My name is Gary Jedlicka, I was the drummer in the band The NYTE:
Sandy Pantaleo – lead vocals Bill Stevenson – lead guitar and vocals Ben Ninnman – Hammond B3 with a Leslie and a piano bass, vocals. Gary Jedlicka – drums and vocals
Second-to-last poster for the Other Place, with the Franklin Freight Train, The Genesis and The Nyte
The NYTE organized in Greenville, North Carolina, sometime in 1967 as we were all students at East Carolina College (at that time, University now). I was, and still am, from New Jersey, Bill was from New Jersey, Sandy was from Long Island, and Benny was from Virginia. Strange how a bunch of Yankees got together and started a rock-n-roll band in North Carolina.
We played The Other Place in Nags Head, NC, on August 23-25, 1968. We may have been one of the last 2 or 3 bands to rock that place before it closed. I still have that awesome poster in perfect condition hanging on my wall near my original set of 1965 Grey Oyster Pearl Ludwig drums.
We established ourselves as a pretty good rock band and eventually got picked-up by Bowie Martin of Bomar Productions. He booked us at a lot of cool places relatively close to Greenville and we had a lot of great gigs. The Other Place was certainly one of them. We stayed in NC throughout the summers, playing gigs instead of heading up North after the last semester. The NYTE eventually broke up early 1969 because members moved onto other adventures in our lives.
The Aces with go-go dancer and friend. Dig the Sandy Nelson albums behind the drummer!
I found five color snapshots of the Aces from Salisbury, North Carolina, as well as a news clipping from Statesville. Introducing the Aces Combo is one of the better LPs on the Justice label of Winston, North Carolina, or at least, one of the more consistent.
Salisbury is located about 40 miles southwest of Winston-Salem, on the way to Charlotte. Members included:
Tim Ervin – lead guitar, vocals Johnny Yarbrough – rhythm guitar, vocals Johnny Nance – rhythm guitar Michael Earnhardt – bass, vocals, tambourine Howard Caywood – drums and management
In the color photos the band has a keyboard player, who is not listed in the album credits. Some other personnel may also be different.
The go-go dancers in waist-high cages are a cool addition, as are the signs reading The Aces.
Go-go dancer for the Aces
Salisbury a Go Go – what building was this?
Photo from the front of the Justice LP, Introducing the Aces ComboThe Aces in the Statesville Record And Landmark, January 15, 1966Another photo from the Justice LP
This is an early, relatively unknown single on Jimmy Capps’ JCP Records label 1016. There’s nothing ‘garage’ about it.
“My Love for You” is a latin-styled pop song with male harmony vocals, and a female recitation in Spanish. Tonie Krakora wrote the song, published by Aimee Music Co. which handled many JCP releases, so I believe this was an original song, not a cover.
“Ram-Bunk-Shush” is a good instrumental, probably learned from Bill Doggett’s version.
Distributed by Sound of Nashville, SoN 17061/2.
I haven’t been able to find anything about the group or Tonie Krakora.
Artistics at the GWHS Spring Fling Concert, May 11, 1971, L-R: Joe Moore, Norman Brooks, Clyde McCoy, John Clark, Barry Price, Steve Eckles, Keith Wiley.
Think of the Artistics and you’ll probably recall the R&B vocal group who struck gold with “I’m Gonna Miss You” in 1966. But a lesser known group by the same name became the definitive soul band in Southside Virginia in the early 70s. Formed by neighbors and school friends, the Artistics got together in 1970 around the nucleus of guitarist Joe “Guitar Man” Moore, bassist Jonathan “J.D.” Oliver and vocalist, John Clark.
Joe Moore & John Clark of the Artistics on stage (undated)
Kathy Moore Cobbs, Joe’s sister, recalls Joe, John and J.D. rehearsing in her mother’s basement on several occasions and says they already sounded as good as the songs on the radio. Clark recalls that the trio “used to play a little bit, just jammin’ around” at Westmoreland School in their neighborhood. All attended George Washington High School in Danville and knew brothers Keith and Dale Wiley, who played drums and keyboards, respectively. The three had heard that the brothers wanted to form a band, so the five got together and moved the practice sessions to the Wiley’s garage. Shortly thereafter, the teens caught the attention of Langston Band Director Robert Hickson, who agreed to manage the as yet unnamed group. Classmate Sharon Miller-Ranson remembers those early days well and standing on the corner of Cabell and Monument streets where “John Clark would start singing and we would have a concert in front of Cassidy’s Store.” Lula Dickerson said Joe Moore’s musical prowess was obvious from an early age and remembers his performance of “If I Had a Hammer” during the talent show at I.W. Taylor Elementary School.
The 17-year-old Clark was in 10th grade and recalls that they recruited three trumpet players: Clyde McCoy, Norman Brooks and Barry Price, all of whom played together in the high school band. Clark had just started playing drums but quickly became proficient on the instrument, allowing Keith Wiley to switch from percussion to organ. The move was necessitated by Dale Wiley’s departure to attend college.
Now with a complete rhythm and brass section, all they needed was a name. Rehearsals were moved to “a little place Hickson had” as they prepared for their first gig. They were to perform at the Top of the Stairs Club when a major snowstorm blanketed the city. The group members were riding around downtown trying to come up with a name just a few hours before they were due on stage. They rode down Union Street and passed Danville’s only licensed cosmetology school, Artistic Beauty College. Clark noticed the sign out front and said: “What about the Artistics?” Not knowing that there was already a professional band with the same moniker on Brunswick Records, the other band members agreed and the Artistics were born.
Artistics at the GWHS Spring Fling Concert, May 11, 1971, L-R: Joe Moore, Norman Brooks, Clyde McCoy, John Clark, Barry Price, Steve Eckles, Keith Wiley.George Washington High School concert review
An early, memorable performance was in 1971 before hundreds of enthusiastic fans on the football field at their alma mater, George Washington High School. The seven-piece outfit included a trumpet section and Brooks, Price and McCoy choreographed their synchronized dance steps for the show. The trio also wore matching shirts and slacks. The brass section made a grand entrance, riding up to the stage in a convertible.
The Artistics were the only soul act on the bill and shared the stage with four rock bands. Clark recalls that their PA system was “lackluster” so all of the groups pooled their equipment and shared a set of drums.
A review of the performance noted that drummer-singer John Clark “placed heavy accents on such soulful hits as (the Jackson 5’s) ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ and the Temptations’ ‘Just My Imagination.’” Their final number, Kool and the Gang’s “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight,” brought the crowd to their feet and had some dancing in the stadium.
J.D. was unavailable for the spring concert and guitarist Steve Eckles was recruited to fill-in on bass. Eckles was the only white member in the aggregation and the group would often rehearse at his parents Broad Street home. He was an excellent lead guitarist in his own right and was already a veteran of the local music scene, having played with many of the Artistics’ members in various bands at the El Dorado, a Black nightclub on the outskirts of town. Eckles also did arrangements for the band, allowing the brass to play string parts, adding depth to their live performances.
Artistics & James Brown ad (December 27, 1971)
The band continued to perform frequently at country clubs and on college campuses in Virginia and North Carolina and managed to secure a spot as the opening act for James Brown during his tour of small cities on the Chitlin’ Circuit in late 1971. Brown was booked to play the Danville City Auditorium on Monday, Dec. 27, 1971. Clark remembers that the Artistics were practicing one night when their manager stopped by and asked if they’d like to open for the Godfather of Soul. The band viewed it as a great opportunity for exposure and as a chance to make a little money. They were right on at least one count: The concert was well advertised but no cash changed hands. Clark said their manager informed the band members that this was their lucky break and that the show “was just gonna be for some publicity.”
This was the first time the Artistics had shared the stage with a professional act and Clark admits all were a little nervous, especially about their equipment. The roadies had refused their request to share his sound system; however, Brown overheard the discussion and told his crew to “let the guys use it.” They held their own and even got the attention of Brown’s backing band, the J.B.’s. The members rushed from backstage when they heard the Artistics covering Dennis Coffey’s instrumental hit “Scorpio,” note-for-note. While theirs was a small group with just three pieces of brass, Clark insists they “sounded just as good as Brown’s band.”
The show was on a Monday night and attendance didn’t meet expectations. Apparently sometime during the concert the top to Brown’s convertible was cut and he vowed never perform in Danville again. Clark doesn’t recall that incident but said Brown was disappointed with the turnout and announced from the stage that he would not be returning. Mr. Dynamite kept his promise.
The band entered the studio on at least one occasion, cutting a 45 at Triangle Recording Studios in North Carolina. The soul-tinged gospel tune, “The Handwriting is on the Wall,” was written by Keith Wiley. The Artistics traveled to Winston-Salem for the sessions. Clark plays on the track but doesn’t sing. The vocal chores were handled by Wiley, who would later enter the ministry. The single had a limited pressing on Triad Records, an independent label that specialized in gospel, bluegrass and country releases by local artists.
Equally rare is a 45 organist Keith Wiley wrote and recorded with the Symphonics in 1973 at Crescent City Sound Studios, Inc. in Greensboro, N.C. Crescent City was founded by Walt Copeland, who managed the studio and doubled as chief engineer. “Ooh Wee, Thank You for Choosing Me” (Crescent City Sound Studios – CCCSS 1223) is a soulful ballad featuring Ronald James and two male vocalists on a double lead falsetto reminiscent of the Delfonics and the Stylistics. The instrumental flip side, “Symphonic Strut,” includes some funky organ work from Wiley and James solid drumming.
The Symphonics were based in Yanceyville, N.C. and leader Ronald James played drums. Clark describes them as “a rival band,” that included a female bass player whose brother was also in the group. According to Clark, James later transferred to G.W. High School and went on to attend the Boston Conservatory of Music before returning to the area.
The record went nowhere but garnered local airplay on WILA, Danville’s R&B radio station. It was also a favorite on the cafeteria juke box at John M. Langston Junior High School, where Artistics’ manager Robert Hickson worked his day job as band director.
Most members of the Artistics were in the Class of 1973 and pursued other interests after high school. Wiley, Brooks, Price and McCoy all went on to college, while Oliver joined the Marines. Not ready to throw in the towel, Clark regrouped and enlisted brothers James and Grayling Covington on keyboards and bass. Grayling already knew the book, having followed the band to concerts and rehearsals. He also had a reputation as one of the finest bass players on the local scene. Joe Moore continued on guitar with Clark on drums and vocals.
The reformed band continued on the road but some of the members felt that a more “dynamic” name was needed. They decided on “Treachery.” Clark doesn’t recall the year Treachery called it quits but remembers the incident that led to their split. Treachery had landed a regular gig at a VFW Post in South Boston, Va., earning $900 a night. That was unheard of amount at the time and allowed the members to keep a little money and upgrade their equipment. All was well until the night a coat belonging to the wife of a prominent guest went missing. A girlfriend of a band member was accused of the theft. While she didn’t take the fur, the incident ended their residency and the band.
All of the members went on to successful careers, albeit not in the field of music.
Joe Moore, 2008
Joseph “Joe” Moore served for 20 years in the U.S. Navy. He lived in Norfolk and Hampton, Va., where he worked for the Navy Material Transportation Office until retirement in 1995. While living in the Tidewater area, Joe continued his musical indulgence. He organized gospel music groups, played guitar for Queen Street Baptist Church in Hampton and New Beech Grove Baptist Church in Newport News, Va. Moore returned to Danville and became a music instructor, giving lessons to young aspiring guitarists. He would sometimes play guitar during morning services at Pleasant Chapel Baptist Church in Sutherlin, Va. Moore died on Jan. 30, 2011.
Artistics reunion at Langston School, L-R: Carl Fitzgerald, unknown, Marvin Warner, Joe Moore.
Brothers Keith and Dale M. Wiley both enjoyed successful careers in separate fields. Dr. Keith B. Wiley became a minister and served as pastor of several churches before his death in November 2003 in Wilmington, Va. His brother, Dale, finished law school and returned to his hometown, where he worked as a defense attorney before being named Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court judge for the city of Danville. He is currently the presiding judge over the 22nd Judicial Circuit of Virginia.
Jonathan “J.D.” Oliver joined the Marines and attended Coastal Carolina Community College in Jacksonville. He now lives in Lexington Park, Maryland, where he works for Wyle Laboratories. John Clark is retired but continues to work driving a Yellow Cab. He and his wife have a home in Danville. Grayling Covington still lives in Danville, while his brother, James, moved to Burlington, N.C. At last report, Norman Brooks was living in Richmond, Va.
A high school reunion at Langston in 2015 brought some of the surviving members together again, 45 years after their first practice. Classmates still remembered the group and the music they created. That doesn’t surprise Clark, who says the members “were all perfectionists” and played for an audience who expected their music to sound “just like the record.” They succeeded.
Final poster for The Other Place, featuring the Huckleberry Mudflap
Once upon a dream, a sage became a bright butterfly and visited secret places in far-away lands. The dream was so real that, upon awakening, he wondered: am I now a man who dreamt he was a butterfly, or am I a butterfly now dreaming I am a man?
Thus read the legend on the most gorgeous concert poster from ‘60s North Carolina I had ever seen. In fact, the colors and lettering were so good that I spent the last several years with the image in the back of my mind with a mental footnote that it was probably a later reproduction. A magenta and aquamarine background camouflaged the face of a lovely woman peering down on a red-capped mushroom with white stalk, on which the opening paragraph was written sideways in small cursive script, while a large, ornate and matching red/white butterfly design drew the eye up and right. It was exquisite.
The design and color scheme was just what you hope for in a psychedelic piece of the era. It would have been good enough to announce the appearance of Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape at the Fillmore West. Alas, this was no lost San Francisco concert herald. The headline in white against the red mushroom top in beautiful stylized lettering read, “The Other Place, The Huckleberry Mudflap, Monday Aug. 26 thru Saturday Aug. 31 at the Rec. Center near mile post 12 Nags Head.”
Huckleberry Mudflap was no mystery. They were a well-remembered group around eastern Carolina, hailing from Harkers Island, NC. Their two 45s are quite nice. “Blue Surf” is a mellow sunshine pop account of a stroll on the beach. “Goodnight Mrs. Kollendoffer (Wherever You Are)” is the more mind-bending side.
This venue The Other Place at the Rec Center was more obscure. The most popular concert club in Nags Head was The Casino, their equivalent of the Myrtle Beach Pavilion. That’s where all the beach circuit bands landed. In fact, whatever The Other Place had going during the summer of ’68 would have been up against some serious competition from the Casino calendar that season. No trip to Nags Head was complete without a visit to the Casino or so I’ve been told.
‘Fessa John Hook would be able to rattle off a string of artists that played the Casino. As a beach music expert and DJ, ‘Fessa (that’s professor in cool-speak) John is conversant in all things shag-worthy. So, when he asked me recently, on the reputation of my Facebook group Carolina Rock ‘n’ Roll Remembered, if I could recommend any interesting show posters, I immediately thought of the Other Place. I told him the provenance was still in question, the jury was still out, but they (I had an inkling of two other designs in the series) were beautiful and deserved more study. While they weren’t really for beach dance bands, the events, if they were genuine, in that location at that time would certainly have some overlapping interest. John agreed. I was on the case.
I shot Morris Willis of Huckleberry Mudflap a message. Did the show as advertised take place? If the poster were a fantasy piece, it’s possible the related content was dreamt up. Morris responded shortly and gave me my first glimpse inside The Other Place. It most certainly did exist and The Mudflap had played that week.
Third poster for the Other Place, featuring the Wild Kingdom and the Aliens, each playing a week
How about those posters, though? The thought still hung with me that someone had revisited an idealized version of their youth and designed these in more recent years, maybe to sell in gift shops up and down the Outer Banks. It wasn’t a bad idea. They were just too good and raised many unanswered questions. Who was capable of such a thing in 1968? Why would they be associated only with a tiny, forgotten club on the beach and feature small regional acts mostly unknown an hour’s drive away? They obviously represented considerable effort and skill. There was no immediate example of anything nearly so well-done in the region. There was one pretty cool pink and orange Janis Joplin poster from UNC the next year, but it was bland alongside The Other Place posters. Most of the Carolina concert posters of the era were boxing style “blanks,” a reusable standard layout that would have the name of artists and dates swapped out with little expense before the next printing. That was another head-scratcher. How were these minor works of art an affordable marketing tool?
Nags Head, NC Rec Center at milepost 12, April 1968.
Among the many questions, the one I hoped to answer next was, “Did these posters exist in 1968?” I turned to facebook. In an Outer Banks “remember when” group I ran across some mention of The Other Place and the Nags Head Rec Center, sometimes called the Mann’s Center after the family who managed it. Since the early ‘50s it had featured a revolving array of amusements; Bingo parlor, roller skating rink, duck pin bowling, dance hall, pinball and pool tables, snack bar and grill. It was built by Gaston Mann who also built the nearby fishing pier. By 1968 his son Bryan and daughter-in-law Blanche were overseeing the operation. Gaston’s wife Ella was still the grandmotherly matron of the place, running the popcorn and cotton candy machines. The Other Place occupied the north half of the large one-story building that summer. Folks in the facebook group remembered blacklights, strobes, day-glo body paint, far-out designs on the walls, even Huckleberry Mudflap, but no one would say for sure that they remembered the posters.
Deep in the recesses of the facebook group’s photo archive I ran across an image posted some years ago. It was an announcement for a couple of shows at The Other Place, The Swinging Machine and Willie T. & The Magnificents. It wasn’t quite as fancy as the posters I had seen. The Other Place lettering was similar and it did feature the same detailed butterfly design. Most importantly, it had yellowed tape in a couple of spots along the edges with the feel of age and authenticity. The print also featured a three-color fade effect I call “Neopolitan ice cream” that was common in North Carolina at the time, a technique overused by the Benton Card Co. of Benson, NC. I was feeling convinced that at least some elements in the posters were period accurate.
I turned back to my friends at Carolina Rock ‘n’ Roll Remembered on facebook with these developments and asked, “Does anyone remember these posters? Are they legit?” A few comments in, our Virginia expert Jack Garrett confirmed. He remembered one of the posters hanging on a friend’s wall when they were in high school. He knew they were for real the moment I posted, he said. “Because Jack said so,” is good enough for me, but I wanted to wave the smoking gun in people’s face.
Fourth poster for The Other Place, featuring the Swinging Machine for a week, followed by the Slithy Toves, both Virginia bands
Aside from Huckleberry Mudflap there were no band names I recognized on the posters. I didn’t think they were Carolina groups. I Googled The Swinging Machine and The Slithy Toves. They were Virginia groups. The Swinging Machine had been tackled here on Garage Hangover and both of those groups have facebook pages. The Slithy Toves soundcloud stream is impressive. I especially like their version of “Early Morning Fear.”
I dove into The Swinging Machine facebook page, reading comments on photos posted years before. I ran across a very cool amateur bit of psychedelia in the form of a flyer for a show at The Light House in Portsmouth, VA. Comments suggested it was the handiwork of band member Vince Screeney. It wasn’t on the level of The Other Place material, but the feel was there. These guys were undoubtedly a part of that scene and must know who was behind The Other Place posters.
Ron Primm, psychedelic artist, 1967.
Somewhere in the exchange of captions and comments on The Swinging Machine page I spotted a clue, a passing reference to a local psychedelic design artist named Ron Primm. Soon friend requests and follow-up inquiries were sent to Mr. Primm and the office of the Norfolk advertising agency bearing his name.
My message to Ron Primm was not much different than a dozen I had sent in recent days. Do you know anything about The Other Place or this Huckleberry Mudflap poster? I had also posted obsessively about The Other Place on my facebook profile for a few days leading up to this attempt at contact.
The next day when I logged on to facebook I found a notification that Ron Primm had accepted my friend request. Further, he had commented on my post about the Mudflap mushroom poster. “It’s the work of the artist Chas Ober,” was his brief answer, then another half-dozen comments, each containing an image of a different poster from The Other Place. I was gobsmacked.
Charlie Ober, in Travel Bureau t-shirt, intensely focused during an exhibition in New Jersey, 1967.Ernie Hamblin, technical engineer and spokesman for The Travel Bureau.
Shortly I found myself on the telephone with Ron and scribbled like crazy on a notepad for nearly an hour. He was the youngest, at 85, and only living member of an artist collective known as The Travel Bureau. He and Charlie Ober (1928-2014) were the trained artists in the group, but the troupe was very much a multi-media experiment.
Ernie Hamblin (1933-2011), who Ron credits as spokesman for the group, was billed in press of the day as technical engineer and visionary Bob Fischbeck (1922-1999) was described as a photographer and musician.
The Travel Bureau, l to r: Bob Fischbeck pours oil into a clock glass on an overhead projector while Ernie Hamblin, Charlie Ober and Ron Primm operate tandem slide projectors during an exhibition in Atlantic City, NJ, Oct 6, 1967.The Travel Bureau logo, by Ron Primm, circa 1967.
The Travel Bureau were a bit of a psychedelic circus, bringing liquid light shows and sounds to a number of venues and happenings along the east coast at least as early as the spring of 1967. I asked Ron if any in the group had ever experimented with hallucinogens. “We were too old for that,” he said, adding that he was the only one of the four who was even much of a drinker. They were curious professional types.
Ron worked for The Virginian-Pilot, a large circulation newspaper covering Hampton Roads. The paper was keenly aware of the changing youth culture and, in a bid to stay hip, published a weekly tabloid magazine insert for the teen set called Action. The paper sponsored a battle of the bands at the Virginia Beach Dome emceed by local radio personality Gene Loving. This was one of the first events the group undertook to make psychedelic.
from the Norfolk, VA Ledger-Star, Saturday Feb. 3, 1968: “A Compelling Show [at the Norfolk Museum].” Original caption reads, “The three men are, left to right, graphic artist Ron Primm, photographer Bob Fischbeck and graphic artist Charley Ober. They are members of ‘The Travel Bureau,’ a group which explores psychedelic effects.”Ron traveled to New York City and visited clubs in Long Island and Lower Manhattan that had already developed a reputation for the new look. He took what he observed back to Virginia and wrote about it for Action magazine. The Travel Bureau would soon apply some of these borrowed lighting techniques and gradually develop some of their own innovations. It was the first time most of the Tidewater kids had ever seen strobes or blacklights, let alone wet slide projections and color organs.
The Travel Bureau lenticular calling card, circa 1967.
And it wasn’t just the kids who were curious about the new light shows. Early Travel Bureau exhibitions were held in art galleries and at Norfolk Museum and written up in local art columns. The group booked events as far afield as Philadelphia and Atlantic City. The name Travel Bureau was not only a nod to their skill at providing drugless trips, it summed up their “have light show, will travel” dedication to exhibit on the move. Soon they would become artists-in-residence at teen rock clubs, where live music provided an important organic element missing from some of their early shows, which relied on recorded sound.
The first such club they were to design was The Light House in Portsmouth, VA. From the article “Psychedelic Light House Opens” in the July 9, 1967 edition of The Virginian-Pilot:
Psychedelic projection was developed locally by the Travel Bureau. These four have made over 1,000 color slides that project patterns of squares, circles and abstract images in-between at a rapid pace. Two projectors run at the same time, focused on the same screen — producing double images that jump, twist and gyrate in time to the loudest, wildest rock ‘n’ roll music that can be found in this area.
The bandstand will be lighted by no less than six projectors. The bands will actually be performing in the patterns of projection which will be thrown upon a large circular background — similar to a Cinerama movie screen. The rear wall of the Light House will be illuminated by strips of light eight feet high that will pulsate to the beat of the music. In addition to the projections, the band runway will have sound-actuated colored spotlights.
A seventh machine will project large abstract forms on a translucent screen which allows viewing from both inside and outside the building. The other wall will feature a mural of designs that fluoresce under strips of ultra-violet lights.
It is easy to see why the owners decided to name the place The Light House.
If they don’t blow a fuse on opening night, the place will be open from 8 until 11:30 o’clock Wednesday through Saturday nights. Opening on Friday will be The Swingin’ Machine and The Prophets in Flight with the Chaparalls. On Saturday night, the background noise-music will be provided by The Beechnuts and The Sound Effects. Coming soon will be Dennis and the Times, The Sheepherders and The Malibus.
Charlie Ober in booth at the Other Place
The Other Place, newspaper advertisement for opening weekend, May 31st, 1968.
In a preview press showing at the club, the effect could truthfully be said to be visually stunning. In other showings, F.D. Cossitt, The Virginian-Pilot’s art critic, called it “very sophisticated and often breathtaking visually.”
More than fifty years later, Ron Primm is still impressed by the symbiotic relationship their visuals shared with the music, pulsing light and color nestled into a heartbeat of sound. “It was pretty stimulating,” Ron reflects. And it was loud. From the article “Your Senses Deepen in Land of Psychedelia” in the September 8, 1967 edition of the Norfolk Ledger-Star:
Powerful amplifiers are a must, so that the music will blot out every other sound, and project physical vibration to the individuals assembled.
Ron Primm of Norfolk, a pioneer of psychedelic effects in the area, explained that the purpose is to “combine the effects on sight, sound, motion and touch to obliterate everything but the immediate activity.”
Second poster for The Other Place featuring the face of Swinging Machine vocalist Gary Richardson
The Swinging Machine would become a regular act at The Light House and, the next summer, The Other Place. Lead singer Gary Richardson would become the literal poster child of the scene. His face in blue stares out from one of The Other Place posters designed by Ron Primm.
The Swinging Machine from Portsmouth, VA, 1968. Gary Richardson front and center, just a month before his death.
Tragically, Gary died in July of 1968 while inhaling freon. While the band continued for a time with a new singer, “Gary was the soul of the group,” the way Ron recalls it. His death also hit his friends in The Travel Bureau hard. In Charlie Ober’s scrapbook there are several lengthy articles from the local press clipped and lovingly tipped in. He was the bright star that burned out too fast.
Ernie Hamblin applies a finishing touch in preparing to open The Other Place. Far out designs covered nearly any available surface.
The summer of ’68 found The Travel Bureau at the height of their achievement. Charlie Ober’s daughter Chris was 18 that year. She was “conscripted” by her father to work on The Other Place project. Ahead of the May 31st opening a complete interior redesign was in store for the north half of Nags Head Rec, by the pier near milepost 12.
Attention to detail; table tops in The Other Place featured the iconic butterfly logo and assorted psychedelic designs.The light and sound control booth at The Other Place.
First the walls were painted black. Then the new club logo, Ron Primm’s butterfly emblem, was screen-printed on walls, floors and table tops in a variety of bright day-glo colors. An assortment of necessary gear was installed in the light/sound booth to include the trademark overhead projector. It would be plied with shallow glass bowls borrowed from the faces of school clocks doused with colored oils, caressed and guided as the planchette on a spirit board until vibrant ghosts were summoned and cast eerily over the walls, the crowd and performers alike.
Opening poster for The Other Place featuring the Hang 5 Mann and Sheepherders International Trade UnionButterfly logo for The Other Place, by Ron Primm, 1968.
The first poster for the new venue featured the butterfly, The Travel Bureau logo, also designed by Ron, and the note “Under 20.” It was intended as a teen club. It was something new, an alternative to the usual shag dance, like the one happening the same night over at The Casino and featuring Bob Marshall & The Crystals. At least The Other Place had the novelty of something new on their side, and the cooler poster. It can be seen in situ posted on the wall outside the entrance in one of the color photos from Charlie’s album.
Entrance to the new teen club, The Other Place. Opening week poster is visible on the right.
What made these old guys pour everything into such a project? Ron talks about how much work went into preparing and operating the club that season. These family men would work their regular day jobs in Virginia, drive down to Nags Head, stay until midnight and drive back to Virginia, or sometimes stay over on the weekends. Chris Ober was their resident body paint artist. It was a family affair. For all the hard work, it must have held all the excitement of a brand new hobby. Even without beer sales, the lifesblood of most nightspots, Ron says the club managed to make a little money during that brief era which he described as “a hiccup in time,” when things were strange and novel for a moment.
The Mush Room inside The Other Place, Nags Head.
Bryan Mann was tolerant of what went on next door, but it was so loud he would occasionally stroll over and threaten to pull the plug if they couldn’t keep it down. The uneasy peace between two worlds about to collide was nothing new in Nags Head, or even on Mann’s property. I imagine the guys drinking beer and shooting pool were about as happy about the racket from The Other Place as they were about the surfers getting close to the pier while they were fishing. Some of the old surfers tell me it wasn’t the “Absolutely No Surfboarding” signs that kept them away from the pier. It was the singular experience of being pelted with 3-ounce lead weights by the angry fishermen.
Other Place interior double-exposure image
Bryan Mann’s daughter Anna said it was a thrilling time and place to be 13 years old. Her dad may have been concerned about ill-behaved hippies coming to town, but the band members were nice and got along with her parents and grandmother. She remembers one of the band members, though she’s not sure from which group, being very friendly and making conversation with the older Mrs. Mann. They must have talked about the music that was popular when she was a girl, because the band dedicated a pepped up version of “O Susanna” to her that night. I like to think it was Morris Willis from Huckleberry Mudflap, who told me The Other Place was one of their favorite gigs and they enjoyed everyone they met. Or maybe even Gary Richardson from The Swinging Machine who would be dead in less than a month but had an unmistakable charm that reached beyond his generation.
Second-to-last poster for the Other Place, with the Franklin Freight Train, The Genesis and The NyteThe Other Place large butterfly medallion, custom made for members of The Travel Bureau, 1968.
With the approach of Labor Day, The Other Place closed up along with the Nags Head Rec Center. The Travel Bureau had finished their last long-term installation. They discussed opening again for the 1969 season but the prospect of that tiresome commute and truly hard work was daunting. When they went down that spring and found everything packed up and ready to go, the decision was easy. The Other Place was done.
Very shortly The Travel Bureau as a group would write “finis” to the project that had brightened a lot of lives over the previous two years. Bob Fischbeck would buy out the other partners and keep the lighting equipment and continue to put on shows for quite some time. There was something profound about Bob’s passion for these things. He found a sort of mysticism surrounding their sensory experimenting. It can be said without slight that Bob had a special mind. He had received a serious head injury in an automobile accident and was thereby “freed from normal perception,” as one of Charlie’s children helped me put it into words when we discussed the matter.
Bob Fischbeck and Ron Primm turning a portion of the Nags Head Rec Center into The Other Place, May 1968.A new chapter opens, The Other Place, page from Charlie Ober’s scrapbook.
The pages of Charlie Ober’s scrapbook are filled with tantalizing items relating to a time and place virtually undocumented elsewhere. The Neopolitan ice cream Other Place announcements were postcards, a set preserved in Charlie’s album. Event pages from local newspapers announce concerts by famous traveling acts while Light House events took place on the fringe. It was a small and precious counterculture. Soon pop culture would embrace psychedelia and wear the novelty off.
Somewhere in that far off Other Place, half a century ago, the shutters are open to a salty ocean breeze and a glowing, translucent butterfly is winging in for a landing on a giant mushroom. Maybe it was only a hiccup in time, but, man! What a colorful hiccup!
Vance Pollock April 2020
List of bands at the Other Place, 1968:
Friday May 31, 1968 (Opening night) and Saturday, June 1: The Hang 5 Mann Friday, June 7 – Thursday, June 13: The Sheepherders Trade Union International Friday, June 14 – Thursday, June 20: The Swinging Machine Friday, June 21 – Sunday, June 30: Willie T. & the Impressions Monday, July 1 – Sunday, July 7: Wild Kingdom Monday, July 8 – Sunday, July 14: The Aliens Monday, July 15 – Sunday, July 21: The Swinging Machine Monday, July 22 – Sunday, July 29: The Slithy Toves Monday, July 29 – Sunday, August 4: The Huckleberry Mudflap Monday, August 5: Dividing Line Tuesday, August 6: Agents Wednesday, August 7: The Psychos Thursday, August 8 and Friday, August 9: The Sun Saturday, August 10 and Sunday, August 11: The Sassafras Tea Monday, August 12 – Sunday, August 18: Franklin Freight Train Monday, August 19 – Thursday, August 22: The Genesis Friday, August 23 – Sunday, August 25: The Nyte Monday, August 26 – Sunday, August 31: Huckleberry Mudflap
O’Kaysions (second generation, ca. 1968) Top row L-R: Jimmy Hinnant (bass); Jimmy Spiedel (sax); Bruce Joyner (drums). Bottom row L-R: Ronnie Turner (trumpet); Donnie Weaver (lead vocals/keyboards); Wayne Pittman (vocals/guitar).
Much has been written about the early O’Kaysions and their one hit; however, little is known about the group that followed and the handful of recordings they made for Cotillion Records. All but two members of the third generation O’Kaysions have since died and the bulk of the recordings they made in 1970 remain unreleased. The O’Kaysions would disband in the early seventies, following a series of personnel changes and missed opportunities.
The Kays (picture sleeve, JCP Records) L-R: Wayne Pittman, Steve Watson, Donnie Weaver, probably Gerald Toler, Jimmy Hinnant.
The band formed in Kenly, North Carolina (south of Wilson) as The Kays. Lead vocalist and organist Donnie Weaver was from Rocky Mount and was just 12 when he joined The Kays. A decade later and with the same band at age 22, he sang lead vocals and played organ on “Girl Watcher” at Sound Studio in Greenville, NC, on February 8, 1968. He is also credited with coming up with a new name for the band, and from that point on they would forever be known as The O’Kaysions.
By 1968, the group had changed names and personnel. Weaver, guitarist Wayne Pittman, trumpeter Ron Turner, saxophonist Jim Spiedel, bassist Jimmy Hinnart and drummer Bruce Joyner were the second generation O’Kaysions. Steve Watson, Gerald Toler and Eddie Dement (drums, sax and trumpet, respectively) all performed on “Girl Watcher” but decided to stay with their day jobs rather than pursue fame and fortune on the road.
O’Kaysions (“Girl Watcher” picture sleeve, North State Records) Front row: Donnie Weaver (vocals, organ); Steve Watson (drums). Back row: Gerald Toler (sax); Wayne Pittman (guitar); Eddie Dement (trumpet); Jimmy Hinnant (bass).
Pittman penned the summer beach anthem and told Rick Simmons in his book Carolina Beach Music: The Classic Years that one of the band members suggested he write a song about girl watching because of his penchant for observing bathing beauties. Pittman recalls that he had already written the melody and added the lyrics, finishing the song in two nights. When Weaver was asked in the studio to help complete the chorus, he came up with the unforgettable “umm, umm, umm.” North State Records producer Buck Trail is given co-songwriting credit on the label, but Pittman composed the song and wrote the lyrics and Trail’s contribution was minimal.
Original “Girl Watcher” 45 on North State Records 1001, 1968.
Game Artists promoter Ken Adkins says the O’Kaysions made the crude recording in “a broom closet studio in Greenville, N.C.” The song became a regional hit, with WBAG in Burlington playing the 45 (North State 1001) in heavy rotation. It caught the attention of Adkins and his boss, Bill Griffin, who owned Greensboro’s famed Castaways and managed Game Artists.
Griffin wanted to sign the band and enlisted Adkins and A&M Records promoter Manly May, who shopped the song to labels in New York. ABC Paramount picked it up (ABC 11094) and Pittman remembers that label executives flew down from New York to get the master tapes from North State and decided to rush release the song unchanged, while picking up distribution. It went on to reach #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and in Cashbox and Record World) in early October, peaking at #6 on the R&B chart and earning a gold record with one million in sales by December 1968. “Girl Watcher” was listed in the Top 10 for nine weeks and in the Top 100 for twenty-six weeks. The song is listed as the 45th biggest record of 1968 in Billboard’s listing (#44 in Cash Box) of the “Hot 100” songs of the year.
Griffin had a management contract with the group and arranged a six-week tour. ABC had signed lead vocalist Donnie Weaver to an individual contract, leaving Game Artists in limbo: They had a national hit with no band to promote it. Weaver, Pittman and Hinnart were willing to tour, but first they needed a drummer and some horns.
Adkins returned to Greensboro, where he says he hand-picked some of the area’s finest musicians to join the O’Kaysions in the studio and on tour. In the fall of 1968, the three original members were joined by newcomers Turner, Spiedel and Joyner to record the Girl Watcher album, which was was produced by Johnny Pate.
O’Kaysions Jukebox mini-lp
The “Girl Watcher” album (ABC LP ABCS-664) was recorded in two days to take advantage of the hit single and received a favorable review in the Nov. 9, 1968 issue of Billboard. “The soulful O’Kaysions, the “Girl Watcher” crowd who spilled from R&B into a top 10 pop power should strike hard at the LP chart with the debut dozen of breezy rock ‘n’ soul tunes. “Little Miss Flirt,” “Love Machine,” “My Song” and Don Weaver’s bluesy vocals herald the arrival of this top white soul group.” The LP did fairly well on the Billboard album charts, climbing all the way to #49 on the Rhythm and Blues LP list and peaking at #153 on the overall albums charts on Nov. 23, 1968.
“Love Machine” (ABC 11153) was chosen as the follow-up single and was listed as a “new release” in the Nov. 30, 1968 Billboard. It spent six weeks in the charts, stalling at #76 on the pop charts in late December. The song fared much better on the Cash Box charts and was chosen as the number one pick in the trade paper’s “Looking Ahead” forecast on Nov. 16, 1968, the week it debuted. “Love Machine” had risen to #47 by Christmas. It was the O’Kaysions last chart entry.
Early concert poster, Williams Lake Dance Club, Clinton, N.C.
Management problems plagued the band from the start. Pittman says the people at North State thought they could sign the band with any booking agency they wished and inked a contract with Atlanta promoter Bill Lowery, without the band’s knowledge. The O’Kaysions felt Lowery wasn’t booking the group enough, so they canceled the agreement. The band next signed with Associated Booking in New York City. But Pittman says Lowery’s power and contacts in the industry “put the kiss of death” on the O’Kaysions and ABC was reluctant to put much money behind the band.
But while Weaver was tied to an individual contract with ABC, Griffin and Adkins had traveled to New York and signed the group to Atlantic Records. Atlantic would later front $15,000 for the O’Kaysions to record an album at the new, state-of-the-art Crescent City Sound Studios (formerly Copeland) in Greensboro, for release on their subsidiary, Cotillion Records.
Pittman was the next to leave. Donny Trexler was brought on board as his replacement on guitar, with drummer Gary “Groove” Pugh joining the band at the same time. Both were also excellent vocalists. Trexler was known for his gritty, soulful singing, while Groove brought a piercing falsetto voice to the mix.
Bob Collins and the Fabulous Five L-R: David Hamilton (drums), Bob Collins (vocalist), Dick East (bass), Tommy Tucker (sax), John Cook (keyboards), Donny Trexler (guitar/vocals).
Trexler began singing at age 9 in Summerfield, N.C. and was 14 when he formed his first band, Donny and the Blue Jets. Two years later, he joined the Six Teens, which consisted of six, 16-year-olds. Their drummer decided to defect to Allan and the Flames, a group that had a regional hit with the instrumental “Winter Wonderland.” Their drummer, Bob Collins, didn’t want to leave his job to go out on the road, so the bands switched percussionists. Several left to attend college and some older members were brought into the reformed band, now known as Chuck Tilley and the Fabulous Five. Chuck left or was fired in January 1962 and Bob Collins was chosen to front the band because, as Trexer recalls, “he could sing ‘Ooh Poo Pah Do’ and the Fats Domino catalog.”
But it was Trexler who would sing lead on the group’s 45, “If I Didn’t Have a Dime.” The song had been a minor hit for Gene Pitney but became the signature song for Bob Collins and the Fabulous Five. The band actually recorded the tune twice, first at Arthur Smith Studios in Charlotte and then at Copeland Sound Studios in Greensboro in 1966. The latter version was released on the Greensboro-based Jokers Three label and remains a beach music favorite. Trexler says the band got a group of teens “to come in from Guilford and High Point College and a couple of cases of beer and we had an audience!”
Trexler left the Fabulous Five in February of ’68 and was playing in the basement of the Rathskeller in Greensboro with Ted Carroll and the Music Era. The band had traveled to Florida for an extended engagement when manager Bill Griffin contacted Trexler and told him he was having problems keeping members in the O’Kaysions. With a hit record and a follow-up in the charts, it didn’t take much persuading to convince Trexler and Pugh to leave the Music Era and join the O’Kaysions in the first week of January, 1969.
Both were flown to New York City to provide backing vocals for the group’s next single, an upbeat cover of Gene Pitney’s “24 Hours from Tulsa.” Weaver sings lead but none of the O’Kaysions play on the track, which was recorded with session musicians at the Hit Factory in January of ’69. Trexler says that ABC called Johnny Pate (Impressions,Gene Chandler) to produce the sessions, although the label credits Bill Szymczyk and Game Productions. While he was brought on board as guitarist, Trexler said he didn’t take his instrument to New York and Billy Butler plays guitar on the song. Interestingly, Trexler was told the guitarist was the brother of singer Jerry Butler. The single’s b-side, “Colors,” is a curious ballad about the plight of the American Indian that features a strong vocal delivery from Weaver.
The O’Kaysions featured in Billboard February 22, 1969
The record (ABC 11207) received a favorable review in the April 19, 1969 edition of Billboard and was listed in the “Top 60 Pop Spotlight.” The reviewer enthused that “the ‘Girl Watcher’ group bounces back with a strong item here, a clever revival of the Gene Pitney hit of the past, penned by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Driving rock beat backs a strong vocal workout.” While “24 Hours from Tulsa” had all of the elements of a hit record, it failed to dent the charts.
But the band was about to undergo another drastic change. Lead vocalist and front man Donnie Weaver was about to leave the band for a solo career with ABC, while the band would record for Atlantic. Trexler says there were already rumblings of Weaver’s departure as early as January of ’69, although he would continue performing with the group through late August. After the New York sessions, Griffin and Trexler were walking down the street when his manager remarked: “You might as well get yourself prepared to really do something with this group because ABC is shooting to take Donnie away from us.” Griffin told Trexler he didn’t intend to stop them and asked that Trexler take over when that happened, adding: “You’re one of these people if I send you out on a job and there’s no place to play, you’ll build a place before the night.” While he insists it was never his intention to repIace Weaver, Trexler said it became apparent in the following months that “Donnie was not a happy individual.”
His first job as lead singer for the O’Kaysions came on a Labor Day Saturday night in 1969 at the Coachman & Four in Bennettsville, S.C. “We got notice on Monday or Tuesday of that week that Donnie wouldn’t be coming back,” says Trexler, because Weaver “had decided to do a thing on his own and ABC Records decided to stay with Donnie and not the group.”
Weaver left around August 1969. Jimmy Spiedel was drafted in the fall of that year and Ronnie Turner departed about the same time. Glenn Ingram was added on sax, along with trumpeters Tommy Hawk and Tim Moore.
Donny Trexler with his new Gibson ES-335 guitar, Christmas, 1969.
This line-up played a gig in Mississippi a couple of days before Christmas in 1969. The job wasn’t as memorable as what happened immediately afterwards. The band was headed home to North Carolina for the holidays when someone flagged them down to tell them the door on the band trailer was wide open. Somewhere along the way, Trexler’s Gretsch Country Gentleman guitar and Hawk’s Schilke trumpet had tumbled out onto the tarmac. “We doubled back at 3:30 a.m. to look for them but never found either,” recalls Trexler, “so a Gibson ES-335 was the replacement purchased by the group.” Trexler had warned the band repeatedly that the latch was bad and describes the episode as “an early nail the coffin.”
O’Kaysions (third generation, ca. 1970-71) Top row, L-R: Gary “Groove” Pugh (drums/vocals); Big Jim Lowry (guitar/vocals). Second row: Donny Trexler (guitar/vocals); Allen Brewer (bass/vocals). Front and center: Lenny Collins (drums)Drummer Lenny Collins in the mid-70s.
Trexler contends the eight-piece group “was not a workable unit,” and the O’Kaysions soon downsized, eliminating the horns. After the band regrouped, Moore joined Kallabash Corporation. According to Trexler the band “just kind of drifted for 6 months” before they hired Big Jim Lowry (guitar/vocals), Allen Brewer (bass/vocals) and former Tropics drummer Lenny Collins in “late February of early March of 1970.” Groove Pugh had some problems and left the group until they were resolved. He returned and they continued with two drummers. The group now had the strength of two lead vocalists and a pair of excellent guitarists. While no longer playing in the O’Kaysions at this point, Jimmy Hinnant was the group manager. Hinnant and Ken Adkins ran the day-to-day operations of Game Artists and kept the band working.
This was the line-up that Lost Soul keyboardist Steve Calfee booked for the Blue Toad, a college club in Bluefield, WVA. Calfee said he was amazed, adding “they did ‘Girl Watcher,’ of course, but most of the evening they did everything from the Allman Brothers first two albums, blues and some killer rock and roll. Knocked our little beer hall right on its butt (and) Donny and Big Jim did some great double guitar solos.”
Topping the bill at the 220 Drive-in in Martinsville, VA., May, 1970.
Art Kramer was playing tenor sax in Mass Production when the group shared a bill with the O’Kaysions at the 220 Drive-In near Martinsville in May 1970. His group also supported singer Clifford Curry. The Drifters also performed but it was the O’Kaysions who topped the bill. Kramer remembers that “the O’Kaysions were down to a five-piece band at this time… didn’t have any horns.” He recalls that they had “a good sound (and) you could tell the band had been together for a long time.”
Trexler maintains this line-up was the best on stage, noting “the group was very versatile; we all played different instruments in the show.” The five-piece configuration toured extensively along the East Coast, playing military bases and clubs like the Magic Attic in Myrtle Beach. But their songs were hard-edged and had little in common with the beach music generally associated with the band.
Their first Cotillion single, “Watch Out Girl” (Cotillion 44089) backed with “Happiness,” was recorded at Walt Copeland’s new Crescent City Studios, in the spring of 1970. Allen Brewer played bass, with Trexler on guitar and lead vocals. The band borrowed drummer Clayton “Red” White, from Bob Collins’ band, with Duke Hall on keyboards. Hall was the arranger and producer for Game Artists. Trexler says the horns were some players from A&T State University, supplemented by musicians from the Peace Core, formerly known as the In-Men LTD. While Trexler believes the strings were added later by Atlantic, Ken Adkins recalls that Hall “hired great string and horn players who were in town for the Eastern Music Festival held annually at UNCG.”
Drummer Red White remembers the band doing a sound check when a “squeak” was heard in the playback. The engineer isolated it to his Speed King bass drum pedal. “I always kept (and still do) a can of 3-In-One oil in my drum case to keep my pedal at top speed. One drop to each spring piston and we were recording.” White still uses that same bass pedal to this day.
The flip side, “Happiness,” is a beautiful ballad with an infectious chorus. Penned by Trexler, the song incorporates horns and a nice string arrangement. He sings the double-tracked vocal and plays acoustic and electric guitars. The acoustic used on the session is a 1934 Gibson Model L-00, which Trexler purchased from his uncle for $50 when he was 10. The same guitar was used on dozens of jingles he recorded at Crescent City Studios in Greensboro. Trexler performed the song as a solo artist for a TV broadcast on TBS while the O’Kaysions performed a three-week run in Atlanta in 1971.
Griffin shopped the master tapes to Atlantic because Groove and Donny were still under contract with the label through their work with the Music Era. The 45 was one of the first Cotillion releases following the massive success of the “Woodstock” album and the single was a Top 20 pick in all three trades: Record World, Cashbox and Billboard. That helped the group gain an appearance on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand in mid-October, where Trexler mimed “Watch Out Girl” and Weaver’s vocal on “Girl Watcher.” Groove couldn’t make the show and Collins sat on the drum throne.
Billboard gave the record a rave review in the Sept. 20, 1970 edition, pegging the song in its “Top 20 Spotlight” of 45s predicted to crack the upper reaches of the Hot 100. “Watch Out Girl” was singled out with the Jackson Five’s “I’ll Be There” and CSN&Y’s “Our House” as surefire hits, with Billboard enthusing “the ‘Girl Watchers’ gang move to the Cotillion label with a blockbuster single that will get them back at the top of the Hot 100 and Soul charts (with) a top vocal workout flip, “Happiness.” Unfortunately, it was not to be and the song sank without a trace.
While on the West Coast, Trexler did an interview on Wolfman Jack’s radio show before the band returned home for a heavy schedule of touring in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia.
The third generation O’Kaysions were in the studio in Greensboro in the summer of 1970 to record a follow-up and an album that languishes in the vaults to this day. On reflection, “Travelin’ Life” b/w “Life and Things” (Cotillion 44134) seems like an odd choice for a single, but Trexler explains that “Duke Hall wrote them and they were published by Griffins Publishing Co.” Trexler sings lead and plays guitar. Hall was again the producer/arranger and played keyboards, while Brewer was on bass. Trexler believes Lowry played a second guitar on the recordings, with Collins on drums “and hired union musicians” rounding out the band. Jimmy Ienner (Three Dog Night, BS&T, Raspberries) was the production coordinator. Trexler recalls that Ienner was production manager for all Cotillion releases at the time and was “very interested in the group but did his homework and decided to stay clear.”
The sessions for the single coincided with the recording of the group’s second album, which featured songs written by both Trexler and Duke Hall. Hall, who is best remembered for producing some of the Platters later hits, had the financial backing of Atlantic, which – according to Trexler — had advanced Griffin $15,000 for the sessions.
Okaysions Cotillion 45 Life And Things (b-side of Travelin’ Life)
Another ode to life on the road, “Travelin’ Life” boasts a strong, raspy vocal from Trexler, who explains that the effect was intentional. “Duke always liked to record late at night after I had sung all night because he said my voice sounded better,” recalls Trexler. He says the strain in his voice is audible, explaining that the song “was pretty rough, but that’s the way Cotillion said they wanted my voice to sound.” The flip side, “Life and Things” features a harmonica and fuzz guitar but sounds as though it was hastily recorded as a throwaway track. Trexler again sings lead and plays the wah-wah guitar solo.
Running order for the unreleased Cotillion LP.
With four songs in the can, the group needed another eight to round out the album. Four of Hall’s tunes were recorded, along with three by Trexler, including the unreleased songs “Long County” and “Unity.” Ken Adkins recalls that two songs were recorded at the insistence of Atlantic Records “as a favor to some publishing company.” Hall’s composition, “Phat Momma,” was a standout, as was Piano Red’s “The Right String (But the Wrong Yo-Yo).” Other unreleased tracks include “Bad Girl,” “Listen to the World,” Ripe for Disaster,” and “A Man Is A Man.”
Ken Adkins was in the studio and says he “loved ‘Phat Momma’ when Donny Trexler recorded it,” adding: “I thought that O’Kaysions’ album really smoked with a bunch of great songs. They even did an arrangement I suggested of a very funky version of “Right String.” He still wonders why the label chose not to release the album, calling it “the best stuff ever recorded by Game.”
Trexler has his own ideas about why the album was shelved. While he and his band mates had spent “a lot of hours” in the recording studio, Trexler contends that Cotillion became disenchanted with the group’s management after “part of the money designated for a comeback album for the O’Kaysions (was spent) on other group projects.”
Poster for Greensboro show on Sunday, April 29, 1973, near the end.
While the group continued touring, Trexler insists “the magic was gone” and he decided to leave the band, ending a three-year stint as an O’Kaysion. He had become disenchanted with the lack of direction and felt the group was headed nowhere. Trexler was also embarrassed to open for national artists like the Guess Who and Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds when these groups had “top notch equipment and roadies,” (while) we carried and set up our equipment in front of thousands of people in the audience.” Trexler left in March of 1972 and formed the group Swing with Tim Callaway, Doug Bates and his future wife, Susan.
O’Kaysions (last line-up, ca. 1972) Front row: Bobby Holland, Johnny Cobb. Back row: Frankie Pyrtle, Jim Lowry, Sylvia Lowry, probably Larry Miller, Gary Pugh.
The O’Kaysions soldiered on briefly before finally calling it quits. Little is known about the last line-up, but Johnny Cobb took Trexler’s place on guitar. Jim Lowry and Gary Pugh continued with the group, joined by Frankie Prytle, Sylvia Lowry and Larry Miller. The group quickly morphed into the International Boogie Band and recorded one single for Game: “Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee”/ “Silver Dollar Lady” in 1972.
Weaver’s recording career with ABC was short-lived and yielded just one single – “Speak to Me” b/w “Sad, Sad Sam” — in 1970. The plug side was written by Jackie Lomax, guitarist in the British Invasion band, the Undertakers. The song was the opening track on Lomax’s 1969 LP on Apple Records, “Is This What You Want?,” which featured all four of the Beatles. Weaver wrote the flip side of the single but neither song received significant airplay. Both songs were produced by Bill Szymczyk, who had overseen the “Watch Out Girl” sessions earlier that year.
In 1972, Weaver moved to Riverside, California, where he joined bassist Gerald Davis and put together a band to record and perform some original songs. In 1979, Weaver met Chuck Leavell and Sea Level and recorded with some of the band members at Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia. He also toured briefly with Sea Level.
According to his official bio, Weaver left music in the eighties and nineties to focus on his career as a scientific computer consultant.
But his retirement was temporary and Weaver opened for Chicago at the Alltel Pavilion in Raleigh on June 16, 2001. He performed original songs to an audience of 15,000.
In November 2003, Weaver organized a reunion of all six original members of the O’Kaysions at the Alabama Theater in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to perform “Girl Watcher” for the Carolina Beach Music Association Hall of Fame Awards.
He was inducted into the Twin County Hall of Fame for Nash and Edgecombe Counties in 2009 and was still in fine form when he recorded the song “Truth” in 2012.
Donny Trexler, 2016
Donny Trexler continues to record and perform and appears regularly at private parties, clubs and restaurants in the North Myrtle Beach area. He and his wife, Susan, formed Swing in 1972 and the four-piece, Top 40 act toured the East Coast until 1988. At the time the couple, now married, formed Swing Too. The pair still record and perform together. Their 2007 c.d., The Edge of Paradise, contains standards and original material, including the popular “Tired of Pulling This Train” and “Inventory on Heartaches,” an updated version of the song Trexler wrote for Bob Collins and the Fabulous Five. He also remixed “Jukebox,” which remains a favorite during performances.
He was recognized by the industry in November 2000, receiving the CAMMY Award for “Lifetime Achievement.” The following year, Trexler was inducted into the South Carolina Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame and received the Palmetto Award from the governor.
The O’Kaysions reformed in the eighties and remain a popular attraction on the beach music circuit. The current group is based in Columbia, S.C. and features three vocalists, trumpet, saxophone, drums, guitar, bass, and keyboards. Original member and guitarist Wayne Pittman manages the band, which plays a mixture Top 40, classic rock and the ever popular anthem to summer, “Girl Watcher.”
The Shadows came from Hazelwood, North Carolina, a small town about 30 miles west of Asheville. Members included Dennis Robbins and Ken James.
The band traveled 150 miles east to Charlotte to record at Arthur Smith Studios, releasing their single on Switch Records in April, 1966. “Tell Me” is a good original by Robbins and James, a tight performance with an excellent guitar break. The flip is a version of Brubeck’s “Take Five” that gives the guitarist more room to stretch out. Switch seems to have been their own label, I haven’t seen anything else on it.
Two months later the band drove 280 miles in the other direction, west to Nashville, where they recorded another original, “She’s Like That” for release on Zeke Clements’ Gold Standard Records. “Tell Me” was reused for the flip side, though without all the heavy echo on the original Switch version. I believe it is the same take of the song, not a re-recording, and I prefer it without the echo.
Dennis Robbins and Kenneth James copyrighted both songs with Clements’ Blazon Music Co, BMI on June 21, 1966.
Gold Standard released over 200 singles during the ’60s. There are a handful of garage or teen-beat records, which I’ll list below, though some of them I haven’t heard and I’m not positive they fit here. While some artists were local to Nashville, it wasn’t unusual for Gold Standard to feature artists from around the country. The Cavemen came from Birmingham, Alabama and had an earlier single as J.C. & Cavemen. The Incidentals were from Montgomery, Alabama.
112 – The Cavemen (vocal by J.C. Raynor) – “Just One You For Me” (Hoyt Johnson) / “Tell Her One More Time For Me”
114 – The Incidentals – “Baby Shake” / “Till the Ending of Time” (both songs by James Segrest and Herbert Phelps, released Dec. ’64)
155 – The Coachmen (vocal by Tommy Burnett) – “I’ll Never Leave You” / “Possibility”
174 – Steve Stephens – “Lonely Me” (Ricky Ryan) / ‘When You Grow Tired Of Him”
204 – Ricky Ryan & Jerry Lee McKee – “My Baby’s Coming Home” / “Ask Me Baby”
209 – The Vee-Jay’s (lead singer Bill Boone) – “Give Your Heart to Me” (Ray D’ahrouge”) / ?
237 – Ronny Williams – “Move Up a Little Closer” (James Hendrix, Elijah & Geraldine Murray) / Larry Williams – “When You Grow Tired of Him”
262 – Five Emprees – “Little Miss Sad” / “Nobody Cares” (1967, re-recording with horns of their Freeport single from 1965)
286 – Paper Menagerie – “Left Up To You” (E. Macon) / “Love Again” (E. Macon & B.G. Gillespie) both pub. by Junellin Music BMI, prod. by Dick Sell Anyone have a photo of the Shadows? I’d like to know more about the Shadows or any of these other groups, especially the Paper Menagerie..
North Carolina had many record labels in the 1960’s, but few were as prolific as Tornado Records. Based in Greensboro, the label had offices at 1712 Farrell Avenue, but also did business via PO Drawer 6787.
Tornado’s stock in trade was regional Country & Western music, although artists from as far away as Pennsylvania and Maine were released by the label. Tornado was owned by David Lee Perkins, whose name appears frequently with author credits on many releases.
The years of operation for the label seem to have been rather compact, roughly estimated to range from late 1964 to mid-1967, referencing Mike Markesich’s excellent tome, “Teenbeat Mayhem.”
Although typically beyond the scope of Garage Hangover, Tornado registers in the minds of garage fans as the home of the second single by The Nomads of Mt. Airy, North Carolina. As far as Tornado was concerned, The Nomads were a “Sensational New Discovery,” and said just that right on the record label. “Thoughts of a Madman” b/w “From Zero Down” was released in April of 1967, and ranks high among garage rock enthusiasts nationwide. It was the Nomads second single, the first being on the Stark label profiled on this site.
Also of note are the Caravans from Greensboro. Their single, “Twistin’ Rockin’ Baby” b/w “Rainbow of Love” from a couple of years earlier rocks pretty well, with an occasionally cool, John Lennon-esque vocal on the A-side.
Profile of Tornado Records artist Gail Day, Feb. 2, 1967
Tornado Records Discography (if anyone can help fill in the gaps, more power to them):
Tornado EP-100 – Roy & Jackie Baker & the South Mountain Boys – You’re Not the Girl I Used to Know, I’m Showing You the Way/Little Heart, What Life Could Have Been
Tornado T-101 – Glenn Thompson “My Mary” / “What A Line” Tornado T-102 – South Mountain Boys featuring Little Debbie Baker – “Twistin’ Rockin’ Baby” / “I’m Falling for You, You, You” Tornado T-103 – Dewey Ritter & the Panhandle Boys “I Walk A Lonely Road (Because of You)” / “Be My Sunshine Forever” Tornado T-104 – South Mountain Boys “Gonna Hand You A Ticket” / “Dial My Number” Tornado T-105 – Roy Baker & the South Mountain Boys “Jocassee Nona” / “Close As The Nearest Phone” Tornado T-106 – Caravans “Twistin’ Rockin’ Baby” / “Rainbow of Love” (Greensboro) Tornado T-107EP – Gloria Weston “Missing in Action (In Vietnam),” Kenny Craft “What A Fool Am I,” and Rod Rodgers “Hot Game of Dice” and “A Daughter Never Fools Her Mother” Tornado T-108 – Joyce Mills “You’re Not the Boy I Used To Know” / “Cry On My Shoulder” Tornado T-109 – Dewey Ritter – “Big Deal” / “Georgia Took My Name”
Harold Crosby
Tornado T-110 – Harold Crosby “Big Big Truck” / “I Will Mend Your Heartaches Tomorrow” (Maine) Tornado T-111 – Cloyd Sullivan “I Don’t Have the Heart” / “My Love is Guaranteed” Tornado T-112 – ? Tornado T-113 – Dick Mosely “Cry No More” / “Wagons-Ho” Tornado T-114 – Henry E. Noe & the Calvary Gospel Team – Tell Them When You Saw Me, Cry Aloud & Spare Not/Ananias, I’m Moving Up Tornado T-115 – Joyce Love “Judy Judy” / “Strawberry Sundae” Tornado T-116 – Gord Worrall – “Wagon’s Ho” / “Freedom Will Take Command” Tornado T-117 – Joyce Lynn “Touch of Heartache” / “Heaven Help Me (Another Lonely Day)” Tornado T-118 – Dick Mosely “Getting My Kicks in ’66” / “Nascar-Circuit” Tornado T-119 – Margie Lee “It’s Too Late” / “Let’s Fall In Love Together” Tornado T-120 – ? Tornado T-121 – Carl Pride “You Can’t Catch My Mustang” / “If I Don’t Miss You” (Greensboro) Tornado T-122 – Lorene Weaver & the Country Boys – “I’m Leaving You”/ “Mr. Blues Walks In” Tornado T-123 – Larry Campbell & the Country Playboys “Break-Through” / “Bluegrass Mountain Home” Tornado T-124 – Bobby Adkins & Allen Mills “Bluegrass in Kentucky” / “I’m So Sorry That I Threw Your Love Away” Tornado T-125 – George Dry & the Daydreamers “One Lung Charlie” / “Hard-Rock Sam” (PA) Tornado T-126 – Jimmy Hart – Symbol of Love/I Think I Know Tornado T-127 – Joe Stone & Bobby Atkins “Singing Love Songs (Bluegrass Style)” / “Tears and Roses” Tornado T-128 – Jimmy Osborne – “Though Not As Yet” / “Walk Away Memories” Tornado T-129 – Billy Beal “Rainy Day Blues” / “Cold, Dark And Deep” Tornado T-130 – Tommy Jones & the Hayriders “Ballad of Gamblin’ Lil” / “God – Dollar” Tornado T-131 – Glenn Eck “Bittersweet Love” / “Clock On the Wall” Tornado T-132 – Joni Day “I Wonder If” / “Again He Said to Me” (PA) Tornado T-133 – Johnny Jones “You’ve Turned Me Down” / “A Million Times” Tornado T-134 – Harold Crosby “Bright Lights (and Blond Haired Women)” / “Let’s Fall in Love Together” (Maine) Tornado T-135 – Rosie Lartigue – “Walking With My Baby”, “Million Heartaches” / “Little Echoes of Love”, “Take Me Back Again” Tornado T-136 – Joe Stone & Bobby Atkins “Stolen Kisses Are The Sweetest” / “Mister Bluegrass (Here’s To You)” Tornado T-137 – Gail Day “Santa Didn’t Come” / “Please, Mr. Santa” (8 year old daughter of George and Joni Day) (PA) Tornado T-138 – Bobby Adkins “Bluest Guy In Town” / “You Stopped Loving Me” Tornado T-139 – Ray Josey “Orchids & Diamonds” / “Silver Tears” Tornado T-140 – Joyce Lynn – “Stop That Knockin'” / “Though Not as Yet” (Clint Thompson, D.L. Perkins) Tornado TLP-141 – George & Joni Day EP “Tears In My Heart,” “Sorry,” “The One You Left Me For,” “Make Up Your Mind,” “Too Many – Too Few,” “We’ll Work It Out” (PA) Tornado T-142 – Tommy Jones – Country D.J./He Started With a Quarter Tornado T-143 – Glenn Thompson “Bad, Bad Dream” / “Thirteen Stripes in Old Glory” Tornado T-144 – Glenn Thompson “Walk Softly (You’re Walking On My Heart)” / “You Didn’t Want Me Yesterday (I Don’t Want You Today)” Tornado T-145 – Hank Brooks & the Midnite Rangers “Big, Big Heart” / “Pretty Picture On My Wall”
Lefty Hales
Tornado T-146 – Lefty Hales & the Carolina Partners “Stop Me” / “Anywhere, Anytime” (Goldsboro) Tornado T-147 – Mettie Lou “A Mother’s Heartache” / “A Soldier’s Prayer” Tornado T-148 – Bobby Adkins “Soldier’s Return” / “There’s Not Enough Words” Tornado T-149 – Tommy Jones & the Hayriders “The Commies Are Coming” / “Love Is A Mountain Of Gold” Tornado T-150 – Tommy Jones and the Hayriders “Tell Me Darling, Tell Me” / “See-Saw Love” Tornado T-151 – Wyona Lambeth – “Lost Below Heaven” / “I’ll Never Get Over You” Tornado T-152 – Garland Atkins & the Sunny Mountain Partners “I Miss You Most Of All” / “Singin’ The Blues” Tornado T-153 – Tommy Harrell & the Country Valients “One Drink Too Many” / You Sure Got The Best Of Me” (Eastern NC) Tornado T-154 – Evelyn Hooper “Now There’s An Ache In My Heart”/? Tornado T-155 – ? Tornado T-156 – ? Tornado T-157 – Cousin Lee & Little Hank EP “Lonely and Blue,” “Don’t Judge Another Person,” “Lifetime To Forget,” “Little Hank’s Shuffle” Tornado T-158 – Tommy Jones & the Hayriders “You Got Something Gal” / “Let Her Go” Tornado T-159 – The Nomads “Thoughts Of A Madman” / “From Zero Down” (Mt. Airy) Tornado T-160 – Glenn Thompson Sunshine Through The Rain” / “You’re Not The Girl I Used To Know” Tornado T-161 – Dick Mosely “Truck Stop Number Three” / “Under the Double Eagle” Tornado T-162 – Billy Beal “A Lifetime to Forget” / “Queen Without a Throne” Tornado T-163 – Bobby Adkins “Ballad of Gamblin’ Lil” / “What About My Blue Heart” Tornado T-164 – Bobby Adkins “Miss Thirteen, Teenage Queen” / “Day of God’s Wrath” Tornado T-165 – ? Tornado T-166 – Glenn Thompson “Where The Red River Flows” / “King of the Endless Highways”
One Tornado LP has been identified thus far:
Tornado LP-102 The Best of Glenn Thompson
Thanks to Chris Bishop for additions, Lightnin’ Wells, Bob Clere for jpegs and helpful comments, and to Mike Markesich for key dates.
Stark Records in Mount Airy, North Carolina is famous for the single by the Nomads, “Not For Me” / “How Many Times” as well as a good rockabilly 45 by David Southerland and the Southerns. I don’t have the Nomads, but I’ve picked up this oddity, a soulful and very crude single by the Happy Hoss, which seems to be a pseudonym for song writer Alan Westmoreland.
The top side is “Call Me Baby”, the vocalist shouting out the repetitive lyrics in a hoarse voice (ha ha) answered by high-pitched backing vocals. The flip “You’re The One (I Love)” is a ballad with saxophone.
Years later I found a copy that had white labels pasted over what appear to be maroon Stark labels. Most of the info was identical, except a 1972 date and “Prod. by Paul E. Johnson” have been added, and the release number changed to PBR-100. Whatever the second label name was, it has been pasted over again, so it reads “HELLO RECORDS”! This may be a second pressing, as the shape of the vinyl under the labels is different.
White labels are pasted over what look to be maroon Stark labels, then “HELLO” pasted over the label name!Mount Airy is a small town very close to the Virginia border, 37 miles northwest of Winston-Salem. Stark Records had at least fourteen singles and a couple albums. The label seems to have been run by Thomas Paul Stark, as every release has Tom Paul Music Co. BMI in the publishing.
The Nomads single is their first, and they recalled the studio being in a basement when they cut their 45 and demos. Their next 45 “Thoughts of a Madman” / “From Zero Down” was released on the Tornado Records label (Tornado 159 in April of 1967), which also featured a release by Joe Stone and Bobby Atkins (Tornado T-136, “Mister Bluegrass”) who have a 45 on Stark. Tornado Records was similarly dominated by country releases.
Stark Records Discography(any help with this would be appreciated):
Stark S-001 – Cara Stewart with Lee Hudson Orchestra – “My Darling” / “Be Sure That You Mean It” (both by Jerry Thomas, W-300/W-301) Stark SR-002 – Joe Stone and Bobby Atkins & the Dixie Mountaineers – “Love Is A Lot To Understand” / “Bob’s Special” Stark SR-003 – Bobby Atkins & the Farm Hands – “Lonesome Banjo” / “My Darling And Me” Stark SR-004 – The Country Cousins – “Wrong Side Of Town” / “Bought Me A Farm” Stark SR-005 – David Sutherland and the Southerns – “You Better Leave My Baby Alone” (Sutherland) / “Whispering Bill” (“A Product of Pilot Record Co.”) Stark SR-006 – Randy Scott – “If Seeing Is Believing” (David Sutherland) / “You’ve Lost Too Much” Stark SR-006 EP – Siney Ann Wooten – “Darling You Don’t Love Me Anymore” (Paul Johnson, Johnny Long) / “Crazy Mixed Up Town” (David Sutherland) I believe the A-side of the EP repeats the two songs from the Randy Scott SR-006 single, but I need confirmation of that. Stark SR-007 – Randy Scott – “So Welcome to the Club” / “Back Up Troubles” Stark SR-008 – Bob Hastings – “Crazy Mixed Up Town” (David Sutherland) / “Two Kings and One Kingdom” (Johnny Long) Stark SR-009 – The Nomads – “How Many Times” / “Not For Me” (Bruce Evans, Larry Deatherage, Tom Paul Music Co. BMI, July 1966) Stark SR-0010 – Intellectuals Combo – “Our True Love” / “That Ain’t Nice” (instrumental, written by Mike Dee Love) Stark SR-0011 – Siney Ann – “I’m So Lonesome (I Could Cry)” / “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You)” Stark SR-0012 – Jimmy and Wesley and the Twin County Pardners – “Make Me A Pallet On The Floor” / “The World Is Still Waiting For The Sunrise” (Jimmy Arnold and Wesley Golden) Stark SR-0013 – Hank Riley – “Record Of Heartbreak” / “Consolated Egotated Love” Stark SR-0014 – Deep Valley Boys – “Please Don’t Honey, Please” / “Some Dark Hollow” Stark SR-0015 – The Happy Hoss – “Call Me Baby” / “You’re The One (I Love)” both by Alan Westmoreland, Tompaul Music Co. Stark SR-0016 – Four Souls – “Freedom Bound” / “Louise” (both by Paul Cain, Dennis Inman) Stark SR-0017 – Tony Zito – “Hide Away Moments in Prayer” / ? Stark SR-0018 – Bobby Atkins – “Memories Of President John F. Kennedy” (Paul Johnson) / “Love Valley” (1968, recorded by Lookabill’s Studio, Greensboro) Stark SR-0019 – Don Sawyers and the Grangers – “My Favorite Way to Cry” (Larry D. Alderman – Don Sawyers, vocal by Larry D. Alderman and Don Sawyers) / “Imagination Trapped Within My Mind” (Don Sawyers, vocal by Don Sawyers) 1970 Stark SR-0020 – Carl P. Tolbert – “Liquor By the Drink” / “Changing of the Time” (1974) Stark 100 – Pete Holden & the Baux Mountain Boys – “Truck Driver’s Vow” / “Legend Of Charlie Monroe”
LPs:
Stark SR-200-1 – Easter Brothers & the Green Valley Quartet – Bluegrass & Country Hymns (1967) Stark SR-0001 – The Carolina Gospel Singers (1969)
Most of Stark’s output was country music, but as Bob pointed out in a comment below, the first release on Stark seems to be a lush arrangement of song-poems: see The Wonderful and the Obscure for more info. This single has light blue labels and a 1301 Park Drive address.
Other early singles have deep red labels and give the address as 1312 Summit Drive, Mt. Airy, North Carolina. Later ones read 628 South Street, Mount Airy, N.C. Later singles were produced by Paul Johnson.
Max Waller writes: “The Intellectuals had at least one further 45, “I Don’t Want To Cry” (as Mike Watson & the Intellectuals) / Danny Boy (as Glenn Wall & the Intellectuals) on M.K.B. 120 from Jan 1968 (SO 4898)”. MKB Recording was located in Tobaccoville, NC, just northwest of Winston-Salem.
Thank you to Max Waller, Lightnin’ Wells and Franz Kunst for help with this discography.
Ken Adkins, Arnold Robinson (kneeling), Leonard Collins (sitting in front) and Jimmy Robinson
While not exactly a tropical paradise, the city of Eden was the birthplace of one of the best Soul bands of the sixties. This was before the towns of Leaksville, Draper and Spray merged to form Eden, which today has a population of less than 16,000. All three are nestled in Rockingham County, which gave rise to the Tropics through the merger of two bands: one from Reidsville and another from Leaksville.
from let: Ken Atkins, Malcolm Allen, Red White (at bottom center), Billy Hutchinson and Charles Hutchinson. “The Hutchinson brothers had no direct connection with the Tropics but were starting a band and we three were at their house to jam in 1962” – Ken AdkinsMalcolm Allen’s graduation photo, Douglas High School, Leaksville 1962
Guitarist Ken Adkins was visiting a girlfriend in Leaksville one night in 1960 when he cut through a black neighborhood to hitch the five-mile ride to his home in Draper. As he was passing by a church, Adkins was taken aback by a “terrifically great boogie woogie piano… Ray Charles-type stuff.” He crept up to the window and was peering inside when he was startled by the preacher, who came up from behind and asked if he’d like meet the pianist, a gifted black musician by the name of Malcolm Allen. The two bonded immediately and it wasn’t long before Adkins brought drummer Red White and bassist Ronnie Hooker into the fold.
Malcolm Allen’s house for early rehearsals
Allen recalls that their first practices were held in his home because the family had a piano in the living room. The then unnamed group quickly gained a following in the neighborhood and Allen says the front porch and yard of their home was often filled with people listening to their music. It wasn’t long before they began receiving requests to play in public.
A name was needed and Allen thought of The Tropics after seeing a commercial showing Jamaican musicians jamming on the beach. He explains that the group was billed initially as The Interracial Tropics “(so) people would know what they were getting and kind of eliminate some of the surprise factor.”
The Double Door Tea Room, Leaksville, NC
The four jammed and honed their skills at each other’s homes before landing their first gig at a black club, the Double Door Tea Room. Allen had cards printed for the occasion, advertising “The Interracial Tropics.” The Double Door was a small club in Leaksville that served Soul food on the ground level, with a small, open area on the second floor for live performances.
Allen explains that the “black community (was) more receptive and open to integration at that time” and “our guys were mostly into Soul and then Motown and blues, so the music kind of catered more to our people.” The crowd at the Double Door was on their feet cheering the soloists on, “hollering and raising sand, saying “go ahead, go ahead and play that thing!” Bolstered by the response, Allen says the band was encouraged “to branch out and go other places.”
Tropics rehearsal in Mike Peters’ basement, 1965, from left: Mike Peters and Ken Adkins
Tropics rehearsal in Mike Peters’ basement, 1965: Ken Adkins
Leaksville, NC, circa 1962, from left: Jane Kirby, Susan Powell, Red White, Ken Adkins
Dances followed at the segregated Stoneville High School. And while most of their friends were receptive to the mixed race band, Adkins recalls that “all (of our jobs) were for black audiences because white places would not book us.”
Red White says the country clubs in Virginia and North Carolina wouldn’t touch the band, but “we were accepted without equivocation (at the Double Door) and whites came to see us there. So it was really the beginning of the end of segregation as I knew it in my hometown.”
Red White practicing at his home on his first kit.
The band stuck close to home through 1961, when Adkins went away to school in Chapel Hill. They continued to play on weekends, when their paths crossed with another group of musicians from Reidsville who had a band. Mike Peters played bass in the Reidsville group, first known as the Bermudas (later as Rick and the Spirits) and remembers playing their first job at the Casville Volunteer Fire Department in Caswell County for $6 per man.
The decision was made to merge the two groups after Adkins moved to Reidsville. White drummed with the band for about two years before graduating high school in 1962 and joining the Air Force. The group recruited the drummer from the Reidsville band, Leonard Collins, who was equally adept on the skins.
Peters explains that the Spirits lost their guitar player, Rick Sealey, who left to attend college at East Carolina. Someone suggested Adkins and he agreed to come and play. Don Watkins played organ in the Reidsville band but quit when Adkins came on board. Ken brought Allen in to play keyboards and Peters replaced Hooker on bass. Joe Frank Myers played sax. Sealey attended college briefly before returning to the band, this time on keyboards.
Leonard Collins Arnold Robinson and Jimmy Robinson with the Tropics Combo van
Leonard Collins and Ken Adkins with the Tropics Combo van at Rick Sealey’s house
Ken Adkins and Leonard Collins with the Tropics Combo van
Arnold Robinson and Jimmy Robinson
Sealey’s return was short-lived. He was drafted in 1966 and replaced by Larry Wren on the Hammond B-3. Myers left and was replaced by Leo Caudle on sax. Caudle was a gifted saxophonist who “could play a tenor and alto sax at the same time out of both sides of his mouth.”
Allen played with the band for several years but came to a crossroads when he married and the couple had a young daughter. His job required that he work nights and that made it impossible to continue road trips on weekends. But before leaving, he introduced the band to Jimmy and Arnold Robinson. “I met Jimmy because right after high school I was in Greensboro attending A&T State University,” says Allen, and “when they came into the group, they gave us a new dimension because they were some heck-of-a singers and they enabled us to do a lot of Motown stuff.” While not related, the pair shared the same surname, so the band billed them as the Robinson Brothers.
Coachman & Four Club, Bennettsville, SCEngagements increased after the band hooked up with Bill Kennedy, who was the first manager of the Castaways in Greensboro. Kennedy auditioned the Tropics and told the band to buy some better equipment. They followed Kennedy’s advice and soon found themselves playing at his nightclub. The group hooked up with Ted Hall, a booking agent with Hit Attractions in Charlotte, and found themselves playing every weekend. Kennedy sold the Castaways to Beach Music legend Bill Griffin, and Kennedy went to work for Jokers Three as a booking agent. Jokers Three also ran a popular nightclub by the same name, and it wasn’t long before the Tropics switched their allegiance, with the agency booking most of their jobs until the band split in 1969.
Kennedy booked the band throughout the East Coast. In addition to the Castaways clubs in Greensboro, Raleigh and Nags Head, the Tropics frequented the Embers Club at Nags Head; the Cellar in Charlotte; Coachman & 4 in Bennettsville; the Beach Club in Myrtle Beach; and the Pink Pussy Cat in Atlanta. They also played cotillion clubs, debutante balls and “just about every college in North Carolina.” The band performed “anywhere from Northern Virginia down to Atlanta, out west to Nashville.”
The Tropics at J’s Bacardi, Durham NC, March 12 or 13, 1965, from left: Joe Frank Meyers, Leonard Collins and Dee Clark
Their musical prowess became well known and the Tropics were soon in demand to back rhythm and blues recording artists. One of the first of those gigs was in support of Dee Clark, with the band later backing the Impressions, Martha and the Vandellas, Mary Wells, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Lee Dorsey, Major Lance, the Tams, Showmen and the Drifters.
Adkins says the band backed Dee Clark in late 1964 or early ’65 for two nights at J’s Bacardi in Durham. The Tropics already had two Clark songs in their repertoire, “Raindrops” and “Nobody But You,” and set about learning his other material, “so when he came to the show, we had his stuff down cold.” While they lacked the strings heard on Clark’s hits, Sealey was able to duplicate the arrangements note-for-note, recreating the background orchestration on the keyboards. Clark was impressed and would use the band again down the road.
The Tropics at J’s Bacardi, Durham, NC, March 12 or 13, 1965
The Tropics at J’s Bacardi, Durham NC, March 12 or 13, 1965 Ken Adkins, Joe Frank Meyers, Dee Clark, Mike PetersThe Tropics at J’s Bacardi, Durham, March 12 or 13, 1965, from left: Dee Clark and Mike Peters
Rufus Thomas was a favorite of the Tropics and members would arrive hours before their shows and be entertained with non-stop jokes from the former Memphis DJ. The Tropics shared the bill with the Temptations on the BDG Quad at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, playing to 12,000 on a Saturday afternoon. An outdoor concert in Chapel Hill in support of Sam and Dave drew an even larger crowd.
But touring the segregated South with two black vocalists was a challenge. One night after a job the band stopped to eat at a restaurant in Eastern North Carolina. The Robinsons walked in with Adkins and Peters while the rest of the band slept on the bus. The waitress took their orders and emerged from the kitchen carrying just two plates, “gave them to Jimmy and Arnold and then looked at me and Mike Peters and said: ‘The law says we have to serve them, but it doesn’t say we have to serve you.” The four left the food on the table and walked out.
Another incident happened at the Jokers Three in Nags Head, where the band was playing a two-week summer engagement. The night before they were scheduled to leave, the club owner learned that the Klan had threatened a protest. He paid them in full and the band left the Outer Banks a day early.
Jokers Three Booking Agency Promotional Photo circa 1965 From left, top row: Rick Sealey, Leonard Collins, Mike Peters, bottom row: Jimmy Robinson, Ken Adkins, Arnold Robinson
An engagement at a large venue in Farmville, Virginia almost didn’t happen. Malcolm Allen says the band had reached their destination and the guys were unloading their equipment when the club manager spotted him and grabbed Adkins, asking if Allen were the band’s chauffeur. When the manager was informed that Allen was their organist, he responded, “not tonight.” Adkins didn’t hesitate, telling him that “if he don’t play, we don’t play.” Allen says the band was preparing to pack up their gear for the long trip home when the crowd started getting rowdy. Adkins turned to the owner and said: “Look, if you don’t get a band in here soon, they’re gonna trash your place.” The manager relented and allowed the band to take the stage, but glared at Allen and said: “I’m gonna keep an eye on you.” The Tropics brought the house down, especially when Allen tore up the keyboards on Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say.” When they finished their set, Allen approached the club manager and asked him how he was doing. He told him to keep playing and “when we got through, he gave me a tip, so I felt like that we broke a racial barrier… because it was just a segregated time.”
But the most disturbing incident happened at UNC in Chapel Hill. The band was playing a fraternity party on April 4, 1968, the night that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Adkins recalls that the band was performing their first set when one of the fraternity brothers came up and asked to use a microphone. Adkins recalls that he told “his room full of partiers, frat boys and their dates that Martin Luther King had been shot.” The fraternity “erupted in cheering and applause, and it literally made me sick. It made Jimmy and Arnold sick and it made our whole band sick and it made me very sad for the students of the University of North Carolina.” The band stopped playing immediately, packed up their equipment and headed home. Traveling with two black vocalists was not without its perks. Peters’ fondest memory is of the band’s two-week engagement in Myrtle Beach. The group decided to spend one week at the then black beach, Atlantic, and another at the white beach, Windy Hill. The first half of their stay found the Tropics sharing quarters with Norman Johnson and the Showmen, a scene Peters describes as a non-stop party. “You could get anything you wanted any time of the night,” he recalls, “and everybody stayed pretty much passed out the next day.” The week was “an adventure,” but the pace at Windy Hill was considerably quieter.Appalachian State University Homecoming Dance, circa 1967, from left: Ken Adkins, Mike Peters, Leonard Collins
Shortly after backing Dee Clark in Durham, the Tropics traveled to Greensboro on March 15, 1965 to record a 45 at Copeland Studios. Adkins says it was an obvious choice since it was “there at our back door” and they knew owner Walt Copeland.
The group had rehearsed an Adkins’ original (“Hey You Little Girl”) in Peters’ basement and performed it live before the sessions, but were unprepared to record a flip side for the single. Their idea to simply repeat the backing track as an instrumental was quickly nixed by the engineer and Adkins proceeded to write “The Happy Hour” in 15 minutes. Peters recalls that the song was composed one night right after a rehearsal, adding: “(We) just did it to an old Curtis Mayfield run and put ‘The Happy Hour’ together.”
Promotional photo, standing: Rick Sealey; middle row: Jimmy Robinson, Leonard Collins, Arnold Robinson; bottom row: Mike Peters, Ken AdkinsBefore the group began work on the two tracks, they were asked to run through a set so the engineer could set levels. “We did 13 other songs that aren’t nearly as polished,” recalls Peters. All were recorded onto a reel, which Adkins kept, along with the master tapes for both sides of their single. All were cover versions of popular recordings, including the Impressions’ “People Get Ready,” Jerry Butler’s “He Will Break Your Heart,” and “Before Six,” an instrumental co-written by Curtis Mayfield and recorded by Larry Frazier that served as the Tropics’ theme song. The songs lack bottom and were performed at breakneck speed, but Adkins points out that they are the only surviving “live” recordings of the band. A two-track recorder was used for “Hey You Little Girl.” While the studio would soon become a state-of-the-art facility, in ‘65 Copeland “was much more modest with just a two-track system.” That meant the band members “all had to play at the same time live and get it right.”
The unique finger snapping at the start of the song was Adkins’ idea. He explains that it was a way to get the band to start on cue without a counted introduction. Two guitar chords get the song into gear, followed by an unforgettable vocal interplay between Arnold and Jimmy. The song builds to a crescendo that Collins kicks to a close in just two-and-half minutes.
Sealey played piano; Collins was on drums; Peters and Adkins played bass and guitar, respectively; Arnold Robinson played the saxophone; and the Robinson Brothers shared lead vocal harmonies. The band provided background vocals. Peters was featured prominently, aided by a girl remembered only as Sandra. Jimmy sang the lead tenor part, while the baritone voice is Arnold’s. Jimmy also sings the lead on “The Happy Hour.”
While the label credits four band members, Adkins says he wrote and arranged the tune and insists “it was pretty much my song all the way.”
Adkins explains that he “wanted to write something that was musically different” than other songs on the radio, so he incorporated “a couple of things to make that happen.” The most effective is in the vocal walk-up where they sing: “I’ll never love you and leave you alone.” Adkins says the “alone” passage “goes back to the dominant chord, which is ‘F.’ None of the songs that I’d heard to that point, actually went back to their final climax and got back to the final dominant chord. So doing that gave a lot of strength to the harmonies.”
The Robinsons’ vocal harmony was perhaps the band’s greatest strength. Both were exceptional singers and shared lead vocal chores on stage. While Arnold went on to perform professionally in the Nylons, Adkins says Jimmy was also an outstanding singer and the combination of their voices gave the Tropics “a Righteous Brothers vibe.” The two had “distinctly different voices” that blended perfectly. And while Jimmy left music after the Tropics, Adkins insists that he was also “an incredible singer,” who “was even more charismatic on stage than Arnold and did the majority of the lead vocal work.”
On stage at Jokers Three Club, Nags Head, NC summer 1968from left: Arnold Robinson, Ken Adkins (at bottom), Mike Peters, Leonard Collins (at bottom), Jimmy Robinson
Arnold Robinson (left) at the Jokers Three Beach Club, Nags Head, 1968from left: Ken Adkins, Mike Peters, Jimmy Robinson, Arnold Robinson and Leonard Collins
The Robinson Brothers gave the Tropics a smooth, professional “show band” performance with custom-made uniforms, elaborate choreography and humorous back-and-forth banter with the audience. The show would start with the band playing, followed by a big introduction to bring Jimmy and Arnold onto the stage. Theirs was the first group in the region to feature the star stage show that would become the norm a few years later.
Adkins says the Greensboro sessions lasted about two hours. The band had rehearsed the songs before entering the studio and committed both sides to tape in no more than three or four takes. The band performed flawlessly, except for one bad note hit by Sealey, which can be heard on the record. Copeland charged an hourly rate of $45 in 1965 and the total tab for the studio time came to $95, including the master tapes.
While at Copeland, the band recorded a jingle for Holsum bread, with Jimmy, Arnold, Ken and Mike adding vocals and background claps to the television commercial.
The 45 was a one-off pressing on Topic Records, which Adkins describes as his label. The name was chosen because of its similarity to the group’s, and because “it rhymed with Tropics.” Peters believes the 45 had a total run of 2,500 copies; however, Adkins recalls several pressings, noting the band “would order 1,000 at a time and sell them at our shows,” paying for the records as they were produced. Betty Sue Trent owned Trent’s Records in Reidsville and paid for the initial pressing, in exchange for copies of the disc. Besides Trent’s, the record was placed at mom-and-pop stores throughout the Piedmont, while the band also “did a fair amount of promoting,” taking them to dee jays and program directors in the Carolinas. That resulted in “a fair amount of play,” and Adkins recalls the song being in heavy rotation in Burlington, Greensboro, Reidsville and Charlotte. Stations across Eastern North Carolina also picked up the tune and Adkins remembers selling the final 1,000 copies a year after the song was recorded.
While the song became a regional hit, the band never capitalized on its success. Peters believes they missed an opportunity by not recording a follow-up, but concedes they were so busy on the road that no one took the time to write a song or book the studio. Adkins admits the oversight was “incredibly stupid,” pointing out that he composed “a lot of songs thereafter (and) some of them were better” than the two chosen for their lone single. While there was talk of returning to Copeland, it never happened.
In addition to playing with the Tropics, Adkins soon found himself in the band booking business. Bill Griffin, owner of Castaways, also managed groups through Game Artists, and soon was recording his own bands. Griffin lived in Atlanta, leaving Adkins to manage the day-to-day operations in Greensboro. In 1968, an unknown group called the O’Kaysions made a crude recording in “a broom closet studio in Greenville, N.C.” WBAG in Burlington was playing the original 45 of “Girl Watcher” on North State Records and Adkins knew it was “a natural hit” the first time he heard it on the radio. Griffin had the idea to sign the band and enlisted Adkins and A&M Records promoter Manly May, who shopped the song to labels in New York. ABC Paramount picked it up and the record went on to reach #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Griffin had a management contract with the group and arranged a six-week tour, including an appearance on American Bandstand. But the band balked at life on the road, with one member telling Adkins he couldn’t leave his job at the hardware store, and another bowing out because his wife wouldn’t let him tour the country with a Soul band.
The O’Kaysions
In the meantime, ABC had signed lead vocalist Donny Weaver to an individual contract, leaving Game Artists with a hit song and only a bass player to promote it. Undeterred, Adkins returned to Greensboro several months later and hand-picked some of the area’s finest musicians to tour as the O’Kaysions, including vocalist Donny Trexler, an ace guitarist who also sang with Bob Collins and the Fabulous 5. Trexler joined the band on guitar in December 1968 and became lead vocalist when Weaver left the following August. Dick Clark was none the wiser when he mimed the lead vocals to their hit record on Bandstand. In the interim, ABC had dropped the band and they signed with Atlantic, releasing one 45 (“Watch Out Girl”) on Cotillion Records. When it failed to chart, plans to release the O’Kaysions second album were shelved.
guitarist Ken Adkins taken at Game Artists in 1969, the year the Tropics split
The Tropics were still a hot commodity and Adkins spent weekends on the road with the band, arranging bookings and making certain the group was on the bus and ready for the next gig. A near disaster happened when he was working with Griffin at Jokers Three. A promoter in Rockingham, N.C. had booked the Coasters to perform in the National Guard Armory, with the Tropics as their back-up band. Posters were printed and tickets sold, when the headliners called four days before the show and cancelled. Lee Dorsey and Major Lance were contacted but both had prior engagements. With time running out and hundreds of tickets sold, Adkins contacted a friend in Greensboro, Big Barbara. True to her name, Barbara was “a big girl with a big personality” and a great voice. After some coaxing, Adkins convinced her that the show could go on, if she agreed to take the stage as Barbara Lewis. Adkins explains that the ruse was plausible, since Lewis had never performed in the area and albums rarely featured the photos of black artists, “so nobody knew what she looked like.”
Big Barbara learned Lewis’ hits and was ready to perform when she had an attack of stage fright. The band plied her with a fifth of whiskey, “she gets drunk as hell; she gains tremendous courage; she goes out on that stage, struts her stuff and does a fabulous job and does Barbara Lewis to a T.” The audience loved it and were unaware that they had seen an impersonator.
But managing and performing soon became too much for Adkins, who decided to leave the road and concentrate on booking the Tropics and other bands. Adkins told the group he would continue to manage them, but would no longer travel with the band. But that was short-lived. Once Adkins left “there was nobody there to (prod) everybody to get up out of the hotel room and get in the bus” for their next performance. The band became frustrated with the set-up, so once Adkins quit, “within a month they all did, too.”
But Peters is more stoic about the break-up, pointing out that the band had been together for nearly a decade and members were growing weary of life on the road. “We were playing every night and a couple of us were married and a couple of us were thinking about getting married,” recalls Peters. He believes the “time had come when we were not committed 100% to the group” and it was time to move on. Jimmy and Arnold tried to convince Peters to join them as the entertainment for a cruise, but he declined. Drummer Leonard Collins went on to play with the O’Kaysions and the Impressions.
The Nylons with Arnold Robinson
Arnold Robinson joined Sonny Turner’s Platters and later moved to Canada, where he was a founding member of the Nylons in 1979. The band achieved its greatest success in 1987, when their version of “Kiss Him Goodbye” reached #12 on the Billboard chart. Arnold recorded and toured with the internationally acclaimed a cappella group until his retirement in 2006. He died of complications from diabetes in 2013.
Leo Caudle went on to play with former members of the Swinging Medallions in Pieces of Eight, a band that had a minor hit in 1967 with “Lonely Drifter” on A&M Records. He also played tenor sax in Greenboro’s Kallabash Corporation. Larry Wren took his own life in the early seventies. Rick Sealey lives in High Point, but Parkinson’s disease has left him unable to play the guitar. Joe Frank Myers left for college after a few gigs and his whereabouts are unknown.
Malcolm Allen still lives in Leaksville and plays in his church. He headed the local NAACP chapter for more than a decade.
drummer Clayton Red White taken at the Jokers Three Club, Nags Head, on New Year’s Eve, 1966Calvin Lindsey and the Hysterics including Red White at bottom right
After leaving the Air Force, Red White returned to Rockingham County and drummed with the Tropics and the Impacts before joining another Jokers 3 band, Calvin Lindsay and the Hysterics. He moved to Beaufort, N.C. and now plays with the Outer Banks Philharmonic.
Mike Peters also lives at the beach but still plays his bass and joins Adkins for blues jams in Greensboro. Ken Adkins started his own business, Adkins and Associates, and has trained some of the top fashion headhunters in the country.
Jimmy Robinson left town and no one has heard from him since the band parted ways in 1969.
A revival of interest in the Tropics started in the early 80s, when Adkins began getting calls from Northern Soul fans in the UK who were looking for copies of the band’s record. Interest in the original 45 led to a reissue in 1987 by The Wax Museum, a Charlotte-based collector’s label. Adkins admits the band’s cult status caught him by surprise and says he “had no inkling” the record would garner attention six months after its release, much less 50 years after the fact. “When you’re going through a certain period of your life,” he says, “you never in a million years would guess that anybody would give a hoot about something you did when you were young.”
White shares Adkins surprise, but believes the Tropics have benefited from the trends that followed. With “disco and various fads,” he says “people began to get nostalgic for the old music.” But he believes the band has a far greater legacy than a chunk of vinyl. White is proud to have been a part of the first integrated band to perform in rural North Carolina. He believes that helped break down the color barrier by “setting a precedent” for generations that followed. “I was part of the original group that set that precedent for accepting a black musician and (going) on the road with a black musician,” White says.
While it’s been more than 50 years since the band first practiced in his father’s living room, Allen says he is still amazed at what they were able to accomplish. “We were just a small group of guys from the country, (but) were able to break down a lot of barriers because we all had a common goal and we all cared about each other, and we loved music.” And while the Tropics may have gone their separate ways, there was no turning back and the landscape of Rockingham County was forever changed.
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.
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