Here’s an oddity – not garage but a gonzo 60’s instrumental with horns, twangy guitar line and all.
“Your Red Watermelon” is catchy and funky, and was well received when I spun it at Shakey’s Night Owl Record Fair this past Tuesday.
Allyn Ferguson was best known as the band leader on the Andy Williams Show. In the late ’50s his Chamber Jazz Sextet had an LP on Cadence as well as backing Kenneth Patchen on his LP for the same label, and in the ’70s he co-wrote the theme to the Barney Miller TV show.
Update: I’m sorry to report that Allyn Ferguson passed away on June 23, 2010, he was 85 years old. A full obit is here
The äva label also released a fine 45 by the Pace-Setters that I’ve covered on this site.
Thank you for reporting my father’s passing.
I must correct you, however, in that Allyn was not exactly best known for being the bandleader on the Andy Williams show. That was in the 1960’s! He was instrumental in the Poetry in Jazz Movement, and his Pictures at an Exhibition Jazz arrangement of Mussorgsky were renowned in the jazz world. Maybe Charlie’s Angels and Barney Miller were the first TV themes he was known for, but he went on to do many, many more. He left a legacy of over 400 TV themes and movie scores, and won both an Emmy and a Grammy. He conducted the 51st Annual Academy Awards in 1979, and was musical conductor to many. He even wrote the Giant’s Fight Song, “Bye, Bye Baby” for the radio station KSFO in San Francisco. I’ll be glad to send you a full bio of all that he wrote, as we are in the process of setting up a website. It may take a while, but that’s our focus. I know this site is about garage bands, so I may be able to tell you a lot about growing up with some of our neighbor and friend musicians, however! My brother, Dan, has played guitar, etc. for 50 years, and has played with most in the business, as well.
Thanks,
Jill