When this 45 by the Kaleidoscope Machine came up for auction this summer, I threw a bid out for about a third of its reputed value. To my surprise, and subsequent financial distress, I won it. The band had only 200 copies pressed in October, 1967, distributing them to local radio stations. Those copies are mostly lost and this is considered a very rare single now.

According to Buckeye Beat, Dennis Anthony was a student at Toledo University and wrote original songs. He formed a band with his wife’s younger brother and a couple other high school students from the small town of Petersburg, MI, about 30 miles from Toledo. The Kaleidoscope Machine did some shows in Petersburg and Toledo. The band stayed together only a short time, but it was enough to record two of Dennis Anthony’s songs at a radio studio.

The band rocks behind Dennis on “Why”, while “We Can’t Wait” is more subdued. The lyrics to both songs are simple and impassioned, but the performances have a confidence that elevates them above many other singles in this vein. The rarity of this 45 has kept these songs from being compiled and few people have heard either.

Anthony wrote both songs for Barthmare Music, BMI, though I can’t find any trace of them in BMI’s online database. The label is DAB Records, which I assume was short for Dennis Anthony Barthmare. Master #s are 20577/8.

Anyone have a photo of the group?