The Young Monkeymen were Trenton, New Jersey’s top band in the mid-60’s. Members were Al Dyott, James Markley, Eugene Patricella on lead guitar and Dean Wilcox.
Eugene was only a young teenager when he played the solos on “I Believed You” and “Bald Headed Woman”. These two songs were their first 45, recorded at Frankford-Wayne Recording Labs in Philadelphia.
Their second record, “I’m Waitin’ For the Letter” was written by Phil and Mary Ann Lombardo and released on their P & M label. The flip is a good original credited to the group, “I Love You”, with a catchy guitar riff and nice bass playing.
Joe Patricella is listed as their manager on the promotional material. I’ve read the band broke up from the draft. They have a later 45 on the P & M label I haven’t heard yet, “They’re Not Forgetting You” b/w an instrumental version of the same song.
Back row: Jim Ovaitt (keyboards), Rick Garfield (drums), Rick Blomstrom (lead guitar). Second row Mike Gilliam (bass guitar), Bruce Reinoehl (rhythm guitar). The Chancellors were a quintet from Lansing, Michigan with two 45s on the great Fenton label. Since my original post I’ve been in touch with Chancellors rhythm guitarist Bruce Reinoehl, who wrote up a short history of the band:
The Chancellors was a mid-Michigan band which was active between mid 1965 and late 1967. The band formed around the direction of keyboard man and lead singer Jim Ovaitt. During the summer of 1965, the group underwent several personnel changes before its final composition of Jim Ovaitt, keyboards and lead singer, Rick Garfield drums, Rick Blomstrom lead guitar and vocals, Mike Gilliam bass guitar and vocals and Bruce Reinoehl rhythm guitar and vocals. At the time we were all high school students in East Lansing and Okemos, Michigan.
Our first jobs consisted mainly of high school dances. As we continued to improve we moved up to Michigan State University fraternity parties and local night clubs. In early 1966, we cut our first record. This was the “Journey” / “One in a Million” record of which only a few hundred were pressed. Today that record is quite scarce. I can remember the fairly primitive by today’s standards studio which at that time did not have the ability to double track recordings. That meant everyone had to play all parts of both songs well enough to make a record. That sounds easy especially with all of the rehearsing we had done before going to the recording studio. As with anything one makes, the builder is the one who knows where the blemishes are. There always seemed to be something that just was not good enough. By the time we were finished, I never wanted to play or hear either of those songs again. That changed when I heard “Journey”, an instrumental, used by one of the local radio stations as a lead up to one of their news broadcasts.
By late 1966, the Chancellors were becoming fairly well known in the mid Michigan area. We were playing jobs in Saginaw, Bay City, Jackson and as far away as Harbor Springs. We played at nightclubs where the Byrds and Beach Boys had played a week or two previously. We also cut out second and final record around this time. This was the “Dear John” / “5 minus 3” record.
The picture which was staged on the piano was taken in at the studio of Jim Ovaitt’s piano teacher. The on stage pictures taken while playing were taken at the Band Canyon a nightclub in Bay City, Michigan. Among other bands playing there were the Byrds. The pictures of the equipment were taken at Club Ponytail in Harbor Springs, MI. The Beach Boys also played that club. The motel photos were taken in Harbor Springs. Neither club is still standing.
Playing with the Chancellors was a great experience but it was also obvious that we were not cut out to be professional musicians. All of the members of the band ended up going into professions other than music. In looking back, it was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. I treasure the friendships and memories that have resulted from my experiences with the Chancellors.
Bruce Reinoehl
Bruce Reinoehl and Jim Ovaitt co-wrote both songs on the first 45, “One in a Milliion” and “Journey”. “Journey” and “5 Minus 3” feature Jim Ovaitt’s organ playing, but “5 Minus 3” is especially interesting for being a raucous duet by just Ovaitt and drummer Garfield.
The organ also dominates their first vocal song, “One in a Million”. “Dear John” gives the guitarist and vocalist more room and succeeds as a pop song.
Thank you to Paul Reinoehl for helping me get in touch with his brother and for sending in these great photos, and to Bruce Reinoehl for his history of the band.
Note: one source lists this group as cutting a third 45 on Chamus: “Places We Once Knew” / “Something for Sure”. However, this was a different Chancellors band out of Lincoln, Nebraska featuring Keith Goins and Max Carl Gronenthal. That band had another release on El Cid: “Everbody’s Got To Lose Someone Sometime” / “It Was A Very Good Year”, both singles are good blue-eyed soul with horns. Tip of the hat to Martin Hancock for pointing out this was a different band.
The Chancellors at the Band Canyon in Bay City, MIThe Chancellors at the Band Canyon in Bay City, MIThe Chancellors at the Band Canyon in Bay City, MIAt the Club Ponytail in Harbor Springs, MI
Once rumored to be from Wichita, Kansas, Moby Dick and the Whalers were actually based in Midwest City, just outside of Oklahoma City. Members were Tom Rushlow on vocals, Bobby Harris rhythm guitar, Jim Parr on bass, Gary Stevens on organ and Blue Fox on drums. As a quintet they had been playing since August ’67, though Tom Rushlow, Bobby Harris and Jim Parr had been in earlier groups together.
They participated in a nationally-televised band competition, the Paul Revere & Mark Lindsay hosted show, Happening ’68. In the contest, two bands would lip sync one of their recordings (original or cover song) in front of a panel of three judges and studio audience, with the winner going on to the next round. The judges varied from show to show, but at the time of the Moby Dick and the Whalers broadcast, may have been Jackie DeShannon, Tommy Roe and Jay North (Dennis the Menace).
The song Moby Dick and the Whalers did for the show was “I Love Her So”, an excellent organ-driven rocker, written by Tom Rushlow and Bobby Harris. From the few episodes I’ve seen (and I haven’t seen theirs yet), I would say “I Love Her So” must have been one of the better original songs featured on Happening ’68.
The flip side is the mellower “Only the Good Times,” written by Curtis Hays, the former drummer of the group. According to the article, the 45 was released just after the appearance on Happening ’68.
The original lineup, 1966, l-r: Franklin Harris, George Feree, Tom Rushlow, Jim Parr and Bobby Harris.
Bassist Jim Parr sent in the photo and article from the Oklahoma Journal, and provided some history of the band:
The lead singer and manager was Tom Rushlow, who was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base near OK city when the band was first beginning to form. I met Tom through Bobby Harris, who invited me to a jam session. Tom Rushlow, Bobby Harris – and Bobby’s brothers – William Harris and Franklin Harris – were all extremely talented musicians. We all lived in or around the OK City area at the time.
After a few jam sessions and practices, I was very excited and proud to be invited to become the bass player for the group. If I remember correctly, Tom Rushlow came up with the name for the group.
Thus, the original ‘Moby Dick & The Whalers’ band was born and was composed of – Tom Rushlow, lead singer – Bobby Harris, rhythm guitar – Franklin Harris, lead guitar – George Feree, drummer – & Jim Parr, bass guitar. This was sometime around the year ’66, give or take a year.
After the original drummer, there was Curtis Hayes – who is credited with the song ‘Only The Good Times’ on the flip side of the 45. Next came Blue Fox, who played the drums with the group during the time the record was made and was with the group during the invitation to Hollywood. William Harris, drummer, was with the band from time to time, and eventually was with the band full time.
One very popular member of the group that deserves mention was Joe Sawyer, organist, who replaced Gary Stevens.
Notice from the Ardmore Daily Ardmoreite, March 6, 1969, describing an April release for their 45During the time frame of the recording and release of the record, in ’68 and ’69, the group was composed of Tom Rushlow, lead singer – Bobby Harris, guitarist – Gary Stevens, organist – Blue Fox, drummer – and Jim Parr, bass guitar. The master tape for the 45 was recorded by this group at a studio in Tyler, Texas.
The group performed numerous times on local OK City television shows, one of which was a popular show titled ‘The Scene’, hosted by a very popular DJ – Ronnie Kaye. The group was also invited to appear in Hollywood, on a television show titled ‘Happening ‘68’. This show was a Dick Clark production and was hosted by Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay, of ‘Paul Revere & The Raiders’.
Tom Rushlow’s son Tim played with Little Texas and is now a solo country artist. Tim’s online biography mentions a later version of his father’s band:
After getting out of the military, Tom Rushlow moved his family to Arlington, Texas, where he joined his wife Patricia’s three brothers in a band called Moby Dick and the Whalers.
“The Whalers were one of those good regional acts that opened for stars like Mitch Ryder and James Brown,” remembers the proud son. “They put out their own records, and even came close to appearing on ‘American Bandstand.’ They got real close to making it.”
Update:
I’m very sorry to report that Jim Parr passed away on February 10, 2009. His son Robert wrote to me, “He was a very talented artist and a great father – I couldn’t ask for a better life. He loved music and played a lot at home for the family.”
It was an honor for me to correspond with Jim about his music, my deepest condolences to his family.
The Marke 5 were high schoolers from Fayetteville, near Raleigh. Members were Donnie Wofford on vocals, Bill Muffet lead guitar, Pete Sanchez guitar, Steve Kellburg bass and Eddy Truman on drums.
“Pay” has a lot going for it: unusual staccato guitar work, a solo heavy on reverb, sharp drumming and good lead and harmony vocals. Great bass work stands out on “The Leader”, a solid shout-along tune. Both songs are credited to Donnie Wolford and Bill Muffett.
Ed Truman later played with a version of Minnesota band the Castaways (of “Liar Liar” fame) when Castaways’ guitarist Bob Folschow was stationed in Fayetteville while in the military.
Jimmy Capps was a very popular DJ on WPTF in Raleigh and started the JCP label in early 1965. He released records by dozens of groups including the Unknown IV,the Counts IV,the Symbols, the Vigilantes, the Nightwalkers, Davy Butler, and the Vibra-Sonics, recording in his studio behind the McDonald’s on Hillsborough Street. Jimmy Capps died in 1967 at age 47, and the label soon folded, ending a remarkable run at documenting the local Raleigh-Durham scene.
Sources include: Tobacco-A-Go Go vol. 2, and Fuzz, Acid and Flowers.
One more in the series of photos from Bill Stokley of Virginia Beach Dome shows. Excellent shots of Townshend, Daltrey and Moon’s drumkit, from July 20, 1968. I love photos like these – it’s just the band and their gear on stage. Townshend’s amps are shredded! Tickets cost around $4…
Jimi Hendrix and the Soft Machine at the Virginia Beach Dome, April 3, 1968. Photos courtesy of Diane.Jimi Hendrix and the Soft Machine at the Virginia Beach Dome, April 3, 1968. Photos courtesy of Diane.
Bill Stokley writes:
The Virginia Beach Dome seated about 1000 people. I was 16 and got to drive to the show myself!!! What a show! Jimi blew the doors off the place. You could walk right up to the stage and take pics. Got one of Jimi sliding down the neck during Foxy Lady.
I remember using a little camera that was my moms. The negatives were stolen back in high school.
Update, February 2012
As the ticket stub above clearly shows, the first Hendrix show was on April 3, 1968, not the 4th as I had posted before. The 4th was the day Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis. Thanks to James for bringing this to my attention.
However, some Hendrix references state the concert took place on the 4th (source seems to be Noel Redding’s diary). One commenter below remembers the news about Martin Luther King’s assassination spreading during the concert, which would indicate the 4th. Was the date changed from the 3rd to the 4th?
Jimi Hendrix at the Virginia Beach Dome, August 21, 1968. Bill Stokley: “I remember he wasn’t that good at this show and didn’t play very long.” Photos by Bill Stokley
Eon sent in the following set of photos from the same show. Jimi may not have played very long, but the ending was spectacular:
Here’s a description of the August 21 show from Chuck Taylor, General Manager of WTJU-FM Charlottesville, VA.
I played drums (poorly) in High School at Virginia Beach but still really liked to hear a good drummer. In 1968 I had a picture in my bedroom of Robert Wyatt playing drums for Soft Machine right next to my Peace Poster bought a shop on Eden Alley. Eden Alley hosted a series of hippy paraphernalia stores from an alley just off Virginia Beach Blvd. between Atlantic and Pacific Avenues.
That summer of 1968 I begged my parents to let me go to my first concert…to see the Soft Machine at the Virginia Beach Dome, August 21, 1968. Soft Machine was opening for a guitarist-led trio that was also getting a bit of press at the time. I had just turned 16 in May and so I had only recently gotten my drivers license and they were reluctant to let me go.
There were two shows that night. Because of my age my folks finally capitulated and said I could go to the first show…not the second. I argued with my mother over what to wear to a “concert”. She said you need to dress up (suit & tie!) for a concert. She was unconvinced that this “concert” would be different and refused to let me leave the house without at least loafers, nice pants and a collared shirt. I smuggled some blue jeans, tennis shoes and a t-shirt into the car and changed my clothes on the way. (I went to this concert by myself but cannot remember why)
That summer evening I drove the 6 miles from my house in Kings Grant (subdivision) to the Virginia Beach Dome. When I pulled into the parking lot I had one of those “we’re not in Kansas anymore” reactions as I quickly saw that my attempt at “casual hipness” missed in ways that I could have never imagined. Jeez there were lots of strange looking people in the parking lot! The show was introduced by a local goofy WGH-AM radio host Gene Loving, who couldn’t turn off the “AM radio” approach.
Once I was inside and seated (I actually had an excellent view if I remember correctly) the first band Eire Apparent performed a mildly psychedelic set that was pretty cool but not particularly memorable.
Next up, The Soft Machine (Cuneiform Records is doing an excellent job releasing many Soft Machine rarities). This version of the band was three musicians: Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, & Michael Ratledge. The bass player left the tour about one month before they arrived at Virginia Beach. His name was Andy Summers (yep, the very same bassist later to be in the Police).
As for the set: an extremely intense and loud set ensued featuring music from the first and second Soft Machine records. At the end of the set, Ratledge pushed his organ off the stage causing such severe feedback that my ears are still suffering! Gene Loving attempted his AM stage patter over the raging feedback but quickly gave up. Finally, they shut down the power in the entire building to quiet the feedback but of course, plunging the whole place into darkness. About 20 minutes later the Jimi Hendrix Experience took the floor…
Though Hendrix performed and did various acrobatic stunts he left his guitar intact by the end of the first show. I cannot remember ANY details of the performance other than I came out the other side with a new religion! The general thought was that the destruction of Ratledge’s organ was a “gift” to those expecting destruction from Hendrix. According to friends who attended the second set, Hendrix burned his guitar. As result of that action Hendrix became the first of two hard rock bands in the 60s to be banned forever from the state of Virginia. The second band was the MC5 who played at a small club in Hampton and incited attendees to riot during their show.
This is my ticket stub with tape marks: In the late 60s I kept a scrapbook of the developing music and political scene.
Chuck’s ticket stub to Hendrix, Soft Machine, & Eire Apparent
Sound on Sound at the Time Tunnel, circa 1967, from left: Stony Ratliff on keyboards (tie and jacket – barely visible), Chris Shortridge, singer (white pants and jacket), Dan Rose on guitar (dark pants and shirt), Larry Lester on bass, and Terry Long on drums. Eddy Dixon usually stood between Larry and Terry, but was taking this pic.Sound On Sound were from Grundy in the western part of Virginia, close to a three hour drive to any large city like Roanoke or Johnson City, Tennessee.
The original group consisted of Ed Dixon lead guitar, Curtis Shortridge guitar, Stoney Ratliff organ, Larry Lester bass and Terry Long on drums. Looking for a singer they found Oakwood’s Danny Rose of the Kool Kuzzins, who had cut an excellent 45 on Spot in 1967, “Love Can Be True” / “Hey Little Girl”.
Sound On Sound played back country gigs until they opened their own club, the Time Tunnel, in Garden Creek, about 10 miles from Grundy.
From the Virginia Mountaineer:
These young men performed at a nice, wholesome hangout in 1967 at Young’s Branch for the young people in our community. The teens danced and had lots of fun!
In 1968, at a radio station in Big Stone Gap they recorded their only 45, produced by Joe Deaton. The A-side was the sleepy “My Little Girl”, but on the flip is the much more electric “Girl, You’ve Got to Turn Me On”. Dominated by Stoney Ratliff’s organ style, Ed Dixon’s guitar buzzes in around the vocals while Terry Long smacks the kit and Larry Lester plays runs on the bass, making a great single all in all!
In the 1970s, Curtis Shortridge played bass and sang backup with a group called Phoenix, with Danny Perkins, Lonnie Perkins, Kenny Hale, Randy Long, Ken Jordan and others. Phoenix lasted into the 1980s, and released a single “Loving You” on Transworld Records, recorded at Tandem Recording Studio in Bristol, VA, engineered by Joe Deaton.
Thank you to Selena Long for sending in the photo at top.
Sources include: The Virginia Mountaineer, and liner notes to Aliens, Psychos and Wild Things vol. 2.
Billy John and the Continentals are most famous for a couple 45s on Floyd Soileau’s Jin label in Ville Platte, “The Alligator”/”All Over Again” (Jin 203) and “Slap It To Me”/”Shooting Squirrels” (Jin 214). (Thanks to Boursin for this info – see his comment below correcting my original post regarding “Po Boy”.)
Billy John was Billy John Babineaux, and I believe he passed away in 2002. I’m not sure who was in the Continentals, but Kirby Boudreaux is a possibility.
They also released two 45s on Roland “Rocky” Robin’s N-Joy label in a more conventional r&b style. The first is this fine cover of Jessie Hill’s “Ooh Pooh Pah Doo” with the ballad “Does Someone Care (for Me)” on the flip.
The second N-Joy release has two more Billy Babineaux originals, the rockin’ “Lover Boy Blue” and the horn-driven r&b “Put the Hurt on You”.
The furious opening chords and drum rolls, the casual vocal delivery. Sharp guitar and Yardbirds style rave up – “Lovin’ Just My Style” is one of the signature songs from the garage era.
The Caravelles established themselves as a live act in Phoenix and somehow got the attention of Hadley Murrell, a DJ at the AM soul station KCAC. Murrell produced many of Phoenix’s soul acts in the mid-60’s, including Eddie and Ernie (45s “Time Waits for No One”, “I’m Goin’ for Myself”, etc), the New Bloods, and the Soul Setters, whose 45 “Out of Sight” was also released on Onacrest.
When the Caravelles recorded their single in 1966, the lineup included John Fitzgerald on vocals and harmonica, Mike Lipman lead guitar, Jerry Breci rhythm guitar, Danny Reed keyboards and Doug Steiner on drums.
“Lovin’ Just My Style” is an original by Fitzgerald, Lipman and Breci. For the flip, they covered a song by the New Bloods, “Self-Service”, with the memorable lines: “I don’t have no one to love me, I don’t have no one to kiss me … so I’ll have to serve myself … Self-service!”
Rick Anderson may have been bassist at the time of the record; he later joined the Superfine Dandelion. The band’s first keyboardist was Brooks Keenan, and Neal Smith was their last drummer, before he joined Alice Cooper.
Michael Lloyd formed the Rogues while he was at Hollywood Professional School. It was his third band after the surf instrumental group the New Dimensions and the vocal version of the Dimensions, the Alley Kats.
Shaun Harris met Lloyd while playing bass in another band at Hollywood Professional, the Snowmen, who had recorded “Ski Storm” with Kim Fowley producing. Shaun joined the Rogues in time to help produce their only 45, “Wanted: Dead or Alive”/”One Day.”
Original US issue on Living Legend“Wanted: Dead or Alive” is basically Hey Joe with altered lyrics, despite the songwriting credit to Harris and Lloyd. It’s an unusual version though, with ethereal harmonies and a guitar solo accompanied by a change in rhythm that just manages to stay on track. On the flip is Michael Lloyd’s excellent “One Day”, which demonstrates the direction his songwriting was heading in.
Lloyd and Harris produced the 45, which was released on Kim Fowley’s Living Legend label. This record marks the start of Shaun Harris’ work with Lloyd; they would soon start the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band with Shaun’s brother Danny. It may also mark the beginning of Lloyd’s frequent collaborations with Kim Fowley.
On the Living Legend label are also a couple solo 45s by Kim Fowley “Mr. Responsibility”/”My Foolish Heart” and “Underground Lady”/”Pop Art ’66”; a Fowley duet with Gail Zappa as Bunny and Bear titled “America’s Sweethearts”; and one by Vito and the Hands, “Where It’s At,” featuring the Mothers of Invention.
The sleeve above shows the German release, probably a result of Fowley’s connections in Europe.
For another example of Michael Lloyd’s early work, see the entry on Boystown.
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
Sound On Sound were from Grundy in the western part of Virginia, close to a three hour drive to any large city like Roanoke or Johnson City, Tennessee.
