Midnight Shift came from Redford Township, Michigan, at the northwest tip of Detroit. Above is the Midnight Shift right before becoming the Thomas Blood Band. The original bass player was Ken Mose (not in photo), the photo shows his replacement, Ken Victor.

Members were:

George Werenka (stage name George Whitfield) – vocals
Ed Pianasac (stage name Ed Jeffries) – guitar and vocals
Ken Mose, replaced by Ken Victor – bass and vocals
Bob Colone – drums and vocals

Their first release was “She’s Gone Far Away” b/w “Never Gonna Stop Lovin’ You”, both written by Ed Jeffreys and recorded sometime in late 1966.

The A-side is a gentle kind of love song while the flip has a harder sound with droning guitar and Bob Colane pounding the drums.

The band refined their sound for the next single in ’67, creating two beautiful melancholy compositions using acoustic guitar for rhythm.

“Every Day Without You”, written by Jeffries and Fazzio, is the more upbeat of the two, with excellent harmonies and hooks.

“Just Another Day”, written by Jeffries and Colone, is gentler and sadder, featuring a beautiful San Francisco-influenced electric solo.

They recorded both singles at M-S-I Recording Company in Livonia (next door to Redford). The band’s manager Bud Fazzio produced both singles.

I don’t know of other groups that used M-S-I Recording, I suspect it was the band’s own rehearsal or studio space.

Midnight Shift changed into the Thomas Blood Band, who played at the nearby Grande Ballroom and continues with different lineups to the present day.

Bob Lelli of the Thomas Blood Band sent in the photo at top and wrote to me:

Bob Colone, Ed Jeffries and Ken Victor started Thomas Blood Band playing at the Grande with the Turtles, T-Rex, Jeff Beck & Rod Stewart and more. Bob Colone came out front from drums, they got another drummer and he was lead vocalist until his drowning in 1973. At the time in negotiation for a recording contract with London Records and more. Thomas Blood still plays today. We are doing the 50th Grande Ballroom Anniversary Concert with the Yardbirds and more on Oct 8th, 2016.

Thank you to Kim for the photos below (can anyone help ID the members on these?)

http://www.motorcitymusicarchives.com/thomasblood.html
Some photos of the members of Thomas Blood Band can be seen at Motor City Music Archives.