Category Archives: New York

Categories: Audition, New York, Nu Sound Ltd., Rochester, Upstate New York

Audition and Nu Sound Ltd. discographies

September 11, 2010 Chris Bishop 5 Comments

Al Cecere owned the record labels Audition and Nu Sound Ltd., of Rochester, New York. It seems Cecere changed the label’s name to Nu Sound Ltd. with release #6111 by the Wee Four. Any help completing this discography, or info on Al Cecere’s productions or Riposo Studios would be appreciated.

Discography:

Audition

6102 – The Vaqueros – Desert Wind / Echo (both by Weld-Heath-Corona)
6103 – Dick Jans Duo – I Am (Edwards, Shuman) / Venus (the Frankie Avalon hit) – June 64
6104 – The Vitrones – Linda (Cheshire, Couto, Downing) / London Fog (licensed to Barry, #3326X in Canada)
6105 – America’s Children – Do-Maka / No Need For Blame (1965)
6106 – America’s Children – Star / Swinging Christmas (1965)
6107 – The Heard – Laugh with the Wind (Jeff Wheat and Brad Wheat) / Stop It Baby (Karim Copli) (mentioned in Billboard, May 7, 1966)
6108
6109 – The Humans – Take a Taxi / Warning (both by Bill Kuhns, Jr.)
6110 – The Rogues – Train Kept a-Rollin’ / You Better Look Now (Jim Perotti*, Bob Radell*, Mike Spriggs)

Nu Sound Ltd.

6111 – The Wee Four – Weird (James Obi, T. Pilittere) / Give Me a Try
6112 – Terry Pilittere – It’s Not That Way / You Wouldn’t Believe Me
6113 – Pete Morticelli – Lost / If You See Me

* correct spellings of these two Rogues names are Jim Pierotti and Bob Radel.

Most originals on Audition and “Weird” by the Wee Four 45 published by Cecere Music, BMI.

The Heard have an unreleased song, “Leave Well Alone” on a Capitol Custom acetate.

The Montereys “Bye Bye” / “Sheryl-ane” also recorded at Riposo Studios.

Thank you to Davie Gordon for his help with this discography.

Categories: Nassau County, New York, Rockville Centre, Showcase

Yesterday’s Children “Wanna Be With You” / “Feelings” on Showcase

August 8, 2010 Chris Bishop 10 Comments

Yesterday’s Children, one of many groups by that name. Released in September, 1966, “Wanna Be With You” / “Feelings” was this particular group’s only 45, both sides written by Don Krantz.

“Wanna Be With You” was the top side. It starts off cooly as can be and builds, but the chorus comes as something of a letdown after the tension in the verses.

For me, it’s “Feelings” that has the magic. The bass floods the opening and I’m immediately hooked. The patented garage rhythm and Farfisa organ kick in and the background chorus repeats what, as far as I can make out, is the phrase “sure enough!” over and over through the verse.

There’s a great moment before the chorus as the bass (plugged directly into the board but still so well recorded and mastered) slides down the neck. You couldn’t ask for a better scream at the end of the chorus. The guitar break is nicely by the book – four bars of bluesy soloing and four bars of just one note picked in sixteenths until the emphatic return to the rhythm.

My feelings inside are [of?] this day and age
And society.
Those people walking around down there they say
“Alright now, who are you?
You walk around looking like a girl wearing boots up high and pigtails”.
What’d I say?
Who are you?
You tell me what I should do,
You got your feelings,
But mine are true – whaah!
My feelings inside are this day and age
And society
Those people walking around down there they say
“Alright now, who are you?”
They tell you how to dress, how to wear your hair,
Not giving you the chance to think for yourself.
What’d I say?
Who are you?
You tell me what I should do,
You got your feelings,
But mine are true – whaah!

The Showcase label was part of Pickwick International based out of Long Island City in Queens. This 45 was produced by Ronnie Eden and Joe Simmons, with publishing by Impeccable Music and Barmour Music. Joe Simmons had a long career dating back to the late ’50s as both singer, song writer and producer, with many releases in one of those roles on Josie, Diamond and other labels. He had one other co-production with Ronnie Eden: The Ground Floor People “Walking on Eggs” / “It’s All Right Now”, (on Parfait 101, from 1966).

Exactly where Yesterday’s Children came from and who was in the band was something of a mystery until recently. I’d read them listed as being from Valhalla in Westchester County, but the only basis for that was the fact that Don Krantz also was in a hard-rock group called Valhalla. In actual fact they came from Rockville Centre in Nassau County, Long Island.

I reached Don Howard Krantz who answered some of my questions about the band:

Q. Who else was in Yesterday’s Children besides yourself?
Bob Huling – vocals
Don Howard Krantz – guitar
Rich D’Benideto
Dave Natis – keyboard
Joe Delio – bass
Fred Davenport – drums
Q. So was Yesterday’s Children your band between the Vibratones and Valhalla? Did you have other bands before Valhalla?
I had many bands thru the years (I won’t list them because we didn’t last long). The Vibratones included Mike “Eppy” Epstein (my oldest friend) who went on to own Never When (store) and was the owner & manager of My Father’s Place, famous club in Roslyn, Long Island. Eppy & I grew up together, his book is coming out in the fall. Yesterdays Children lineup was brand new.
Q. Did the band last long?
Probably three years…with various band members.
Q. How did you get the Pickwick contract?
Ronnie Eden heard me play at a club & approached me, we talk’d & he offered me a recording contract / management and I (being the only song writer) went with it. Remember I was only 17 yrs old at the time. Started playing guitar at 9 yrs. I will never forget the drive into New York City in the back seat of Ronnie’s car…but that’s another story.
Q. Do you remember any specifics about the recording session?
After the 45 was released i told the bass player (best friend at the time) to leave the band. We were all changing musically & he couldn’t. The sessions were tuff as I recall, get’n the bass right, & if you listen real close to “Wanna Be With You” the bass hits a wrong note.
The president of Pickwick was in the sound booth with the whole family….wife & kids….& I thought that was killing the moment/feel. I think I ask’d to have the light turned down so have a live club feel.
I have three or four Yesterday’s Children tunes that were rough demos done by me & Bobby Huling. I may add some other parts, mix down & upload on YouTube …. but that’s way in the future.
Bob Huling & I (best friends) went on to start Euphoria with Mark Mangold later to become Valhalla. Mark went on to play with many bands & co-wrote with Michael Bolton for Cher. For a long time I was teaching guitar & producing some & doing the unplugged thing on acoustic guitar. The Don Howard Band – Poet’s Road came next & was mixed & mastered by Jack Douglas who won a grammy for John Lennon’s last album. The DHBand is now “Poets Road” and we work on a new album in 11/12.

I’ve seen photos of the Vibratones from 1963 and Valhalla from 1967 on, but none featuring Yesterday’s Children. If anyone has any please contact me at rchrisbishop@gmail.com.

Categories: B.T. Puppy, New York, Unknown

The Rock Garden

June 13, 2010 Chris Bishop 1 Comment

Not the Rock Garden from Arkansas who recorded “Super Stuff” for the Revise label, or the Georgia group who cut “Starry Eyed Woman” for Prophet, or even the one from Michigan (formerly Frederic) who recorded for Capitol. This Rock Garden seems to be an unknown group, possibly only a studio creation.

Released in 1968, “Sweet Pajamas”, written by Jason Schulman, was nearly forgotten for years. I could call this psychedelia-by-numbers due to the anonymity of the group, elaborate production touches like the harpsichord break, and an instrumental middle section taking after the Dead or Mad River. Despite these criticisms, the disparate parts add up to a gem of a song with an endearing hook. The musicianship is professional: the drums crack on the stop-and-start tempo changes, the bass nicely doubles the vocal melody and the rhythm guitar loosens up in the second half of the song.

The B.T. Puppy label was owned by the vocal group the Tokens. Their hit “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” was recently discussed on a garage forum as being possibly the most unbearable song of the ’60s. Regardless, by 1967 the Tokens used their harmonies and writing skills to craft some fine psychedelic pop for their LP It’s a Happening World, including “For All that I Am” that the Creation would cover for one of their final singles, and a brief vignette called “Perhaps, the Joy of Giving”.

On the B-side of the Rock Garden single, “Perhaps, the Joy of Giving” is extended to two minutes, laden with effects and voices.

The 45 was produced by Elliot Weiss & Bright Tunes Productions, engineered by Wally Sheffey.

Categories: Bazaar, New York, Ossining, Ren-Vell, Westchester

Raunch

February 16, 2010 Chris Bishop 14 Comments

Sandy Katz – rhythm guitar and vocals
Jay Manning – lead guitar
Frank Taxiera – bass
Tommy Walker – drums

Raunch were from Ossining with the exception of Sandy Katz, their lead vocalist and songwriter, who was from Briarcliff Manor. Raunch’s great cover of Paul Revere & the Raiders’ “Hungry” leads off the fabulous Ren-Vell Records Presents Battle of the Bands Vol. 1 LP.

Raunch recording at Ren-Vell Studio 317 N. Central Ave, White Plains

Even better is a 45 they cut for Bazaar Records, “A Little While Back” / “I Say You’re Wrong”. The A-side is a great song featuring heavy fuzz guitar and a blistering solo by Jay Manning. Jay kindly provided the photos here, including the first I’ve seen of Ren-Vell’s studio, and the story behind the band:

The Synners was the first band I had, while still in high school. It was myself (lead guitar) and my two best friends David Perugini (rhythm guitar) and Alan Raycraft (drums), and later another high school friend, Curt Mienel(bass guitar). We played at our high school a couple of times and parties. I don’t think we ever got paid, but in those days the motivation was impressing girls, not financial rewards.
I have a recording from 1965 of us playing at an Ossining High School Spanish Club banquet. Dave’s dad got a hold of an old Wollensak reel to reel and, unbeknownst to me, recorded three songs.
We graduated in 1965 and in the fall David went to college, in New Paltz, New York, so the band evolved. Alan and Curt stayed, I think we called ourselves the Invaders. I don’t really remember all the iterations of the bands. I do remember that Alan was still playing drums when we met Sandy Katz. I don’t remember how we found him, but he and I clicked. He had a great voice and wrote decent songs. His dad was in business for himself so was very savvy about copyright and publishing rights, so all of Sandy’s songs were copyrighted.
Alan finally quit, we replaced him with another Sandy, whose last name I don’t remember. Curt left and eventually we added Frank Taxiera as bass player. He couldn’t play and didn’t have equipment, he was just cool and he fit. He became a really good bassist and now plays some great blues lead, in Colorado, with some renowned bluesmen.
That’s when Raunch was born. Sandy’s dad wanted us to be The Four Seasons (clean cut, stylish), I had very long hair for 1966 and was not interested in being clean cut.
Raunch played all over Westchester County. Ossining, of course, Tarrytown, Yonkers, White Plains, Armonk, Briarcliffe Manor (that’s where Sandy lived). “The Cellar”, the Ossining Recreation Department’s teen hangout had live music almost every weekend. I can’t remember all the places we played, but it was a lot. Just about every weekend and some weeknights all over the place. I don’t remember playing any bars at that point, but we did banquets and lots of dances and teen clubs.
We were very egocentric. We considered ourselves the best band in the area and thought of all the others as pretenders to the throne, at least I did.
There were a lot of “battle of the bands”, at high schools. recreation departments, clubs, all over the place. We won most of the ones we were in, so didn’t really pay attention to second place.
The two I remember not winning was one for all of Westchester County, NY in the summer of 1966, at the base of Kensico Dam, in Valhalla, NY, we came in 4th. Not really a “battle of the band” but a tryout to open for the Beach Boys, at Iona College in New Rochelle. The best bands in Westchester, New York City and from Connecticut were there. We lost out to a band called The Young Savages, really great band and they lost out, in a second round of tryouts, to a band called Chain Reaction. The lead singer was Steven Tallarico (later Steven Tyler – Aerosmith). I remember them playing “I’m Not Talking”, by the Yardbirds.
Marty Katz, Sandy’s dad, really got into it. He knew his kid was good, but he had never been in a really good band before that could showcase his music. Marty Katz owned a corporation already, so he just created a record label, Bazaar Records, he paid for everything. The actual name of the band was Raunch Inc. and we really were part of a small corporation.
Raunch at Ren-Vell Studio
We recorded everything at Ren-Vell. We were, I believe, Joe Renda’s first project. I really don’t remember the other bands on the album, there were so many bands at that time and so many places to play.
Sandy Katz wrote “A Little While Back”, and on the record, sang the harmonies. I sang the harmony when we played it live.
Sandy is playing the Vox [in the photos], he also had the 12-string model. I had a Phantom, the odd, irregular hexagon shaped guitar, but it was a real pig. Thick neck, weak pickups, tinny sounding. Unfortunately that’s what I played at the battle of the bands, because it was “cooler” than my Hagstom, which was a much better guitar.
I was a terrific guitarist, for the time, if I do say so myself. That was really all I lived for, that and girls of course. I learned everything by ear and watching better players, never had any lessons, still haven’t and I still play quite a bit. Now it’s classical and fingerstyle jazz.
Jay Manning

Update April 2016: Jay Manning reports that Tommy Walker died in 2014, and that recently Sandy Katz’s father Morris “Marty” Katz also passed away.

Thank you to Jay for his help with this article. Scan of the Raunch 45 from David Perugini. Thanks to Patrick Lundborg for his help.

Categories: Bronx, Cousins, Mercury, New York, New York City

The Elegant Four

June 15, 2009 Chris Bishop 82 Comments

Elegant Four Mercury 45 Time to Say Goodbye From the Bronx, the Elegant Four were also known as the Elegants. Tom Crosgrove was lead guitarist and vocalist, and wrote both songs on their only 45. Other members included Bill Dennis and Pete Santora.

The chanted vocals and echoing chords give “Time to Say Goodbye” a downcast mood, brightening momentarily during the chorus where the singer gives the boot to the girl holding out on him.

On the flip is the uptempo “I’m Tired”, with more fine harmonies and a good guitar solo.

These songs were originally released on the Cousins label, produced by Mike Barbiero. It was picked up for a December ’65 release on Mercury, but doesn’t seem to have made much chart impact.

Sources: photo from Pete Santora’s site. Thanks to Tom for clarifying the photo IDs.

A couple other photos are available on Tom Walsh’s site Bronx Bands of the Past (warning: Angelfire sites like this one always have pop-up ads).

Categories: New York, Ossining, Ren-Vell, Trutone, Westchester

Westchester Rivals: The Reptiles, the End, and the Aliens

February 16, 2009 Chris Bishop 18 Comments

The Reptiles, 1967, photo by Robin Leach

Ren-Vell Battle of the Bands vol. 1 Side A

The Reptiles have one cut on the Ren-Vell Battle of the Bands LP, “The Glass Toy”. It could have been a fine pop single with more polish, but the Ren-Vell studio wasn’t prepared to offer that kind of guidance or production quality.

Steve Worthy related the story of the Reptiles recording of Glass Toy to Bassman Bobb Brown:

Ron Macera was the drummer, Paul Slavin on bass, Mark Worthy on rhythm guitar and high harmony vocal on the chorus (a reversal of how we usually worked-me high harmony, him low). I played upper register rhythm guitar, because if I was doing the singing I couldn’t do any leads on guitar.
I wrote the song (probably my 3rd or 4th song ever written), full of teenage angst, and having to rhyme the works criticize, minimize and brutalize in the one bridge, shows my poetic and English major leanings. Subconsciously, I imitated my heroes the Beatles by doing something I heard said later about their songs – sad lyrics with happy music!
The only other recording session for the Reptiles was with a friend of my father named Bert Haber, who worked with Famous Music Publishing, and they were looking to get some young bands on one of their record company rosters. Bert gave us this song called “Come Take A Taste” to learn, and we so despised it, but really wanted to get in on the ground floor so we did it. I was so depressed learning it, that I wrote a song called “The Moustache Song” as a joke (“Please little girl with the moustache, blah blahh, Please don’t shave your little moustache, You’re only girl I kissed with one before”), which went on the 45 b-side. No one else had a song, so I had to sing that one as well.
Needless to say, their Broadway-type song was like a Spanky and Our Gang type tune, and our hearts weren’t in it, so it went nowhere further. The chorus sounded like “Sunday Will Never Be The Same”.
The Reptiles prided itself on always being true to the song and getting all the chords right! One of our pet peeves would be songs by bands who couldn’t get the bridge right- on “For Your Love” for example- the last two chords –they would do “A followed by Am” at the end of it, instead of C#m to B. Most bands were a little lazy that way. We used sharps and flats and major seventh chords because of our Beatle training. Me and my brother would listen to records over and over until every chord was perfect, especially with the Beatles stuff, which was our supreme role model. We even did Sgt. Pepper Stuff live like “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”, “It’s Getting Better”, “A Day In The Life”, “Lovely Rita”.

Steve also wrote about the Reptiles’ rival bands, The End and The Aliens:

“The End” had Allen Spink and guitar and lead vocals, Jimmy Indusi on Guitar, Timmy Smith on console organ-sounded almost like a Hammond, Rick Selby on left-handed drums, and Pat Giordano on bass guitar. They were the second most ferocious competitors to the Reptiles after “The Aliens”. We made a comeback and beat them in a Battle of the Bands at St. Augustine’s High School finally, after a humiliating defeat at St. Ann’s when Spink stacked the deck with all of his friends. One reason the rivalry was so raw, even though personally I was great friends with the leader Allen Spink, was young testosterone when the nine of us were in a room together. We were like the Jets and the Sharks circling each other, I swear!
The Aliens were composed of Ray Marion on lead guitar and lead vocals (playing a Gibson cherry red ES335), Curt Meinel, bass (Hagstrom?), Glen Kane on drums, and a guy named Howie on Farfisa organ. They were very popular because they could be counted on to play all the standard rock ‘n’ roll songs like “Louie, Louie”, “Wipe Out”, “Bang Bang” (Joe Cuba, not Sonny and Cher), and were not adventurous at all, which is why the Reptiles and Aliens were sworn mortal enemies. Ray would do this swagger like he was so cool and shake his ass, which drove us crazy, because our impression of music at the time did not include ass shaking! Maybe he thought he was Elvis, who I both appreciate and love now, but at the time he was kind of old news to us in 1967.

Thanks to Bassman Bobb Brown for forwarding me the comments of Steve Worthy, along with the photo and the scans and transfers of the Aliens 45.

Categories: Dansville, Hornell, Lee, New York, Upstate New York

P.B. & the Staunchmen

February 8, 2009 Chris Bishop 60 Comments

Early photo of the Staunchmen with Silvertone Bobkat guitars, from left: Paul Nagle, Don Cox, George Harvey (drums), Paul Beecher (with tambourine), Barry McLean, and Doug Smith (sax)

P.B. & the Staunchmen cut this rare 45 on Lee, the same label as the Ascendors “I Won’t Be Home” in 1966. The label was located out of Hornell, New York, 40 miles south of Rochester but the band was from Dansville, another 20 miles south/southeast.

P.B. is Paul Beecher, credited along with the Staunchmen for writing both sides of the 45. Members were:

Paul Beecher – lead vocals
Doug Smith – sax
Paul Nagle – lead guitar
Barry McLean – rhythm guitar
Eric Young – organ
Don Cox – rhythm and bass guitar
George Harvey – drums

“Mean Willy” is a driving track with some wild guitar breaks and screams between repetitive lyrics and droning saxophone.

All the girls they can’t sympathize,
They know that he goes around telling ’em lies,
When he looks into their big brown eyes.

The flip, “Lost Generation”, sounds like it has roots in “Eve of Destruction” (though it actually came out earlier – see Don Cox’s comment below). The lyrics are defeatist and downright depressing, if I am reading them right:

This poor war is here to say,
There’s nothing you can do to keep it away,
My brother’s dead, there’s no denying,
This lost generation has me cryin’.
‘Cause it’s lost, this generation, it’s gone away,
It’s lost no matter what you say.
The kids are turnin’, their cards are burnin’,
Trying to escape this war,
The game they’ve lost and now they’ve found,
It doesn’t matter anymore.
Left to right: Barry McLean, Paul Nagle, Paul Beecher, Eric Young, Don Cox, and George Harvey. Not pictured: Doug Smith. Photo courtesy of George Harvey.

Thanks to Don Cox for the lyric correction. Band photos courtesy of George Harvey, and Don Cox (top photo).

If anyone has more photos of the group, please contact me.

P.B.and the Staunchmen photo — from left: Paul Beecher, Paul Nagle, George Harvey, Barry McLean, Don Cox, and Doug Smith. Eric Young absent.

Categories: Dellwood, Hackensack, Hampton Bays, New Jersey, Saddle Brook, Suffolk County

The Yorkshire Puddin on Dellwood Records

January 11, 2009 Chris Bishop 7 Comments

Yorkshire Puddin Photo Dellwood — The Yorkshire Puddin, from left: R. Ponce de Leon, Danny Jolin, Bob Heinich, and Bob Cotherin

The Yorkshire Puddin cut two 45s on Dellwood Records in ’67 and ’68. Their first 45 is the fine “Good Night Day” backed with “Ain’t Gonna Love Ya No More”. They updated their sound for the second release, “Keep Me In Mind”.

“Keep Me in Mind”, like both sides of their first 45 were written by Cotharin – De Leon and produced by Woody Gardella. “Black Jacket Woman”, the flip of “Keep Me in Mind”, is the same moody pop number also done by the Zone V and the Tropics (the original?). I hear a female voice on the harmonies on this song only.

Dellwood was based in first Hackensack then nearby Saddle Brook, New Jersey.

Rhythm guitarist and vocalist Frank DePauw left a detailed comment about the band below, that I’ll repeat here:

Bob Cotharin, left hand Hofner bass player, and head singer and spokesman of the group.
Reynold Ponce De Leon, keyboards, (harpsichord), rhythm guitar, and harmonies.
Robert Heinick, lead guitar, and vocalist.
Gail Koennemann did some backup singing, and wed Bob Cotharin in ’69 or ’70. No longer together.
Daniel Jollen, drummer, drafted into the Army in the summer of ’68
Frank DePauw, second guitar, harmonies, backup keyboards, and in spare time, light show producer.
The group was the “house band” for the “Castaway” in Hampton Bay, Long Island, N.Y. in the summer of “68, when the drummer was drafted. A mad search went out, but no one could fill Dan’s job, and the group, after trying to get the “sound” back, broke up.

The photo of the group gives Danny Jollen’s name as Danny Jolin, I’m not sure which is correct. Also it’s hard to read the hand writing, but is it Bob Heinick or Bob Heinich? The photo also has what may be a manager’s name, George Appleyard, as well as a second address for Dellwood at 10 Banta Place in Hackensack.

Can anyone fill in more history on how they came to record for Dellwood and play at the Castaway?

Thanks once again to JP Coumans for the scan of “Keep Me in Mind” and transfer of “Black Jacket Woman”.

Special thank you to Harvey Kornbluth for sending the photo of the group.

Yorkshire Puddin Photo Dellwood Back — Back of 8 x 12 glossy photo of the band with Dellwood Music info

Categories: MB, New York, New York City

Stephen Hartley

November 19, 2008 Chris Bishop Leave a comment

This 45 has great atmosphere and unusual production. It’s the work of several talented people who were usually involved in much more commercial music.

Singer and songwriter Stephen Hartley is Stephen Hartley Dorff, a composer of songs and movie & TV soundtracks. The producer Walt Levinsky was an old-time swing clarinet player, composer and arranger who is most well known for writing theme songs for television, including the old CBS evening news theme. The arranger Steve Cagan worked for years with Melissa Manchester. MB Records is also the label that released Manchester’s first record, again with Cagan and Levinsky’s production.

“Have You Seen Her” did make the charts of WOR-FM in New York for a few weeks in July and August of 1967. I prefer “The Other Side” for the moodiness of the music and obsessive lyrics.

Categories: Bronx, Goldbug, New York, New York City, Suffolk County, Westhampton Beach

The Brotherhood of Soul

October 12, 2008 Chris Bishop 2 Comments

Brotherhood of Soul Goldbug 45 Save Me “Save Me” is a slow and intense psychedelic 45 featuring the anguished vocal of Richy Pecchio over the Brotherhood of Soul’s repetitive vamp. The flip is a shorter instrumental version of “Save Me”, retitled “The Morning After” with the bass guitar right up at the edge of the red on the meters.

The Brotherhood of Soul – Save Me
The Brotherhood of Soul – The Morning After

Released on the Goldbug label, the RCA custom press number ‘UK4M’ indicates this was released in 1967. Both sides were written by Rich Pecchio and B. Sell. The 45 was produced by Ron Gittman, who was the agent that brought the Magnificent Men to Capitol Records.

This session was engineered by Abe Steinberg at Abtone Recording Studio. Abtone was located at 1733 Broadway in New York City, and in 1966 had been the site of some sessions featuring Lonnie Youngblood, Jimi Hendrix, Lee Moses and Herman Hitson, as well as other r&b artists like Ronnie Forte.

I couldn’t find any further info on this record until Richard Pecchio himself contacted me:

I was recruited by an ex-DJ turned manager when he saw me singing at a nightclub. He was or still is the owner of a trucking company in Manhattan, New York, his name is Lonnie Kaufman. He eventually got me signed to a record label called Kip Records in ’61. At that time I did not write songs, so we went with a cover for fast results: “Dream Lover” a cover of Bobby Darin’s hit record. The other side was a song called “Cherrie” by Bobby Rydell.
He also signed Nate Bouknight, also known as “Little Nat” from the Shells. Their hit song was “Baby Oh Baby” (late 50’s fame). Nate wrote a real good song called “Do This Do That,” that made some noise. Certainly I learned a lot from him.
I also went on a tour and performed on television programs, one called Boston Ballroom – the other guest was Brenda Lee. Being only 17, I was thrilled. Our make-up was put on in the same room. Lonnie Kaufman also managed Tony Darryl, who was on the Ed Sullivan show. It was a great start to my recording career.
[For the next] four years I was with various different genre bands trying to find a fit for what type of music I wanted to sing: City Magic – “Going Back to Florida” [b/w] a slow cover of the Loving Spoonful’s “Do You Believe in Magic”, and the Minutemen “A Little Too Much.”
The Brotherhood of Soul was started by a Stan Summers, (real name of group: Stan Summers and the Unsual) who was in a group (don’t remember the name) that did the backups for Dion on “The Wanderer” and “Ruby Baby”.
I don’t remember my group’s last names, but I believe I remember their first names: another Richard: a B3 Hammond Organ player; Andre: bass & sax player, tenor vocals; Steve was the drummer; Stan just sang; finally, I played rhythm guitar, and sang lead and harmonies.
We played our first job on Long Island, NY, we only knew 13 songs at the start, needless to say, we played each song for a very long time. We progressed and the sax player’s father was a policeman who introduced the band to a club owner named Charlie Bates who owned clubs in Manhattan and Westhampton Bay, NY. The club owner liked our music and hired us in 1967 to play the total summer on the shore of Westhampton Bay.
He supplied the band with a large home to stay at, it was part of the package; it was called “Captain’s Lodge.” It was a sweet deal. The name of the club we played at was called “Charlie Bates”. The prior summer the Young Rascals came to fame at a club called The Barge. We played adjacent to a club called The Eye who was featuring the soon to be famous Leslie West. The crowds were enormous throughout the summer; needless to say it was a very successful summer and one to remember.
After that we went searching for “fame” and meet Ron Gitman, who produced the song (“Save Me”) and managed the band. Our tours were great, of course it all went down-hill after that. I still sing & write every so often, here is a link of a song that is on Youtube, called: “The Mojito Song”, also known as “Idle” www.youtube.com/user/rpecchio
PS: this was a long time ago, some of the facts might not be accurate.
Richard Pecchio

Sources: Info on Abtone Studios from Soul Source.

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