The Omegas, spring 1966, from left: Mike Sarigumba, Art Brueggeman, A.T. Ryder, Mike McKeller and Steve Callahan
The Omegas were a Montgomery County group who had gone through considerable personnel changes by the time they recorded their record on United Artists.
The original group cut two songs at Edgewood Recording Studio, a good slow number with dirge-like organ called “Mean Old Man Day”, and “Mud” (aka “Mississippi Mud”), a catchy pop number with acoustic guitar, harmonies and underwater sound effects. These never saw release and I’ve only heard clips from a 2008 auction, which I didn’t win.
Art Brueggeman wrote to me about the group in 2012:
I was the original bass player and joint founding member along with Mike McKeller (drummer) and Steve Callahan (rhythm guitarist). We were high school buddies. We quickly brought in a lead guitarist and a keyboard player.
Here’s a band picture taken in the spring of 1966. That’s me with the Jazz Bass, Steve with the Gibson ES335, and Mike on drums. The other two are A.T. Ryder on Strat and Mike “Pineapple” Sarigumba on keyboard.
We were playing fraternity parties, debutante events, and dances. In early summer we ended up going to Ocean City and landing a gig at The Paddock on 17th street. It was really the only bonafide night club in OC at the time. We played 6 nights a week, and a jam session Saturday afternoon. As I recall, we were there until mid-August or so.
It was a time of the Vietnam war and the draft. Mike and Steve left the band in the Spring of 1967 to join the Air Force Reserves. I ended up joining after the end of the summer. We had a replacement drummer and rhythm guitarist for that summer. Then we returned in the summer of 1967 with the two replacements. I ended up getting married in April 1968 when I got back from active duty, and never returned to the band.
Mike returned to the band and the personnel changed. Don’t remember what Steve did exactly, but he was married by that time as well. It was the original five Omegas though who recorded the three cuts at Edgewood. As I recall, that was done in the fall of 1966, but I may be off there.
Mike and I sang “Mean Old Man Day”, and Steve and Pineapple sang “Mississippi Mud”. We did not write those songs. We did no original writing. I really do not remember who wrote them. I just remember it was two guys who we were put in touch with.
Steve Callahan wrote:
I have the original master from Edgewood studio’s which I found just recently….metal center coated with acetate. I also have the original United Artists release of the other 2 songs.
The UA record is largely the work of Tom Guernsey of the Reekers and the Hangmen. Tom wrote and arranged both sides of the record, played guitar and piano, and co-produced it with Larry Sealfon.
The vocalist on “I Can’t Believe” is Joe Triplett, who was in the Reekers with Tom and was also the vocalist on the first Hangmen 45, “What a Girl Can’t Do”. Leroy Otis played drums on the track and backing vocals were by the Jewels.
A catchy and danceable record, it was released in early 1968 and had some local chart success. With its crossover appeal I’m surprised it’s not better known these days. The flip was a ballad by Tom Guernsey, “Mr. Yates”. He told me it was one of the songs he was proudest of writing.
The Juveniles, l-r: Jimmy Clark, Doug Sprouse, Kenny Hayes, Danny Keller and Karl Dersch
There were a number of groups in the U.S. going by the name The Juveniles. This particular group was originally from southeast Washington, D.C., with members later living in nearby Hillcrest Heights, Oxon Hill and Fort Foote, Maryland. They aren’t related to the Juveniles I featured on an acetate a few weeks back.
“I Wish I Could” is first rate garage with a pounding drums, lots of sustain on the guitar solo, and good harmony vocals, all drenched in echo. The flip is a ballad, “What Can I Do”. Both songs were written by Keller and Clark, though publishing info shows Danny Keller only.
Karl Dersch’s father managed the group, and sometime after this photo Dean Dersch also joined the band. Jimmy Clark’s sister Joyce Williams told me Jimmy has since passed away. She also mentioned that the beautiful double-necked Mosrite was the first sold on the East Coast.
The Zap label was from the Mt. Rainier neighborhood just outside Washington, D.C. No connection to the Tennessee label of the same name which released the Starlites’ “Wait For Me”.
Special thanks to Joyce for sending the photo of the group.
The Bedforde Set, from the top: Bill Singer, Steve Schein, Norman Bull, and Louis Miller.
The Bedforde Set formed in Silver Spring and Rockville, Maryland, with members William Singer lead guitar, Lewis Miller organ, Norman Bull bass and Steve Schein drums.
I heard from a fan who told me they started out as the Jaguars. They also took 2nd place at the Cap Center in a national battle-of-the-bands.
“The World Through a Tear” was a cover of a Neil Sedaka song. The Jan. 21, 1967 issue of Billboard predicted the single would reach the Billboard Hot 100, but I haven’t seen any record of it in the charts. “Girl, Go Run Away” is a fine original by the band and has appeared on several ’60s garage compilations over the years. Production by Joe René.
I’ve heard of an earlier 45 by Ronnie Dean and the Bedforde Set, “Oh Don’t You Know” / “Little Girl”, but wasn’t sure if it was the same group until Bill Singer wrote to me with some information on the group and the photo at top:
We did back up Ronnie Dean and recorded some songs with him.
The way we got signed was that our manager Hirsch Dela Viez, set up an audition at a dance we were playing. RCA sent down a scout, and was impressed that we sounded good vocally live. When asked if we had original material, of course we said yes. So we went to RCA in NY and did a demo. Turned out great so we eventually recorded 6-8 songs. “The World Through a Tear” was not one of them. We came back to DC and got a call to go work with Joe Rene on a Neal Sedaka remake, “The World Through a Tear”. Went back to NY and cut the record.
It was a toss up between “Girl Go Runaway” or “The World Through a Tear” as to the first release. The publishing company that owned the rights put up 25,000 for promotion. So “The World Through a Tear” was released, backed by “Girl Go Runaway”.
Got a lot of airplay in major cities. I heard it sold around 100,000. Joe Rene wrote “Tossing and Turning”. I have some pix of the RCA sessions.
We were asked to tour to support the record, and RCA fronted the money. But, Steve and Louis had just started college, I was teaching and we had to make a decision whether or not we wanted to give up guaranteed work. Well, common sense won out. We were making a fortune playing one-nighters in the area, and were booked a year in advance. We could do four part harmonies and covers of just about everything. So, our recording days came to an end. The band disbanded in 69-70.
I went on to work for ARP instruments. Helped develop the Avatar guitar synthesizer, and became their guitar product specialist. Got to travel all over the world and retired from the music business in 1985. Bought some land in WV and built two log homes, which is the quintessential hippy dream. For the past 19 years I have worked with children with autism and have a studio that keeps me busy.
Earliest known pic of the original Hangmen with (from left) first bass player Mike (Walters) West, George Daly, Dave Ottley, Tom Guernsey and Bob Berberich
The Hangmen formed at Montgomery Junior College, and included bassist Mike West and rhythm guitarist George Daly. They were joined by fellow students Tom Guernsey and Bob Berberich, whose previous group the Reekers, dispersed when other members went away to college.
Looking for a vocalist, George Daly called the British Embassy asking for someone who was British and could sing! The person he talked to referred him to a girl who could sing, who in turn recommended Dave Ottley, a hairdresser for Vincent Hair Stylists who had been in the U.S. for two years at that time. Variously reported in articles about the Hangmen as being from Liverpool or London, Ottley was actually from Glasgow, Scotland.
First press on the group, from the Washington Evening Star of April 3, 1965. The Hangmen lose a battle of the bands at the Shirlington Shopping Center to the Shadows.
In early summer of ’65, the band’s managers Larry Sealfon and Mike Klavens played “What a Girl Can’t Do” for Fred Foster of Monument Records. Lillian Claiborne graciously released Tom from his contract with her and Foster signed him – only Tom as he was the songwriter and leader of the Reekers.
Since Joe Triplett and Mike Henley were committed to college, Tom decided, against his own preferences, to work with the Hangmen as his band. Monument then released the Reekers’ recordings of “What a Girl Can’t Do” and “The Girl Who Faded Away” under the Hangmen’s name, even though only Tom and Bob Berberich had played on them.
Some sources report that the Hangmen rerecorded the “The Girl Who Faded Away” for the Monument 45. A close listen shows that the Hangmen’s Monument 45 version uses the same instrumental backing as the Reekers’ original Edgewood acetate. The vocal track does not match the demo, with different lyrics, but the lead vocalist is the same (Triplett I think). The acetate also runs about 24 seconds longer than the Monument 45.
Confusion also exists about “What A Girl Can’t Do”, but there should be no doubt, the Monument 45 version released under the Hangmen’s name is actually the Reekers. In 1966 the Hangmen recorded their own version of the song for their LP, which sounds very different.
Arnold Stahl, a lawyer, and Mike Klavans of WTTG formed 427 Enterprises to promote the band. Their connections landed gigs for the Hangmen in embassies and a mention in Newsweek. One memorable event was playing a party for Robert Kennedy’s family and getting drunk in their kitchen!
Despite these connections, the Hangmen were still primarily a suburban band, playing for kids at parties and shopping malls but not getting into the clubs like the big DC acts like the British Walkers and the Chartbusters. This would change as the Monument 45 of “What a Girl Can’t Do” started gaining momentum locally.
Algerian Ambassador and Cherif Guellal (in tux) and former Miss America Yolande Fox to his left, with Dave Ottley on the far right and Tom Guernsey behind Yolande, 1966. Photo by Frank Hoy.
Billboard, 2/19/66: Hangmen Cause ‘Swingalong’
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Jack Shaver, owner of Giant Record Shop, said last week a mob of teen-agers turned out to hear The Hangmen (4) and when police cleared the store because the crowd created a fire hazard a near-riot ensued.
Shaver said browser bins and display cases were smashed and two girls and a boy fainted during the chaos. He said damage was estimated at $500.
Shaver said The Hangmen are from the nearby Washington area and are local favorites. He said he had sold about 2,500 copies of their single, ‘”What a Girl Can’t Do”‘, on Monument, and it was No. 1 on local charts.
He said school was out that day because of snow and the store began filling up at noon for the 4 p.m. show. He estimated 400 ‘were jammed and packed’ inside and some 1,500 were outside.
Shaver said traffic was snarled, police came, declared the gathering a fire hazard and began clearing the store. He said The Hangmen had been playing 15 minutes at the time and it took half an hour to disperse the crowd.
Shaver said he had had record stars perform at his store before, including Johnny Rivers, Johnny Tillotson, Peter and Gordon, and Ramsey Lewis, ‘but they never created anything like this.’
He said he did not have insurance to cover the loss.
The Hangmen, May 1966.Dave Ottley signing for fans
“What a Girl Can’t Do” knocked the Beatles’ We Can Work It Out/Day Tripper out of the top spot of the charts for Arlington radio station WEAM on Feb. 7, 1966. On a national level, though, Monument wasn’t doing enough to promote the 45. “What a Girl Can’t Do” remained only a local hit. Their best opportunity had been wasted, but from their perspective as the top band in the D.C. area, success seemed certain.
Tom chose to quit college when an offer to play the Jerry Blavat TV show coincided with his final exams in late 1966. On the show, the Hangmen played “What a Girl Can’t Do” then backed the Impressions on a version of “Money”. (If anyone has a copy of this, please get in touch!) The Hangmen played all along the east coast from New York down to Florida, doing shows with the Animals, Martha Reeves, the Yardbirds, the Count Five, the Dave Clark Five and the Shangri-Las among others. Tom remembers Link Wray coming up on stage during a Hangmen show, borrowing a guitar and launching into a long version of Jack the Ripper. Link played solo after solo while Tom’s arm nearly fell off trying to keep up the rhythm!
Profile of the Hangmen in the May 8, 1966 Sunday magazine of the Washington Evening Star:
The Hangmen recorded a fine follow up, “Faces”, and this time Monument put some money into promotion, taking out a full page ad in the trade magazines. Propelled by fuzz guitar and a heavy bass line, “Faces” is a tough garage number with a fine vocal by Ottley. Tom points out that the song finishes quite a bit faster than it starts, making it difficult for those on the dance floor to keep up! The flip is another Guernsey/Daly original, “Bad Goodbye”, which features studio musician Charlie McCoy on harmonica.
By this time Mike West had left the band and Paul Dowell plays bass on “Faces”. After its release, Ottley moved to London and was replaced by Tony Taylor. The Hangmen went into Monument Studios in Nashville to record their album Bittersweet. Remakes of “What a Girl Can’t Do” and “Faces” on the album fall flat compared to the 45 versions. Monument pushed the band into recording a version of “Dream Baby”, produced by Buzz Cason and released as the A-side of their last 45. The band does a good job with a slamming beat and catchy guitar and sitar sounds, but I can’t help but feel it’s not the right song for the band.
Dave Ottley
I prefer some of the other album tracks, like their extended psychedelic version of “Gloria”, the tough sounds of “Isn’t That Liz” and “Terrible Tonight”, the delicate “Everytime I Fall in Love”, and “I Want to Get to Know You”, which sounds something like the Lovin’ Spoonful.
An announcement in the May 17, 1967 edition of the Star Ledger said that the Hangmen had changed their name to The Button to pursue further psychedelic stylings. Paul Dowell and George Daly were already out of the group and replaced by Alan Flower, who had been bassist for the Mad Hatters, and George Strunz. By June Tom Guernsey had left the band to be replaced by John Sears, and the group were being billed as “The Button, formerly The Hangmen.”
Relocating to New York, the Button cut an unreleased session for RCA and played at Steve Paul’s The Scene on West 46th St. and at the Cafe Au Go Go on Bleeker. Berberich left the band leaving Tony Taylor as the only one of the Hangmen still in the group. They band changed its name to Graffiti, recording for ABC.
Meanwhile, Tom Guernsey produced a legendary 45 for the D.C. band the Piece Kor, “All I Want Is My Baby” / “Words of the Raven”. He also wrote, produced and played on a great 45 by another Montgomery County band, the Omegas, “I Can’t Believe”. For the Omegas’ session, Tom played guitar and piano, Leroy Otis drums, and Joe Triplett sang, with backing vocals by the Jewels.
Bob Berberich briefly drummed with The Puzzle then joined George Daly and Paul Dowell in Dolphin a group that featured the young Nils Lofgrin. Berberich stayed with Lofgrin through Grin, while Paul Dowell of Hangmen became equipment manager for the Jefferson Airplane, and George Daly went on to A&R with Elektra Records.
Tom Guernsey deserves a special word of thanks for giving his time to answer my many questions, and also for loaning me the Evening Star magazine.
List of original releases by the Hangmen:
45s: What a Girl Can’t Do / The Girl Who Faded Away – Monument 910, released Nov. 1965 Faces / Bad Goodbye – Monument 951, released June 1966 Dream Baby / Let It Be Me – Monument 983, released 1966
LP: Bittersweet – Monument SLP 18077, released 1966
Update
Tom Guernsey passed away on October 3, 2012 in Portland, Oregon, followed less than two months later by David Ottley, on November 27, 2012.
from left: Tom Guernsey, George Daly, Dave Ottley (center with white shirt), and Paul DowellHangmen with Dave Ottley on vocalsWhat a Girl Can’t Do at #1 on WEAM Top 40 hits February 7, 1966Billboard, July 9, 1966
Three members of the Reekers with friends from left: Mike Henley, Mack McCune, Tom Guernsey, John Guernsey (bottom right) and John Hall. Mack McCune and John Hall were friends of the band standing-in for absent Reekers.
Tom Guernsey formed the Reekers in late 1963 with his brother John Guernsey and friends from Garrett Park, MD, a small town outside of Bethesda and a short distance from Washington D.C. Bass players and drummers would change over time, but the core of the band was always Tom Guernsey on guitar, Joe Triplett on vocals and Mike Henley on piano.
While playing the beach resorts at Ocean City in the summer of ’64, rich friend Toby Mason became interested in the band and offered to pay for studio session time. The Reekers first session didn’t go well, but then they went into Edgewood Recording Studio on K Street in downtown D.C. Engineer and owner Ed Green asked Tom whether they wanted to record in one track or two. When Tom asked what was the difference, Green said one track is $10 an hour, two would be $20 an hour! The Reekers went with one track, no overdubs, to record two original instrumentals that would make Link Wray proud.
Tom’s lead guitar and Joe Triplett’s screams combine with Jim Daniels’ ferocious take on surf drumming for “Don’t Call Me Fly Face” (named for the Dick Tracy villian). On “Grindin'”, Richard Solo makes incredible bass runs behind a bluesy guitar workout from Tom, accompanied by Henley’s keyboards and Triplett’s interjections (‘keep grindin’, ‘look good to me now’, ‘keep walkin’ boy’!)
Tom brought an acetate of the session to Lillian Claiborne, a legendary D.C. record producer. Claiborne had been Patsy Cline’s manager early on in her career, and was responsible for recording and supporting many local acts, especially soul and r&b artists. She released some records on her own DC label and leased other masters to labels around the country.
Claiborne signed Tom to a production contract and sent the Reekers to Rufus Mitchell, owner of Baltimore’s Ru-Jac Records, a label usually known for soul music. With Claiborne’s assurance of airplay on WWDC, Mitchell released the Reekers 45. The small first pressing lists Tom as sole writer of both songs. When that sold out, Ru-Jac ran a second press, this time correcting the songwriting credits on “Grindin'” to give John Guernsey co-credit.
The Reekers never saw any money from this record, but it garnered them some attention. Local teen maven Ronnie Oberman profiled the band in the Washington Evening Star on April 17, 1965. About this time they went back to Edgewood to record a beautiful ballad, “The Girl Who Faded Away”. For this session Mike Griffin played bass and Bob Berberich replaced Daniels on the drums. This song shows some considerable development in the band, from Tom Guernsey’s songwriting to the harmony vocals and the band’s delicate handling of the arrangement. The band took a demo to the WWDC program director who had pushed “Flyface”. Not only did he pass on it, but his remark that they should stay an instrumental band disappointed vocalist Joe Triplett.
For his next song, Tom worked out a riff on piano loosely based on an instrumental he heard on the radio. The song he wrote around that riff, “What a Girl Can’t Do”, would change the fortunes of him and the rest of the Reekers.
The band went to Rodel Studio in Georgetown, a larger studio than Edgewood, but with a less competent staff. By sheer accident the engineer captured an echo-laden drum sound that gave the song an instant hook. Tom took all but two strings off his guitar so he could play the riff cleanly. Joe Triplett delivered the lyrics with sneering satisfaction, his voice perfectly suited to the lyrics. Though the words were a Stones-like put-down, musically the song shows little influence of the British Invasion. This was the first time the band had tried overdubs, including Joe on the harmonica solo and Tom’s repeating high guitar notes that take the song out.
Guernsey received some instant feedback on whether this song had a chance at a hit: Mike Griffin, hired as bass player for the session, had been offered either $20 or a percentage of the record. Initially he wanted the $20, but on hearing the playback in the studio he changed his mind and asked for the percentage!
Just as the Reekers were getting attention around DC with “Don’t Call Me Flyface”, the band dispersed, with Mike Henley and Joe Triplett going away to college. Tom and Bob Berberich joined another band, the Hangmen, with bassist Mike West and rhythm guitarist George Daly, fellow students at Montgomery Junior College.
Fate would strike in the early summer of ’65, when Hangmen manager Larry Sealfon played “What a Girl Can’t Do” for Fred Foster of Monument Records. Lillian Claiborne graciously released Tom from his contract with her and Foster signed him – only Tom as he was the songwriter and leader of the Reekers. Since Joe Triplett and Mike Henley were committed to college, Tom decided, against his own preferences, to work with the Hangmen as his band. Monument then released the Reekers’ recording of “What a Girl Can’t Do” under the Hangmen’s name, even though the only Hangmen that had played on it were Tom and Bob Berberich.
Some sources report that the Hangmen rerecorded the “The Girl Who Faded Away” for the Monument 45. A close listen shows that the Hangmen’s Monument 45 version uses the same instrumental backing as the Reekers’ original Edgewood acetate. The vocal track does not match the demo, with different lyrics, but the lead vocalist is the same (Triplett I think). The acetate also runs about 24 seconds longer than the Monument 45.
Confusion also exists about “What A Girl Can’t Do”, but there should be no doubt, the Monument 45 version released under the Hangmen’s name is actually the Reekers. In 1966 the Hangmen recorded their own version of the song for their LP, which sounds very different.
Though the Hangmen spelled the end of the Reekers, Tom now considers a number of his later projects with Joe Triplet (and often with Mike Henley, Sam Goodall and Bob Berberich) to be extensions of the Reekers, including a 45 released as the Omegas, and later recordings like 1972’s “Night Time of My Lifetime” and “Streakin’ U.S.A.”.Bob Berberich stayed with the Hangmen after Guernsey left the group, and would go on to join Dolphin with George Daly and Paul Dowell of the Hangmen and Nils Lofgrin, and then join Lofgrin’s own group, Grin.
Joe Triplett and Mike Henley joined a group called Claude Jones, John Guernsey joined the group soon after and became one of their primary songwriters. Joe Triplett later formed the Rosslyn Mountain Boys.
Meet The Reekers, a 20-track CD including the originals of Don’t Call Me Flyface and Grindin’, the Omegas’ I Can’t Believe and five ccver versions of What a Girl Can’t Do, is available at CD Baby, which also has Tom’s instrumental album, Same Place, Different Time.
Tom is working on a film inspired by the Reekers story called “The Girl From California”. He asked me to include this clip from the film:
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The Reekers never saw any money from this record, but it garnered them some attention. Local teen maven Ronnie Oberman profiled the band in the Washington Evening Star on April 17, 1965. About this time they went back to Edgewood to record a beautiful ballad, “The Girl Who Faded Away”. For this session Mike Griffin played bass and Bob Berberich replaced Daniels on the drums. This song shows some considerable development in the band, from Tom Guernsey’s songwriting to the harmony vocals and the band’s delicate handling of the arrangement. The band took a demo to the WWDC program director who had pushed “Flyface”. Not only did he pass on it, but his remark that they should stay an instrumental band disappointed vocalist Joe Triplett.