The Myddle Class at the Excelsior House, October 1966, from left: Charlie (“Tony”), Dave, and RickThe Myddle Class at the Excelsior House, October 1966, Charlie (“Tony”), Dave, and RickAd in the Troy Record, October 15, 1966
The Myddle Class traveled to Snyder’s Lake, near Troy, New York, to play two weekends, October 14, 15 & 16, and 21, 22 & 23 at the Excelsior House nightclub, which was then attracting college students and other young people (the drinking age was 18) four to five nights a week to see acts like the Critters, the Liverpool Set and the Knickerbockers.
I was astonished to find 11 snapshots taken during their time at the club, along with autographs collected from each. Hilariously, Charles Larkey is noted as “Tony” on the album pages, though he signed his autograph correctly as Charlie Larkey.
The Excelsior House ran ads regularly for their shows. For the Myddle Class, some were spelled correctly, but a couple others billed them as the Middle Class.
Autographs of Dave Palmer, Myke Rosa and Rick Philp of the Myddle Class, from the Excelsior House, October 1966Autographs of Charlie Larkey and Dan Mansolino of the Myddle Class, from the Excelsior House, October 1966Charles Larkey (“Tony”) of the Myddle Class, at the Excelsior House, October 1966Charlie Larkey (“Tony”) of the Myddle Class with patron or friend, at the Excelsior House, October 1966The Myddle Class at the Excelsior House, October 1966, Dan Mansolino and Charlie (“Tony”) LarkeyThe Myddle Class at the Excelsior House, October 1966, from left: Charlie (“Tony”), Dave, Myke and RickThe Myddle Class at the Excelsior House, October 1966, from left: Dave Palmer, Rick Philp and Myke RosaThe Myddle Class at the Excelsior House, October 1966, from left: Charlie “Tony” Larkey, Dave Palmer and Rick PhilpThe Myddle Class at the Excelsior House, October 1966, Charlie Larkey and Dave PalmerThe Myddle Class at the Excelsior House, October 1966, Dave Palmer and Rick Philp
The Excelsior House, a 19th century house on tiny Snyder’s Lake, a short drive southeast of Troy, NY, had a history dating back to the 1930s as a rural nightclub and restaurant. It drew crowds from a wide geographic area with various forms of entertainment and events.
In 1964, a new owner, Harry Doakmajian, started bringing in rock and pop acts. Over the next four years the Excelsior House hosted a succession of notable house bands.
The Knickerbockers: Jimmy, Beau, John, Buddy, at the Excelsior House, The Troy Record, May 1, 1965
The Knickerbockers made the Excelsior House their second home, with frequent months-long bookings from August 1964 until December 1965, and occasional monthly residencies in 1966 and 1967. The booklet of the Sundazed CD The Great Lost Knickerbockers Album! includes photos of Buddy Randell and Beau Charles on stage at the Excelsior House in 1966.
The Sundowners, from Lake George, held down monthly gigs in 1965 into 1966, and the Good Times were regulars from April through July 1966 (billed early on as “Direct from Harlow’s in N.Y.C.”) and again in September and December 1966, and January 1967.
The Kynds and the Good Times, Excelsior House, The Troy Record, 1966, April 9
I am not certain if this is the Goodtimes from Providence, RI, who also recorded as the Tradewinds, or more likely the band from Newburgh who recorded two albums of pop on Meteor as the Goodtimes III. This group, comprised of Johnny Babb, Timmy Jones, Dave Kennedy and Bobby Lonie, among others, cut some good unreleased songs, possibly recorded at Earl Kennett’s studio, as Dave Kennedy recommended the studio to the Jelly Bean Bandits to make their first demos.
Below is a compendium of the acts that played, compiled mainly from ads in the Troy Record newspaper (which became the Times Record).
Bands were usually booked Friday and Saturday evenings. Over time, early Sunday shows were added, then Wednesdays and Thursdays as well.
1964:
February: Tino and the Revlons April 18: the James K4 June: Tino and the Revlons, the Act III July: the Capris (“direct from Miami Beach”), and the Continental Twisters August: the Act III and the James K4 August 3: Buddy Randell and the Knickerbockers August: the Mystics and the Continentals September through December: the Knickerbockers
1965:
Sundowners with Eddie Brick and Bobby Dickson, Excelsior House, The Troy Record, 1966, Nov 12
January: the Knickerbockers February: the Sundowners March: Tino and the Revlons (“Troy’s Own Beetles”), the Blue Counts and the Motions April: the Motions, the Vi-Cleefs April and May: the Knickerbockers
Nick Brignola and His Modern Jazz Quartet: Thursdays in June and July
July 31: Jay and the Americans plus the Knickerbockers July: the Knickerbockers August: the Knickerbockers September: Don Sohl and the Road Runners (Nebraska band who cut great sax & guitar instrumentals like “Voo Doo” on Palms and “Rampage” on Dreem). September: the Road-ents, the Progressions October: the 4 Synns
Cordels at the Excelsior House, The Troy Record. 1965, Oct 9
October 16: the Classics and the Chessmen November: the Cordels December 23: the Knickerbockers and the Sundowners December: Sundowners
1966:
The Chartbusters, the Sundowners, and the Big Bear Revue, the Troy Record, 1966, Feb. 12
By 1966 the Excelsior had two venues on the same compound: the main building with pop, rock and soul bands, and another called the Corral specializing in country music and square dancing, such as Rob Horton and the Friendly Travelers or Pete Williams and His Ranchers, but I have not compiled an extensive list of those c&w groups.
January – February: the Sundowners February 19, 20: the Big Bear Revue (“Big Bear” / “People” on Cuppy Records) February 25, 26: the Check Mates March: Snoopy’s Crew March 5: the Fugitives March 12: the “ever popular” Esquires March 25: the Fireballs April 3: the Group 4 April 9, 10: the Kynds April 14 had a special show, Jerry Lee Lewis and his Review!
May and June: Knickerbockers and Good Times
On July 29, the Souls Inc. “12 Man Group” took over through August, sometimes with Lord X and his X Chords August 27 (Saturday): Tim Rose Trio
The Critters and the Good Times, Excelsior House, The Troy Record, September 23, 1966
The Good Times resumed house band status for September but there were a number of interesting featured acts that month and October:
September 2, 3 and 4: the Younger Boys (I don’t know anything about this group) September 23: the Critters September 28, 29, 30, 31 & October 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9: the Liverpool Set
The Myddle Class, Excelsior House, The Troy Record, 1966, Oct 22
October 14, 15 and 16 and 21, 22 and 23: the Myddle Class (billed in some ads as the Middle Class)
Ricardo and the 4 Most, Excelsior House, The Troy Times Record, February 3, 1967The Cleaners, Excelsior House, The Troy Record, October 29, 1966Ricardo and the 4 Most, Excelsior House, The Times Record, Feb. 10, 1967
1967:
January: the Good Times February: Ricardo the the Fore Most (4 Most) March: the Sundowners and the O’Royals (the Fabulous Royals) March 26: Roger Freeman with the Spoiled Brats April 1: the Night Watch April: the Liverpool Set May: the Knickerbockers
1968:
February: the Shades of Brass, the Legends of Sound
Eva’s Towpath II, formerly Excelsior House, Imperials, The Troy Record, 1969, Nov 16
In September, 1969, the Excelsior House was taken over by Eva Varaday and renamed Eva’s Towpath II, but it only continued for a few months before it was shut down by the Rensselaer County Health Department for the same reason the previous owner lost his liquor license: the Excelsior House, like most of the other residences on the lake, had been sending raw sewage into Snyder’s Lake, which was only 1/8 of a square mile (approximately) in area! It did reopen in the mid-’70s for a short time as a meeting place, but I read there was a major fire in 2009.
If anyone has old photos of the Excelsior House, or a news clipping on the 2009 fire, please contact me!
Those Two Plus – “I’ll Be There” / “It’s Rainin’ (Where I’m Bound)” (both by Alex Rotter, arranged by “Those Two”) Kennett Sound 0017, 1969.
Alex Rotter and Dawn Mickle performed as simply “Those Two” in a couple news reports. The Oneonta Star noted on August 10, 1968 that the duo took second place in the Folk Music Contest at the Otsego County Fair.
The Schenectady Gazette ran a photo of the duo on September 17, 1968:
Those Two, folksingers Dawn Mickle of Warnerville and Alex Rotter of Schenectady, who won top honors at the Cobleskill Fair and first in the semi-finals of the State Fair, entertained patients at the Eden Park Nursing home …
I have a 12″ acetate from the Kennett Sound Studio that includes both songs from the single. Another 12″ acetate contains five songs performed by Alex and Dawn which were not released.
From listening, I believe four of these to be original songs: “If I Were Free”, “Take Me to the Land of Lovin'”, “I Can Tell”, and “I Know What You Mean to Say” (titles are based on the lyrics), along with a version of Fred Neil’s “The Other Side of this Life”:
The Kennett Studio labels are blank.
Thank you to Peter Aaron for loan of the Those Two Plus single, and for finding the Gazette article on the duo.
Update: I’m pleased to say I was able to send the 12″ acetate of five unreleased songs to Alex Rotter’s family. Thank you to Sherry Rotter for contacting me.
The Heathens came from Schenectady, NY and cut one of the greatest singles of the area “The Other Way Around” / “Problems” on Vibra L-104. The Heathens recorded at Vibra Sound Recording Studio, but the cavernous sound does not diminish the energy of the group.
Michael Dellario wrote both songs and sang lead vocals. The labels credit Hooker, Stahl, Petticrew, Sheer & Marquez for arrangement.
Michael Dellario – lead vocals Laddie Stahl – guitar Steve Petticrew – guitar Larry Hooker – keyboards Paul Marquez – bass Mike Sheer – drums
Steve Rosen wrote a profile on the band in Kicks #2, but the article had a number of typos in the names, such as Steve Pedicrue, Paul Marques, and Mike Sherer.
The article gives some interesting information about Vibra Sound studio:
The Heathens were the first to record at Schenectday’s first studio, Vibra Sound, which at the time was located in the home of proprietor Nate Schwartz. As Mike Dellario remembers it, conditions were primitive: “At the time, the studio was his garage and the engineering booth was his basement. I remember there was no eye contact at all. All the talking was through the microphone. Everything was done basically in just one shot, no concept of tracking.”
The Heathens broke up when the members graduated high school in June, 1967. The article states that Dellerio stuck it out with several subsequent bands and eventually cut some demos for Warner Brothers … He hopes to work with local bands on a producer/arranger level.
Mike Dellario changed his name to Michael Dellaira and became an orchestral composer.
The Sensations, including Larry Hooker with the tambourine, Michael Dellario on drums, and George Supreneault in the white shirt at right.
Walter Phelps (who was lead guitarist for the Ravens, also managed by Marty Wade) sent in this photo of the Sensations, which had two members who would go into the Heathens.
Michael Dellario told me he auditioned to sing for the Heathens, and brought Larry Hooker with him into the band on keyboards.
Riccardo and the 4 Most made one single, the great ballad “There’s a Reason” backed with a good version of “Barefootin'”, released in 1967 on Foremost Records.
The band is listed on the label: Riccardo Wright (guitar), Ralph Marotta (bass), George Leary (drums), and Douglas Jacobs (organ). Bill White wrote and sung lead on “There’s a Reason”.
“Bare Footin'” features Ricardo Wright on lead vocals. Someone is playing trumpet on both songs, uncredited.
Later members included Joe Lattanzio (trumpet) and Tommy Watson (bass). In 1969, with an expanded horn section including Ron Rucker on trombone and Gene Hilstro on sax, the group became a nonet called the Blues Busters.
If any of the members of the band are out there, I’d like to hear from them.
The single was recorded at Kennett Sound Studio in Kinderhook. I found an acetate lacquer of both sides among a stack of Kennett demos. The Foremost Records release code U4KM-0937 indicates a 1967 RCA pressing.
ad from February 11, 1967It’s a little difficult to search for the band, as listings for the group in newspapers include variations such as Riccardo & the Fourmost, Ricardo and the 4 Most, Ricardo and the Foremosts, etc. The sign behind the band on stage in two photos reads “The Fabulous 4 Most”.
The earliest ad I can find for the group is from the Troy Record on February 11, 1967, noting that Ricardo and the 4 Most would be playing the Excelsior House on Snyders Lake in North Greenbush “every Friday, Saturday and Sunday”. Another ad on August 19, 1967 noted the group would play the Excelsior “every Thurs. thru Sun.
The Times Record of Troy mentioned the group playing Shaker High School in Latham twice, once on January 15, 1968, then again on May 29, 1968 in a benefit for a Shaker school in Vadawal, India. The group also played the University Twist Palace in Albany.
Another ad lists Ricardo and the Foremosts at Corkey’s on 18 Clifton St. in Waterford, April 5-7, 1968.
The Troy Record noted a Youth On Unity dance on May 29 at St. Joseph’s Church Hall in Rensselaer with the Blues Busters (“formerly known as ‘Riccardo and the foremost’ from Albany” with the Souls from Pittsfield and the Multi-colored Projections.
Riccardo and the Fabulous 4-MostA clipping from January 25, 1969 (I don’t know the paper) describes their transformation into Ricardo and his Blues Busters:
Riccardo and The Fourmosts, as you younger people know, has enlarged from four to nine. The new nonet is called the Blues Busters and features rhythm & blues and soul music, much of it original words and music by Riccardo, the leader, and some arrangements by Al Friedman.
The Blues Busters are a living example of interracial harmony, personally and musically. They play to an enthusiastic gathering at The Royal Mousetrap from 9:30 to 3 Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Mousetrap is on New Karner Road (Route 155) just off Central Avenue [in Colonie].
The two photos and some of the info came from the Albany Group Archive. Thank you to Al Quaglieri and Joe Lattanzio for their help with this article.
The Essentials came from Schagticoke, New York, and cut two singles on their own Kandy label in 1969 and 1970. Members were:
Jason Wheeler – lead guitar Steve Wheeler – rhythm guitar Jeff Wheeler – bass guitar Fred “Squeekey” Stay – drums
Jeff Wheeler recalled to Max Waller:
Our ages were 13, 15, 17 and 17 at the time. We played Friday and Saturday nights and threw in a wedding now and then with the old standards on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Even went to Atlantic City and Raleigh, NC. cuz we won a few Battle Of The Bands – the Tea Berry song contest too (we didn’t win that tho). We made 2 45s in 1968. Never made a million but we sold 1000 records for $1 apiece after spending $500 to do it! It was fun.
The Essentials recorded at Vibra-Sound Studio in Schenectady for both their singles. The first was Kandy 101 from 1969. “Oklahoma Blues” has some falsetto vocals about a minute in, but really gets going after the guitar break, with a funky rhythm and chanting. Fred Stay and Steve Wheeler wrote “Oklahoma Blues”. Steve Wheeler wrote “Baby You Get to Me”, which I haven’t heard yet.
Their second 45, on Kandy 82042 from 1970, had two originals by Squeeky Stay. “Sunshine Baby” is light pop. I prefer “Freedom”, which starts out with wah-wah guitar over drumming and doesn’t let up for three minutes. It’s a styrene 45 and hard to find in fine shape.
Robert Barry Music published all four songs.
Squeeky Stay and Mark Galeo made another single recorded at Vibra-Sound, “Slippin’ Away” / “Mrs. Jones” on Jinhea 100.
Max Waller added, “in 2002 Jeff resided in Poestenskill, NY; Steve was in New Jersey; Jason was reported to be in Texas; and Squeeky Stay had stayed in Schaghticoke.”
Fred Stay, Jr. also played drums with a group called the World of Darkness, that back Alan Burn on two songs “Gotham City” and “See Susie Run”, released on Tuesday Records. “See Susie Run” was also on the flip of “Information (Help Me Please)” by Alan on Tuesday Records TR-1 / Tuesday Records TR-SSR.
The other members of the World of Darkness were David L. Ferretti guitar, Paul Orloski rhythm guitar, John Zullo (or John Sciuto) on bass, and Sandi La Barge on organ.
Thank you to Max Waller for help with this article.
The Cleaners came from Schenectady, New York, releasing two singles in 1966 and 1967.
Members included Larry Parks (listed in songwriting credits as Larry Podrazik), Bob Ives (Robert Iovinella), Bob Sands and Jay Camp.
The Cleaners’ first single was the super-soulful “How I Feel” b/w “If You Want Me” (described on the label as Rock-Jazz), both originals by Podrazik and Iovinella. A comment below mentions booking manager George DeVito recording the songs in his home studio. However, I have a 8″ laquer acetate of both songs from Earl Kennett’s studio. The sound of the bass, and the echo of the hand claps on “If You Want Me” suggests Earl’s studio rather than a home recording.
It was issued on Knight Records KN 3, of Bellevue Station, Schenectady, with a State Music Productions credit; the ZTSP 122826/7 codes indicate a Columbia custom issue, a styrene 45.
Podrazik and Iovinella copyrighted the songs in April and May of 1966, along with another original, “Just Until the End of Time” that was not released but would remain part of their live set.
In July of 1967 Podrazik and Iovinella registered another original song, “Dust”. The Cleaners cut it at Kennett Sound Studio in Kinderhook, NY, along with a cover of “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me”, released on their own Kleener Style Records 0011.
These were among the earliest singles issued out of Earl Kennett’s studio, which would go on to record and release over twenty 45s into the 1970s.
From the 1967 index of copyright registration
Not long after, the East Coast Clique recorded “Dust” backed with another Podrazik/Iovinella original, “Last Stop (Everybody’s Getting Off)”, both with NemSong publishing. Released as Charter Records 0016, the Kennett Sound credit at the bottom indicates the studio, as does the 00 prefix on the release number 0016. The production on this version is fuller, with the drums more prominent and danceable.
The East Coast Clique, including at least two members of the Cleaners
A Schenectady news clipping about the East Coast Clique mentions a single on the “Cleaner Style” label, so the Clique were a continuation of the Cleaners with a new band name, and some different members. Larry Parks and Bob Ives had been in the Cleaners, and the East Coast Clique’s other members included Sal Cannavo, Kent Brust and John Malik.
The article states:
One of the group’s songs, “Just Until the End of Time,” arranged by Bob Ives, leader, and Larry Parks, will be dedicated to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the performance.
Now appearing at the Bavarian Lodge in Hudson, the East Coast Clique … record on the Cleaner Style label and have appeared on Hank Brown’s Twistorama over WKTV, channel 2.
There is an 12″ acetate from Kennett Sound Studio of three songs by the East Coast Clique: a later version of “How I Feel”, “Last Stop (Everybody’s Getting Off)” and “Just Until the End of Time”. The second song was issued as the B-side to their single on Charter Records, “Dust” but I am not sure if this is the same version.
Podrazik and Iovinella registered two additional songs in 1968: “Captain Miller’s Flying Circus”, and “Sleepy Boy” (this last one shows Earl Kennett contributing to the music arrangement).
Kennett Sound Studio acetate for the Cleaners “Baby I Won’t Be Lonely”, from 1969. Scan courtesy of Brian Kirschenbaum
In January 1969, they registered “Baby, I Won’t Be Lonely”, which exists on a Kennett demo acetate as by the Cleaners, so it may have been considered for release.
Later copyrights include “I’m So Happy” (October 1969, with words by Brummer).
Al Quaglieri wrote a profile of Bob Iovinella for the March 8-14, 1990 issue of Metroland. He describes how Iovinella and Larry Parks had a five-year publishing contract by Nat Weiss, but only two songs saw publication in that time.
In 1970, Larry Parks had a solo composition “Pay Day” (using the name Adam Parks) recorded by Sha Na Na.
Starting in 1980, Iovinella and Parks would work together again as partners in Hendi-Parksives Productions.
Thank you to Brian Kirschenbaum for scans of the East Coast Clique 45 and the Cleaners acetate. Thank you to Bobby Iovinella for the photo at top and to Mikael for the news clipping.
The Villagers included Phil Haskins, Rick Haskins and Charles Petit.
They cut their only single in very early 1969 at Kennett Sound Studio, located in a renovated barn just south of the village of Kinderhook, NY.
Phil Haskins wrote the words to the slow, lovely “Wishes and Memories” and co-wrote the music with Rick Haskins (Richard J. Haskins).
Charles R. Petit wrote the more soul-styled “Cry On”, copyright registered February, 1969.
There is no label name, but Kennett Sound appears on other singles by the Cleaners and East Coast Clique, and the 0018 release number is similar to others from that studio, usually four digits starting with 00.
Thee Illusion at the Erie Canal Fest, August 1967, from left: Alan, Tommy, Jim and SlateMisfits photo with Slate Raymond on guitar and Alan Farnsworth on drums
Jim Kriss compiled an amazing history of Thee Illusion (later known as Thee Illusion and Brass). There are dozens of great photos, a detailed history, and info on other groups from the area like the Humans and the Cult.
The PDF is available at the link below – a fairly large file, 22 MB.
Below is Jim’s list of musicians in the Misfits and Thee Illusion and Brass:
Tom McNall – (original member of the Misfits and Thee Illusion – Rhythm/Lead guitar and vocals T. Slate Raymond – (original member of the Misfits and Thee Illusion) – Lead Guitar Alan Farnsworth – (original member of the Misfits and Thee Illusion – Drums, Bass Guitar and Vocals Jim Kriss – (original member of Thee Illusion) – Drums and Vocals Mark Heard – (second generation member of Thee Illusion) – Keyboards Ray Colonna – (second generation member of Thee Illusion and Brass) – Percussion and Roadie Steve Rustay – (first generation member of Thee Illusion and Brass) – Trumpet and Percussion Bob Mathes – (first generation, former member of Thee Illusion and Brass) – Trumpet Chuck Lafferty – (second generation member of Thee Illusion and Brass) – Trumpet and Percussion
The Black Banana had two singles under different band names. The first 45 I’d heard but hadn’t connected to the second because of the different artist name until Mike Markesich pointed out the connection in his comment below. Mike kindly provided scans of the 1st single as the Black Banana.
The group was from Limestone, in upstate New York, only a little west of Olean, the home of the Tigermen. The Tigermen were active earlier, but perhaps the bands knew each other. Mike tells me the band was also based in Bradford, Pennsylvania, just south of Limestone.
Reversing the usual way of garage bands, the group formed after some of the members had finished their military service. They have a great mid-’60s sound on both their singles despite the late recording dates.
Both singles list the members on the label, for this first one the lineup is:
Fred Mascioni Karl Langner Dave McGee
Denny Eck would join the group on guitar by the time of the second single, but he is credited with co-writing “Listen Girl” with McGee and Mascioni.
McGee and Mascioni wrote “Please Come Back to Me” which I haven’t heard yet.
Karl Langner and Arnold White designed the cool label, and Car Hamme engineered the recording. This is an RCA custom pressing from 1969.
The second release has the Fog label but the band name is changed to Banana Music Ltd. It may date as late as 1971.
Members were:
Fred Mascioni Karl Langner Dave McGee Denny Eck
Denny Eck wrote “Don’t Bother Us” and Mascioni & Eck wrote “Walkin'”.
The group is listed as “The Mack Banana Band” in the Bradford Era newspaper from August 1, 1969. From the excerpt I could find online, all the members names are listed except Denny Eck:
The new sound around, come and listen to music written & played by THE MACK BANANA Band — Fred Mascioni, Karl Langner, Dave McGee …
Besides Fog Music Inc., there are other production credits on the labels: “Langner Label”, “Rotten Crates Music Corp.” and “Black Banana”.
When Mike Markesich contacted Fred Mascioni he mentioned there were songs cut for an album that went unreleased.
This site is a work in progress on 1960s garage rock bands. All entries can be updated, corrected and expanded. If you have information on a band featured here, please let me know and I will update the site and credit you accordingly.
I am dedicated to making this site a center for research about '60s music scenes. Please consider donating archival materials such as photos, records, news clippings, scrapbooks or other material from the '60s. Please contact me at rchrisbishop@gmail.com if you can loan or donate original materials
