Revolver made one single circa 1973, with the A-side being the Kinks-like “Roll-a-Coaster Man”, and the flip the Beatles-esque “Caught In a Day”. Both sides have harmonies and a sixties sensibility but the lead guitar especially is definitely ’70s in sound.
Ken Brophy wrote “Roll-a-Coaster Man”, and Brophy and Jim Rosler wrote “Caught In a Day”, which is the song I most like. Carl Siracuse and Revolver produced the single.
I don’t know where the band was from, but Roxan studios was located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and owned by Mike Stahl. A small batch of the 45s was found in New Jersey.
Roxan also released singles by the Innkeepers “Bittersweet” (written adn produced by John Paris) / “Someday”, Staneless Steele (“Down at the Y” / “Never Tell a Lie” (both written by Joe Scovish), B.B.K’s Expedition ”Change The American Dream” / “Sole Confusion” and TNT, plus an album by Frankie & The Corvettes.
On April 29, 1965, the Duncanville Suburban published a profile and photo (unfortunately blacked out by the microfilm process): “A new band —’The Catalinas” – has been organized in Duncanville, headed by Ricky Rose. The band consists of Gerald Marable, drummer; Mike Mayhew, rhythm guitar; Ronny Teames, bass guitar; and Ricky Rose, pianist. Rose also serves as vocalist.”
In March of 1967 the Duncanville paper published a notice that the Catalinas would be playing, “a local combo that is well-known around the Southwest Dallas County area.”
As far as I know, these Catalinas never recorded.
There was a Catalinas group from the Garland area of Dallas playing at the same time as these Catalinas. I believe they are different groups though, because that one featured two guitars and no pianist.
I very much doubt this is the same group listed on a couple San Antonio ads at Teen Town in 1966.
If you have any photos or info on any local Texas bands of the ’60s, please comment below or contact me.
The Catalinas, including Gary Nicholson front center and Rodney Wall at right
The Garland Daily News ran two announcements for the Catalinas at the Karavan Klub at the Community Center Annex, first with the Cherries IV on February 26, 1965.
On April 6, 1965 the Daily News ran a photo of the group, noting “Catalinas to play at Karavan Teen Klub and DECA Club Dance at Community House … with the Fiestas who won the Karavan Battle of the Bands contest, and a new group composed of South Garland High School students known as the Sceptors.”
There was a Catalinas group from Duncanville playing at the same time as these Catalinas. I believe they are different groups though, because that one featured a pianist and only one guitarist.
As far as I know, these Catalinas never recorded.
If you have any photos or info on any local Texas bands of the ’60s, please comment below or contact me.
The Black Banana had two singles under different band names. The first 45 I’d heard but hadn’t connected to the second because of the different artist name until Mike Markesich pointed out the connection in his comment below. Mike kindly provided scans of the 1st single as the Black Banana.
The group was from Limestone, in upstate New York, only a little west of Olean, the home of the Tigermen. The Tigermen were active earlier, but perhaps the bands knew each other. Mike tells me the band was also based in Bradford, Pennsylvania, just south of Limestone.
Reversing the usual way of garage bands, the group formed after some of the members had finished their military service. They have a great mid-’60s sound on both their singles despite the late recording dates.
Both singles list the members on the label, for this first one the lineup is:
Fred Mascioni Karl Langner Dave McGee
Denny Eck would join the group on guitar by the time of the second single, but he is credited with co-writing “Listen Girl” with McGee and Mascioni.
McGee and Mascioni wrote “Please Come Back to Me” which I haven’t heard yet.
Karl Langner and Arnold White designed the cool label, and Car Hamme engineered the recording. This is an RCA custom pressing from 1969.
The second release has the Fog label but the band name is changed to Banana Music Ltd. It may date as late as 1971.
Members were:
Fred Mascioni Karl Langner Dave McGee Denny Eck
Denny Eck wrote “Don’t Bother Us” and Mascioni & Eck wrote “Walkin'”.
The group is listed as “The Mack Banana Band” in the Bradford Era newspaper from August 1, 1969. From the excerpt I could find online, all the members names are listed except Denny Eck:
The new sound around, come and listen to music written & played by THE MACK BANANA Band — Fred Mascioni, Karl Langner, Dave McGee …
Besides Fog Music Inc., there are other production credits on the labels: “Langner Label”, “Rotten Crates Music Corp.” and “Black Banana”.
When Mike Markesich contacted Fred Mascioni he mentioned there were songs cut for an album that went unreleased.
The Lost and Found originated in San Clemente, California as the Nuts & Bolts. Relocating to Phoenix Arizona, they became the Lost and Found and cut this single on the one-off Pins label. They were about 16 or 17 years old at the time of the session.
The band members were:
Jim Jeffers – lead guitar Mike Ingram – rhythm guitar and vocals Al Manfredi – bass and vocals Mike Ryer – drums and vocals
Mike Ingram wrote the fast-paced “Don’t Move Girl”, while Al Mandredi wrote the introspective “To Catch the Sun”, both songs published by Debra, BMI.
The Library of Congress shows the songs registered on November 14, 1966, listing their full names, with their mothers’ names as publishers: John Michael Ingram and Ruby P. Ingram; and Albert T. Manfredi and Wanda Manfredi.
The single is a Wakefield Pressing with the code SJW-8937. It was recorded at Loy Clingman’s Viv Studio.
The group had a tragic streak, as Mike Ingram died soon after the group returned to California in early 1967. After a year’s hiatus, Al Manfredi reformed the group with drummer Mike Ryer, only to have tragedy strike again, as Ryer died of cancer. Certainly this was a talented group that deserved a better fate.
Al Manfredi gave music lessons while continuing to write and record demos of songs. In 1973 he brought a band into a studio to cut some of his original songs, and had a small number of copies pressed by Band ‘n Vocal Mobile Recording Service. Al passed away in 1995, but Now-Again Records has issued his album and other recordings as Blue Gold.
Before the Buckinghams, there were the Centuries, who released one fine single on the Spectra-Sound label in 1965, “I Love You No More” b/w “Yeh: It’s Alright”.
The Centuries’ members were:
Carl Giammarese – lead guitar Nick Fortuna – rhythm guitar Curt Bachman – bass guitar and lead vocals on “I Love You No More” Gerald Elarde – drums and lead vocals on “Yeh; It’s Alright”
Listen to “I Love You No More” below. “Yeh; It’s Alright” is also good, especially Carl’s frantic guitar solo.
It’s Alright and I Love You No More were recorded by The Centuries in, I think, late 1964, at Lawrence and Western and I think it was the old St. Louis Insurance Building. My cousin Jerry Elarde was our drummer and lead singer (fab voice) … he sang It’s Alright. Our bass player, Curt Bachman, sang I Love You No More. I was the Lead Guitar player and Nick Fortuna was the rhythm guitar player. Both songs were written by Jeff Boyen (from Saturday’s Children). Jeff was part of a duo called Ron and Jeff, kind of folky, but they did early Beatles fabulously. These songs had nothing to do with The Buckinghams other than Nick and I became The Pulsations and then The Buckinghams.
Jeff Boyan was part of the Blackstones which included Curt Bachman for a time. The Blackstones would release four singles on the Invictus label, including a slightly different arrangement of “I Love You No More” (as Dalek/Engam: the Blackstones) in July, 1965. Boyan would go on to join Saturday’s Children with singles on Dunwich. Deb Music BMI published both songs, which were credited to “Geoff – Boyan”.
Carl Giammarese, Nick Fortuna and Curt Bachman would continue with a name change to the Pulsations, adding Dennis Tufano, Jon Poulos, and Dennis Miccoli and eventually becoming the Buckinghams. The Buckinghams first single would also come out on Spectra-Sound Records, “Sweets for My Sweet” / “Beginner’s Love”, before they were signed to U.S.A. Records.
Dan Belloc owned Spectra-Sound Records. The Centuries single has master numbers 4759-1 and 4760-1 while the Buckinghams has S-4617, which may indicate the Buckinghams was released first, but I am not sure of that.
For more info on Jeff Boyan and context on these bands, I definitely recommend Jeff Jarema’s interview with Jerry McGeorge of the Blackstones, the Shadows of Knight, and H.P. Lovecraft in Here ‘Tis #6, which can be found on the Internet Archive.
Jean Purretta (bottom center) in the Beachcomber, August 12, 1959
Jeannie Purretta released one single in the early ’60s on the Camsul label owned by Dick Campbell, who also wrote and produced both sides, and Artie Sullivan, who co-produced.
“If You See My Baby” is a catchy, fast number with an interesting guitar-led passage after the first verse. The recording quality is somewhat crude but helps to give the single a wall-of-sound quality, and deserves a reissue as it is currently an obscure recording.
Jeannie sings “He’s My Boy Friend” with almost a country twang.
Jeannie Purretta came from Worcester, Massachusetts, graduating from Commerce High School in 1952. The Beachcomber of August 12, 1959, published in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, has a photo and lists Jean Purretta as 1st place winner in a talent parade.
On April 27, 1960, Jean Purretta sang on three songs recorded in New York with a large group featuring Charlie Mariano, Vinnie Dean, Frank Soccolow, John Hafer, Pepper Adams, Curtis Fuller, Jerry Tyree, Burt Collins, Rick Kiefer, Chet Ferretti, Eddie Bert, Frank Rehak, Bill Elton, Mike Zwerin, Bill Barber, Tommy Flanagan, Paul Chambers, Charlie Persip, Sal Salvador.
Some of the session appeared on Tony Zano’s Balmore LP The Gathering Place but the vocals with Jean have never been issued to my knowledge. Tony Zano was a stage name for Anthony Ferrazzano.
Dick Campbell and Artie Sullivan started Camsul Records in Worcester in 1962. In 1965 they relocated to the midwest and started CineVista Records and Andrea Dawn Music, recording in Janesville WI (Leaf Records), Sauk City WI (Cuca Records) and Chicago, IL (Universal Studios).
I asked Artie about Jeannie’s single and he wrote to me:
Jeannie Purretta was singing in local clubs at the time and we heard her sing. She was our fourth release on Camsul Records while we were living in Shrewsbury MA. We recorded her in Worcester MA at North East Recording Studio (owner Fred Holovnia). Fred later moved to Shrewsbury MA. Last I checked she was living in Shrewsbury MA. We used the band the Scarlets to back her up and Dick & I sang background.
The Scarlets was a local college band from Worcester MA that Dick & Artie hooked up with and used to back up their recordings while living in Massachusetts. Dick joined the band about a year and half after they formed. The Scarlets consisted of Peter Damanis on drums, born in Queens NY attending Clark University Worcester MA, Gordon Schultz on lead guitar from Worcester MA also at Clark University Worcester MA and John Benson on bass from Worcester Ma attending Worcester Tech.
Thank you to Artie Sullivan for the information about Jeannie and the Scarlets.
I don’t have much info on the Coming Generation who released one single in 1969 on the King Town label. Jim Du Bois wrote “Tell Me Now”, and Ed Barnhart wrote “This Troubled Life”.
The band seems to have been a quintet or sextet, with organ and smooth harmony vocals. They were indeed from Kingston, New York, as noted on several ads for shows in the Kingston Daily Freeman beginning in 1967 and ending in 1970. A sample of their shows include:
1967 – Sportsmen’s Park, Rosendale and the Viking Lounge on Glasco Turnpike, High Woods
The Coming Generation opening for Fire & Ice, March 27, 19701968 – The Tropical Inn, Port Ewen
1969 – 1970 – the Pleasure Yacht, Eddyville
December 31, 1969 – the Creamery at Wiltwyck Village, Esopus with Jay and the Techniques
1970 – Thunderbird Inn, Route 9W, Saugerties
March, 1970 – Thunderbird Inn with Fire and Ice (could this be Auggie Bucci’s group, with singles on Capitol and Crazy Horse?)
Runout vinyl has no markings other than 0024-A/B, but this numbering and the label design indicates it was recorded at Kennett Sound Studio in Kinderhook, NY.
Despite the labels saying copyright ’69, I haven’t found any registration for these songs.
The Whirlwinds, photo By George Rousell. Can anyone ID the members of the group?
Graham Rousell sent in this photo taken by his father George, of a band he believes to be the Whirlwinds from Canvey Island in Essex. Can anyone please confirm this or identify the musicians in the photo?
The Whirlwinds played the Casino Ballroom among other venues.
Members were:
Ron Gent- lead vocals Bert Pulham – lead guitar Peter Gosling – guitar Fred Ford – bass and piano Dave Scates – drums
I don’t believe they recorded. The Whirlwinds were rivals to Southend-on-Sea’s Monotones.
In 1965, Ron Gent, Bert Pulham and Dave Scates formed the Force Five which also included Pete James and Dave Osborne. The Force Five would release five singles on United Artists in 1965 and 1966, including such excellent cuts as “Baby Let Your Hair Down”, “Don’t Know Which Way To Turn”, and “Yea, I’m Waiting”.
Bert (or Brett) Pulham and Dave Scates (listed as Dave Skates) then joined with members of the Fingers to form the Crocheted Doughnut Ring for singles on Polydor and Deram in 1967 and 1968.
Note, this Whirlwinds was not the group from Manchester that included Graham Gouldman and recorded “Look At Me” / “Baby Not Like You” for His Masters Voice.
I believe Bert Pulham passed away in March of this year (2019).
Taken May of 1967 in Beaumont, Texas at the Crown Room in the King Edward Hotel.
The Kidds was a cover band that consisted of 6 members. The original band pictured here is Gerald Patrizi on drums, Joey Patrizi lead guitar, Jimmy Phelan rhythm guitar, Jake Tortorice lead singer, John Schmidt base guitar and myself, Antoine LeBlanc keyboard.
The Kidds were fortunate to open up for The Five Americans when they came to our area. That band had just recorded “Western Union” and they preformed it that night. We also opened for The Moving Sidewalk before they changed their name to ZZ Top.
The Kidds had plans to record a single “Down To Middle Earth” but broke up before going to the studio.
After the Kidds broke up in 1970, rhythm guitar player Jimmy Phelan moved to Austin Texas played and ran sound for country singer-songwriter Rusty Wier. No one else that I remember went to play with any other bands at that time. I have been playing with a 10 piece cover band for the last 17 years called Mid-Life Crisis.
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
