Category Archives: Lancaster

Categories: Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Pot Records

Omnibus “Take Your Only Chance” from Lancaster, PA

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Omnibus Pot 45 Take Your Only ChanceOmnibus came from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The psychedelic styling on the B-side, “Take Your Only Chance” led me to think this single was from about 1970, but it seems to come a few years later, 1973 or 1974.

Omnibus members were:

Dan Glasse – vocals and percussion
Jeff Morrison – lead guitar
Jimmer Pontz – bass, guitar and vocals
Kenny Kaye – keyboards, guitar and vocals
Biair King – drums and vocals
Gail King – vocals and hand percussion

A good summary of the band come from Blair King’s Youtube channel:

Central Pennsylvania’s Omnibus had its origins in 1970, while Jeff Morrison and Jimmer Pontz formed a band called San Juan Hill, playing throughout their sophomore years at Hempfield High School, Kenny Kaye was touring with Store Records’ Geoffrey Stoner Band supporting a regional hit with a reinterpretation of The Bee Gee’s “To Love Somebody” and Blair King, a sophomore at JP McCaskey High, was performing with another local favorite “Exit”.

In February of 1972 the high school musicians were asked to audition for a new band in its infancy. Founded by keyboardist Kaye it also had vocalist Dan Glass, a recent transplant from Nashville, and Gael King, King’s folkie sister.

The band recorded it’s only single “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise” b/w “Take Your Only Chance” on the POT label out of Philadelphia, taping at Virtue Studios under the helm of Central Pennsylvania producer and Pee Vee Records label owner, Pancho Villa.

Omnibus Pot 45 Surprise Surprise SurpriseOmnibus was to be the last act to be signed to the Pee Vee label before the company moved to Delaware in 1974. The 45 single … was a minor regional hit and afforded the band the opportunity to tour in their funky converted delivery truck gigging from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Lowell, MA.

Dan Glass’s name is spelled Glasse on the label of the single. I’ve also seen Blair King as Blaine King, and Gail King instead of Gael, so maybe someone could clear up the correct spellings.

Kaye and Morrison wrote “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise”, which includes harmonica and was designated the A-side. I prefer the flip, “Take Your Only Chance”, written by Glasse and Morrison. Released on Pot Records P-100, a “Farr-Vil Promotion”; it seems to be rare now.

Both songs published by Pan-Vil Music BMI.

Kenny Kaye wrote “Let’s Go Steady” for the Shaynes, who were produced by Pancho Villa (Charles Miller), like Omnibus, but I don’t believe he was ever in the Shaynes.

Categories: 20th Century Fox, Lancaster, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Sigma Sound Studios (Philadelphia)

The Riders of the Mark and John Hill

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Riders of the Mark 20th Century Fox 45 Gotta Find Somebody

In November 1967 a single by the Riders of the Mark came out on 20th Century Fox Records 45-6694. One side is the very accessible “Gotta Find Somebody”; the flip is the wild two minutes of “The Electronic Insides and Metal Complexion That Make Up Herr Doktor Krieg”.

Teen Beat Mayhem lists locations of Moorestown, New Jersey which is east of Philadelphia, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, over an hour’s drive to the west. 


Riders of the Mark 20th Century Fox 45 The Electronic Insides and Metal Complexion that Make Up Herr Dokter KriegThe Riders of the Mark may have been a real group, but the credits on their 20th Century Fox single don’t support that idea, and instead point to John Hill, Don Cochrane and their associates.

John Hill wrote “Gotta Find Somebody”; John Hill and Don Cochrane wrote “The Electronic Insides and Metal Complexion That Make Up Herr Doktor Krieg”. Blackwood Music published both songs, and the Blackwood connection features in the lead for news items on the recording in Cash Box and Record World. Tony Luis and John Hill produced both sides, and Hill arranged “… Herr Doktor Krieg”.

Riders of the Mark Record World 1967 November 4
Record World, November 4, 1967

John Hill and Don Cochrane composed “Love, Love, Love, Love, Love” for the Nite People, also done by Wool, and John Hill released it under his own name on a Columbia 45 backed with “I’m a Bear”.

Hill produced and played guitar on Margo Guryan’s 1968 LP Take a Picture, and produced the sessions that would be released as Susan Christie’s Paint a Lady. Studio musicians included Kirk Hamilton on bass and Jim Valerio on drums. These were done at Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios, but since that studio opened in 1968, I have to assume the Riders of the Mark single was recorded elsewhere.

In 2009, Finders Keepers Records released some of his 1970 sessions at Sigma Sound as John Hill’s 6 Moons of Jupiter.

John Hill Riders of the Mark Cash Box 1967 December 2
Cash Box, December 2, 1967
Categories: C.V., Lancaster, Pennsylvania

The Couriers

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The Couriers, C.V. Recording Artists, Lancaster, PA
The Couriers, C.V. Recording Artists, Lancaster, PA

Couriers C.V. Records 45 FeelingsUpdated July and August 2010The Couriers formed in 1965 and recorded this one fine record on a Lancaster, Pennsylvania label, C.V. Records.

“Stomping Time Again” is something out of a 50’s hop, but the snare drum slams the beat and the vocals are slurred a bit. This record was reissued years ago on red vinyl, primarily because doo wop collectors valued this side. The song was written by Harry Strother and Steve Kurtz.

The b-side was “Feelings”. The band takes their intro from the Kinks and goes into typical Louie Louie changes but manages to create an original and memorable song – mainly from the notable singing of Steve Kurtz. It’s one of my very favorite songs of this era. It was written by Steve Kurtz and Neil Schuck.

Other members were unknown to me until members and friends commented below, from which the updated info in this post is taken.

Members included:

Steve Kurtz – vocals
Harry Strother – guitar
Neil “Butch” Schuck
Carl Beyer – bass
Dave Johnson – keyboards
Bob Bitts – drums
Dick Dunkle – drums
Larry Spece
Tim Miller

Steve Kurtz wrote in his comment below:

We didn’t exactly disappear after “Stompin’ Time”. We were supposed to cut two more 45’s as per our informal contract with Chuck Raymond and Pancho, who awarded us the opportunity to make records after we won a Battle Of The Bands at Moose Hall in Lancaster. We never did cut those other two sides, but, for us as a band, the experience of recording and releasing “Stompin’ Time Again” was a wonderful thing. It even got to #8 on the WLAN Top 60. I still think it sounds great to hear it, and I’ve always thought it sounded less “local” than most of the records cut by Lancaster bands, with the exception of The Shaynes, who I thought cut two very cool records themselves, “You Tell Me Girl” and “From My Window”.

Those were heady days, and I wouldn’t trade the experience I had playing with Hoagie Strother, Butch Schuck, Dick Dunkle, Dave Johnson (deceased), Bob Bitts (deceased), and Carl Beyer for anything in the world.

The band played their last show at the 421 Club in February, 1968.

Harry Strother, aka Hoagie went on to play lead guitar for Jay and the Techniques from Allentown.

The band became Little Stevie & the Couriers.

Thank you to all who commented for the info on the group and to Carl Beyer for the photos and poster.

The Couriers at the 421 Club. Carl Beyer, Harry Strother, Robert Bitts, Steve Kurtz and Dave Johnson.
The Couriers at the 421 Club to promote the Atlas Sound Banshee PA speaker.
From left: Carl Beyer, Harry Strother, Robert Bitts, Steve Kurtz and Dave Johnson.
The Couriers promote the Atlas Sound Banshee PA speaker.
The Couriers promote the Atlas Sound Banshee PA speaker.