Updated September 2010

“Won’t You Tell Me” is a song I used to cover when I played with a couple friends in the Trip 9’s. Running through those chords over and over would about make my arm fall off, but I never got tired of playing it.

The Vestells were a quartet from around Stroudsburg, northeast of Allentown. Their name seems to come from the vests they wore as stage outfits.

Two brothers, Bob and John Schick formed the basis of the band, originally with John Smoke on rhythm guitar and John Kegley on drums, later replaced by Clair Whitmore and Jim Cadue. They cut their only record at Cameo-Parkway studios in Philadelphia in 1966, then most of the band was drafted the following year.

“Won’t You Tell Me” was written by Bob Schick, and seems to feature only two guitars and drums, as I can’t make out any bass. The rhythm guitarist must have been pretty excited to be in the studio, he starts the song off so fast the drummer has a hard time getting the beat down! The song ends up at a noticeably slower tempo than when it began, but the shouts and spirited delivery really put this across. I love the ending, too, when first the drums then the guitars drop out.

The much more sedate flip side, “Please Walk Away”, was written by the group and features a different singer, Clair Whitmore. With harmonies and a bass line, I’d say the band spent considerably more time recording this song. It’s not bad if you like mellow pop ballads.

Bass player John Schick sent me the photo above and wrote to me about the band:

The pic is an earlier Vestells. I couldn’t find one with the players on “Won’t You Tell Me”. The band that recorded “Won’t You Tell Me” was Jim Cadue on drums, Clair Whitmore, rhythm guitar and vocal on “B” side of 45, and of course Bob and myself.

We played just about every bar and resort in the Poconos, including Mount Airy Lodge (now a casino), Buck Hill Inn, Fernwood, Pocono Manor, etc. We did get radio play in New Jersey (years after the band broke up).

We pressed a thousand. I’m not really sure how many we sold, given away, and lost. I still have 16 (just counted them).

Bob is now an organic farmer in Maine. He still writes songs, books, and articles on organic farming. Jim Cadue was Monroe County Commisioner for years (now retired), Clair Whitmore I believe has a sign business, and I’m still in the music business as a full-time composer. Some of my credits can be found on AudioSparx.com. All members except for my brother still live in the Poconos where the band originated.

John Schick

Update: drummer Jim Cadue passed away on May 14th, 2015.