All posts by Chris Bishop

Categories: BB, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Renco, Swan

The Centurys

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The Centurys of Lebanon, PA
The Centurys

The Centurys - Renco 45 "83"

Considering they were one of the greatest of all the 60s garage bands, there’s not much information out there on the Centurys.

From Lebanon, Pennsylvania, band members were:

Billy Beard – lead guitar and vocals
Larry McKinney – guitar
John Iacovone – bass
Bob Koch – lead vocals and organ
Bernie Orner – drums

In April of 1965, they recorded four songs at WSBA radio’s studios in York, PA, produced by Frank Treida. These four songs were released on two 45s on the Renco label and quickly sold out.

The first is “83” a lo-fi anthem that’s an absolutely classic. On the flip is the moody “So the Prophets Say”, another echo-laden number with wild drumming and intense vocals. It’s been described as anti-Vietnam war, but actually I think it’s pro-war. It’s definitely a dig at Dylan and the protest movement in general, and there’s a condemnation of communism: “a red slave song you’re singing, you’ll wish you had a gun in your hand.”

The second is “Don’t Bother”, with intense guitar riffing and haunting organ. The flip, “Together We’ll Stay” is not nearly as great as the other three songs, but it has some decent surf-type guitar in the break.

Their live reputation helped them land a 45 on Swan. “Hard Times” b/w “Endless Search” did very well in the area and should have been their big break. The Swan label was folding at the time, so it’s possible the record wasn’t promoted as well as it should have been.

Former Swan label head Bernie Binnick put out one last Centurys 45 on his BB label, “And I Cried” b/w “Catch Me Fast”. The band broke up in 1967 due to a combination of draft notices and a lack of success.

All their releases were original songs. Billy Beard wrote most of their best songs: “83”, “So the Prophets Say” and “Don’t Bother”, while “And I Cried”, “Hard Times” and “Endless Search” were co-written by Beard with Larry McKinney.

The two 45s on Renco were reissued on an EP in the ’80s as the Renco Demos. It’s possible the Centurys originally intended these songs to be demos for purposes of securing a record contract. Regardless, the Centurys did release these songs on 45 and sold them at gigs and local shops, which makes them not ‘demos’ in the usual sense. None of the songs on the EP are different versions of what was released on the 45s.

Centurys original 45 releases:

Renco 115 – 83 / What the Prophets Say
Renco 116 – Don’t Bother / Together To Stay
Swan 4265 – Hard Times / Endless Search
BB 4002 – And I Cried / Catch Me Fast

Categories: Canton, Ohio, Wes Mar

The Clichés

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The Clichés of Canton, Ohio were led by two brothers, Jim and Pinky Jenkins.

Earlier records by them on the Maarc and Pama labels are in a ’50s style. The Pama record, “Got Something For You Baby”, is credited to Pinky and Jim Jenkins with Orchestration by the Cliches, and suffers from a poor vocal, in my opinion. I haven’t heard the Maarc 45, “Little Egypt” / “What’s Your Name”, released under the Cliches name.

“Why, Why, Why” rocks nicely, even with Beatles-ish ‘woo’ s on the backing vocals. The designated a-side, “Save It For Me” is a romantic ballad, not a bad performance, but it won’t appeal to most garage fans.

The Jenkins brothers also ran the Cleveland club, LaCave, known these days as the location of some of the best live recordings of the Velvet Underground.

“Why, Why, Why” was written by Rader – Del, “Save It For Me” by Gintert and Onoratto. Prodcution by Joy Mills, and released on the Wes Mar label.

Anyone have a photo of the group?

Categories: Greece, Pan-Vox

Cinquetti

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The Athens group Cinquetti were together from 1967 until about 1969. Here are two excellent versions of ’60s hits. On one side is a fuzz version of Jackie Lomax’s “You Better Get Going”, sung in greek as “Panta Konta Mou” (Always Near To Me).

The A-side is actually a cover of Brazilian Roberto Carlos’ “Namoradinha de um amico meu” (rendered in italian on the label “L’innamorada de un amico mio”). The original had been a big hit in Greece, and this version is just as good.

I adjusted an autotranslation of the following list of band members from a good list of 60’s bands in Greece.

Lakis Jiordaneli: Organ, vocals
Dimitri Tambossis: Lead guitar, vocals (-1967, + Dimitris Katakoyzinos -1969, + Manolis Soyvatzis)
Antoni Trjantafyllou: Bass (-1967, + Andreas Metallidis) (a comment below mentions Spyros Metaxas of the Stormies on bass)
Kostas Papaioanou: Drums (-1969, + Antonis Lo’xas)
Vasilis Tataroglouu: Vocals (-1969, +Ha’ris Papada’tos)

Λάκης Τζιορντανέλλι: Τραγούδι, Όργανο
Δημήτρης Ταμπόσης: Κιθάρα, Τραγούδι (-1967, +Δημήτρης Κατακουζηνός -1969, +Μανώλης Σουβατζής)
Αντώνης Τριανταφύλλου: Μπάσο (-1967, +Ανδρέας Μεταλλίδης)
Κώστας Παπαϊωάννου: Ντραμς (-1969, +Αντώνης Λόξας)
Βασίλης Τατάρογλου: Τραγούδι (-1969,+Χάρης Παπαδάτος)

Categories: Pakistan

Miss Hippy

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Not garage, but there is some electric guitar and I couldn’t pass up posting a sleeve like this one.

This EP is from a 1974 Pakistani movie, Miss Hippy, about a teenage girl who indulges in alcohol and hashish and gets into all kinds of trouble (extensive review here).

The review mentions ‘unimpressive songs’, but I think this one, “Rita Main Nashe Men Hoon” credited to Rubina Badar, Jamil Kishwar & Others, is worth a listen. The other two songs are more conventional. Music is by Robin Ghosh, lyrics are by Khwaja Pervaiz.

Categories: Detroit, Michigan, Oak Park, Palmer

The Trademarks “If I Was Gone” on Palmer

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I knew little about the Trademarks until drummer Jerry Warren’s son Zack commented below.

Members were:

Alan Nathanson – lead guitar and vocals
Neil Faigenbaum – bass guitar and vocals
Dave Levitt – organ, replaced by Eric
Jerry Warren – drums

According to Teen Beat Mayhem, the band was from Oak Park, Michigan.

“If I Was Gone” is superb performance, featuring a catchy guitar riff, good harmonies, fine drum and bass playing and a sharp solo. It was written by Alan Nathanson and Neil Feigenbaum, arranged and produced by Ed Nelson, and released on the great Palmer label out of Detroit in 1967.

The flip, “I Need You (By My Side)”, light pop with strings and horns, is labeled the “Action Side”, which couldn’t be further from the truth. If Palmer promoted “If I Was Gone”, the Trademarks would have had a better chance of a hit.

Producer Ed Kaplan’s name shows up on a number of Detroit rock and soul records, including the Chomps “Lookout World” on Kool Kat.

Other bands on Palmer include the Grifs, the Canadian Rogues, and the Moriticians.

The band played on Robin Seymour’s Swinging Time show, so there’s an outside chance video footage still exists. The Trademarks broke up in 1968, and Zack says his father Jerry passed away in 2012.

Anyone have a photo of the group?

Categories: Alberta, Bakersfield, California, Canada, Edmonton, Pentacle

The New Wing & discography of Pentacle Records

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Sons of Adam Photo Capilano Mall Edmonton
The Sons of Adam, from left: Al Wilson, Henry LaLiberte, Leonard Saidman, Doug Policha and John Ede. The picture was taken on the south side of the Capilano Mall shopping centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

The New Wing Pentacle 45 I Need LoveThe New Wing was a singer by the name of Davy Peters backed by members of a group from Edmonton, Alberta, called the Sons of Adam.

This Sons of Adam was not the L.A. group who cut “Feathered Fish” and two singles on Decca. John Ede was a member of the Sons of Adam but was not in the group by the time producer Gary Paxton changed their name to the New Wing.

Members were:

Davy Peters – lead vocal
Henry La Liberte – guitar and vocals
Al Wilson – keyboards and vocals
Doug Policha – bass and vocals
Leonard Saidman – drums and vocals

Their first 45 on Pentacle was “The Thinking Animal” / “My Petite”, both very pop-oriented and not sounding much like their second release.

Pentacle or the band’s rep, Pete Manuele took out an ad in KRLA Beat to promote this release.

“I Need Love” is a solid number from 1968, featuring good ‘mosquito’ guitar work, and vocal interjections reminiscent of Steve Marriott of the Small Faces. It was written by Wilson/La Liberte; production credited to the Social Climbers. The flip is a scuzzy hard rocking tune, “Brown Eyed Woman”, written by Wilson, La Liberte and Policha, which I’m not as much a fan of.

Pentacle was one of the many labels run by Gary Paxton out of his Bakersfield International studio. The New Wing were the only band on Pentacle that can be called garage to my knowledge, but Paxton recorded other garage acts, like the Churchill Downs on Amazing 3.

“The Thinking Animal” was written by Ken Johnson, Jerry Ritchey and Bob Hopps. This team also wrote the Chocolate Tunnel’s “The Highly Successful Young Rupert White”, while Johnson and Hopps co-wrote the Chocolate Tunnel’s “Ostrich People”.

Ken Johnson wrote many songs for area bands, including his son’s group Ken & the Fourth Dimension’s “See If I Care”, the Avengers’ “I Told You So” and “You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore”, and “Love Can’t Be a One Way Deal” which was cut by both the Rev-Lons and Limey and the Yanks. Ken also owned the Starburst label which released most of these, usually with Gary Paxton’s production.

Garpax and Maverick were Paxton publishing companies. The production credit The Social Climbers is also Paxton’s; it also appears on “Please Mr. Johnson (I Don’t Wanna Go)” by the Put On Company featuring Doug Salma (Doug Salamanca) on the Jest label.

Pentacle Records New Wing The Thinking Animal Ad
Ad clipping from the great KRLA Beat newspaper site!

Thank you to Marc Coulavin for the photos of the Sons of Adam.

Pentacle discography:

Pentacle P-1635 – The Captivations – “Red Hot Scramblers – Go” / same (by Buddy Biglow for Maverick Music, BMI, different numbering system but the publishing matches later releases. More commonly found on Garpax 45 44179V with “Speedshift” on flip.)

Pentacle P-101 – The New Wing – “The Thinking Animal” / “My Petite”
Pentacle P-102 – The Greater Covina Interplanetary Childrens Space Program – “Rudolph vs. The Little” / “Hobo” (Janice Paxton) – kid Xmas vocal with pop instrumental
Pentacle P-103 – Art Fields – “To All The World I Sing” / “Girls From Equador” (ballad and pop with a bossa feel)
Pentacle P-104 – The New Wing – “Brown Eyed Woman” / “I Need Love”
Pentacle P-105 – Bob Jackson – “It’s Hard To Say” / “Who Is My Supposed To Be” (country, there are two variations in the label design)

Sons of Adam hearse with Al Wilson
Sons of Adam hearse with Al Wilson

Sons of Adam hearse

Categories: Dallas, Dot, Oak Cliff, Spectra, Texas

The Mystics

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The Mystics, Oak Cliff

The Mystics came out of the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. Members were Ron Jobe vocals, David Mitchell bass, Robert Farris and Danny Fugate on guitars, and Glenn Struble on drums. Their original name was the Glorytones, and they often played the Heights Theater.

In 1966 they won a local battle of the bands with the prize being a record contract with Bob Sanders’ Spectra Records, which is when they changed their name to the Mystics.

Spectra hired rockabilly legend Dale Hawkins to produce, and Ron Price (songwriter of “Wishy Washy Woman” and “My Girl” for Jimmy Rabbit) contributed the very catchy “Didn’t We Have a Good Time”. Robert Farris wrote the b-side, “Now and For Always”, a well-executed if ordinary ballad.

The 45 reached #1 on Dallas stations KLIF, KBOX (see survey front and back) and KFJZ and was picked it up by Dot Records for national distribution. The Mystics went on to open shows for the Beach Boys, Sam the Sham, the Lovin’ Spoonful and others, but for some reason never released another 45.

Contrary to what has been written before, the Mystics did not develop into the New Breed, who recorded Ron Price songs like “High Society Girl” and “P.M. or Later”. The In Crowd label used the Mystics name as a way to give credibility to the New Breed, which was actually a batch of studio musicians based out of Robin Hood Brians’ studio in Tyler.

I asked bassist David Mitchell a few questions about the band:

Q. Is that a Gibson Thunderbird you’re playing?

That is a Thunderbird bass in that picture. Wish I still had it now.

Q. Were you still in the band when it became the New Breed?

None of The Mystics were a part of The New Breed. It was never a real band. The record company we were with used our name and said it was the Mystics with a new name. They were studio players. May have been the same players that backed Jimmy Rabbit on his records. They only had the one 45 that I know of.

Q. The one name I can find connecting the Mystics and the New Breed is the songwriter Ron Price, did you know him?

Yes we knew Ron Price. At the time we had won a battle of the bands and a record contract, Ron was working with Spectra records which was also Knight Records and many other label names they wanted to use. Ron was a good song writer, he later wrote songs for Glenn Campbell.

The band broke up in 1968, as we all started getting drafted. Robert Farris went on to play with Sam The Sham and later with The Bellemy Brothers. He also played some with the two Vaughan brothers. I still play some. My son plays drums and has been in bands as well, Speed Trucker, Boy Named Sue, Tall Paul and The Hot Rod Hillbillies to name a few.

The Mystics at Keist Park

Thanks to David Mitchell for sending in the photos, above and answering my questions about the Mystics.

Update, January 2009 – thanks to Barb S. who sent me these two great photos of the original band:

left to right: Ron Jobe, Glen Struble, Danny Fugate (on top), Robert Farris, David Mitchell
left to right: Danny Fugate, Robert Farris, David Mitchell, Glen Strubble and (in front) Ron Jobe
Categories: Chavis, Delaware, Wilmington

The State of Mind on Chavis

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Updated October 2011

The State of Mind were from Wilmington, Delaware. “Move”, the first of their two 45s on the Chavis label, is their best, though “Make You Cry” isn’t far behind. Both have good guitar breaks, but while the solo on “Move” uses lots of echo, “Make You Cry” has a tougher attack. They sound almost like different bands, and I guessed the two 45s were recorded at least a year apart. “Goin’ Away” is a mellower song with good vocal harmonies.

“Move” was written by B. Sayers and James Booth, its flip “If He Comes Back” was written by Paul Murtagh, who played guitar, keyboards and did vocals for the group. “Goin’ Away” and “Make You Cry” were both written by James Booth. Both 45s were produced by James Chavis who owned the Chavis, Candi and Barvis labels.

If anyone has photos, please contact me at chas_kit@hotmail.com

I didn’t know much of anything about the band until Paul Murtagh contacted me:

The original band was formed in 1965 by Paul Murtagh (rhythm guitar, keyboards and vocals), Jim Booth (lead guitar and vocals), Bill Smallbrook (drums) and Al Borgnis (bass guitar). All of them were sophomores at William Penn High School in New Castle, Delaware. During that first year of their existence, they played only a few venues including the 1965 Talent show at Wm. Penn and a couple of dances.

In 1966, they replaced Al Borgnis with Bill Sayers on bass and Bill became the new lead singer as well. Al continued to support the group as a sort of manager, equipment support, etc for several years and remained always a good friend to the group. With the addition of Sayers, the band’s sound began to mature and we began to write their own songs. They also started playing other venues, school functions, local dances, Battle of the Bands, etc.

In the summer of 1966, the groups then business manager, Jim Booth’s mother, placed a call to a local Wilmington record company, Chavis Records and its president, James Chavis, agreed to audition the band based on a poor quality tape submitted to him. He called a few days later and asked if he could hear the band live so he was invited to one of their practices, held in the drummer’s basement. Chavis was impressed and several weeks later the State of Mind signed a contract to record 6 record sides over a 2 year period.

The band recorded its first single at Virtue Studios on Broad Street in Philadelphia. The A side, “Move”, was credited as written by Jim Booth but it was truly a group effort with everyone contributing something to the song. The flip side, “If He Comes Back”, was written by Paul Murtagh – his homage to the Byrds. The band’s key musical influences at the time were the Beatles, Stones, Kinks and other “British Invasion” groups. The Kinks and Beatles influence is very obvious on “Move”.

The first week following the record’s release in Wilmington, the main local rock station, WAMS, picked “Move” as the “WAMS Wax to Watch”. Over the next 10 weeks, the record slowly climbed the WAMS Top 40 charts topping out at number 10. In addition to WAMS, the record also got play on WIBG and WFIL in Philadelphia.

The success of the first record opened up numerous opportunities for the group. In addition to the WAMS promotional concerts held weekly at local Wilmington area fire halls (Elsmere, Prices Corner, Minquidale, etc.), the band also played larger venue concerts, one in particular where a number of national acts also played, Bunny Sigler, Tim Rose and others. This was also the era of large dance venues such as the weekly affair at the Wilmington Manor Lion’s Club where literally hundreds of kids attended – these venues also helped to get the band’s name around. In June of 1967, the band was the featured opening act at the new Brown Derby Night Club in Chadd’s Ford, PA, along with the Five Penny’s, a well-known local R&B group.

In the fall of 1967, the State of Mind returned to Virtue Studios to cut their second record. Both the A and B sides of this record were written by Jim Booth. For this record, the band added some more complex harmonies and a piano part, played by Murtagh. The band was very excited about the A side of this record, “Make You Cry”, feeling that, musically, it was superior to “Move” and should prove to be an even bigger seller. Even the B side, “Goin’ Away”, was a strong piece. Unfortunately, the band was destined not to see the success they hoped for on the release of this second record. WAMS continued to provide very strong support to the band and invited them to premiere the new song at the next concert at the Elsmere Fire Hall.

One of the band’s on-going struggles internally was how each member perceived their individual futures and the future of the group. Three of the four members planned to attend college upon graduation but Sayers was committed to remaining a professional musician and was concerned about his future once the band members graduated from Wm. Penn. About a week before the Elsmere concert, Sayers announce to the group that he was leaving to join the Phabulous Pharaohs, another local band on the rise. Without the band’s lead singer and bass player, a shuffling of personnel took place and another local musician Bob McCall was invited to join the band for the Elsmere gig. Unfortunately, the band was unable to reproduce the sound of their second record live for the concert so had to lip-synch the record. Following this concert, the band essentially broke up and, unable to play additional promotional events, record sales were not strong and so the second record did not get the attention that the band thought it should have gotten.

In 1968, Murtagh, Booth, Smallbrook and Borgnis all enrolled at the University of Delaware and, although they remained friends, the group never got together again. Other than Sayers, who, as of a number of years later, was still performing, the remaining members of the band went on to careers outside the music industry. Sadly, Jim Booth passed away several years ago – a huge talent, gone way too soon.

Paul R. Murtagh, October 2011

Paul added in an email to me:

As I relate all of this from memory, it seemed like our musical career lasted for many years but, in reality, it was less than 2 years, start to finish. I still compose and play in my basement studio, often with my brother in law and nephews, all talented musicians, but rarely does anyone but family hear me play anymore. I do enjoy your website and reading about other local Delaware bands from that era. I haven’t heard any mention yet of another band from New Castle called the A-rabs. This band was around at the same time as the State of Mind and were very good (great at covering Beatles songs) although don’t believe they ever recorded anything. Band members were (as I recall), Jerry Mills, Bob Schrundalo (sp?), Jim Lynch and Warren Pratt. We also knew and were friendly competitors of Johnny Neal and the Shapes of Soul and The Enfields. Keep up the good work – I hope to see more from Delawareans who lived through that era and remember more about the music scene.

Categories: New York, New York City, Twirl

The Jagged Edge “Midnight to Six Man” / “How Many Times” on Twirl Records

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Jagged Edge Twirl 45 Midnight to SixSupposedly recorded in California, but released on a NY label, with the band maybe from Ohio? That’s how different versions of the story go, which has to make the Jagged Edge one of the best ’60’s bands whose history was a mystery until recently.

Their fantastic double-sider on the Twirl Records label features a cover of the Pretty Things’ “Midnight to Six Man” that surpasses any other I’ve heard. The b-side “How Many Times” is an original by D. Brown (which could stand for Donner Brown). It was released in February, 1966.

Band members were:

Shelly Leder – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Don Brown – lead guitar, vocals
Freddie Ebner – bass
Peter Gretch – drums
Lenny Matlin (Leni) – organ

Jagged Edge Twirl 45 How Many TimesAs Alan points out in a comment below, the Twirl label was started in Detroit. Harry Balk had formed Twirl and the publishing company Vicki Music and had a business partner, Irving Micahnik. They released about twenty singles on Twirl before Balk sold his share in Twirl and Vicki to Irving and formed the Impact label, which released some great 45s by the Human Beings and others. It seems that Irving Micahnik relocated the Twirl label to New York, where he resided, in 1965.

When I originally made this page in March, 2007, I gave an edge to Detroit as the most likely origin for the band, but I finally heard from the band’s manager, Mike Glasser and their vocalist Shel Stewart, and have confirmed the band was from New York City.

This was their only release, but a couple of unreleased acetates turned up that I’m fairly sure is the same band, but I would like confirmation of this from one of the members. The demos feature an excellent original (?) song “Gonna Find My Way”, and a frantic version of “I’m a Man”. The other songs on the acetate are a decent version of “Big City” and a slower take on “I’m a Man”. Who has the acetate – where was it recorded?

I wonder if any photos of the group exist? If anyone knows of one please contact me.

To make clear another confusing matter, this band was not the Jagged Edge from Brooklyn that released “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down” / “How She’s Hurting Me” on Gallant in April of ’66, and then became the Off-Set, recording “Xanthia (Lisa)” for Jubilee in July of ’66. That band also did a version of “A Change Is Gonna Come” that went unreleased at the time.

Shel Stewart wrote to me:

Shel Stewart, known as Shelly Leder at the time. I formed the group with Don Brown in NYC in 1965. I played rhythm guitar and sang lead with Don Brown on this record. Don Brown played lead. Lenny from Brooklyn played Vox organ, Mike Glasser at the time was our manager. Peter a friend of Don played drums.

Don Brown is a childhood friend of mine that goes way back when we were both in high school together. We played together before the Jagged Edge, which I named the band. It was a high school band called the Continentals and we played many of the NYC synagogues and some churches.

Because of my brief but exciting past with this band I will recall most of what I can remember in a future memoir/historical document.

I kept in touch with Don sporadically till about 1973/1974, then we drifted into different lifestyles I presume.

Most of my life I played in various original bands after the Jagged Edge still looking for the dream. I have been in glitter rock projects (Dorian Zero) during the pre-punk days, Poptronix a new wave band, Fahrenheit 451 a gothic band, Orange Midnight a garage retro band, The Lucifer Scale, an industrial band. To listen to some of my other projects after that just google my name Shel Stewart. I’m featured on bigmusic.org and reverbnation.

The band’s producer Michael Glasser also produced The Soup Greens’ “Like a Rolling Stone” / “That’s Too Bad” at Dick Charles Studio in 1965. Lenny Matlin was part of the Soup Greens. I’ve read that Lenny played on Harumi’s 2LP album on Verve Forecast and also toured with Harumi.

I believe Mike also recorded for LHI (Lee Hazelwood) under the name Michael Gram, but I haven’t confirmed this with him yet. Mike Glasser commented below, “I was the manager/producer, and a Long Island, NY band took the name when the original band dismantled. Joe Mara of the Night Owl Cafe loved this band and if Joe is still with us I know he can verify the origin of the Jagged Edge and so many other bands and artists that the Night Owl Cafe showcased back in the early 60s.”