The Starliners, 1961 from left: Keith Zeller, Rick Forga (drums), Russ Wurst (on bass) and Bill Strandlof (bottom right on guitar)The Starliners in 1962: Russ Wurst (with bass), Bobby Lee (top), Rick Forga (with drumsticks), Keith Zeller (front, seated on bass drum) and Bill Strandlof (guitar on right)
An early version of Keith Zeller & the Starliners had a successful 45 “Yellow Bird” / “Carry Mae” on Agar, a label owned by Ron Gjerde and distributed by Soma in 1961.One member of this first group was Bill Strandlof, the first lead guitarist for the Litter. Bill played on “Action Woman”, “Soul Searchin'” and “A Legal Matter” before leaving that band to be replaced by Zippy Caplan.
With a change of lineup, the Starliners recorded their 1966 LP on LeJac, Live! at Papa Joe’s Northern a Go Go, one of the rarest of all garage LPs. Their last release was a single as the Transplant in 1968.
1961 Keith Zeller – guitar and vocals Billy Strandlof – guitar and vocals Russ Wurst – bass Rick Forga – drums
1962 – 1965 add Bobby Lee – vocals
1965 – mid 70’s Keith Zeller – guitar, piano, vocals Jack Kollodge – bass, harmonica, vocals John Rasnur – drums
Scott Schell, who previously wrote about the More-Tishans for this site, presents the story of Keith Zeller and the Starliners:
Keith graduated from Stillwater High in 1962. He started playing guitar in 1959 after an inspiring lesson from Sonny James of “Young Love” fame.
Keith’s dad Laurn (Bud) Zeller worked as a road manager for some of the top groups and singers in the ‘60’s. To mention a few- Bobby Vee, Gene Vincent, The Fireballs, Bill Black’s Combo, Roy Orbison, The Ventures, and many others.
Keith started the Starliners in 1961 as a four-piece band and then added vocalist Bobby Lee in about 1962. Keith played his own “after senior prom dance” in Stillwater.
The Starliners played most all of the local teen clubs in the ’62-’65 years. To name a few, Mr. Lucky’s, The Prom Ballroom, The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake Ballroom, YES Club in White Bear Lake (a teen club) and various armories.
The Starliners were one of the first bands to play the State Fair in 1963. Keith also played that year with Johnny and the Galaxies filling in for Johnny Caola who had cut his fingers. One Thanksgiving Hop in St. Paul, they backed up Little Eva, Fabian, and Roy Druskie.
The Starliners, 1966, from left: Jack Kollodge, Keith Zeller and John Rasnur
After a few personnel changes, the Starliners became a trio in about 1965, after Keith returned from basic training from the Minnesota Air National Guard. The trio was Keith- guitar and piano, John Rasnur- drums, and Jack Kollodge on bass and harmonica. The trio recorded a live album at Papa Joe’s A-Go-Go in Minneapolis in 1966. This is a rare record as only 280 copies were made. It contains an original song by Keith called “Broken Engagement”.
The Starliners were put to rest in the mid-70’s and Keith started a band called Group Therapy and played the Twin Cities Club scene until 1978.
Keith moved to Hawaii where he had country bands and backed up country Hall of Famers Tennessee Ernie Ford and country legend Hank Thompson and many others.
Keith played in a 50’s group called Paul Flynn and Company till he moved back to Minnesota in 1991. He’s sill active and playing live music weekly- blues, jazz, country, and good old rock and roll. Music has been good to him and he has been good to the music!
Scott Schell is author of Garage Sounds: Bringing Down the House, a pictorial survey of the St. Croix Valley garage bands of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s published by the Washington County Historical Society.
Back of the Lejac LP
A few days after posting Scott’s article I spoke with Keith Zeller about his career. I asked him about the Transplant single and for some more detail on his early days with the Starliners.Bobby Lee sang “Carry Mae”, though it was the flip “Yellow Bird” that got the airplay. Keith has an unreleased acetate with an instrumental “Joyride” on one side and Bill Strandlof singing “Ubangi Stomp” on the other. Keith didn’t like that LeJac overdubbed laughter and noise on “Joyride”, and felt it ruined the track. Bobby Lee got married and Russ Wurst graduated college about the same time Keith had to serve in the National Guard, so the quintet broke up.
New bass player Jack Kollodge had been half of the Denny & Jack duo who cut “One More For The Road” / “Love You Everyday” on LeJac in 1965.
Using his two-track and one microphone Jack recorded a week’s worth of shows and selected ten for the Live at Papa Joe’s album. The Starliners ordered 500 copies but only about half were shipped. They sold what they had to friends and didn’t bother to inquire about the other copies. On the 40th anniversary of the album Jack sent Keith a 3 CD set that included all the songs they left off the record!
The Starliners trio of Zeller, Kollodge and John Rasnur also made a 1968 single as The Transplant on LeJac, one side being a slower, rerecorded (or at least remixed) version of “Broken Engagement” and the other Jack Kollodge singing a wild take of the bizarre horror-spoof classic “With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm”, probably learned from the Kingston Trio.
In the late ’60s the group expanded to a quartet, with keyboardist John Fritz from St. Cloud joining for a couple years.
John Rasnur left the group and moved to Hawaii where he bacame a top session drummer. Jack didn’t want to work without him, so Keith formed Group Therapy. Keith mentioned jamming with Bill Doggett a couple years before he died in 1996 as being a highlight of his career.
For more info on the LeJac and Agar labels, see the discographies I’ve posted on this site.
Special thanks to JP Coumans for the transfers and scans of the Transplant 45.
The Agar label scans taken from the Rockin’ Country Style site.
The Nite Owls had this one 45 on the Top Dog label of Louisville, Kentucky. Both songs sound very different from each other. “Act Your Age” is a good put-down song, written by Robby Burnfin and published by Fall City Music of Louisville.
“Act Your Age” sounds up-to-date for 1966. The flip is definitely from an earlier era, a cover of “Nite Owl”, written by Bernice Williams and originally done by the Dukays (who would later hit with “Duke of Earl” with Gene Chandler on vocals). Featuring a horn section instead of swirling organ, it could have been recorded at an earlier session.
I don’t think there’s any connection to the Illinois-based Nite-Owls who released “Come On Back” / “It’s a Hassle” on Rembrandt. I really don’t have any info on the band or their members.
There were two Top Dog labels. This one, based in Louisville, Kentucky in 1966 and 1967 had nine releases, all with 2300 series catalog numbers. It was owned by Ray Allen (Floyd Lewellyn) and Hardy Martin as were Boss, Bridges, Jam, Rondo and Tilt.
The Louisville Top Dog label had some good releases, like the Keyes “She’s the One”, the Merseybeats U.S.A. “Nobody Loves Me That Way”, and two bands I’ve covered on this site, the Rugbys and the Nite Owls.
Top Dog (Louisville) discography:
2313 – Mersey Beats U.S.A. – You’ll Come Back / Nobody Loves 2314 – The Keyes – Can’t Win For Losing / She’s The One 2315 – The Rugbys – Walking The Streets Tonight / Endlessly 2316 – The Nite Owls – Act Your Age / Nite Owl 2317 – The Scavengers – I Don’t Need Her Now / It’s Only So Long 2318 – Mersey Beats U.S.A. – Does She Or Doesn’t She / Stop Look & Listen 2319 – The Mags – Can’t Get Enough / Go On and Leave Me 2320 – The Premiers – The Ali Shuffle Parts 1 and 2 2322 – Mersey Beats U.S.A. – 30 Second Lover / Nobody Loves Me that Way
The other Top Dog label was based in Detroit Michigan, owned by Artie Fields, with some soul and pop acts. These labels have a bull dog with top hat and cigar. No connection to the Louisville label.
Top Dog (Michigan) discography:
100 – Camel Drivers – The Grass Looks Greener / It’s Gonna Rain 101 – Don Rondo – Just Before The Battle / 102 – Kris Peterson – Just As Much / Unbelievable 103 – Camel Drivers – Sunday Morning Six O’Clock / Give It A Try (also issued on Buddah) 104 – Camel Drivers – Forgive Us / 105 – Joe Towns – Together We Can Make / Down and Out World 106 – Joe Towns – Take Momma Out Of That Shack/ Down And Out World 107 – Joe Towns – You Can’t Hold Me Back / Busy Signal 108 – Joe Towns – Look Around And You’ll Find Me / Down and Out World 109 – The Pushcart – Yo Te Amo / I’ve Got A Ticket To The World 200 – Camel Drivers – Give It A Try / You Made A Believer Of Me
Top Dog Louisville discography from 45rpmrecords.com. Thanks to Jeff Lemlich for help with the Michigan Top Dog discography.
I’d been wondering if there were any great rock 45s on Ty Tex when I found The Sensors “Sen-Sa-Shun” / “Side Tracked” at Rex’s sidewalk sale this spring. As it turns out, the Sensors had four 45s on Ty Tex.
Buddy Henderson would come to be known as Bugs Henderson when he joined Mouse and the Traps. He started the Sensors in his hometown of Tyler, Texas when he was just 16.
On these two Freddy King songs, Buddy articulates every note, making these two of the better r&b instrumentals I’ve heard. “Side Tracked” has a good jazzy organ solo to boot.
Their version of “Rumble” is also cool, even if it doesn’t have the menace of Link Wray’s original. The organ provides an eerie background. Buddy gets a shimmering tone out of his guitar chords with a ferocious slicing sound towards the end of the song
I haven’t heard the flip side, a version of “Caravan”, but Not Fade Away #2 says guitarist on that side was Levi Garrett. I assume these were recorded at Robin Hood Brians’ studio in Tyler, but I could be mistaken.
The A-side of their third single, “Bat Man” is credited to Henderson and Pittman. The flip is a cover of Jack McDuff’s “Light Blues”.
TT-112 – Sen-Sa-Shun / Side Tracked TT-115 – Rumble / Caravan TT-117 – Bat Man / Light Blues TT-120 – Honest I Do (vocal) / Honest I Do (instrumental)
Thanks to Rich for the transfer of “Rumble” and to Greg Reyes for the scan of “Bat Man”. Thank you to Martin Hancock for finding the scan of “Rumble”.
As the Ty Tex label was winding down in late 1967, The Revolvers were responsible for four of the last six releases that I know of (#s 127, 128, 129 and 131). None of these are essential listening in my opinion, though the band came close on a few occasions.
Their first 45 is probably the best, with finely-picked guitar on the pop “Like Me” on the A-side, and “When You Were Mine”, a moody original based on “House of the Rising Sun” on the flip. Both were originals by Stan Gorman and Mike Goodrich.
Their second is quite different, featuring two uptempo soul numbers with horns, another Gorman-Goodrich original “Good Lovin’ Woman” backed with a version of “Land of 1,000 Dances.” This release had a notice in Billboard from June of 1967.
On their third, they back singer Dana Black on an unnecessary version of “As Tears Go By”. I haven’t heard the flip, “Your Love’s For Me”, done by just the Revolvers without Dana Black. The label notes “A product of Eula Anton, arranged by Mike Goodrich”.
Their last is credited to their vocalist Stan Gorman and the Revolvers. I have to agree with the note written on the sleeve of my copy: “I Love Lovin’ You” is a good blue-eyed soul number and I could see it being a northern soul hit with a different vocalist. Stan does a good job of the song but doesn’t have the right voice to put it over. Both songs written by Hammond and Gorman. “Green Unicycle” is a wretched pastiche of psychedelia and vaudeville.
Any help with this discography would be appreciated:
TT-100 – Ron Williams and the Customs – Sue Sue Baby / Empty Feeling (both by Ron Williams) TT-101 – Guy Goodwin – Roll Out the Red Carpet / Nobody Going Nowhere TT-102 – Ron Williams – I’ll Miss You So / I Guarantee You Baby (October 1961) TT-103 – ? TT-104 – The Antons – Larry’s Tune (Larry Stanley) / Green Eyes (1962) (N8OW-2631/2) TT-105 – Zeroes – Flossie Mae / Twisting With Crazee Babee TT-106 – Ron Williams – Wine, Wine, Wine / So Long, My Love (Ron Williams) TT-107 – The Tonettes – Gee Baby (J. Joseph, A. Tyler) / Friendship Ring (late 1962) (NO9W-2713/4) TT-108 – Guy Goodwin – Wheels a Hummin’ / You’re Right I Will TT-7599 – Ron Williams – If I Could Stay Away From You (Ron Williams) / On Top of Old Smokey (also released on Imperial 5729)
The above feature an early label design with outline of state of Texas and roses. See Rockin’ Country Style for more info.
Releases below have a simpler design with Ty Tex at the top:
TT-110 – Donnie Carl – Love and Learn / Do the Wiggle Wobble (D. Kight) TT-111 – Guy Goodwin- Where Sweethearts Never Part / ? (1962) TT-112 – The Sensors featuring Buddy Henderson – Sen-Sa-Shun / The Sensors – Side Tracked TT-113 – Donnie Carl with the Donnells – It Happened to Me Parts 1 & 2 TT-114 – Joe Baby and the Donnells – Little Sally Walker (Doing the Camel Walk) (D. Kight) / I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town TT-115 – The Sensors – Rumble TT-116 – Guy Goodwin – A Taste Of Her Loving / ?? TT-117 – The Sensors – Bat Man – supposed to be scarce. TT-118 – Donnie Carl – You’ve Got It / Getting Over You (both by D. Kight, December 1964) TT-119 – Donnie Carl – Heart Attack / If You Want It That Way TT-120 – The Sensors – Honest I Do (vocal) / Honest I Do (instrumental) TT-121 – Linda Burns – And That Reminds Me / The Reason Why (October 1965) TT-122 – The Derbys – A Different Woman Every Day (Taylor-Gadson-Darnell) / The Crow TT-123 – Ron Williams and the Trebles – So Fine / Let’s Stop Wasting Time (Ron Williams) TT-124 – Ron Williams – Please Come Back / I’m Sending You A Pencil TT-125 – One Eyed Jacks – Hang It Up (Robert Leslie Allen) / Down On My Knees TT-126 – Larry Mack – Last Day of the Dragon (Larry Stanley) / Can’t You See Me Crying TT-127 – The Revolvers – Like Me / When You Were Mine TT-128 – The Revolvers – Good Lovin’ Woman / Land of 1,000 Dances (June 1967) TT-129 – Dana Black and the Revolvers – As Tears Go By b/w The Revolvers – Your Love’s for Me TT-130 – Floyd Jones – My Mother’s Prayer / Hero’s Welcome Home TT-131 – Stan Gorman and the Revolvers – I Love Lovin’ You / Green Unicycle
Many of the later releases show “A product of Eula Anton” on the label. At least some of these records were cut at Robin Hood Brians studio in Tyler.
Donnie Carl is Donnie Carlton Kight, a soul singer. He wrote most of his songs, sometimes with Mike Goodrich.
Ronny Williams’ Gold Standard sleeve could this be the same person recording for Ty Tex as far back as 1961?
Ron Williams
Ron Williams wrote most of the songs he recorded, here are some other 45s he cut:
Pastel 404, “Poor Little Lamb” / “Hey! Little Pearl” – the A-side is excellent garage. I don’t have the record, but have short clips of both sides here. Arvel Stricklin played lead guitar and Hammond organ on both tracks (source). Pastel Records owned by Maj. Bill Smith.
Vee Jay 675 “Angel Girl” / She Ran Away” (1965)
Austin A-321, “Big Boy Pete” / “Runaway” (despite its name, Austin Records was a Ft. Worth based label. I haven’t heard this one)
Le Cam LC 331 – Ron Williams with Major Bill’s Texans – “Lady Diana” / “Somewhere Between”
A release by Ronny Williams “Move Up a Little Closer Baby” on the Gold Standard label may also be his – but once I saw the photo of him on the sleeve I decided it’s not possible, do you agree? The flip is sung by his brother Larry Williams, “When You Grow Tired Of Him”.
Larry Mack
One of the best vocals that I’ve heard on the label is Larry Mack’s “Last Day of the Dragon”. Songwriting credit goes to Larry Stanley. This is a track I’d definitely like to know more about. I don’t own it yet and haven’t heard the flip.
Thanks to Martin Hancock, Steve Munger and DrunkenHobo for their additions to this discography and the scans seen here. Thank you to Janis Hellard for the scan of Ty Tex TT 114, Joe Baby and the Donnells.
There were plenty of bands called the Wild Ones in the ’60s, but this group doesn’t seem to be related to any of them. A Massachusetts location is possible. The “200,608” number on the label refers to a Decca custom pressing, usually, but not always used by bands in New England. There was a group called the Wild Ones from Shrewsbury/Worchester MA with the single “Number One Girl” / “Surfin’ Time Again” on Camsul.
Mike Markesich wrote: “September, 1965 release. They are not related to the NYC discotheque performing group on United Artists & the Sears label, even tho I’ve seen that mentioned somewhere before. Nothing in copyright matches the titles, songwriters or producer name.”
The highlight is the A-side’s “Please”, a sharp rocker with a desperate singer and a very simple guitar break. “Just Me” is faster, with an even simpler, but effective guitar solo. Good, spare production with a booming sounds to the drums and clearly audible descending bass lines.
Both songs were written by Pratt and Scheurer, and produced by M.A. LaGrotte for the Tiger Productions label.
Info on the Camsul release from Till the Stroke of Dawn by Aram Heller. Thanks to Mike Markesich for the info and label scans, and to Davie Gordon for pointing out the connection to AAA in his comment below. Thanks also to the Eggman for bringing this subject up!
Mark Dalley – vocals, guitar, keyboards Robert Coulter – rhythm guitar Greg Cobb – bass Mark Hansen – drums
“Sally I Do” is a great New Zealand freakbeat single and rare too, I would think. The flip is a good ballad, “Silver Ship”, which they dedicate to “those Services active in Vietnam” (New Zealand sent nearly 4,000 troops there).
Both sides were written and produced by Mark Dalley. I was a little disappointed to find out this was a studio band, from New Zealand Music of the 60’s and 70’s:
Abdullah’s Regime was a Wellington group, put together only to record the first single for the launching of the newly formed independent label, Ode Records in November 1968. It was one of the first independent labels to challenge the monopoly that the major labels had on the local recording scene. They never played or recorded together again. Robert Coulter later played in Risk in 1973 and Mark Hansen was in the original Mammal line-up in 1970.
Len More sent in this bio and photos of the Fabulous Pendletons, from Newark, Ohio, just east of Columbus. Len wrote to me “They never recorded. Terry Worth left the group in 1966. I grew up in Newark also but never saw them. I did frequent a dance club called “Alcatraz” in Newark and the “Pirates Cove” in Granville. I also had a friend Jim Proshek that was in a band called The Cytes from Johnstown and Alexandria.”
The bio reads as follows:
The group formed in Newark, Ohio in 1964 and played until the summer of 1967.
The original lineup was John Butts (lead guitar), John Proudley (drums), Terry Worth (rhythm guitar), Dave Pound (vocals) and Dave Morris (vocals). Worth and Morris left the group to seek other fame and fortune. Jerry Miller joined and added the bass guitar to the sound and Jeff Robb from nearby Granville, OH took over on rhythm guitar.
The group played at various scenes around central Ohio including the Newark Armory, Battle of the Bands at Vets Memorial in Columbus, the Holiday Swim Club as well as the college dance circuit. The jocks from WCOL in Columbus were helpful in furthering their career, especially Mike Adams. The group played cover songs of the day but no original compositions.
They played with Ohio acts such as the Rebounds, the Dantes and Sir Timothy and the Royals. They also played at the same venues with national acts such as the Standells, Terry Knight and the Pack, the Left Banke, The Supremes, Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs, and the Four Tops.
The Fabulous Pendletons circa 1966, clockwise from left: John Butts, Dave Pound, Jerry Miller, Jeff Robb and John Proudley “Terry Worth left the group in 1966 shortly before this picture was taken.” – Len MoreThe Fabulous PendletonsThe Fabulous Pendletons with the Vogues
Men at Work, from left: Karl Lundeen, Marvin Glenna (drums), Dale Madison and Dean JohnsonThe Exiles, from left: Dean Johnson and Gene Markus
Men at Work – a group based out of St. Paul, Minnesota originally called the Exiles. The members came from the Chisago Lakes area: Chisago City, Center City and Taylors Falls. They chose the moniker Men at Work years before the dippy Australian novelty act and cut one rare 45 with two fine versions of r&b from the day.
Gene Markus – lead vocals Karl Lundeen – lead guitar / bass Dean Johnson – organ / guitar / bass Dale Madison – bass / guitar John Lindbloom – drums, replaced by Marvin Glenna
Dean Johnson at the drums with the Exiles
Pauline Kabe introduces her father Dean Johnson’s band:
This little known 1960’s garage band played with the likes of The Castaways, The Trashmen and other local rock bands. Inspired by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, they were one of the many garage bands that hoped to ride the wave of pop music in the wake of the British Invasion. They took the name “Men At Work” more than a decade before the Australian 1980’s pop group.
This 45 was recorded at Dove Studios in Bloomington, Minnesota in 1966 and produced by Peter Steinberg. “It’s All Right” is a cover of the Rolling Stones “I’m Alright”. “Shame, Shame, Shame” is a cover of a Jimmy Reed tune. One of the hot teen places they played was The Country Dam (now razed), which was located in Turtle Lake, WI. The Country Dam funded 1000 singles to be cut in hopes to reach local DJ’s and gain popularity.
The band only saw 100 copies and the remaining copies were to be sent to local DJ’s for air play. The remaining 900 copies mysteriously disappeared (or were never cut). Only a few remaining copies are owned by family members of the band.
They have also played under the name Walt’s Rhythm Kings and in the 1980’s The Georgia Express.
Dean Johnson
Dean Johnson wrote:
I believe it was the summer of 1966 when the Exiles went into the recording studio and cut “It’s All Right” and “Shame, Shame, Shame”. By this time Dale Madison had joined the group as the primary bass guitar player as I had bought a keyboard (organ), and there were five of us. Not terribly long after we cut the record, John Lindbloom was drafted and went off to serve in the Viet Nam war.
We, of course, had some advance notice this was going to happen, and we had been looking for a drummer. Marvin Glenna was one of the first that we tried out. While he had the ability, he was very young and inexperienced, and we were concerned about getting him in to the bars we were playing in. We tried out two or three more who were just crap, and eventually decided to give Marvin a whirl. It turned out to be a great decision.
Marvin Glenna
For sometime before as well as after we cut the record, we were bring booked by Jim Donna of the Castaways and also by a prominent DJ from KDWB radio. We were playing the teen club circuit from Buffalo to Renville and also some college gigs at the University of Minnesota, St Cloud, and Storm Lake, Iowa….including many weekends at Woodley’s Country Dam. The owner – Jim Woodley – actually financed the studio time and the cost of pressing the records; and we in turn played for him for nothing for many, many weekends until we had paid him back.It was a cold, wintery night and we had a gig up at a Catholic High School in St Cloud. Marcus didn’t show up for the job, and we were ill prepared to do a complete four set night with out him. We stumbled and struggled the best we could, but none of us knew the words to all the songs he had sung, and we ended up butchering his songs and playing the handful that were our numbers over and over again for maybe the fourth or fifth times. The kids were pretty upset with this shitty band, and rightly so. We got peppered with snowballs, I ended up cussing out a priest which made Dale Madison – a devout catholic – extremely angry.
Dale Madison
Marcus showed up at my house later in the week. Karl and I were there at the time and we told him to take a flying leap and that we didn’t want to see him again. He had helped us purchase some equipment, so he demanded a guitar, amp and microphone and went on his way. We have never seen him since.So the four of us learned all of the words to the songs that Marcus had sung, and we continued as the Men at Work for the remainder of 1966, all of 1967, and up until about a month before [my daughter Pauline was] born in March of 1968. I had promised that I would quit playing in order to be around to help when and after she was born. We were sort of a unique group for the times as the three front men, Dale, Karl & I would all switch around on each other’s instruments because we could all play a little bass, a little lead and a little rhythm guitar. We would do three or four numbers and then switch instruments and do two or three more, etc., all night long.
We were all supposed to get together again later that summer to regroup and practice up as we had playing dates booked at the Country Dam and other sites beginning in September. However, when the time came, Karl and Marvin had been playing with Marv’s brother, Walt, down in the cities, and they announced that they had decided to stay there instead. After a while, I was asked to come down and join in… which I did.
So then we became Walt’s Rhythm Kings for the next couple of years, playing at country bars and clubs on the NE side of Minneapolis, eventually settling in as the house band at the Forest Lake bowling alley which had a significant club and dance wing. Eventually we went uptown to play at the Forest Laker in downtown Forest Lake as the house band there.
Karl Lundeen
We at some point had the revelation that we should be the Georgia Express, and we played again at the Country Dam, the Tea House (country club at Chisago Lakes Golf Course), Forest Lake, weddings, Fireman’s Balls, local town street dances, the Conestoga, Lindstrom Golf Course, and many private parties.
Walts Rhythm Kings and Georgia Express:
Walter Glenna – lead vocals / guitar Marvin Glenna – drummer / vocals Dean Johnson – bass / vocals Karl Lundeen – lead guitar / vocals
Thank you to Pauline Kabe for alerting me to Men at Work, and to Dean Johnson for his help with this article.
from left: Dale Madison, Marvin Glenna and Karl LundeenDale Madison and Dean JohnsonDale MadisonDale MadisonKarl LundeenKarl Lundeen
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
1962 – 1965
Scott Schell, who previously wrote about the More-Tishans for this site, presents the story of Keith Zeller and the Starliners:After a few personnel changes, the Starliners became a trio in about 1965, after Keith returned from basic training from the Minnesota Air National Guard. The trio was Keith- guitar and piano, John Rasnur- drums, and Jack Kollodge on bass and harmonica. The trio recorded a live album at Papa Joe’s A-Go-Go in Minneapolis in 1966. This is a rare record as only 280 copies were made. It contains an original song by Keith called “Broken Engagement”.
Keith moved to Hawaii where he had country bands and backed up country Hall of Famers Tennessee Ernie Ford and country legend Hank Thompson and many others.
A few days after posting Scott’s article I spoke with Keith Zeller about his career. I asked him about the Transplant single and for some more detail on his early days with the Starliners.Bobby Lee sang “Carry Mae”, though it was the flip “Yellow Bird” that got the airplay. Keith has an unreleased acetate with an instrumental “Joyride” on one side and Bill Strandlof singing “Ubangi Stomp” on the other. Keith didn’t like that LeJac overdubbed laughter and noise on “Joyride”, and felt it ruined the track. Bobby Lee got married and Russ Wurst graduated college about the same time Keith had to serve in the National Guard, so the quintet broke up.
The Starliners trio of Zeller, Kollodge and John Rasnur also made a 1968 single as The Transplant on LeJac, one side being a slower, rerecorded (or at least remixed) version of “Broken Engagement” and the other Jack Kollodge singing a wild take of the bizarre horror-spoof classic “With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm”, probably learned from the Kingston Trio.
Owls had this one 45 on the Top Dog label of Louisville, Kentucky. Both songs sound very different from each other. “Act Your Age” is a good put-down song, written by Robby Burnfin and published by Fall City Music of Louisville.
I’d been wondering if there were any great rock 45s on Ty Tex when I found The Sensors “Sen-Sa-Shun” / “Side Tracked” at Rex’s sidewalk sale this spring. As it turns out, the Sensors had four 45s on Ty Tex.
I haven’t heard the flip side, a version of “Caravan”, but Not Fade Away #2 says guitarist on that side was Levi Garrett. I assume these were recorded at Robin Hood Brians’ studio in Tyler, but I could be mistaken.
There were plenty of bands called the Wild Ones in the ’60s, but this group doesn’t seem to be related to any of them. A Massachusetts location is possible. The “200,608” number on the label refers to a Decca custom pressing, usually, but not always used by bands in New England. There was a group called the Wild Ones from Shrewsbury/Worchester MA with the single “Number One Girl” / “Surfin’ Time Again” on Camsul.
