The Jades of Muncie, from left: David Smith, Gary Royer, John Terhune, and Greg Hood
The Jades came from Muncie, Indiana, a college town about 60 miles northeast of Indianapolis. Kathy Knecht sent in the photo above asking for more information about the Jades.
Members were:
Gary Royer – lead guitar John Terhune – bass Greg Hood – organ David Smith – drums
The Jades had two singles, both with excellent original songs.
The first was “I Cried” / ” Once Upon a Time” in December 1965 on Holiday, a label from Union, Kentucky, just southwest of Cincinnati.
The second was “Come Back” (Greg Hood) / “Change My Ways” (Gary Royer) on the Denim label, release #1078 in March of 1967. Denim Records would go on to release four singles by the Chosen Few and one that I haven’t heard by the Affectionate Armpit.
Greg Hood sent in the two photos seen below and commented:
We all were singers. Gary and I wrote the songs we recorded but the whole band had input on the final product. The greatest thing about this band is that we were such good friends.
Greg would go on to join the December’s Children, who recorded “Keep on Runnin'” and “99 and A Half” on the Classic Records label.
The Jades, from left: Gary Royer, David Smith, Greg Hood and John Terhune
The Restless Men were James J. Healy and Russell LeJeune (mispelled LeJune on the label), from possibly Arkansas.
In November, 1965 they released their only single, the ballad “Man of Mind” b/w “Somebody Knows Me Now” on RM Records 51132.
No drums, but bass and acoustic guitars and a tambourine in a bath of echo propel “Somebody Knows Me Now”, a song about finding companionship in prison! Unlike the loneliness of being free (“each in his shell, in his own little scene, each one alone, only fish in the sea”), now they are “locked behind bars, each know the game, hold the same cards”. Some bluesy runs in the guitar break shows an r&b background for at least one member. This was the b-side of the single.
The ostensible A-side could be described as a folky paean to the Christian concept of god.
The songwriters James J. Healy and Russell LeJeune copyrighted both songs on March 9, 1966 under their own names, no publishing company listed.
I come across many singles out of the range of the ’60s garage I usually cover on this site. When something is very obscure, with little or no info on the ‘net, I post it to satisfy my own curiosity.
Such as this single by Gun Shy, Ohio rock that sounds mid-70s but actually dates to 1981. It’s a Musicol press out of Columbus, with lots of EQ notes in the dead wax.
The A-side is “Gun Shy”, straight-up rock with plenty of cowbell, and a professional sound. The flip “Rymes and Reasons” is a power ballad with a good solo. B. Whitlatch and J. Cremeans wrote both sides. No publishing info, but production was by L. Smith and W. Withrow.
Leo and the Prophets cut one of the legendary Austin singles of the ’60s, “Tilt-A-Whirl” b/w “The Parking Meter” on Totem Records T-105 in April, 1967.
The band members were:
Leo Ellis – vocals and lead guitar Travis Ellis – tambourine Dan Hickman – rhythm guitar Rod Haywood – bass Bill Powell – drums
In January or February of 1967 they recorded their first songs with Sonobeat’s Bill Josey Sr. and Rim Kelley, resulting in a finished vocal, “Flowers on the Hill” and two instrumentals “Ozone Forest” and “Prophecy of Love”. Unfortunately none of which were ever released, but you can hear about half of “Flowers on the Hill” at the impressive Sonobeat website. Thirty seconds of “Ozone Forest” used to be on the old Sonobeat site but I can’t find it now. It’s a pity these songs weren’t finished and released, but at the time Bill Josey and the band felt there was too much distortion in the recording.
Andrew Brown published interviews with Dan Hickman, Rod Haywood and Bill Powell on his site 1966: Texas Music in the Sixties, which makes the best history of the band. I don’t have much to add to that.
My copy of the single is signed by Leo W. Ellis, Bill Powell, Haywood and “To the Roman Nose … Danel Boone” which I believe is Daniel Hickman as he signed the copy on the 1966 site in the same manner.
A possibly complete discography of Totem Records:
Totem T-101 – Rix Slaughter “Listen Little Girl” (Rix Dale Slaughter and James O. Glass)/ “Shades of Dawn” (Slaughter), November 1964 Totem T-102 – Rix Slaughter “Bright Lights” / “Everybody’s Fallin’ In Love” Totem T-103 – Damon Meredith & the Western Caravan “Don’t Interfere With Love” / “(I Know That) You’re Trying to Forget Me” (WAM-45-66126, copyright reg. May 1966) Totem T-103 – Cecil Moore & The Diamondbacks “Wind It Up” / “Stuff” (WAM-45-66125, copyright reg. June, 1966) Totem T-105 – Leo & the Prophets – “Tilt-A-Whirl” (Ellis, Haywood) / “The Parking Meter” (Ellis, Hickman), April, 1967
Totem Records and KCFH advertisement in the Cuero, Texas paper in November, 1964J.O. Glass (James Otto Glass) and J.C. “Scat” Hamilton produced all the singles.
Totem advertised Rix Slaughter’s first single in conjunction with KCFH in the Cuero Record on November 3, 1964.
The Meredith and Cecil Moore singles have a code I’m not familiar with, WAM, the Moore reading WAM-45-66125, while the Damon Meredith notes WAM-45-66126. Both singles share catalog number Totem T-103.
The singles list Totem Records at 4307 Speedway, Austin, with publishing by Fathom Pub. Co.
James Otto Glass copyrighted other songs in 1963 and ’64 that may not have been recorded, including “Halfway to Heaven (I Can’t Believe In You)”, “Window In My Heart”, “Fleeting Love”, “Just a Tear Away” and “What Doesn’t Show (I’ll Feel in My Heart)”.
Sometimes I pick up photos of unknown bands through ebay or in antique shops. This set came from a seller in Yuba City, California, north of Sacramento, but I don’t know the locations in the photos yet. Most of the photos show what seems to be a Christian music group called Sonlight from about 1970 and 1971. One photo shows some teens in front of a Saint Anthony Seminary, possibly in Santa Barbara, but I’m not sure of that. The photo at the top left is from 1967 and shows what is definitely a teen garage band in front of a banner “Sound”, but I don’t have the name of the group unfortunately.
Jeffrey Harvey pointed out that The Ancient Star Song website posted the cover and tracklist of an album by Sonlight that may be the same group. The back cover lists members of Sonlight:
Vicki Higgins, Betty Davis, Patti Bryson, Doug Norby, Ron Quigley, Richard Johnson and Roger Walck.
The group has an address in Van Nuys, California. Dean Talley produced the LP, and Mike Wallen designed the cover. Recorded at Customcraft Recordings in North Hollywood.
Can anyone identify who these people are?
1967 band photo, one member may have been in Sonlight band lateron back: Jerry, Kathy, Me [Joe?], Sue before the jazz danceSt. Anthony Seminary – Santa Barbara?Great dorm room!
The Fabulous Thunderbolts started as a quartet at Kuemper Catholic High School in Carroll, Iowa. Carroll is situated about 90 miles drive NE of Omaha, Nebraska, or 90 miles NW of Des Moines.
The Thunderbolts traveled to Sears Recording Studios in Omaha to cut their only single, “My Girl Sue”/”I Want to See You Again” released in August 1965. Ted Kisgen wrote both sides and copyrighted both under his own name in April, 1965.
“My Girl Sue” is a sharp two-minute rocker. The entire band is solid, but one can’t help but notice the blazing lead guitar, the excellent lead vocals, and the sax solo.
Members included:
Jerry Hauser – lead vocals Rich Danner – lead guitar Ted Kisgen – drums, lead vocals on “My Girl Sue” Gene Wycoff – saxophone Mike Kisgen Ron Hauser Harold Powell
They seem to have been a quintet for much of their existence. On their single I hear lead guitar, bass guitar, saxophone, drums and lead vocal. The Iowa Rock n’ Roll Music Association Hall of Fame inducted the group in 2000 and has a tiny photo of the group as a quintet on their inductee page.
The band also recorded a couple of acetate demos at Sears that I haven’t heard, the uptempo “Say That You Love Me” and an instrumental, “The Explorer” that seem to predate the Poverty release.
I had a photo at the top of the page from an ebay auction of this demo, but a comment below correctly pointed out the photo was of a different group, the Thunderbolts from Plattsburgh, NY.
Ted Kisgen joined a later version of the Green Giants, originally from the southern Iowa towns of Shenandoah and Bedford. They had one single on Round & Round Records 4501, “Pity Me” / “You’re Going to Lose That Girl” in November 1966.
Many singles were cut at Sears Recording Studio, including the Last Chapter on Skip, the Shags “You’re a Loser” on Rocky (and Jo Jo), the Cellophane Spectacle on Spectacular, and probably everything released on Dad’s Records out of Omaha, including the Fabulous Impacts, the Sundae Funnies, the Rumbles, and the Great Imposters. I haven’t seen a comprehensive list. The Echos V from Des Moines recorded a five-song demo there that has not been released.
I haven’t seen any other releases on a Poverty Records from Omaha.
Bobby & The Denos at a country club gig in Arkansas, 1961. Left to right: George Lynn, Billy Wilfong, Billy Jack “Bobby” Rogers, Gary Stamps, Roy Rogers, Toney Thompson
Jeffrey Harvey interviewed Roy Rogers of Bobby and the Denos and wrote this article on the group. Roy has a fantastic collection of photos which he kindly shared with Garage Hangover.
Bobby & The Denos were a Fort Smith, Arkansas based group that released just one 45 on Fayetteville’s Chance label in their five-plus years together.
“Just Like Me” is a super-tough outsider anthem penned by Billy Jack “Bobby” Rogers, lead singer of the group, and features lyrics such as:
I don’t want to be like Elvis Presley I don’t want to be like Jerry Lee I don’t want to be like Ricky Nelson Oh baby, I just want to be like me!
The flip is a solid take on Peggy Lee’s version of “Fever” that the boys didn’t even know how to play until they got to their recording session at Gene Sullivan’s studio outside of Oklahoma City.
I was able to track down Denos guitarist Roy Rogers (birth name), and speak with him about the band’s history.
GH: Can you tell me how the band was formed?
Roy Rogers, age 12 with custom lap steel guitar
RR: Well, I started playing lap steel guitar when I was 11 years old. After a couple years, a piano player (Tony) showed up at the music school where I took lessons. He had perfect pitch and total recall, and after a while the music school told his parents “Don’t bring him back, cause we can’t teach him anything he doesn’t already know!” We were 14 and 15 years old by then, and Elvis was jumping around and wiggling, and the girls were screaming, and I went; “Holy Hell, I gotta do that!” So I dug out an old Kay guitar my dad had in the closet and started asking around and learning chords. Well, pretty soon Tony and I were at a party, and we met a bunch of boys older than us who played. A few days later some of those boys came by my house to jam.
GH: What year would that have been?
RR: Probably ’58 or ’59. We just all started jamming out together and calling ourselves “The Satellites.” We added a bass player (George), drummer (Gary), and sax man (Billy), to round out the sound. Gary was our age and in the high-school jazz band, so he could really play the drums. We continued on until probably 1960, when we changed our name to “Bobby & The D-Notes.”
GH: What prompted the name change?
RR: Our original lead singer Gordon Jennings quit, and we had heard about this guy named Billy Jack Rogers – no kin to me – and we went out to the American Legion one night to listen to him sing. He was singing Elvis Presley’s “It’s Now Or Never” and he was just killing it! I was like “My God, you’re kidding me!” So we approached him on one of his breaks and told him that we needed a singer, and asked if he’d like to come over and jam with us. Well, he did, and he quit the other band real quick.
Bobby & the Denos: early 60’s promo photo
GH: How did the Denos name come to be?
RR: Well, just about six months after Billy Jack joined, someone told our sax man that “Denos” meant “well-liked” in Italian. I still don’t know if it’s true or not, but that’s the story we got from some guy, and it made for a pretty easy change!
GH: That is a great story! Where were you guys musically around this time?
RR: We were practicing all the time. I mean, we were playing so much that my damn fingers were bloody! We also started making real money playing dance halls and what not. My dad was an upholsterer who worked in a factory, and he kept telling me I was gonna be a bum if I didn’t learn how to upholster or something. By this time I was 15 or 16, and making more money in two nights than he was working a whole 40-hour week!
Bobby & the Denos: early 60’s promo photo
GH: What were your live shows like?
At the 2500 Club in Kansas City, MO
RR: We did choreography and all that stuff like The Temptations. Our piano man Tony would jack up the upright piano back in the day on two Coke cases, and he would stand up, play one-handed, and do the steps with us. We also really liked what the black artists were wearing. Very snug tailored jackets and pegged pants. We loved our “Beatle Boots,” and started having our jackets made out of red, blue and green, brocade material with the James West waistcoat look. Remember the Wild, Wild West series on TV? Maybe you’re too young for that. We were very sharp dressed. We didn’t think too much about politics because we were into being the coolest cats in town. Music and women… Typical band boy stuff, you know?
GH: What comprised your live set list?
RR: We were playing about 50% – 60% R&B and blues numbers that were popular at the time.
GH: Tell us about the recording of “Fever” b/w “Just Like Me”
RR: “Fever” and “Just Like Me” were recorded in Oklahoma City around 1961 in Gene Sullivan’s recording studio. A guy named Phil Eagle out of Fayetteville, Arkansas owned a small label called Chance. He was also a booker, promoter, and manager, and he approached us about recording. We said “Of course!!!” and did some demos before heading down to Sullivan’s to cut the record for real. The record actually got played on the radio in Oklahoma City, Dallas, Little Rock, and Fort Smith for a while.
GH: What was the music scene like in Fayetteville around that time?
RR: Oh boy, there were all kinds of bands going on. Ronnie Hawkins was on the scene around that time. He ended up marrying a girl out of Canada and moving there. His group went on to be The Band. We played in and around Fayetteville lots back then. We were playing sorority and fraternity parties, and this beautiful, two-story club called the Rockwell Club that looked like it just grew up out of a mountain! It looked like it was made out of all native stone, and we would open for Ronnie in there sometimes.
GH: What else do you remember about recording in Oklahoma City?
with keyboardist Toney Thompson’s 1959 Chevy at a motel in Bossier City, LA
RR: We were all 16 and 17 years old when we made that record. I remember we went down there, and realized that nobody in the band really knew the lyrics to “Fever.” We ended up going down to a drugstore and finding a Hit Parade magazine. Sure enough, the song “Fever” was in there, and that’s what we used to remember the lyrics! After that, we just went in the studio and did it. It was so dumb how we did it, but it was great!
GH: The lyrical content of “Just like Me” conjures up the image of an outsider essentially giving his girl an ultimatum that if she can’t take him for who he is, then don’t even bother. The anti-name dropping is also impressive for the time. Did you feel that you guys were making a social statement with that song?
RR: Right!!! That was it!!! When we played music, we did it our way. I didn’t learn the lead guitar parts exactly right for all the songs we covered or anything, we just jammed them out. I mean, of course we rehearsed them all and got it the way we wanted, but unless it had a really important lead part in it, Tony and I were, at that time, just good enough to play our own lead. We were playing a lot of black clubs back then too, and musically, we were kicking ass. Billy Jack (Bobby) was a lot older than most of the Denos, and he came to us and said “I wrote this song!” It was “Just Like Me” and it ended up perfectly fitting the way we played. We just did our own thing, you know?
Choreographed live show at the 2500 Club in Kansas City, MOwith unidentified bar patron at 2500 Club in Kansas City, MO
GH: Tell us more about the kinds of clubs you guys played back then.
RR: One of our first jobs was in Kansas City in September of 1962. We were all around 17 years old (except for Billy Jack), and had graduated high school earlier that May. We decided we were going out on the road, so we just took off. I had an aunt in Kansas City and I called her. She obliged us, and we slept on cots down in her basement. We got there on a Sunday, went out banging on doors on Monday, and landed our most lucrative job at the 2500 Club on 2500 Truman Road.
GH: What was that scene like?
RR: Oh man, it was your typical “knife & gun club!” You know, one of those places where you gotta give them your license in exchange for a knife or gun to go inside! (laughs). The crazy thing is that we ended up playing there, off and on, for the next three years!
The Denos with 2500 club owner Lee Webb
GH: Do any other clubs or acts that you shared a bill with at the time stand out in your mind?
RR: Well, we went down to Galveston, Texas – I think it was Pleasure Pier or somewhere – and just walked into a little club and told them we were good. There was a black band called Little Hot & The Volcanoes – or something like that – playing and Little Hot was a five-foot tall drummer who was a monster when he played. He would stand up and play the hell out of those drums! We worked there for a bit, and while we were down there, we got to open a show for Bobby “Blue” Bland out on the pier one night. We were just five white guys playing our damn hearts out, and they loved it!
GH: Wow!
RR: Yeah, and after that we headed over to New Orleans, to 426 Bourbon Street at a place called “The Dream Room,” which was later called “Your Father’s Mustache.” Well, The Champs – from “Tequila” fame – were playing there, and we had met them in Kansas City, and they told us to go up to The Peppermint Lounge in Shreveport because the owner – Mr. Mike – needed a band. We said “Hell yeah we’ll do it,” and it was actually in Bossier City, Louisiana. At the time back then, Bossier City looked like Vegas. It had more neon than you’ve seen anywhere! Dale Hawkins – from “Suzie-Q” fame – and his band were already playing there, so we just set up on the floor of the club and kicked his ass!!!
Bobby & The Denos with Conway Twitty & Band in Bossier City, LAwith keyboardist Toney Thompson’s 1959 Chevy at a motel in Bossier City, LA
GH: That’s a great story! Who were your main musical influences at the time?
RR: Bo Diddley, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Freddie King, B.B. King, The Ventures, Duane Eddy, Ronnie Hawkins, and Lonnie Mack.
GH: When did Bobby & The Denos finally go their separate ways?
Marquee at The Peppermint Lounge in Bossier City, LA
RR: Well, Billy Jack (Bobby) quit around 1964 after another run we had at The 2500 Club in Kansas City. We went back home and needed a singer. We found a guy named Jim White, who later changed his name to Jim Mundy. He went on to do commercials for Green Giant vegetables and some beer companies. He was married and only lasted a few weeks with the Denos. We were younger than him, and a lot wilder at the time. One night we were raising hell and Jim just said, “Boys, I can’t take this… I QUIT!!!” After that, we were still rehearsing at Tony’s house in Fort Smith and one day he said “I know all of Billy Jack’s (Bobby’s) songs. I said “Bullshit.” But man, he sang every damn song Billy Jack (Bobby) sang, and just as good too!!! We went back to The 2500 Club, and after the first week, had the place packed out. We were making $1200 a week at the height of our run, and they had to lock the doors on Friday and Saturday nights and do a one-in/one-out type thing! After our run at 2500 was up, we went back home to Fort Smith. The day we arrived, I found a letter in the mailbox that said: “Uncle Sam Wants You.” I called around and found out I wasn’t the only one. Two other Denos got the same letter on the same day, and that’s when we knew it was over.
GH: So essentially, by the time you guys were really up and running as a band, really hitting your musical stride, that’s the time the war put an end to things?
RR: Yeah, that’s right. We had picked up an agent – The Jackson Agency in Kansas City – and they were booking us around. The war ended all that, and we all went our separate ways.
Bobby & The Denos as a four piece in 1962
GH: What happened after Bobby & The Denos broke up?
RR: Well for one thing, I got married. This was around 1965 and I had been dating a girl for about a year. I also ended up flunking my physical for Uncle Sam. I had double-curvature of the spine, and they said “Get your ass out of here!”
GH: Did your music career end there too?
RR: Well, no. When everybody quit Bobby & the Denos, I just kind of took over. I had always done the majority of talking to the club owners and such, so when everybody left; I started up Roy Rogers & The Denos. I recruited some guys to play, and we continued traveling around. That lasted until about 1966 when my daughter was born. After that I joined a group out of Louisville, Kentucky called The Imitations. Can you believe that in early 1970 we toured the Far East? We were in Japan, Korea, Thailand, Okinawa, The Philippines, and Vietnam for six months. Dumbass me gets recruited for the Army, and ends up going over there anyway as a civilian without a gun! At some point The Imitations turned into Roy Rogers & The Internationally Famous Imitations, and that lasted until 1979.
GH: Are there any last words or memories you’d like to share about your time with the band?
RR: I’ve probably had one of the best lives of anyone you’ve ever met. I feel that we grew up in the best of times ever in the history of the United States – the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s. When I got into music, it changed my life. All I ever wanted to do was play music, and whenever we got on the road I was just free, man. You know? We were five Arkansas hillbillies, and we would go into black clubs, play with the bands, and be welcomed. We could go wherever we wanted, and be accepted. It was just a great time to be alive. 1958 – 1965 were the best days of my life.
Bobby & the Denos: early 60’s promo photoBobby & the Denos: early 60’s promo photo
Photo on the back of a business card for the Beaus of Beethoven
The Beaus of Beethoven came from Patton, Pennsylvania and other towns of Cambria County, about 75 miles east of Pittsburgh. Their manager Jack Cessna’s base was Ebensburg.
Members were:
Ron McClinsey – lead vocal, guitar Nick Fagan – lead guitar Dave Holtz – keyboards Tom Stratton, replaced by Paul Lazendorfer – bass Danny Miller – drums
Ron McClinsey’s comment below is worth quoting in large part:
The Beaus of Beethoven had its beginning in September 1965 with three of us jamming, not knowing what was ahead. We had at that point Dave Holtz as keyboard player, Dan Miller as drummer, and me on guitar. We found Nick Fagan as lead guitar player and Tom Stratton as bass player. Our first gig was on December 18th. All the girls were screaming as if the Beatles were there … I was hooked! Local DJs from two radio stations took notice and promoted us. One, Jack Cessna, became our manager.
In the summer of 1966, the band recorded the 45 record pictured above, which I’m proud of. We have met and opened for a bunch of other groups like The Strangeloves, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, The Beau Brummels, The Shangri Las, The McCoys, The Chicago Loop, Freddie Canon, The Vogues.
One night we were the opener at the Jaffa Mosque in Altoona for the Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Dantes, the Outsiders. The headliner for that show was Bobby Goldsboro. A guitar player and bass player had been sent in to back up Bobby. The bass player was passed out in the hallway on who knows what. They came and asked our keyboard player and I to help. Their guitar player showed us the songs. That night I played bass for Bobby Goldsboro in front of 2000 people and I was still in high school!
The Beaus of Beethoven opened for many artists at the Jaffa Mosque in Altoona and appeared on WIIC TV Pittsburgh’s Saturday bandstand show.
In 1967 the band cut two originals at Sound-Pro Studio for release in September. I don’t know the location of that studio and haven’t seen it credited on other singles.
“It’s Too Late” (by Ronald McClinsey, Nicholas Fagan Jr. and David Holtz, B-W Music Inc. BMI) has a buzzing lead guitar while the singer tells how he’s “sing my time just hanging around town, drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, living my sins with no regrets” while his ex is “ridin’ uptown in a limousine, checking the nice balls, making the scene”. The entire performance is excellent with a great guitar solo.
A real treasure is the flip, “Goin’ Away” (written by Miller, Holtz and Lazendorfer, Weldee Music Co. BMI), a true picture of teen angst in lyrics like:
I’m comin’ down off the roof, gonna bring my baby back, I’ve been around too long, now I want to belong. So many people tell me I’m nothin’ but a nothin’, But I can get with my girl, girl by roughin’
Thank you to Ron for correcting the lyrics.
Publishing was through Weldee Music and B-W Music Inc, owned by the same company in Ohio.
The photo at top came from a video that has since disappeared from youtube.
If anyone has better quality photos please contact me.
Tony Church and the Crusade came from Youngstown, Ohio; Church’s real name was Tony Chirchiglia.
Chirchiglia started as early as 1960 in a rockabilly style, recording two of his original songs, “A Car” / “Oh! By the Way” on Hy Joy, released as Tony Chick, and backed by his brother Rocky Chirchiglia’s group (hear both songs over at Rockin’ Country Style). “Rocky” Rocco Chirchiglia owned music stores in Ravenna and Youngstown.
In the ’60s Tony Chirchiglia had a group for live shows called the Imperials, who may be the ones backing him as the Crusade on this single on Tammy. He did a great job of keeping up with the times, as “Love Trip” has an eerie psychedelic vibe and “Can You Picture Yourself” is catchy late ’60s pop, though his vocals are deeper and more stylized than a typical teen sound. It’s too bad he only has two singles, eight years apart to his name. He was obviously a creative writer and arranger, I would like to hear more of his work.
Tony Chirchiglia and J. Creature wrote both songs for Fiore Pub. Co, BMI. The RCA pressing code W4KM-3213/4 indicates a release in the second half of 1968.
“The Kids Are Allright” / “Leave Me Be” by the Trojans is another of the lesser-known singles on Tampa’s Boss label. High school kids from the Harry B. Plant and Jesuit high schools, members were:
Mike Regar – lead vocals & keyboard David Lasswell – lead guitar & vocals Tom Saussy – rhythm guitar & vocals James Spoto – bass & vocals John Trujillo – drums
Released on Boss 006 in December 1966, the band do an excellent job with their harmony singing on the Who’s “The Kids Are Allright” (sic) and the Zombies’ “Leave Me Be”. I know bands in my high school never sounded this competent.
It was their only single. Mike Regar eventually joined a longer-lived Tampa band, Amanda Jones.
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
The Jades came from Muncie, Indiana, a college town about 60 miles northeast of Indianapolis. Kathy Knecht sent in the photo above asking for more information about the Jades.
