaum for alerting me to the Knights 45 and to retrogirl86 for the info in her comment.
The Teen-Beets, from left: Ken McGee, John McGee, George Samaras and Paul Doby
The Teen-Beets of Winston-Salem, North Carolina released four fine records, the first three featuring original songs by vocalist and guitarist John McGee along with covers of Barbara Lynn’s “Oh Baby”.
George Samaras sent in these cool photos and clippings and told me about the group:
The band was formed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at the end of 1964. The original line-up consisted of two brothers, John McGee (lead guitar & lead vocals) and Ken McKee (rhythm guitar & lead vocals). The two other band members were Paul Doby (bass guitar) and me – George Samaras (drums).
By the summer of ’65 we had recorded our first record at Arthur Smith’s studio in Charlotte, NC (“I Guess That’s Why You’re Mine” / “Not In Love With Me”) and released it on our own label, Chain Records. It received considerable local air play and reached #20 on one of the local radio stations top 40 list. Around this time we all dyed our hair bright red (as in Teen “Beets”) to attract attention. It worked!
Our second local release (“I Should Wait” / “Oh Baby”) was also recorded at Arthur Smith’s studio and released on Chain Records. Although it received considerable local air play it did not chart.
Winston-Salem Journal, June 19, 1965, with hair stylist Bobby Todd
We stuck with the bright red hair and high energy stage shows achieving local notoriety. We also had a change in the band membership. Paul, our bass player, was replaced by Stan Ratcliffe.
In early ’66 we traveled to Nashville, Tenn. and re-recorded “Not In Love With Me” and “I Should Wait” in Fred Foster’s Sound Studio for Tree Publishing Company. It was released on Dial Records under the name the “Beets” but quickly faded into obscurity.
Opening for Roger Miller at Memorial ColiseumParamount booking Promo photo
Soon afterwards, management of the group was taken over by Pete Berry – a local DJ and program director better known as the Flying Dutchman. Under Dutch’s guidance we got rid of the red hair and changed our name to the “Words of Luv” and returned to the studio to record “I’d Have To Be Outta My Mind” / Tomorrow’s A Long Time”.
Dutch was able to get us signed with a booking agency in Washington, D.C. and also with Hickory Records for a four record deal. We went on the road playing up and down the east coast. Hickory Records released “I Have To Be Outta My Mind”. While the record received good reviews in Cashbox and Billboard magazines, it only received limited air play on the national scene.
In order to earn a living, Paramount kept us booked steady in real night clubs (usually a week or two at a time) which gave a break from doing one nighters all the time. Also, we would occasionally back up some of Paramount’s fading stars. We worked with Little Eva a few times, she had a national hit called “The Locomotion” about five years prior to that time. Whenever we were with her we were the Locomotives. Also, with Jimmy Jones a couple of times. Jimmy had two national hits a few years before that – “Handyman” was his first and then “Good Timing”. With Jimmy we were the Handymen.
The promotion picture of the “Words of Luv” has the name of the band misspelled – “Love” instead “Luv”. It was the printer’s mistake and Paramount Artists made them redo the entire order. Mistakes seemed to follow us around. When Hickory Records did the initial pressing of promotion copies for “I’d Have To Be Outta My Mind” they accidently put the plug side star on the flip side and starting sending it out to radio stations before they caught their mistake. Because of this, they had to do another promo pressing and start sending it out again.
Promo sheet showing later member “Fab” Foltz
We didn’t get all the way up to Montreal. We only toured on the U.S. side of the border and the closest we played to Canada was upstate New York. As I recall, the very first gig booked through Paramount Artists was in Massena, New York (right on the Canadian border). We traveled extensively up and down the eastern seaboard (north and south), but only as far north as New York. I guess “Montreal to Miami” just sounded good to whoever wrote that promo sheet. However, we did go just about everywhere in-between.
We did a few TV shows: Some local shows in North Carolina, a show called ‘Wing Ding” in Washington, D.C. and a syndicated show (taped in Maryland) called the “Kirby Scott Show”. We also played a lot of teenage night clubs, dances and auditorium shows.
We had a fifth band member for a short period of time on the road. His name was Doug Foltz (nick name: Fab). Fab played electric piano and also sang lead.
By the early Fall of 1967 the road was taking its toll and the band broke-up. Although we had recorded a few more songs, due to the band’s break-up, they were never released. They were independently produced by Flying Dutchman Enterprises and I don’t know whether or not they were ever turned over to Hickory Records. I’m sure those master tapes are long gone by now.
“I’d Have To Be Outta My Mind” was re-mastered and put on Garage Beat ’66 Vol. 1 three or four years ago. It was a CD released by Sundazed Records. Our local releases were put on Tobacco a Go Go (Blue Mold Records) several years back.
Even though I later played in a few other road bands, and still occasionally play locally on weekends, my fondest memories will always be of the Teenbeets.
One more thing – I came across an interview that Ken Friedman of Tobacco A Go Go did a little while back. He was relating the story of the Teenbeets as one of his favorite garage band stories. In the interview Ken said he had met one of the former band members back in the 1980’s and that person was now a Moravian minister after finding religion on the battlefield in Viet Nam. Ken misidentified that person as the drummer. In actuality it was Paul (our original bass player).
George Samaras Review of Hickory 45 in Cash Box
Paramount booking cardback of Paramount booking card
This site is a work in progress on 1960s garage rock bands. All entries can be updated, corrected and expanded. If you have information on a band featured here, please let me know and I will update the site and credit you accordingly.
I am dedicated to making this site a center for research about '60s music scenes. Please consider donating archival materials such as photos, records, news clippings, scrapbooks or other material from the '60s. Please contact me at rchrisbishop@gmail.com if you can loan or donate original materials
In actual fact, “I Love The Rain” was the chart song or “A” side. I have two original copies of those “K-Boy Top 25 Pop” charts. August 19, 1966 – #19; August 26, 1966 – #3 (#1 was the Beatles, #2 was Tommy Roe so I guess you could call that “good company”).
Our biggest gig (in my mind) was opening for Gary Lewis and The Playboys. As I recall, that’s the only time we played the Medford Armory (which was the only large auditorium in the day). I have pictures of us playing in (I believe) a battle of the bands at the Medford Shopping Center parking lot. These venues happened once a year to a very large turn-out.
Bob Sanders ran the 
The Teen-Beets of Winston-Salem, North Carolina released four fine records, the first three featuring original songs by vocalist and guitarist John McGee along with covers of Barbara Lynn’s “Oh Baby”.
By the summer of ’65 we had recorded our first record at Arthur Smith’s studio in Charlotte, NC (“I Guess That’s Why You’re Mine” / “Not In Love With Me”) and released it on our own label, Chain Records. It received considerable local air play and reached #20 on one of the local radio stations top 40 list. Around this time we all dyed our hair bright red (as in Teen “Beets”) to attract attention. It worked!
