Coronado discography

Beach Nuts Coronado PS The Last Ride / Surf Beat '65

Coronado discography of El Paso, Texas
(possibly incomplete, any help would be appreciated):

The first release on the maroon Coronado label seems to be the Pawns / David Hayes 45 which was given the same release number, 127, as the original issue on Exeter 127. See my article for more on David Hayes and the Pawns.

David Hayes & the Pawns Coronado 45 What do the Voices SayStarving Cats Combo Coronado 45 I'm Hungry

Maroon label:

127 – The Pawns – “Lonely” (J. Watkins) / David Hayes – “Meet Me Here (in New Orleans)”
128
129
130
131 – The Beach Nuts – “The Last Ride” / “Surf Beat ’65” (with picture sleeve)
132 – David Hayes and the Pawns – “Lonely Weekends” / “What Do the Voices Say” (1965, produced by Calvin Bowls)
133 – Celtics – “Man That’s Gone Mad” (Chesshire, Gordon, Daniel) / “Wondering Why”
134
135 – The Starving Cats Combo – “I’m Hungry” (Jess Diamond) / “Mi Amor Se Fue”
136 – Danny & The Counts – “You Need Love” / “Ode To The Wind” (1966)
137
138
139 – Gene Willis & the Aggregation – “We Got It” / “Shing-A-Ling’s The Thing” (produced by E. Benevidas and Barney Krupp)
140 – El Paso Drifters – “Could This Be Love” / “For Your Love”
Donald Ray Coronado 45 ShakeDoug Adams Coronado 45 I Can't Wait to See You

Yellow label with conquistador heads:

141 – The Motivaters – “Ode to Loneliness” (Doyle Young) / “Heart of Blue” (1968, produced by Charlie Russell)
142 – Doug Adams with Early Morning Traffic – “I Can’t Wait to See You” / “Hontusharaya”
143 – The El Paso Drifters – “All In My Mind” / “In The Midnight Hour”
144
145 – Mitch ‘n Gary – “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” (Mitch Mosley) / “My Juarez Rita” (R. Sims) 1969, prod. asst. Kurt Roehm, guitar arr. Aquiles Valdéz
146 – Donald Ray & the El Paso Chessmen – “Shake” / “I Love You” (both arranged by Donald Ray and Danny Padilla, engineer Kennety Smith)
147 – Donald Ray & the El Paso Chessmen – “Can’t You See That I Love You” / “Cry Like A Baby” (arranged by Donald Ray & Larry Serrano, 1968)
148 – Charlie Russell & the Jones Hatband – “Love Gone Bad” / “Sometimes I Wonder” (both by A.L. Baker, Chiyo Music BMI, producer Johnny Dollar)
149
150 – Larry & The Knightsmen – “Selva” / “A New Acquaintance”

Charlie Russell & the Jones Hatband labels list Ron Martin bass, Conrad Morales drums, Allan Harvey steel guitar.

Beach Nuts and leader Tommy Elliot mentioned in the Herald Post in May, 1966
Beach Nuts and leader Tommy Elliot mentioned in the Herald Post in May, 1966
Leon Jones of the El Paso Drifters, August 1969
Leon Jones of the El Paso Drifters, August 1969

El Paso Drifters, Nite Dreamers, Preludes, El Paso Coliseum, August 31, 1963
El Paso Drifters, Nite Dreamers, Preludes, El Paso Coliseum, August 31, 1963
El Paso Drifters opening for Sunny Ozuna & the Sunliners December 25, 1970
El Paso Drifters opening for Sunny Ozuna & the Sunliners December 25, 1970

The El Paso Drifters are listed as appearing at a show with the Nite Dreamers and the Preludes at the El Paso Coliseum in 1963. They also appear on the Steve Crosno Day LP recorded on July 9, 1967 doing an upbeat version of the Five Keys’ “Close Your Eyes”. From 1969 until the late ’70s, the El Paso Herald Post lists them many times for live appearances, but only one article mentions a member of the band, Leon Jones. Other members were Carlos Flores, Martha Sifuentes (vocalist on “All In My Mind” and Danny Padilla, who also arranged the first Donald Ray & the El Paso Chessmen single on Coronado.

The Motivators 45 is interesting psychedelia. The group had an earlier 45 on Lin Jo Records, “Hold It” / “Soft Wind” as D-Y and the Motivators. D.Y. stood for Doyle Young, who wrote both instrumentals on the Lin Jo single and “Ode to Loneliness” for the Motivators on Coronado. Another member of the Motivators was drummer Gene Bailey. Doyle Young would have a third single as Doyle Young and Friends on Suemi Records, “The Middle of Love” / “Sunshine Love”

There was another, unrelated Coronado label from Odessa, Texas with a couple releases on a blue Coronado label, and connected to the Coronodo label:

111 – Jan Lessard – “I Just Met You” (J. Lessard, J. Wilson) / “Faithful Fool” (McNew Prod, 1964)
112 – Eddie Williams & the Sheiks – “You Left Your Happiness (Here in My Room)” (Eddie Williams) / “I Just Can’t Help Myself” (C. Gibson, Monte Mead) (McNew Prod, 1964)

Coronodo 001 – Johnny Wilson – “Twi-light Zone” / “Little Miss Fortune” (Expoloring in Sound, Coronado Recording Studios … Heart of the Hills Publishing).

Thank you to Westex, Laurent Bigot, Ken Prichard, Sam Stephenson and Michael Robinson for help on this discography.

15 thoughts on “Coronado discography”

  1. The Johnny Wilson disc on Coronodo is not connected to the El Paso label. Johnny Wilson was “Peanuts” Wilson who was one of Roy Orbison’s Teen Kings and also recorded the mighty hep “Cast Iron Arm” on Brunswick. This Coronodo label is actually from Odessa, Texas. I’m also pretty sure that the blue label Coronado you refer to, 112 and 113, is tied to Coronodo. M. Mead is Monte Mead, an Odessa rocker. C. Gibson is Hoot Gibson who owned Coronodo studio. The Publishing on the Eddie Williams disc connects it to Ted Groebl, who owned Joed and Gina (home of the Fanatics).

    Also… one more Coronado 45…
    135 The Starving Cats Combo- I’m Hungry / Mi Amor Se Fue

    1. Monte Mead was my uncle. I am his oldest of three nieces Vickie Mead. I knew him well and have his records

  2. DAVID HAYES & THE PAWNS:”Lonely Weekends/What Do The Voices Say?”(Coronado 132).

    THE CELTICS:”Man That’s Gone Mad/Wondering Why”(Coronado 133).

    THE MOTIVATORS:”Ode To Loneliness/Heart Of Blue”(Coronado 141).

  3. El Paso Drifters also did one on the red label, Could this be love, monster soul garage dancer, will add the # next time I see it, currently floating around in the piles of 45’s, know of 1 other copy of this other than mine, 1,000 times better than the crap one they have on the yellow label

  4. Coronado 140 El Paso Drifters Could this be love / For your love

    killer a-side, crappy doo-woppy ballad flip

  5. As mentioned by another, Eddie Williams was on the Coronado label of Odessa. This artist is of interest to me because of his subsequent release on Tide (for which I recorded, and about which I did a story that is now online). Of course, with a name like Eddie Williams, I had no hope of finding him, even if he WERE still on the planet. But he IS still around and I had a 40-min conversation w/him yesterday. I’ll be speaking with him more and getting more info.

  6. Just picked up one of the records and noted the spelling is different than what you have listed:

    Coronado 141 – Motivaters (not Motivators)

  7. 132 – David Hayes and the Pawns – “Lonely Weekends” / “What Do the Voices Say” (1965, produced by Calvin Bowls) That has to be a typo or Calvin Boles ( head honcho of Yucca Records in Alamogordo, N.M.) decided to go incognito for one reason or another

  8. I was the keyboardist on:
    141 – The Motivaters – “Ode to Loneliness” (Doyle Young) / “Heart of Blue” (1968, produced by Charlie Russell)

    We mostly played college and club gigs. I performed with them 1968 & 1969.

    Thanks
    Ken Fine

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