Category Archives: Dearborn

Categories: Dearborn, Dearborn, Detroit, Michigan, Unknown

The Jammers

March 14, 2016 Chris Bishop 1 Comment

Like other groups on Dearborn Records or with Chetkay Music publishing, I can’t find much info on the Jammers. Jack Groendal and Gerry Snyder wrote both sides and were likely members of the group.

The keyboard and lead guitar blend to make a good hook for the peppy “You’re Gonna Love Me Too”. “I Didn’t Mean To Make You Cry” works well as a ballad.

The songs were released on Dearborn D-519, published by Chetkay Music BMI in July, 1965.

I wonder if Jack Groendal is any relation to Zocko Groendal who played with the Lansing, MI band the Woolies, famous for their version of “Who Do You Love” on Dunhill.

Categories: Dearborn, Detroit, Insite, Michigan, Unknown

John Does “One Kind Favor” on INsite

March 4, 2016 Chris Bishop 2 Comments

John Does is an appropriate name for this group because nothing was known about them until Ron Domilici sent in a scan of the promo sheet seen at top. The band does one of the very best versions of “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean”.

I don’t know where the John Does learned their version of the song, it was done by many artists in the early ’60s. The alternate title “One Kind Favor” was used by Peter, Paul and Mary on their live album in ’64, and this may have been their source.

On the flip is “I’ll Never Take You Back”, an original by Roy R. Fernandez. The instrumentation is the same, but it lacks the mood, production quality and intensity of “One Kind Favor”. Strangely this side has a much different RCA master number, T4KM 8798 comparted to T4KM 2383, though both seem to be from the second half of 1966.

The promo sheet lists the group name as The John Doe, and the members of the group as:

Roy Fernandez – guitar
Bill White – bass
John Farion – harmonica and organ
Ken Everts – drums

Ernie Statton – manager
Dave Fox – producer

It also lists the record label as Insight instead of INsite, and seems to suggest they recorded “Diddley Daddy”.

Publishing for both sides was through Davenbar Music BMI. Fernandez copyrighted this and one other original, “Leavin’ that Girl Behind” in July of 1966. Not a bad title for a song, but I can’t find a release with that title by any artist.

Released as Insite 45-1001, Insite Records a division of Metro Productions Inc. but I don’t know of any other releases on Insite. The label typography is cool, though the small “s” in Does may have caused more confusion than anything else.

This is an early credit for the engineer Milan Bogdan, who would soon engineer singles by the Rationals, the Scot Richard Case, SRC, the MC5, Funkadelic and many, many others. I’m not sure which studio the John Does.

Dave Fox produced the record. David Fox and Davenbar Music publishing coincide on one soul single from 1964, the Dynamics “And That’s a Natural Fact” / “I Wanna Know” on Big Top 516, both songs written by Joseph W. McArthur. and co-published with Noma Music.

Special thank you to Ron Domilici for sending in the promo flyer.

Categories: Dearborn, Dearborn, Detroit, Michigan

The Detroit Riots

February 12, 2016 Chris Bishop 6 Comments

The Detroit Riots are an obscure group with one of my favorite singles on the Dearborn Records label. The A-side “Pebble Stone” has a commercial music track but buries the lead vocal. I prefer the flip, “A Fast Way to Die” for the contrast between the rhythm and lead guitar and a set of lyrics that fits the vocalist’s style.

Harry Wallace wrote both songs, copyrighted May, 1969 and published by ChetKay Music BMI.

Tome Webber arranged “Pebble Stone” and Elmer Wallace produced “A Fast Way to Die”.

According to a comment on a youtube video, the bass player was Paul Strothers. I don’t know the names of any other members.

Like the Chomps single I posted yesterday, Dearborn Records was a product of M.S.K Productions, and both singles share publishing by ChetKay. It’s also a Columbia custom press, ZTSC-142387/8.

Categories: Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Detroit, Kool Kat, Michigan

The Chomps “Lookout World” / “Kiss My Lips” on Kool Kat

February 11, 2016 Chris Bishop 2 Comments

The Chomps released one pop side, “Kiss My Lips (One More Time)” (Kaplan, Rabinowitz for Chetkay, BMI and Floss, BMI) b/w a nifty, tongue-in-cheek biker tribute, “Lookout World” (Wilkins, Kaplan for Chetkay, BMI) on Kool Kat KK-1002 in 1968.

I thought the Chomps were likely a studio concoction, but a commenter below describes them as an actual group, possibly from the Ann Arbor area.

Copyright records show the names on the labels as Steve Rabinowitz and Eddy Marvin Kaplan, a songwriting team who sometimes used the aliases Steve Robins and Eddy Kay. Eddy Kaplan produced and arranged the Chomps single, and produced other area singles, like the Trademarks “If I Was Gone”. I’m not sure who Wilkins refers to.

Kool Kat is otherwise a soul label, run by M.S.K. Productions, Detroit, Michigan. The Chomps was a Columbia custom pressing, ZTSC 127041/2

Kool Kat 1001 – Joe Matthews – “(You Better) Check Yourself)” (C. McMurray, W. Hampton) / “Ain’t Nothin’ You Can Do”
Kool Kat 1003 – Hindal Butts – “Giggin” (Butts, Hicks, Block, instrumental, ZTSC 107007) / “Happiness (Is So Far Away)”
Kool Kat 1004 – Virgil Murray’s Tomorrow’s Yesterday – “I Still Care” (Huff, Murray, McGuire) / “Summer Dreamin'” (also released on Airtown A-015)

The Soul Source site gives some background on these names:

MSK stands for Martin, Schneider and Kajeski, who owned M-S records, Detroit. Chester J Kajeski owned the music publisher Chetkay, that published the Silky Hargraves tracks (DBA CHETKAY Music Pub, 15401 Tirman, DEARBORN, MI) Kool Kat records were a division of MSK productions, Detroit. Martin & Schneider also owned Marquee records, distributed by MSK productions. Marquee & Dearborn were run out of the same building in Dearborn.

Marquee put out the Free’s “Decision For Lost Soul Blue”. Dearborn is a cool label that had some in-demand soul singles, as well as rock stuff by Tino & the Revlons, the Undecided, H.T. & the Green Flames, the Jammers, Me & Dem Guys, and the Detroit Riots.

Categories: Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Detroit, Michigan, Wheels 4

The King’s Court “Don’t Put Me On” on Wheel’s 4 Records

December 28, 2010 Chris Bishop 14 Comments

For years I’ve seen white-label copies of the King’s Court record with only stamped titles and the words “Test Pressing”. Until recently I assumed they were bootlegs. I’ve since read they are originals, pressed at the same time as the standard green label copies. There even exist some copies with blank white labels.

I don’t have a green label 45 to compare, but I’ll list the deadwax info from my stamped copy: both sides of the dead wax have the Nashville Matrix stamp, and “95” etched into the vinyl. “Don’t Put Me On” has “WH 3613-A” etched into the dead wax, along with a separate etching of “WH 6̶3̶1̶3̶A̶” (partially crossed out). The flip has the Nashville Matrix stamp, the “95” and “WH-3613-B”. The 95 is code for the Archer Record Pressing in Detroit.

“Don’t Put Me On” has the band playing a steady groove behind a repetitive, buzzing guitar figure. The opening line is “Girl you better not cheat on me” and the lyrics alternate between warning the girl and pleading with her. “Don’t Put Me On” is an original by Holowicki, Suba and Grihorash and published through Jamaica Pub, BMI. The flip is a cover of “Midnight Hour” that’s better than most versions I’ve heard.

Members of the King’s Court were:

John Holowicki – lead vocals
Aaron Dytiniak – lead guitar
Craig Suba – rhythm guitar
Brian Cramer – keyboards
Mike Grihorash – bass
Bill Barent – drums

Anyone have a photo of the band?

Bill Barent, drummer for the band wrote:

Craig Suba one of the guitar players was installing drapes at our house and heard me playing the drums down the basement. When I came up he asked me if I would be interested in playing in a band. That’s how it all started. The recording studio was in a basement in Dearborn it was a great experience. Grew up in Dearborn Heights, Michigan that’s where all the members of the group lived.
After the Kings Court I played in 10 piece Soul Band called Dan Riley and the Soul Review. I played in the U. S. Army, we put a group together and won 1st Army Entertainment Contest. Later on after I was married I just did weddings and some club work.

The Wheels 4 Records label had a tag, “The Dearborn Sound”, but since that city is just west of Detroit the Kings Court and other bands on the label could have come from anywhere in the area. The records I’ve seen list Bryan Dombrowski as engineer, and I’ve also read he owned the label, though I see Jim Walters is credited as producer on several Wheels 4 sides.

Some of the better Wheels 4 releases include:

3609 – House of Commons “Til Tomorrow” (Tony Franciosi) / “Love Is a Funny Thing”
3611 – Innsmen “I Don’t Know” (Vince Goldsmith) / “Things Are Different Now”
3619 – Hearsemen “I Get That Feeling” / “Christianne” (both by Chris Brent)

There was a three CD set of Wheels 4 recordings, including many unreleased sides, issued in 1994.

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