All posts by Chris Bishop

Categories: AMH, Durham, Justice, North Carolina

The Bondsmen

January 29, 2007 Chris Bishop 30 Comments

I remember how knocked out I was by the Bondsmen’s version of “I See the Light”, which I played over and over after taping it off of WNYU’s Mod Monday radio show when I was in high school.

I had the song on the tape but didn’t know who it was at the time, having missed the dj’s rundown of the songs he played. (If anyone has a tape of this show, please let me know; I do know “I See the Light” was followed by the Q65’s “I Got Nightmares”, which I also played endlessly.)

For years after I lost the tape I searched out who this could be, and was even disappointed (initially) by the Five Americans’ original version when I heard it. Finally I picked up a copy of Tobacco a Go Go vol. 1, and there it was, the opening track! By pure coincidence I later got in touch with the compiler of that lp, Ken Friedman, who provided me with this copy of the 45 and some information about the North Carolina garage scene.

Compared to the Five Americans, the Bondsmen’s version of “I See the Light” is faster, with a fuller sound to the organ. “Our Time to Try” is an ambitious psychedelic track, with thick forbodeing fuzz, and good drum and organ work. The vocalist does a great job on both songs, and the guitarist has a particularly fine solo on “I See the Light”.

The sound and plea for open minds on “Our Time to Try” dates the release to about 1968. The record has a dense production to it which makes it hard to hear the lyrics, and is that a horn I hear at times during “Our Time to Try”?

The Bondsmen came out of Durham, North Carolina, but recorded at Justice Records in Winston-Salem (“I Love You, Yes I Do” / “Out of Sight” on Justice 1003) and AMH Productions out of Chapel Hill. I recently heard from Gene Galligan, who filled me in on some of their story. I had heard that their drummer was Phil Lee, so I asked him about that too.

I am Gene Galligan, keyboard (organ) player for the Bondsmen. This AMH 45 of Our Time To Try and I See the Light was the result of us winning a Battle of the Bands at the baseball stadium in Durham. We did another 45 before this as the Bondsmen, two James Brown songs, Outasight / I Love you Yes I Do. I do not have any copies, however, Ken Heywood told me recently in a phone conversation that he has a box of them somewhere, he just has to find it.
Vocals: Archie Thomas
Bass: Jim Bowen
Drums: Philip Pearson
Trumpet: Tim Hutchinson
Organ: Gene Galligan
Guitar: Ken Heywood
Just a tidbit about my part on I See the Light. I used to play a Vox Super Continental (Dual manual Black keys were white, white keys were black). But on that recording I used an organ that was in the studio … it was like an Allen Theatre organ which is why it has that skating rink sound!!
Yes that was trumpet on Our Time to Try.
Philip Pearson was our only drummer … I don’t know what Philip did later… I was told some 30 years ago that he was in California.. so I don’t know perhaps Phil Lee was a stage name.
John Santa just published a book.

Anyone have a photo of the group?

Categories: California, Miramar, Morocco, Reprise

The Road Runners

January 12, 2007 Chris Bishop 126 Comments

Updated 2014

The Road Runners were a great band from Fresno, California who released seven songs on four singles in a short period between August of 1965 and April of 1966.

Band members on the 45s were Denver Cross guitar, Dale Samuelian keyboards, Bob Trippell sax, Randy Hall lead vocals and bass, and Steve Heitkotter drums. Other members of the band at various times included Ozzie Georgener, Larry Karagozian, and Dave Mendoza and Bruce Conte on guitars.

Their first single is my favorite, “I’ll Make It Up to You” / “Take Me” on Miramar from August of 1965 (released nationally on Reprise in September).

Randy Hall’s original song “Goodbye” was released in Jan. 1966 with red labels on yellow vinyl with “Tell Her You Love Her” on the flip side. I’ve seen one copy with beautiful flaming yellow and red vinyl, also with red labels, and one with almost all red vinyl. Second pressings were on black vinyl.

“Pretty Me” was released twice in 1966, once with a slow, bluesy cover of “Baby Please Don’t Go”, and later as the b-side to another Randy Hall original, “Sleepy Friend”.

The Morocco label was located at 1415 W. Scott in Fresno, and judging by label numbers seems to have put out 20 or so records, but I don’t know of any other releases. Dig the different spelling of Morocco between the first release and the later!

“Pretty Me” was written by the band’s drummer, Steven Heitkotter, who a few years later recorded a free-form psychedelic jam LP that has been reissued first by Time-Lag and then by Now-Again. Steven was institutionalized by 1972 and remains so today. See Greg Youngman’s blog for the full story on Steve Heitkotter’s album.

There are also a few unreleased studio recordings, and a well-recorded live set. Randy Hall had a solo 45 on a purple Morocco Records label, his original song “Don’t Stop Now” b/w “Baby Please Don’t Go” also from 1966. Judging from the release numbers (M-124/M-121), “Baby Please Don’t Go” is probably the same take as the Road Runners release. If anyone has clips of this release please let me know.

Randy Hall performing at the West Hills Music Club Variety Show in 1977 — Xian (who left a long comment below) sent this photo of Randy Hall taken in 1977 when Randy performed at the West Hills Music Club Variety Show.

Discography:

Miramar 116 – “I’ll Make It Up to You” / “Take Me” (August 1965, also released on Reprise 0418 in September)

Morrocco 001/002 – “Goodbye” / “Tell Her You Love Her” (December 1965)

Morocco 120/121 – “Pretty Me” / “Baby Please Don’t Go” (1966, yellow labels)

Morocco 120/122 – “Pretty Me” / “Sleepy Friend” (April 1966, purple labels)

Morocco 121/124 – “Baby Please Don’t Go” / “Don’t Stop Now” (credited to Randy Hall, 1966, purple labels)

Poster for The Cindermen and the Road Runners with MAG Light Show, Rainbow Ballroom, Fresno, October 28, 1966. Photo courtesy of Thomas Barrett

Road Runners Morocco 45 Baby Please Don't Go

Categories: Greece, Music Box, Popular

The Charms

January 5, 2007 Chris Bishop 2 Comments

The Charms were one of the top acts in Greece in the mid-1960s. The Popular release is one of their first 45s, if not the very first, featuring two instrumentals, “Charming Hully Gully” and the phenomenal “Shake with Charm”, which has a fast, stripped-down rhythm that reminds me of the Monks!

Like other bands of the era, by 1966 they stepped away from instrumentals and started singing, but the music still has a jerky instrumental flavor to them on the early Music Box releases. All their early vocals are in English.

Their first Music Box 45 has the great garage sound of “See You on Sunday” on the B-side, with Animals-influenced organ chording, and “Mr. Goose” on the A-side.

Their next 45 on Music Box may be even better. “I’m Coming Back (to Stay)” has a repetitive horn riff and a good performance from the group. “The Count Game” is my personal favorite by this band, with a rhythm something like ska led by the organ, a great vocal and nice bluesy guitar fills.

After these releases the band lineup changed and their later output is more pop, and more often sung in Greek, and I’ve heard very little of it. Their cover of the Animals’ “It’s My Life” which isn’t bad, but definitely lacks the fire of the others. Known as a great live band, they were featured in several movies at the time, but I haven’t seen any clips of them performing yet.

The Popular 45 has no song writing or production credits. Song writing credits go to Nick Mastorakis and the Charms on Music Box 586, and to Nick Mastorakis, P. Polatos, M. Rozakis on Music Box 606. I assume Nick Mastorakis is the producer.

The following list of band members is adapted from an autotranslation of a good list of 60’s bands in Greece.

Kostas Karydas: Vocals (-1965)
Spyros Karakoytas: Bass (-1965, + Maik Rozakis: Bass, Vocals)
Giorgos Mpalaskas: Guitar (-1964, + Alekos Glykas -1964, + Kostas Njkolopoylos)
Giorgos Stratis: Drums
Teris Jeremjas: (+ 1965), Organ, Vocals
Petros Pollatos: (+ 1965), Saxophone

Κώστας Καρύδας: Τραγούδι (-1965)
Σπύρος Καρακούτας: Μπάσο (-1965, +Μάϊκ Ροζάκης: Μπάσο, Τραγούδι)
Γιώργος Μπαλάσκας: Κιθάρα (-1964, +Αλέκος Γλύκας -1964, + Κώστας Νικολόπουλος)
Γιώργος Στρατής: Ντραμς
Τέρης Ιερεμίας: (+1965), Όργανο, Τραγούδι
Πέτρος Πολλάτος: (+1965), Σαξόφωνο

The Charms featured in plenty of movies from the time. A couple of notable ones: they back Erica and Margarita Broyer on “Little Kiss” from the 1965 movie Teddy Boy Agapi Mou, and they do a fine Greek version of Del Shannon’s “Keep Searching” and an English version of Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World” in O Gampros Mou o Prikothiras from 1967.

I don’t think I can list a full filmography for the band, but I know of a couple film appearances in color: the band playing “Fige” in the background of O Daskalakos Itan Leventia from 1970 and “Xwris Esena” and “Ela Pali Ela” from O Trelopenhntarhs in 1971.

Categories: Fargo, New York, New York City, Unknown

The Vi Dels

December 29, 2006 Chris Bishop Leave a comment

Lou Fargo started the Fargo label in 1957, recording doo-wop acts for the most part.

The last record released on the label was in 1964, which sounds about right as a date for “Walking Down the Street”, this frantic slice of r&b by the Vi Dels.

This was an unknown 45 up til now. No songwriting credits on either side of the 45, but as Euphonic points out in his comment below, Sebastian Zimmardo and Vito Ingoglia wrote the A-side, “Ya, Ya, Ya, Ya”, and Joseph A. DeAngelis and Zimmardo wrote “Walking Down The Street” for Instant Music Co. – Casgol Pub, BMI.

The Fargo label had offices on Broadway in New York City, but I don’t know where the Vi Dels came from.

I don’t know if there is any connection with an earlier vocal group called the Videls who released the doo wop single “Be My Girl” / “Place in My Heart” backed by the Frank Spino Orchestra on the Rhody Records label. M. Bouchard and P. Andreoli were the song writers for that disk, published by Starfire-Peer, BMI.

Categories: Capitol, Cleveland Recording, Findlay, Ohio, Xenia

The Turfits

December 28, 2006 Chris Bishop 10 Comments

Robert “Whitey” Gwinup was guitarist in a group from Fremont, Ohio called the Vandaliers whose members included Wayne Van Doren on drums and Harry Kerr. The Vandaliers had been playing together since 1962, and recorded a demo, If “It’s Love You Want” on September 2, 1965 at Cleveland Recording.

Meanwhile in Findlay, Ohio was the American Way, with members Roger Hilty drums, Gary Reddick organ, Kenny Turner bass and Bob Peeler lead guitar. Whitey Gwinup left the Vandaliers on July 9, 1966 and took Bob Peeler’s place on lead guitar. This new lineup changed their name to the Other Ones, and later changed it again to the Turfits.

They based themselves in Xenia, at a nightclub the band half-owned called The Castaways. They also played often at a club called the Capitol in nearby Dayton.

Gwinup brought “If It’s Love You Want” with him when he joined the Turfits, who recorded their own version at Cleveland Recording in 1967. Although the original version was written by Gwinup and Harry Kerr of the Vandaliers, writing credits on the label list all the members of the Turfits.

Gwinup also wrote “Losin’ One”, but as with “If It’s Love You Want”, all the Turfits’ names were listed on the songwriting credits (with Gwinup’s name misspelled as Gwinep).

Capitol Records had done very well with the Cleveland band the Outsiders and Youngstown’s the Human Beinz, so Capitol were willing to take a chance on other local Ohio acts. The Turfits didn’t reach the charts like those other groups, but “Losin’ One” has a classic garage sound – mumbled self-pitying lyrics and a high-pitched organ behind a restrained garage solo.

Production was by Don King – not, as I originally thought, the future boxing promoter (though that Don King was producing soul and gospel records in Cleveland at the same time as an investor in Way Out Records), but the brother of Tom King, singer for the Ohio group the Outsiders, who hit big with “Time Won’t Let Me” and cut the garage classic “I’m Not Trying to Hurt You”.

Thanks to BuckeyeBeat for some of the background information about the Turfits. Be sure to check out BuckeyeBeat’s site dedicated to Ohio garage. Additions and corrections were made from contact with Jaremy Hilty, son of Turfits drummer Roger Hilty, and by Wayne Van Doren and Whitey Gwinup.

Categories: Indonesia, Java, Mutiara

Pattie Bersaudara

December 21, 2006 Chris Bishop 2 Comments

I found this Indonesian lp by Pattie Bersaudara on the Mutiara label a couple years ago, but had no info about it until Steve from Australia wrote in:

Pattie Bersaudara is not a person, it’s the two ladies who appear on the album cover. They were also known as the Pattie Sisters. The one with the blue top is Nina Pattie and the lady next to her is her younger sister Silvy Pattie (Sometimes recorded also as Nena and Selvy). They started singing together about 1961 and remained popular into the 1970s. It seems they always sang together and avoided doing solo work. I saw a newspaper report from 2006 that Nina died a few years ago. The sisters were born in Yogyakarta, Java, but their family was from Ambon and they recorded songs in the Ambonese dialect as well as standard Indonesian, Dutch and English.

Most of the tracks are in a local pop style like “Rudjak Ulek”. “What Am I Supposed to Do” is a cool soul/garage tune, and “Pura Pura” has some good organ and guitar. “What Am I Supposed to Do” is the only song on the lp sung in English. It sounds like a cover, but if so I can’t determine who did the original. Click to view full-sized scans of the front cover and back cover.

Thank you Steve for the info!

Categories: Earl, Oregon, Salem

The Chaen Reaction

December 14, 2006 Chris Bishop 23 Comments

A group out of Salem, Oregon, the Chaen Reaction recorded this one 45 around 1968.

Members were Larry Carroll guitar, Craig Gunter drums, Lee Gunter keyboards, Lane Weinberg bass and Jim Burris vocals. Earl Chipley seems to have been the maven behind this distinctly uncommercial venture, co-producing and releasing the 45 on his own Earl label, a “division of Royalty Records.”

“Sometimes I Think About” was written by the Blues Magoos and included on their first lp. A good song, but it’s a bit of a downer no matter who performs it. It was also covered by Delaware’s Fabulous Pharoahs who must have realized its lack of hit potential and threw it on the b-side of their great Reprize 45, “Hold Me Tight”.

The flip “Chain Reaction” is even less commercial but far cooler, featuring distorted guitar and a heavy organ and drum pounding over a collage of screams and crowd noise. The vocals are buried in the mix and almost unintelligible, but seem to have a very trippy bent. Hard to believe anyone but the band really wrote this ditty, but Chipley gives himself sole credit. It was produced by Earl E. Chipley, and Clayton Caughill was the engineer who put this all together.

Thanks to Lee for correcting the group lineup and to Bonnie W. for the photo.

Categories: England, Germany, Killroy, Telstar

The Motives

December 13, 2006 Chris Bishop 48 Comments

Updated July 2010

Clint Talbot – vocals / rhythm guitar
Tom Winter – lead guitar
Dave Field – Hammond organ
Barry Beaumont-Jones – bass
John Redpath – drums

Motives EP original — The front of the original EP record.

Five British servicemen stationed near the Dutch border at RAF Wildenwrath in West Germany formed the Motives in 1965. In 1967 they released an EP The World is a Trapezium on the Dutch Telstar label.

“God Save Our Gracious Cream” is freakbeat with a backing reminiscent of “Purple Haze”. “I Can Hear Colours” is slow, moody psych. I was recently sent files of the other two tracks on the original ep, “Ice Woman” and “Baby of the May”. “Ice Woman”, with its “Little Wing” intro might be the best of the four.

David Field, keyboardist for the group, recently contacted me and kindly provided the photos and history presented here:

My personal background is that I learned the piano as a child, learned a little guitar also during school years. I had no band experience at all before I joined the RAF. When I was posted to Wildenrath, Clint Talbot (vocals) had formed the original band with a different drummer and lead guitarist, (neither particularly good) and Barry Beaumont-Jones on bass. They were all serving RAF members.
The back of the original EP record.
Clint and I worked in the same hangar and I used to sit in during practice sessions which were held in the hangar crew-room at night. As we all worked shifts, there were occasions when one member or another could not get time off for a particular gig and I offered to stand in on either lead or bass. I did this on several occasions to help out. I then revealed that I could read music and could play the piano. They suggested that I join the group permanently as a keyboard player. Eventually a second-hand instrument was acquired and that’s how I started with The Motives.
John Redpath was a schoolboy whose father was in the RAF at Wildenrath. If I remember correctly, he was a friend of Barry Beaumont-Jones who suggested he come to a practice session. He did, got on the drumkit of the original drummer, and blew us all away with his drumming skills. A short while later, the original drummer was voted out by the band members and John Redpath invited to join the band.
The 1970 Killroy issue of two songs from the EP.
A similar thing happend with Tom Winter. He was also a civilian, the son of a Security Officer at RAF Wildenrath who had heard about the group and turned up at a practive session one night. He asked if he could play a number with us, borrowed the guitar of the original lead guitarist and proceded to dazzle us with his skills. The original lead guitarist quickly realised that Tom was in a different league and left voluntarily. Tom then joined us!
The band had been doing very well and becoming more popular throughout Germany with both the Service venues and civilian clubs. Our manager was also a member of the RAF and stationed with those of the band who were service personnel at RAF Wildenrath near Wassenburg, quite close to the Dutch border. He was Sgt Graham McMurdo, a Scotsman who had a flair for organisation and was a communications expert in the RAF. The bass player, Barrie Beaumont-Jones worked in the same section as Graham who was, in fact, Barrie’s boss.
Graham had decided that we should record a demo record to help to promote the band. This was to be done at the ‘Telstar’ Recording Studio in Weert, Holland. The band paid for around 120 copies. Some were kept to distribute around promotional organisations and used as prizes during our gigs throughout Germany. The remainder were split between the band members to do with as they pleased. My family still have 4 copies.
Incidentally, the sleeve of the EP record was designed and drawn by Tom Winter who, apart from being an incredible guitar player, was also a very talented artist. The drawing of the chap on the front of the record sleeve wearing spectacles, is actually a caricature of Graham Mc Murdo!
The tracks we were to record at ‘Telstar’ were all written by Tom Winter. We had of course practised them all beforehand, however, when we got to the studio, we virtually rearranged all of the tracks from what had been practised as we had the full facilities of the recording studio at our disposal.
The other thing I remember personally was that in the band, I used a Phillips Phillicorda keyboard which had been bought from a dutch group we used to gig with occasionally. Their keyboard player was upgrading to another keyboard and so had the Phillips available for sale. The band paid for it and I paid the band back out of my gig money! When we got to the recording studio, however, there in the corner, was a Hammond L100. I asked the sound engineer if I could use it for the recoding rather than my own instrument. He said yes and so the Hammond was used.
The tracks were all used at gigs once the EP had been produced.
A promotional poster used to advirtise gigs played by the band. Left to right: Mr John Redpath – Percussionist Extraodinare, Mr Barry Jones – Electrical Bass Virtuoso, Mr Tom Winter – Fingers of Gold, Mr Clint Talbot – A Smile & a Song, Mr David Field – Master of the Ivories
As far as the reissue of two tracks of the EP are concerned, I new nothing of this until recently. Purely by chance, I had googled ‘The Motives’ which came up with an extract from Sweet Floral Albion Issue 13 under the www.marmalade-skies.co.uk banner. In this extract, Tom Winter and Barry Beaumont-Jones had been interviewed by someone from the webzine. The interviewer asked Barry B-Jones if he was aware that two of the tracks had been released by Killroy (KR1551 June 1970) and had featured on the ’Waterpipes & Dykes’ compilation where it had been suggested that it was the work of ‘Opus’. Interestingly, the ‘Kilroy’ label was owned by Johnny Hoes, the owner of the ‘Telstar’ label in Weert which explains pehaps what had been going on! It would be interesting to discover where the ex-members of ‘The Motives’, Telstar and the Killroy label stand legally on this reissue?
Two members of the group formed a band caled Mr Fantasy: Tom Winters and Barry Beaumont-Jones. This lasted about a year after which Tom Winter left and joined Opus 23. John Redpath joined a group called Emergency.
When I returned to the UK, I formed my own discotheque but did not continue with the keyboard until much later, and that privately at home, not in a group. I have at home a Hammond organ and a Yamaha PSR S900 keyboard.
If anyone knows of the whereabouts or email addresses of any of the former memmbers of the Motives I would like to here from them as I havn’t seen any of them since 1968.
David Field

The Motives: Left to right: Dave Field, Tom Winter, Barry Beaumont-Jones and Clint Talbot — Left to right: Dave Field, Tom Winter, Barry Beaumont-Jones and Clint Talbot

Left to right: Dave Field, Tom Winter, Barry Beaumont-Jones, John Redpath in back behind drums

Left to right: Julia (Tom Winters girlfriend), Barry Beaumont-Jones and Clint Talbot

Left to right: Tom Winters (hidden), Barry Beaumont-Jones on tambourine, Dave Field playing bass for a change! and Clint Talbot on vocals and rhythm guitar

Motives Berlin photo — “As winners of the ‘Top of the Groups’ competition run by BFBS, we were asked to represent BFBS by playing a gig in Berlin. This was a huge affair to commemorate the starting of colour TV in Germany in 1967. All of the major radio bands of the era were there and The Motives were the only Pop band invited.” (caption by David Field)

The Fans: Taken in Rhinedahlen during the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) Germany 'Top of the Groups' competition which The Motives won. — The Fans: Taken in Rhinedahlen during the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) Germany ‘Top of the Groups’ competition which The Motives won.

Thanks to Maarten Oosterveld for the scan and transfer of the Killroy single and to Scott for sending in the other two tracks from the EP. A special thank you to David Field for the photos and history of the group.

Categories: Ardent, Memphis, Tennessee

Lawson and Four More

December 6, 2006 Chris Bishop 2 Comments

Out of Memphis, Tennessee came Bobby Lawson with his group Bobby and the Originals, consisting of Joe Lee lead guitar, Joe Gaston bass, Bill Donati drums, a guy named Bernie on keyboards and Bobby playing rhythm guitar and singing.

They initially played r&b and soul, but by 1965 they added the Zombies “You Make Me Feel Good” for an appearance on the local TV show, Talent Party. Around this time, Terry Manning replaced Bernie on keyboards. Terry had played with Bobby Fuller in their hometown of El Paso. Terry wrote to me in 2007 about his early career in Texas:

The Wild Ones was a band I started with a couple of guys from my school, Austin High in El Paso. We played around at a few small parties and stuff, nothing very big or very good. Our big hero, as with all other local bands, was Buddy Holly. (Besides Bobby Fuller, the other best local guy was Rod Crosby.) I was on rhythm guitar and some vocals, but the best player was a guy named Jay Nye. Roy Moore was our resident tech genius and sort of a “manager,” meaning he had a back house and a tape recorder!
I did record an album as The Wild Ones there, but it was just me on acoustic gtr and singing, with Roy beating on a can or box in the background, and maybe one other guy on maracas or something. It was about 15 songs, all covers. I had it out the other day transferring it to digital for archiving, and considering whether or not I might release it. An album I recorded completely by myself of all originals in ’65-66, before the Home Sweet Home farce, is going to come out soon on Runt/DBK…no one else has ever even heard it before. But the Wild Ones, I don’t know…pretty raw and young!
When I left El Paso in ’63, The Wild Ones got a couple of new members, everyone everywhere matured a bit, and they started playing much more serious gigs there, as I did in Memphis. In fact, they got pretty good (without me, ha ha!) I have some recordings they sent me later on, some surf type instrumentals…pretty cool sounding! They then decided to try to make it in LA, and went out there, hooking up with Bobby Fuller and the other El Paso guys already there. In fact, they went to Bobby’s apartment house on the very day he was found dead, and actually saw the death scene, with police, etc. I was in Memphis by that time though.

The band came to the attention of John Fry, who was running a fledgling Ardent Studios out of a room in his parents’ house. Jim Dickinson contributed a song “Back For More”, and after an initial take was too mellow, took over as producer on a faster version of the song.

I’ve also read that Dickinson convinced Fry to restart his then-defunct Ardent label specifically to record Lawson & Four More. In any case, the first version, supposedly sounding like the Kinks, remains unreleased. Studio musicians were used for all the instruments, including Jimmy Crosswaite playing maracas on a cardboard box, Charlie Hull on lead guitar, and Dickinson on piano. Another song by Dickinson, “If You Want Me You can Find Me”, became the A side. Before the release, Dickinson renamed the band Lawson & 4 More and in a move to make him a “southern” Mick Jagger, told Bobby to stop playing guitar on stage. Around this time, Jim told Bobby “I’m gonna make you a star.”

The top side of their second record “Relax Your Mind” was recorded in Nashville in 1966 at the Fred Foster Studio because Ardent was constructing its new studios in a building on National Ave. Bobby describes it as “an old Leadbelly song redone in a “Lovin’ Spoonful” type style.”

This copy of their second 45 signed by Terry Manning.

This time the whole band played on the record except for John Lee; Dickinson took over the lead guitar parts. It received a lot of local airplay despite a lack of promotional support from Ardent. This record also seems to be the last one released on the old Ardent label.

According to Bobby “our competition was the Guillotines, the Group, and Flash & the Casuals (the Radiants and the Counts had faded from the scene, and the Gentry’s were on the road with their hit record).”

The b-side is the psychedelic “Halfway Down the Stairs”, another Dickinson song. Bobby Lawson considers it “by far the best thing we ever cut.” the melodic guitar riff is taken from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which I find kind of weird, but the guitar sound and overall performance is excellent.

On the strength of this moderate hit, Lawson & Four More joined a Dick Clark package tour that included the Yardbirds. The band’s live performances became more psychedelic, characterized by destruction of equipment and stage lights. Bobby puts this down to Terry Manning’s growing influence within the group. Bobby states, “as we infused more psychedelic and non-commercial elements into our show, we became less marketable (danceable).”

In between these two releases, the band cut a great 45 as the Avengers. One side is an instrumental “Batarang”, featuring Lee Baker on guitar and Terry Manning on keyboards along with Joe Gaston, Bill Donati and Bobby Lawson. The flip is “Batman” featuring the Robins on vocals with the Avengers backing, including Jim Dickinson on 12-string guitar. Production by Uncle John’s Gang, meaning John Fry’s team, including Jim Dickinson.

After a name change to the Goat Dancers, the band eventually split acrimoniously over musical direction.

Bobby Lawson was still interested in soul and r&b, but after Ardent moved from the University of Memphis area to its National Avenue studio, Fry and Dickinson shifted their focus from Lawson to Terry Manning. Manning didn’t have the voice of Lawson, but was more attuned to the new rock sound Ardent pursued when the label was relaunched again in 1970.

Terry Manning went on to a form Rock City with Chris Bell and Jody Stevens before those two formed Big Star with Alex Chilton and Andy Hummel. Manning then became a hugely successful engineer and producer for artists great and not-so-great. Part of his legacy is inscribing the Crowley maxim “Do What Thou Wilt” into the dead wax of Led Zeppelin III.

Bobby Lawson started Lawson’s Blues Bag and gigs around Memphis to this day. Much information for this post was taken from Bobby’s website – take a look for his detailed story about his career and Lawson & Four More.

Some specific info on Lawson & Four More’s recording sessions comes from an interview with Jim Dickinson at What a Nice Way to Turn 17.

Categories: Canada, Disques Soleil, Montreal, Quebec

Le District Ouest “Je Suis Ton Copain”

November 28, 2006 Chris Bishop Leave a comment

Le District Ouest, l-r: Michel Meunier, Jacques Meunier, Yvon Delisle (seated), Robert Trépanier and Andre Latour

Here’s a Canadian 45 I can’t get enough of …

From Montreal in 1967, shops supposedly pulled this 45 from the racks because the flip “Le Cardinal” insulted the Cardinal Paul-Emile Leger.

One of my favorite French Canadian records, “Je suis ton copain” translates as “I am your buddy.” Band members were Robert Trépanier vocals, Yvon Delisle lead guitar, Jacques Miller bass guitar, Michel Miller organ, and Andre Latour drums.

The Disques Soleil label was owned by Jacques Desrosiers and André Fontaine, Fontaine produced this 45. Both songs were written by Yvon Dilisle and Michel Meunier, with lyrics on Le Cardinal by Stephane Kerbus.

The band had a second 45 in ‘69 under the name “Le District” on the Vedette label: “L’histoire d’Aladin” / “Soldat de plomb” that I haven’t heard yet. They made an appearance on the TV program “Jeunesse d’aujourd’hui”, and broke up in 1970.

Yvon Delisle recently sent me the photographs you see here. He informs me that Michel Meunier and Andre Latour have passed away. I hope to have more information on the band in the near future.

On "Jeunesse d’aujourd’hui", Le District Ouest are on the far left side of the stage. — On “Jeunesse d’aujourd’hui”, Le District Ouest are on the far left side of the stage.

l-r: Jacques Meunier, Michel Meunier, Andre Latour, Robert Trépanier and Yvon Delisle.

Garage Hangover