Sportin’ Life cut a great psychedelic 45 in the summer of 1968, “I Can Feel It (Servant to the Sky)” released on Riba Records R-1004/R-1003. I don’t know if Sportin’ Life was an actual group or a studio gathering. From writing credits on “I Can Feel It” members included Ronald Weissman, Michael Swerdlow, John Homenick, and possibly Richard Babeuf, who produced the record.
Babeuf also wrote the ostensible A-side, “I Can’t Wait Till Tomorrow)” and registered both songs with Kenyon Publications.
Babeuf owned Riba Records, with an address of 65 W. Merrick, Valley Stream, NY. Riba only had one other 45 I know of, the Renés “Shy Guy” / “You’re Wrong” on 45-10012 from 1965, also using Kenyon Pub.
I can’t find more info on Weissman, Swerdlow or Homenick, but Rick Babeuf had plenty of other credits in the music business.
One of the most notable is Gaslite Village “I Am Afraid” (written by Babeuf and Herbert Hilton) b/w “Up from the Underground” (Babeuf) on Murbo M-1029. Babeuf produced the record, which received a mention in the February 22, 1969 issue of Record World. Gaslite Village was probably a name made up for the record, the songs produced at different sessions, with copyright registered at different times (October ’68 and January ’69 respectively).
Babeuf was arranger on Jim Jackson “Welcome Me Home” / “Some Love with Soul” on Sandbag Records S102, produced by Mike Szymansky, who owned Sandbag and operated Omega Sound Studios in Rockville Center. Babeuf does not have any other credits on other Szymansky or Sandbag productions, but Sandbag released another good rock 45, the Epitome of Sound “You Don’t Love Me” / “Where Were You” on Sandbag S 101.
Babeuf and Frank Szelwach produced the Mauroks “Susan” / “Story of My Journey South” on De-Lite Records 517.
Babeuf produced and co-wrote (with Szelwach) the A-side of Frank Dean “My Son (This I Say To You)” / “If I Could Fly” on R & R Records R-102, also in 1969. I suppose Frank Dean was an alias of Frank Szelwach.
Cash Box August 9, 1969:
R&R Records Formed
R&R Records has been formed here at 1650 Broadway and 663 Fifth Ave. Heading up the operation, which also includes two publishing firms, Ren-Maur Music (BMI) and R.R. Music (ASCAP) are: Rena Romano, president, Steve Levy, business manager; and Richard Babeuf, general professional manager of the publishing units; Ric Drew, public relations director …
Billboard, August 8, 1970:
Riba Music Co. has just completed original music for 30″ and 60″ radio spots for Modern Sash and Aluminum Co., Inc. and Electro-Way of N.Y., Inc. Music was composed and arranged by Richard Babeuf.
Riba also did radio ads for Bick’s Family Restaurants and Hathaway’s Furniture Galleries.
Billboard September 12, 1970:
Richard Babeuf is also finishing up original material and charts for a new group called Labyrinth which will debut this fall with a new electro-visual presentation concept.
Billboard, October 17, 1970
Riba Music Co. will supervise all facets of the musical activity on the upcoming off Broadway play, “Iphegenia.” Richard Babeuf, general manager of Riba, will act as music director and conductor, and will supply all arrangements.
This may have referred to Wedding of Iphigenia and Iphigenia in Concert which ran at the Public Theater for a few months starting in December, 1971. However that production had music by Peter Link, performed by a group called Goatleg!
The Slithy Toves, from left: Chet Blackstone, Don Smith, Jon Harris, Lou Cordera (standing), and Bruce BrandfonFounded in 1967, the Slithy Toves did not release any recordings, but were an active live band in Virginia and North Carolina, including a week’s residency at the Other Place, a club in Nags Head, NC that lasted only one summer.
Bruce Brandfon wrote to me about the group:
I was the bass player in the Slithy Toves. We were all students at UVA in Charlottesville.
Members of the band were: Chet Blackstone – lead guitar, Don Smith – drums, Jon Harris – vocals and rhythm guitar, Lou Cordera (standing) – keyboard, and Bruce Brandfon – bass.
The Circle Ltd in Carrboro: a weekend with the Counts IV, Slithy Toves, and August, from the Daily Tar Heel, Feb 13, 1969We played all over Virginia (and especially at UVA): fraternity parties and clubs as well as opening for the Box Tops, the Spencer Davis Group, Martha and the Vandellas, when they played concerts at University Hall. We played at UNC parties also and quite a few times at a very cool club The Circle Ltd in Carrboro NC that was a sit-down music club. We loved playing there, rapt audiences who came to listen to the music.
We played at the Electric Circus in NYC and were hired to play a sweet sixteen party in Cleveland by a rich guy whose daughter wanted an Alice in Wonderland themed party, hence The Slithy Toves.
We played at The Other Place in the summer of 1968. Don Smith, who was our drummer and my roommate, was contacted by a booking agent about the gig in Nags Head. We loved that gig and the audiences were totally into the music. We shared one of those iconic posters with The Swinging Machine. I still have copies of the poster.
WUVA Rock Festival, May 1969, with Slithy Toves, Chrysanthemum, and Rock Lustre, May 1969Don Smith and I (founders of The Toves) graduated in 1969 so a couple of the shows you found were with another incarnation of the band. Don and I, and three of the remaining Toves (Barry Smith, Don’s bother and lead guitarist, Kent Beyer, bass guitarist, and Lou Cordera, keyboards) reunited in 1971 when those three all had graduated and we formed Childhoods End. I played saxophones in that band, and Lou’s friend David Simoni joined us as vocalist and rhythm guitarist.
Childhoods End moved up to New Jersey where we lived at Rolling Knolls Farm and became the lead house band at Mother’s in Greenwood Lake NY (when the legal drinking age was 18 in NY and NJ kids from just across the state line would come to party). Childhoods End played with Springsteen at shows on the Long Branch NY pier and the famous Satellite Lounge near Fort Dix (on the same bill as The Ronettes, with whom we shared a dressing room).
Childhood’s End recorded Decca Studios in New York and then at Chordata records in Manhattan. Recordings of both bands can be found on Reverbnation and Soundcloud.
The Slithy Toves in the Daily Progress, October 31, 1969.The Slithy Toves in 1971 before they became Childhood’s End. From right to left: Don Jay Smith, drums; Kent Beyer, bass; Barry Smith, guitar; Lou Cordera, organ and vocals; and Bruce Brandfon, sax and vocals. Not shown is David Simoni, guitar and lead vocals. Photo courtesy of Don Jay Smith
The Tikis and the Talismen had bassist and song writer Bill Schereck in common. Both bands formed at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, first the Tikis in the spring of 1965, then the Talismen in the fall of 1966.
The Tikis included Hugh Pearl on lead guitar, Bill Schereck on bass, Dale Dechstein (or is it Dale Chiusano?) on rhythm guitar and Bob Brethorst on drums.
They cut their great “We’re on the Move” / “Rick-O-Shay” at Cuca in Sauk City in April, 1966, released on Sara J-6641.
Bill Schereck wrote “We’re on the Move” (misspelled Scherek on the label), and Hugh Pearl wrote the deft instrumental “Rick-O-Shay”. The Tikis toured in the summer of ’66 then broke up. Supposedly there’s an unreleased recording engineered by the Legends Sam McCue.
The Talismen (formerly the Tikis) at the Westside Business Man’s Association, Friday September 23, 1966
Bill Schereck formed the Talismen with Paul Beneke on guitar, John Javorsky on bass and Russ Loniello on drums. They released their only record, “Glitter and Gold” / “She Belongs to Me” on Rampro Records R-115 in October 1966.
I believe this may be the first release on Ken Adamany’s Rampro label out of Janesville (and is possibly an extension of the numbering on his Feature Records). Dick Campbell produced the session and also played guitar. Russ joined group only a few days before making the record.
Schereck went on to booking, managing Axis (with members Ann Probert, Steve Paris, Gary Huebing, Don Davis and John Beth), writing the B-side of their single on Earth “I Can’t Wait”. Schereck would make a record as the Roadcrew on Mercury 73631 in 1975.
Sources: Gary E. Myers’ invaluable books Do You Hear That Beat and On That Wisconsin Beat.
Karen Verros made three singles for Dot Records in 1965 and 1966, her best known being “You Just Gotta Know My Mind” and “Little Boy”. She came from Somerset, Massachusetts, near Rhode Island, graduating with honors from Somerset High School in 1964.
The year after graduation she was in Los Angeles, recording for Dot Records with Jack Nitzsche arranging, and David Hassinger and Mike Minor producing. How she came to the attention of Dot Records I do not know.
For her first record, Nitzsche arranged a Donovan composition, “You Just Gotta Know My Mind”. The prominent bass and solid drumming, the tambourine, vocal chorus and twangy guitar lines, provide an exciting backing for Karen’s lead vocal.
Donovan didn’t release his own recording of the song. It appears he made a demo version that publisher Southern Music distributed on lacquer acetate, as that was a common way for publishers to sell songs. An Emidisc acetate cut for Southern Music sold in 2010, with Donovan’s song on one side, and an obscure Carter-Lewis song “How Can I Turn Away” on the other. Audio of “How Can I Turn Away” has surfaced, but the Donovan demo has not. I would very much like to hear it!
It’s possible one of Karen’s producers found the song because Southern Music Publishing in New York issued it as sheet music in 1965, with a piano arrangement by George N. Terry. Nitzsche’s arrangement closely follows the sheet music.
Steampacket II cut a version of “You Just Gotta Know My Mind” in 1966 on a Sweden-only 45 release, and in 1968 Dana Gillespie recorded another good version of the song for a UK single and her first album Foolish Seasons. However, Karen’s version is the first and definitive recording.
Released in October 1965 on Dot 45-16815, the labels read 1:57 on the A-side, but play a version fifteen seconds longer that repeats the first verse after the guitar solo. The B-side is the vocal-less backing track of “You Just Gotta Know My Mind” with an overdubbed lead guitar, titled “Karen’s Theme”.
There are both vinyl and styrene versions of the single. I’ve read that the first pressing of the 45 features an edited 1:57 version of “You Just Gotta Know My Mind”. However, I’ve had two vinyl copies and one styrene, and all three played the 2:12 version of the A-side despite the 1:57 time listed, and had “Re” on labels & in the dead wax.
Ace used a Sunset Sound Recorders acetate (or possibly an edited tape) for the 2006 CD release Hard Workin’ Man – The Jack Nitzsche Story, Volume 2. I believe this is the source for the 1:57 version. If someone has a Dot 45 that actually plays a 1:57 version of the A-side, please contact me!
Unfortunately this single does not seem to have had any push from Dot Records, as I cannot find any promotion or reviews in the trades.
Karen’s earliest television appearance may have been on Let’s Go Go in November, 1965, with Tommy Roe, the Plymouth Rockers and John Astin (Gomez Addams from the Addams Family, who had a 1965 single on United Artists, “Querida Mia” / “Wallflower Pete”). I’m not familiar with this TV show. The episode was announced in the Journal of Jersey City, NJ.
Karen’s next 45 came in December, 1965, “I Can’t Remember Ever Loving You” backed with a remake of the Crystals “Little Boy”, also arranged by Nitzsche and produced by Hassinger and Minor.McKeever & the Colonel, Hollywood a Go Go, Outer Limits rerun, or Nabokov interview?
This one received a good push from her management, as Karen appeared on what seems to have been the final episode of Hollywood a Go Go in February 1966, lip-synching to both sides of the record. Other performers were Freddy Cannon, the Byrds, the Bantems, the Everly Brothers, Bob Lind, David Watson and James Darren.
Cash Box reviewed the single positively on January 29, 1966, while Billboard mentioned “I Can’t Remember Ever Loving You” but not “Little Boy”. The next week Dot listed the single in an ad in Cash Box and Billboard featuring Bonnie Guitar and many other new releases.
On January 30, 1966, Karen appeared on the Danny Thomas Teen-agers’ Shindig at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium on a long lineup that included the Spats, the Sunrays, Barry Richards, the Paris Sisters, Dick and Dee Dee, Donna Loren, the Grads, and the Beauchemins, along with some who are unknown to me: Bobby Perris, Tony Dow, Paul Peterson, Tony Thomas, and the Germs (!).
She appeared on Where The Action Is at least twice, in April 1966 with Otis Redding, Steve Alaimo and Paul Revere & the Raiders, and in May, 1966 with Susan Rafey, Tina Mason and Cindy Malone.
Her third and last record on Dot was “Wish Me A Rainbow” / “So Warm My Love”, arranged by Pete King, and released in the summer of 1966. The A-side was the theme from the Natalie Wood & Robert Redford movie This Property Is Condemned, however the film & soundtrack versions were sung by actress Mary Badham.
Karen Verros at right in the Young Americans, August 1966. Also in photo: Lisa Binney, Steve Wilson, choreographer Diane Turnquist, Mary Arnold, and Ernie Becerril.
Around the time of her last Dot release, Karen joined the Young Americans song-and-dance group. The Ottawa Journal ran two profiles of the group: first on August 25, 1966, and another on September 3 that quoted Karen and described her as “a newcomer to the Young Americans.” The group appeared at the Central Canada Exhibition grandstand show.
The Young Americans originally formed in 1963 at Birmingham High School in Los Angeles. According to the Journal, M.A. Turnquist was business manager and Phil Azelton music director.
The Boston Globe ran a short item about the Young Americans on November 18, 1966:
The Young Americans, who were such a smash hit on the Andy Williams Show and the Allen Sherman special the past fortnight, will help Perry Como pry open his new season next Monday. One of its members, Karen Verros, will be watching from the home of her parents in Somerset.
On September 28, 1968, Cash Box reported:
Newest indie production firm on the coast is Raydan Prod., with Ray Katz and Danielle Mauroy partnered. Initial deal with MGM Records calls for four artists – two already released (Judd and Lisa’s “Some Other Place” and Mayf Nutter’s “Daddy Love You Boy”) with Karen Verros set to cut this week. Katz also manages a fistful of talents including Fran Jeffries and Eva Gabor. Mauroy was formerly with Barclay Records in France. Raydan is located at 9000 Sunset in L.A.
If Karen recorded for Raydan or MGM, there were no releases to my knowledge. Danielle Mauroy had produced the Lollipop Shoppe’s Just Colour album on Uni earlier that year.
On January 8, 1971 the Concord Transcript ran this notice:
Leather and Lace has top billing in the Topaz Room of Nevada Lodge … Leather and Lace has four men and one woman. All members are good enough to be considered lead singers. But Karen Verros – who is the lace of the group – is a stand-out as they perform a fast, exciting act.
An evening of Leather and Lace almost always includes the full assortment of entertainment hor d’eourves [sic]: rock ‘n’ roll, folk songs, pop numbers, spiritual songs, show tunes, comedy material and flashy dance routines.
Two members of Leather and Lace were formerly on the Doodletown Pipers television series, another was a member of the Kids of the Kingdom at Disneyland, and two were performing with a well-known rock group.
Leather and Lace record for Mercury records. The male contingents are Craig Ward, Chet Cook, Larry Walker, and J.C. Ferris.
I can’t find any recordings on Mercury Records for Leather and Lace, and I wonder what was the “well-known rock group” that the clipping mentions. The Reno Gazette also reported on Leather and Lace on June 11, 1971. That is the last notice I can find of Karen’s musical career.
Karen Verros was one of ten child performers including Chris Barnes (Turner Doyle in The Bad News Bears) who had money in savings bonds held by the Los Angeles Family Court, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times on April 26, 1998.
Karen Verros at left with members of the Young Americans, 1966.
The Lady Birds featured in the Los Angeles Times, December 13, 1964The Lady Birds came from Fullerton in Orange County, CA. Members were:
Lois White – lead guitar Marilyn Read – rhythm guitar Sharon Acree – bass Dede Bagby – drums
From a comment by Marilyn Read on my Wickwire discography, this is the same Lady Birds who made the 1964 single on Wickwire 45-13010, “A Girl Without a Boy” / “To Know Him Is to Love Him”.
The Lady Birds cut this version of “Sweets for My Sweet” backed with an original by Marilynn Read [sic] “Why Must I Be Lonely”, released on M.P.I. 45-6501/45-6502 circa 1965. “H” stamped into the runout indicates a pressing from RCA’s Hollywood plant.
Ralph Hinds produced the record. Dodson – Heumann, two names I’m not familiar with, did the arrangements. Dorothy Music Publ. Co. published Marilyn Read’s original song.
The Los Angeles Times featured a photo and article on the group on December 13, 1964.
The article quotes Miss Sybl Acree “adviser to the group” who wrote to Mrs. Lyndon Johnson asking permission to use the name Lady Bird for the group and received a reply from Bess Abell, social secretary for the White House.
“How flattered she (Mrs. Johnson) was to learn of the name you chose for your group. Mrs. Johnson’s name is in the public domain and for this reason you may name your group the Lady-Birds. The White House, however, does not officially grant this permission.
“Please know you have Mrs. Johnson’s best wishes for much success in your endeavor.”
The combo is made up of Lois White, 18, lead guitar, a graduate last June from Glendora High School; Marilyn Read, 17, rhythm guitar, senion at Fullerton Union Hight School; Sharon Acree, 14, bass, 8th grade student at Fullerton’s Nicolas Junior High School; and Dede Bagby, 18, drums, sophomore at Fullerton Junior College.
Vern Acree of Fullerton, father of Sharon, and Jim White of Azusa are co-managers of the foursome…
Their first album, “Come Fly With Us,” will be released soon, according to Acree.
Next date in the county for the quartet is Dec. 19 when they will perform for the Fullerton Teen Center’s annual Christmas event.
The group continued at least into 1966. On September 6, 1966, the Van Nuys News ran a photo of Sharon Acree with national guardsmen from Camp Roberts where the Lady Birds performed with Johnny Rivers, “who is private in Headquarters Company of Division’s 2nd Battalion.”
Sharon Acree would join her brother Dirk Acree in the Heathens, who backed John English III on his great single on Sabra (probably before Sharon was in the group).
This was not the Ladybirds trio from the UK who had a 1964 US 45 on Atco, “Lady Bird” / “Memories; and definitely NOT the Ladybirds from New Jersey that played topless at the Blue Bunny Club in Hollywood, and other locations.
The Cle-Shays made this one 7″ featuring the light psychedelia of “Annabelle Zodd” on the A-side, and the fine r&b “Spend All My Money” on the flip. Released as Monex 5232, I believe it is the only record on this label.
Members were:
Terry Larrison Frank Berka Wilson Kelso Rodney Johnson Paul Brause
The first mention I can find of the Cle-Shays is from the Cedar Rapids Gazette on July 2, 1965, noting the group is from Newton, Iowa, just east of Des Moines, and would be playing the 4th of July celebration at Lake Ponderosa.
In February 26, 1966, they played the Electric Park with the Pawns.
On April 10 they were one of sixteen bands at a big Easter show at the Starline Ballroom in Carroll, IA, with Billy Rat & the Finks, Thunderbolts, Charades, Surfinks, Lord Calvert & the Extras, Senders, Bushmen, Scavengers, Inn Mates, Dark Knights, Tumblers (or Fumblers?), Dale & the Devonaires, Bubblegummers (great band name!), Electrons and the Cavaliers.
The Des Moines Tribune reported the Cle-Shays would play “an Op Art Hop” at the annual Maytag picnic in Newton on August 14, 1966.
The band played the Starline Ballroom again on November 23, 1966 with the Upstairs Playground for a Thanksgiving KIOA Teen Hop.
May 26, 1967: “Parents Invited Free”!
The Courier ran a few ads in May of 1967 for the Cle-Shays at Electric Park in Waterloo, to the northeast of Newton, with Joe Arquette of KWWL as emcee.
The Times-Republican ran an ad for the group at Corydon Legion Hall on Friday, April 26, 1968.
The record seems to have been their last hurrah before breaking up, as I find no further mention of the band after its release. Both songs are originals, and the group registered copyright on August 13, 1968, with Monex Music as publisher.
“Annabelle Zodd” has words and music by the entire group, while “Spend All My Money” has words by Frank Berka and music by the rest of the group. Monarch Record Mfg in Los Angeles made the styrene records, with delta #72972 also dating to approximately August, 1968.
The Socialites at the Unicorn Lansing, MIThe Socialites were four women who made two 45s in 1968. I don’t know the names of the band members, or where they came from, except for a show listing in Lansing, Michigan.
I believe the Socialites first single was a version of “Bye Bye Love” b/w the neat bubblegum rocker “Phooey Phooey on You”, released on Scott Records FM-324. Artyfacts in Wax has a short write-up and good scans of the labels.
Scott Records had 45s by the Merrie Motor Company who were from Olivet, MI; and the Jay Walker Effort who seem to have come from Grand Rapids.
The Socialites recorded (and/or mastered) “Looking Out My Window” at Tera Shirma Sound Studio in Detroit, with a cover of “Boat that I Row” on the flip. Garry Holton, credited for writing “Looking Out My Window” seems to have lived in Jackson, Michigan.
Released as National Electric Signalling And Commercial Company 6483142, the label has finely drawn illustration, and the obscure sub-text “A Michigan Corporation Division of Audio Records”.
“Looking Out My Window” reached #31 on WILS 1320 AM Sound Survey 33 on December 18, 1968.
R.D. Francis sent me the flyer at top, one of a half-dozen ads for the short-lived Unicorn club made by Mike Delbusso of Splatt Gallery in Walled Lake.
The Unicorn opened at 4122 N. East, in Lansing on May 18, 1970, and featured the Socialites for its first two weekends.
If anyone knows the names of members of the Socialites please contact me!
The Loved Ones profiled in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, January 22, 1967The Loved Ones formed at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Members were:
Terry Johnson – guitar Barry “Byrd” Burton – guitar Doug Graham – bass Mike Coyner – drums
Alan Copeland – drums (replaced Mike Coyner in fall of 1966) Ranse Whitworth – guitar (replaced Terry Johnson in late 1967) Dorian Rush – drums (replaced Alan Copeland in February, 1968)
In June of 1966 released a great 45 of two original songs, “Surprise, Surprise (For You)” (written by Terry Johnson and Barry Burton, Tuba Music) b/w “Another Time or Place” (by Terry Johnson, Kasen Music) on Ambassador Records TIF 212. The Loved Ones recorded the songs at Bradley’s Barn studio in Nashville.
The band’s manager went to New York to shop the single, and secured a deal Ambassador, a label from Newark, New Jersey.
An early version of the group, under perhaps a different name, had started a year or two earlier, playing a VFW hall in August 1964. Terry Johnson played guitar; Doug Graham was playing a Fender Rhodes Piano Bass. Other early members included Bill McMakin on acoustic guitar, and an unknown drummer, perhaps Jim Bible or Ed Hagood. At some point they were replaced by Barry Burton and Mike Coyner.
The Loved Ones made a demo in January 1966, “I Love Her More”, cut at Startime Studios, owned by Jim Clayton, in January 1966. WKGN broadcast the song in February, but it has since become lost.
On August 28, 1966, the News-Sentinel reported on their summer residency in Greenwich Village, a time I would like to know more about:
The Loved Ones’ Returning to Knox
A local long-haired singing group, which has been playing in New York’s Greenwich Village all summer, will return to Knoxville Saturday at the Civic Coliseum.
“The Loved Ones,” all U-T students when they organized last January, will sing before about 5000 at the Knoxville invitation Teen Board Dance.
The group, Terry Johnson, Barry Burton, Doug Graham and Mike Coyner, will be based in Knoxville this fall when Terry returns to school at U-T…
Three – Terry, Doug, and Barry – are from Rogersville, and Mike from Chattanooga.
I looked for notices of the Loved Ones playing in Greenwich Village, but so far have not found them.
After this article appeared, Alan Copeland, originally from Memphis, replaced Mike Coyner on drums.
The Loved Ones and their manager Bill Baillie helped open a Knoxville nightclub called The Place.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel reported on January 22, 1967:
The Place, 1915 Cumberland Ave., which opened Friday night … has an unique atmosphere all its own. The L-shaped room, large enough for 450 people, features black walls and white flourescent designs. Several large revolving rainbow-colored lights set the walls and floors to dancing. About 75 small tables dot the two ends of the room. Benches with narrow tables jutting out from them line the walls, creating seats for about 270 …
The Loved Ones are providing the opening week entertainment. Other combos scheduled include the Group from Memphis, the Playboys from Chattanooga, and Knoxville’s Jay, Jami, and the Soul Survivors.
Their recent recording, “Surprise, Surprise” was a regional hit … the group will release a new record in early spring.
On July 2, 1967, the News-Sentinel ran an item “Two Knox Groups Cut Pop Discs”:
Jay Henderson, a Rule Hugh School graduate, and Sandy Richards, a Central High graduate, have a record out on Spot Label of Johnson City, which began air play last week. They call themselves “Jami and Jay” and are backed by a Knoxville combo, “The Soul Survivors.” The number one side of the record is “I’m So Lonely” and the flip side is “I Know I’m Not Much.” Another Knoxville group, “The Loved Ones,” has recorded 12 original songs for Roulette Records, a national company in New York. Terry Johnson, leader of the group which met at U-T, wrote the songs, two of which are planned for release within two weeks. Others in the group are Doug Graham, Barry Burton, and Alan Copeland.
I’m not sure if the band actually did cut “12 original songs for Roulette Records”, or what happened to those recordings.
On Friday, September 1, 1967, the Loved Ones opened for the Young Rascals at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum.
Ranse Whitworth replaced Terry Johnson in late ’67, and Dorian Rush replaced Alan Copeland in February 1968.
The band released their second 45 on Brookmont Records 556, “Country Club Life” (by B. Russell, B. Cason), “Together, Together” (W. Rabideau, D.J. Chalmers), produced by Redell Productions. CashBox reviewed it on September 14, 1968: “social commentary about the country club-commuter set is delivered in blues style … FM play could alert Top 40’s to its sales potential.”
[Walter Rabideau and David-John Chalmers wrote both sides of the only other release on Brookmont Records, by Tomorrow’s Children “Take a Good Look” / “Rainy Corner”, and both would go into the Farm Band in Summertown, Tennessee.]
The Loved Ones had at least one reunion, with Byrd Burton, Terry Johnson, Ranse Whitworth and Mike Coyner.
Several of the members have passed away: Dorian Rush at the age of 20, Doug Graham in 2004, and Barry “Byrd” Burton in March of 2008.
—–
Steve Hostak
One 1967 photo shows the Loved Ones in Nashville’s Bradley’s Barn studio with Steve Hostak. Hostak wrote “Summer Boys” which Judy Eggers cut at Metro Recording in Knoxville, released with “Life of a Fool” (by E.J. Roberts) on Metromaster M-166.
In the 1970s, Stephan Hostak played guitar on albums by James Talley, Tracy Nelson and others, and did some writing and arranging work. I’d like to know more about Hostak’s connection with the Loved Ones, and his other early studio work.
I found four slides of a group with the Midnight Raiders on their drum head. The guitarist is playing a Harmony Rocket with a Gibson amp. Given the map of Connecticut visible in two of the photos, I would bet that’s where they are from. If so, I have no way to trace this band without names.
There was a group called the Midnight Raiders from Osceola, Iowa that released one 45, “Pretty Baby” / “Steppin’ Stone” on Raider Records 7-75477/8 from March, 1967.
Names on the labels were:
Janet Oliver Ron Hart John Jones Butch Black (Orval Black III?)
Perhaps I will be able to get confirmation that the trio in the photos was not the group from Iowa. In any case, I’d like to hear from any members of the “Pretty Baby” / “Steppin’ Stone” band.
Unfortunately the Epson V600 scanner I use puts vertical lines into the image that are not in the original slides.
I have no info on the Aztecs who released the song “Just to Satisfy You” b/w a good version of “Midnight Hour” on Valkyrie 959C-6114 in 1967. C. Johnson is listed as the writer of the A-side, but I can find no publishing registration – because (as Mike points out in the comment below) it’s not their original song!
45cat has one lead – the RCA account connects to the Claremont label out of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Whether the band was from Wisconsin or Illinois is impossible to say at this point. This was pressed at RCA’s plant in Indianapolis.
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
Sportin’ Life cut a great psychedelic 45 in the summer of 1968, “I Can Feel It (Servant to the Sky)” released on Riba Records R-1004/R-1003. I don’t know if Sportin’ Life was an actual group or a studio gathering. From writing credits on “I Can Feel It” members included Ronald Weissman, Michael Swerdlow, John Homenick, and possibly Richard Babeuf, who produced the record.
