The Maltese at Granny’s Club in Elsmere, KY, November, 1966. Top photo shows John Hyland and Donny Hutcherson of Boone County High, Mike Mahoney of Covington Catholic and Carol Dodd of St. Henry High. Bottom photo shows the Maltese in the background with dancers Sharon Riley, Charleen Riley, Brenda Clayton and Lindy Agner.
The Maltese came from northern Kentucky communities such as Covington, Park Hills and Erlanger, all part of the greater Cincinnati area.
An article in the Enquirer’s Teen-Ager section on Granny’s club in nearby Elsmere, KY shows a band called the Maltese. The article calls Granny’s teen club the “Home of the Dingos”, a band who played often in the area and who often appear in the local listings, unlike the Maltese.
Two members of the Maltese are identified in the article, John Hyland with the bass, and Mike Mahoney on guitar. Both songs on the single are credited to Akers.
There is some confusion about the early lineups of the group.
Dave Willis wrote to me:
Steve Marcum and I were learning to play chords and simple guitar riffs. We learned ‘Walk, Don’t Run’ and realized we needed a drummer. Steve Belew’s family had moved in a few doors from my family and somehow I learned he was a drummer and the three of us became the original Maltese. We tried out a couple of potential bassists but settled for another voice with a six-string and Tommy Angel joined the band.
It appears the Maltese from northern Kentucky never recorded. I had thought this was the same group who recorded on the Chetwyd label of Lexington, KY, which would have been about an hour’s drive to the south, but it turns out that group was from the Winchester area. I cover that group in a recent post.
The What Four on the cover of Teen-Ager, April 2, 1966. kneeling in front: Roy Jordan and Jim Hoerr, in back Frank Johnston and Larry Malott
Long rumored to be from Dayton, the What Four were actually from the Cincinnati area, namely the suburbs of Williamsburg and Bethel.
The What Four profiled in Teen-Ager, April 2, 1966An April 1966 article in the Teen-Ager section of the Enquirer profiled the band:
Although the Greater Cincinnati area boasts hundreds of talented rock ‘n roll groups, only one, the “What Four,” claims a teacher among its members. Twenty-four-year-old Jim Hoerr, who teaches Latin, English and mathematics at Williamsburg High is rhythm and lead guitarist.
Jim Hoerr started rehearsing with student bass player Larry Malott. With Frank Johnson of Madeira High School on drums, they formed a trio called the Noblemen.
When guitarist Roy Jordan of Bethel High joined in 1965, the band became the What Four.
The What Four did well in a battle of the bands sponsored by WONE in Dayton, the prize was a free recording session. They cut two original songs, “Do You Believe” by Jim Hoerr, and “Whenever” by Jim Hoerr and Frank Johnson. The single was released on the Box label, with the band probably paying for the pressing if not the studio time.
I can find no further mention of the band after their April 1966 profile. Teen-Ager published the photo of another What Four in December 1966, a completely different group from Taft High School in Hamilton, Ohio to the north of Cincinnati.
A different What Four from Hamilton, from left: Dave Bowman, Larry Combs, Tim Neff, and Tom Savage
That group was Dave Bowman on bass, Larry Combs on vocals and guitar, Tim Neff on drums and Tom Savage on lead guitar.
The Shadows 5 were thought to be from Oswego, New York, on Lake Ontario, northwest of Syracuse, but the band actually formed in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The band members’ first names are on the labels but I only know two members’ surnames. Another member’s last name is Williams, but I don’t know which.
Bill – lead vocals Randy – lead guitar (Fender Jaguar) Craig McKinney – rhythm and occasional lead guitar (Mosrite “Joe Maphis”) Ralph Riehl – bass (Fender Jazz) Vic – drums (Ludwig)
“Gathers No Moss” is an incredible version of the song, and the flip “That Little Girl” is a fine jangler.
Tech Records released the single in August 1966; I can’t find anything else on this label. The quality of the recording is excellent, with the opening guitar riff jumping off the grooves.
This was a very rare record though in the last year about 10 copies have shown up, which is how I was able to afford one.
Craig McKinney wrote to me with info about the group:
Two of us (Vic and I) are from Fulton, NY, a small city just south of Oswego, NY. Vic and I played together there before shipping off to Fort Wayne, IN and college. We started the band out there.
We recorded the record in Fort Wayne, IN at radio station WOWO and pressed 500 copies in Chicago. I wrote the words and music to “That Little Girl” as well as the arrangement for “Gathers No Moss.” Bill sings lead on “Girl” and that’s me on “Moss.” There is only copy out there that was signed by all members of our band. It was signed while we were on a tour trip to upstate NY in our old hometown.
Q. Were you or Vic in the Newberry 4 of Oswego when you lived in Fulton? They recorded a song called “That’s Why I’m a Rolling Stone” that is much like “Gathers No Moss”.
We were never in the “Newberry 4.” I heard them once or twice, though I was not there much in those days. They were the area’s top group at the time. They were excellent. A “Beatles” spin-off group if I remember right. Never knew them but admired them at the time. I didn’t remember their song until I heard it after reading a comment on your website. Still a great song to this day.
While we recording in the studio at WOWO, we had a professional photographer take pictures and videos of the group. We also left with the master tape. To this day, the pictures, videos and tapes cannot be found.
The group played backup for The Kingsmen in 1966 at my brother’s fraternity at Franklin College, Franklin, IN. They commented on how much better we were than them. Great fun! We played a LOT of frats and sorority houses in Indiana until Vic and I flunked out and the band broke up. Vic and I both later returned and graduated.
Randy was from Fort Wayne and, unfortunately, passed away about 8 years ago. I’m not sure where Ralph was from, but now resides somewhere in Florida. Bill was from Ohio and still resides there. Vic lives in Huntington, IN. I am back in Fulton, NY.
Craig McKinney
This is not the same Shadows Five who recorded “Dynamic Drums” / “Gary’s Boogie” for the Sully label and “Markham” / “Twistin’ Shadows” for Peacock. That group became the Ultimates and later Prince Charles & the Crusaders, then finally the Ultimate, with a 45 on Garland.
Blue Creed made this one great single on the Mo Go label, “Need a Friend” / “Sugarbabe”. Both songs feature hoarse, exaggerated vocals, a heavily distorted organ sound, a guitarist who sounds something like Jorma, especially on “Sugarbabe”, and a drummer who likes to hit the crash cymbal loudly and often.
Records like this one keep collecting interesting.
Amazingly this came with a sleeve (which I don’t own), sporting a photo of the band in hip clothes, wigs and sunglasses. Two or three of the band look like they’re from an earlier generation of musician than 1970 psychedelia.
It seems likely they recorded at Midway Recording Studio in Hurricane, West Virginia. The related Alta record label usually has a Hurricane address on it, but in the case of the Blue Creed single, Midway-Alta is listed at Camden-on-Gauley, WV, two hours drive east of Hurricane.
Luckily the Blue Creed put some of their names on the labels. Gary Gordon, Dave Franco and Bill Rexroad wrote “Need a Friend”, and the three of them plus Ron Sweeney wrote “Sugarbabe”.
I’ve seen the label listed as Moigo Records, but I think Mo Go is more correct, release # 4570. The ARP-1339/40 suggests American Record Pressing Co. in Michigan. Publishing by Sexman Pub Co.
William Henry Rexroad has many registrations in the Library of Congress copyright listings, usually co-written with Gerald W. Coakley. From the titles, many seem like they would be country or pop songs, so I’m surprised at the heavier sound on the Blue Creed 45.
I hadn’t been able to find out anything about the group until Ronald Sweeney wrote to me in 2017:
This entire smorgasbord was the brainchild of William Rexroad. He owned the publishing company (Sexman), the record label (MoGo) and copyrights to the words and music.
Starting in the 50’s, Rexroad, who had written thousands of poems, began a quest to locate musicians who could set his words to music. He’d tried the commercial route with little success and sought out local people to do the job.
I was one of many he recruited for this endeavor. I met Rexroad around 1959 and we have been friends since. I’m a pianist, and play pipe organ for the church. Although I set many of Rexroad’s poems to music, it was what I called musical gibberish. Bill loved it. He thought I was a genius – lol!
Most of Rexroad’s music was country, modern flavor. He did make a trip to Nashville to peddle his country music. It was a waste of time.
Bill Rexroad financed these projects himself. He paid the musicians, recording studio, and any and every expense involved. Amazing, since he was a coal miner.
Blue Creed was never a true band. As far as I know they never performed publicly. They were gathered by Rexroad to perform in a studio and produce a commercial (“hit”) record of Rexroad’s musical creations. I think the heavier sound was because it was the “up and coming” rage. He felt his chances were better.
The record label shows a oil drum between the letters “Mo” and “Go”, thus the reason for the misspelling (MoiGo). The drum is significant because Rexroad, in an effort to create an original sound, put guitar speakers in a 55-gallon metal oil drum.
The 45 record you have was mailed to hundreds of stations. The fruits of this extraordinary adventure were disappointing, to say the least. A copy of the only proceeds Rexroad received is attached. A check from BMI for $1.20 for “Sugarbabe” royalties which played in France.
Some of Blue Creed members were involved with local pickup bands. They were in their twenties and thirties. Much too old to really get serious about a career in rock. Most had families to feed. This was just “fun and games” for them. I played with some of the band members, but was never keen on performing for the recording. Some are deceased, and those living are scattered into the unknown.
Gerald W. Coakley I never knew. Rexroad talked about him occasionally but he was never around during all the years I knew Rexroad.
Rexroad was 11 years my senior (which makes him 89 or older). His wife contacted me a few years ago and said he was in a nursing home. She would not tell me where, so I never pursued trying to find out.
Thank you to Ronald Sweeney for filling in the background on the Blue Creed and Bill Rexroad.
BMI royalty check for “Sugarbabe”, courtesy of Ronald Sweeney
The Kandells, or Kan Dells came from the small town of Sandstone, Minnesota, just off I-35 a little more over halfway between Minneapolis and Duluth. Members included:
Gene Best – lead guitar Bob VanDerSchaegen – rhythm guitar Pete VanDerSchaegen – bass Sam Burch – keyboards Jay Best – drums
Lost and Found #3 has photos and a long story on the Kan Dells. Many photos of the group are available on their website.
About 1959, Bob VanDerSchaegen started playing guitar with his school friend Jim Hagford in the Problems. That group changed into the Turbans, adding Sam Zabori on drums and Milf Johnson on bass. When Milf quit the band, Bob had his younger brother Pete VanDerSchaegen take over the bass. After the Turbans broke in 1962, Bob and Pete met up with Gene Best and his cousin Jay Best, and together they formed the Kan Dells, soon adding Sam Burch on keyboards.
The group started performing at local youth dances, gaining a manager in local English teacher Noble MacVey, who fronted money for new equipment for the group. Notable gigs included a Battle of the Bands in Duluth and a show at the federal prison in Sandstone.
In late 1964 they went to the basement studio of Ron Gjerde, owner of Agar Records in Minneapolis, who subsidized studio time for the band as they worked up their original songs, first “Cloudburst”, then “Cry Girl”. Their first record was released on the Boss label in January 1965, reaching #10 on KDWB.
Both sides of the Boss 45 are excellent, but I’m most interested in their second single, “I Want You to Know”, which has a perfect garage sound but has remained a lesser-known song, at least compared to “Cry Girl”. Like the first the Kan Dells recorded this at Ron Gjerde’s studio.
The flip “Do You Know” is a moody sound. Both songs were originals by Van Der Schaegen – Best, publishing by Ringneck BMI and released on Bear 1971, in October 1965.
Unlike their first, this single was not a hit, possibly because the band refused to let Lou Reigert of KDWB take over management of the group. It’s become a rare 45, with white label promotional copies outnumbering the yellow label stock copies.
In the fall of ’66, Jay Best and Sam Burch left for college. The band found Wayne Cooper and occasionally Bill Sandwick to fill in on drums, but soon broke up, partly because Pete VanDerSchaegen had started commuting to school in Duluth. Gene Best joined a group called Hereafter.
Eight of their recordings went unreleased until a couple of 7″s in the 1990s and a full CD release done by the band in the early 2000s. These include the Gene Best original “Shake It Baby”, Pete VanderSchaegen’s “I’ve Met Death”, Sam Burch’s original “Lucky Day” and Bob VanDerSchaegen’s song “It Is to Laugh”. All of these and others are available for listen on their website and I recommend checking them out.
Other singles on Bear include the (Bear 1968), and the Castaways “I Feel Fine” / “Hit the Road” (Bear 2000).
Bear Records discography (any help with this would be appreciated):
Bear 1965 – Michael’s Mystics – “You Ran Away” / “Hi Bird” (April ’65 – Kaybank 5-5123, DR-6503-121A/B) Bear 1966 – Trashmen – Keep Your Hands Off My Baby” / “Lost Angel” (April ’65, Kaybank 5-5128) Bear 1967 – ? Bear 1968 – Countdowns “You Know I Do” (L. Barrett) / “Strange Are the Shadows” (C. Sleichter) (Aug. ’65, Kaybank 5-5552) Bear 1969 – Five Tymes – “Hold Me Now” / “Around And Around” (Aug. ’65, Kaybank 5-5609) Bear 1970 – The Four of Us – “Liza (Hear Me Call Your Name)” / “Hot Buttered Watermelon” (Sept. ’65, Kaybank 5-5673) Bear 1971 – Kandells – “I Want You to Know” / “Do You Know” (Oct. ’65, Kaybank 5-5847) Bear 1972 – Red Tuck – “Heart Of The U.S.A.” (Richard Cairo) /”Power Line Man” Bear 1973 – Joey Strobel And The Runaways – “What Good Is Love” / “Sax Shuffle” (Jan. ’66, RCA T4KM-4488) Bear 1974 – Coachmen – “Mr. Moon” / “Nothing At All” (Jan. ’66, Kaybank 5-5869 or RCA T4KM-1723,SK5M-2955) Bear 1975 – Marv Dennis IV – “The Hurt Will Go Away” / “Honeycomb” (RCA T4KM-4763/4) Bear 1976 – Coachmen – “I’m a King Bee” / “Linda Lou” (Aug. ’66, Kaybank 6-6757) Bear 1977 – Accents – “No One Heard You Cry” / “Your Time Has Come” (Oct. ’66, Kaybank 6-7015) Bear 1978 – Precious Few – “You Don’t Need Me” /”London Town” (Sept. ’66, Kaybank 6-7016)
The Epics came from Brookhaven High School in Columbus, Ohio. Warren Knox, Jim Miller and Michael Richards wrote the great A-side, “White Collar House” which refers to some kind of upscale nightspot, whether a dance club or bordello I can’t decide as the lyrics are vague. The band’s performance is a stand-out, and Musicol Recording Studio did a good job recording it.
Library of Congress records show copyright registered on May 1966 to Warren Knox, James Miller, and Mike Richards (Michael Kirk Richards). The band was a quintet but I don’t know who the other two members were.
Michael Richards wrote the gloomier b-side, “She Believe In Me”, and also arranged both sides. S. Graves produced the session.
It’s the only release I know of on the Dolphin label, which Buckeye Beat suggests was tied in with the Blue Dolphin Club for teens. There is a rare picture sleeve which I don’t own that shows the photo at the top, with a blank back.
The Barons were one of the early garage bands in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They released their single on a custom Fenton label, Jafes 985, in August 1965.
My copy is signed by Dick Gates, Dave Marquette and Brandon Scott. Dave Marquette wrote the A-side, “Try A Love With Me”. Dick Gates wrote the uptempo “Don’t Come Back No More”. Marquette and Gates seem to have been stage names for Dave Rutkowski and Dick Steimle.
Dick Gates (Dick Steimle) – guitar Dave Marquette (Dave Rutkowski) – vocals, guitar, keyboards Bill McNamara – bass Steve Carpenter (Mandrill Fern) – drums
Since that site doesn’t list Brandon Scott, I’m not sure if he was a drummer or bassist at the time of the single, or if he was even in the Barons.
The two sides of the single sound like they were recorded at different sessions, with the bass easy to hear on “Try a Love With Me” and fainter on the flip. Dick Steimle plays some fast and tricky guitar work with a dry tone on “Don’t Come Back No More”.
The record seems to have come early in their career, and they changed from a trio to quartet at some point. Their record label came from the nickname of their manager, Jim “Jafes” Kemp.
Dave Rutkowski would join the Pedestrians in 1967, in time to record their third Fenton single, “The Unpredictable Miss Kinsey” / ” You Aren’t Going To Say You Know”. Jim Kemp managed the Pedestrians as well as the Barons.
Dick Steimli would leave the Barons to join the Soulbenders, best known for their versions of “Hey Joe” and “Seven and Seven Is”.
There isn’t much information about the Facts of Life despite the group’s fine 45 single. The group came from Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, which lies just to the west of the Philadelphia city line. Members included Bruce Klauber, later a jazz drummer and professor, and Robert Yampolsky, who wrote both songs on their only single. I don’t know the other members’ names.
“I’ve Seen Darker Nights” begins with a blast of distorted guitar but otherwise is free of fuzz. The lyrics are heartfelt, the singing good, the arrangement has good hooks and momentum from the rhythm section. There’s a long solo on the organ and a brief guitar break.
The flipside, “All In Good Time” has a good ballad sound with a basic guitar solo. Robert Yampolsky copyrighted both songs in October, 1967, and the record came out as Frana Records 59-A/B. I don’t know of any other releases on the Frana label.
The Dickens at The Place, Pensacola, FL. From left: Jimmy Smith, Louie Boyleston, Skip (Seldon) Higgins, Ron Bowman and Rick Pierce
The Dickens came from Pensacola, Florida. The members of the band were:
Rick Pierce – keyboards & vocals Louie Boyleston – guitar Ron Bowman – rhythm guitar & lead vocals Jimmy Smith – bass, harmonica & lead vocals Skip Higgins – drums
A news clipping shows the band as a four piece formed at Pensacola High School before Rick Pierce joined. The article notes the band played dances at Pensacola teen clubs the Place and the Beacon Club, and that they won the St. Ann’s Annual Talent Context.
In September, 1967 they cut two good, quirky versions of Left Banke songs on Format Records F45-5004/5, “I’ve Got Something On My Mind” / “I Haven’t Got The Nerve”. The single was produced by Jerry Ray for Daddy Rabbit Prod.
Six months later they kept their Left Banke inspiration but Rick Pierce wrote two excellent original son gs, “One of a Kind Woman” and “Inside – Outside”.
Jerry Ray is again listed as producer, but Rick Pierce arranged them and the production is much better than the first single. The band sounds more mature, with better keyboard work and stronger vocals than the first release, and the horns fit in fine on “Inside-Outside”.
This single had release as Format F-45-5006/7 in March of ’68, with publishing by Tamrof Pub BMI.
I contacted Ron Bowman, the lead vocalist on these songs, who provided this info on the band, plus the photos and sound clips:
The Dickens began forming circa ’62-63. Pensacola, Florida, Gulf Breeze to be precise. Ron Bowman & Louie Boyleston swapped their baseball gloves for acoustic guitars & began playing folk music, until they heard the Beatles. With electric guitars in hand, Winston for Ron & Silvertone for Louie they began scratching up Beatles, Stones, & Hollie records to learn the chords & lyrics. Time for a bass player. We knew a guy who looked the part, but he was too much into surfing, but he auditioned singing “Mrs Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter”. We figured he could learn to play a 4 string instrument. Next a drummer. In West Pensacola we learned of Skip Higgens. He had a drum set. So voila, we had a band.
We’d play the run of the mill soul music all the other Pcola bands were playing, especially because people could dance to them, but our tastes were deep into the British Invasion, especially the vocals. I did most of it, but Jimmy & I were both the lead singers. We managed to get known, won a couple Battle of the Bands, then we heard about an amazing keyboardist (actually he played everything – from drums to pedal guitar) also from West Pensacola, Rick Pierce.
Once he joined the band, we really took off locally. Our early manager was a local disc Jockey, Daddy Rabbit Ray. We recorded our first session in Memphis where we recorded our first single “I’ve Got Something on My Mind” & “I Haven’t Got the Nerve” both Left Bank songs. We sold 90 copies in Albany, NY. We also recorded the first of Rick’s original songs “No One Seems to Know”, but that didn’t make vinyl. I think this was in ’66, I know we attended a Monkeys concert while in Memphis.
Q. What was the connection with Memphis?
Our manager knew of a studio. Why Memphis, beats me.
Q. Were you all fans of the Left Banke or was that mostly Rick’s influence?
Oh yes. They came to Pcola. We were deep into baroque music. Or ‘broke music’. All of us, not just Rick, but because of Rick’s fine piano/harpsichord musicianship, we were able to pull it off. Our main influence, besides the Beatles & Stones, were The Hollies. Damn those boys could sing harmony.
Because of this mild success, we rented out places in small southern towns like the Natl Guard Armory to make a decent wage for high school kids. In ’68 we recorded in New Orleans. All 3 songs were Pierce originals with Ron singing lead. A-Side “One of a Kind Woman”, B-Side “Inside Outside”, & the unreleased “I’ve Been Gone”. We sold far more of these singles & were listed on Billboard’s Hot 100 Charts with a bullet. Later we found out our manager had sent our tapes to MGM. They offered to fly us to LA to record an album & I guess groom us for a national audience. They offered Daddy Ray $40,000 as a finder’s fee. He thought “Gee if they’re that good, I’ll keep them on my label, FORMAT RECORDS. Just as well we didn’t know this at the time…
Q. Are the unreleased songs, “No One Seems to Know” and “I’ve Been Gone” still around?
I have two versions of the New Orleans session of “I’ve Been Gone”, one with & one without the lead. Jimmy Smith remixed this when he worked at Capitol Records. Another Rick Pierce original. Don’t think “No One Seems to Know” from Memphis survived.
About early ’69 we splintered off & Jimmy, Rick, & I formed a newer ‘Stoned Dickens’ foursome, John Russel played lead guitar, Rick moved to drums. Lots of Cream, Buffalo Springfield, Hendrix.
I did a short stint in the Phaetons as a bass player/ backup singer. Made a ton of money as Charlie Capri, our manager, kept us on the road. But that lasted less than the Stone Dickens, maybe 4 months.
With the narco cops following us around, Jimmy & Ron hightailed it to California. We formed a group called The Alleycats (several versions of members, one including Louie again).
Louie went on to open a mod clothing store, Oz Boutique. He was probably the best rhythm guitarist I’ve ever heard, although I do have one recording of my song “Real Fine Love” where he tears up the lead. He knew the chords to every rock & country song. Unfortunately he died of a heart attack about 2005 in his 50s.
Skip went to New Orleans & kicked around before winding up in Vienna, Austria, where he still lives. We are in touch.
Rick went to Atlanta, got very in with the Atlanta sound. I saw him last playing a solo gig in Marietta, Ga. We are not in touch now, but I’m working on this.
Jimmy’s still in Sherman Oaks. He’s worked a lot in the movie industry & was working at Capitol Records where he had access to their mixing room. This is where our remastered New Orleans session came from.
I stayed based in LA for a total of 17 years. In ’79 I joined the first American band ever to play for Club Med, The Hollywood Party Boys. Mexico, Switzerland, Greece, & always Paris, per diem. When I returned to LA, instead of resuming my music career while working for every record company mail room, including Billboard, I went to LACC & became an Elec tech. Moved back to Pensacola area, where I still live. I’ve always continued to write & record music.
Arturo & Pat with the Stowaways, from left to right: Norma Longoria, James Buckley, Pat Buckley, Wendall Maloy, and Arturo Longoria
The Stowaways were:
Arturo Longoria – vocals Pat Buckley – vocals Norma Longoria – keyboards Romolo Montalvo – lead guitar James Buckley – rhythm guitar Wendall Maloy – drums
Wendall Maloy sent in the clipping above and wrote to me about the Stowaways:
This is the first “garage band” to play the Grapefruit Bowl in Sharyland, TX. The photo is from The McAllen Monitor and mentions our parking lot dances in front of Carl’s Minimax in Mission. The photo was taken before the Pharaoh record we cut where the name of the group was changed.
Mr. Longoria paid for the record. On the record, we were listed as Arturo and Pat with the Stowaways. I don’t have a copy of the record. The title might have been, “Turn Your Light On Me.” It got lots of air play on KRIO because we were local. Jimmy Nichols, owner of Pharaoh Records, never signed a group and paid for their recording. He always got paid for studio time and pressing, in other words … he never invested in an artist or group. Anyone could cut a record with Pharaoh if they had the money. If I remember, it was about $500 for 500 records turnkey.
That was our only record with Arturo and Pat. They later were backed by The Invaders. [Arturo & Pat with the Invaders – “Oh Yes Tonight” / “So Tenderly & Faithfully” on Pharaoh 134]
Romolo Montalvo was a great lead guitar player. I played with Romolo, Juan Guerrero (bass guitar) and Oscar Villareall (vocals) at the Grapefruit Bowl after Romolo and I left Arturo and Pat. I soon left the Valley to attend college in Victoria, TX.
Oscar got a record deal with Falcon Records and had a successful career. He was killed in an accident while touring and his records started selling like crazy. I know that Juan played with Oscar’s band. I lost touch with most everyone, except Juan. He played with several Tejano groups like Los Fabulosos Quatro and later had his own group Los Sheekanos. He is in the Tejano Music Hall of Fame.
The best group from the Valley was the Playboy’s of Edinburg. They had a top 40 hit with “Look At Me Girl.” The song was recorded at Pharaoh and later released on Columbia. Bobby Vee covered the song, had it out at the same time on Liberty Records and kind of screwed them out of having a bigger hit.
I got drafted in 1967 and while serving as NCOIC of the Radio-TV Section at the Ft Hood Information Office, got the Playboys assigned to me when they came for summer camp with the National Guard. We are still close today.
This site is a work in progress on 1960s garage rock bands. All entries can be updated, corrected and expanded. If you have information on a band featured here, please let me know and I will update the site and credit you accordingly.
I am dedicated to making this site a center for research about '60s music scenes. Please consider donating archival materials such as photos, records, news clippings, scrapbooks or other material from the '60s. Please contact me at rchrisbishop@gmail.com if you can loan or donate original materials
