The Wild Kingdom: John Etheridge (drums), Glen (Robbie) Robertson (bass), Bruce West (vocals), and Mike Johnstone (guitar) Many is the time I’ve had a lead on a band that is obscure to me, which then gets forgotten in the avalanche of emails and comments I received from this site over time. I apologize for not following up in a timely manner.
Steven S. wrote to me a long time ago, 2008, about the Wild Kingdom, and though I corresponded with him, I neglected to post about the band, probably because they didn’t have any records to their name. Only recently have I noticed the connections to other bands such as the Mustangs and the Back Door, so I’ll add the photo and info he sent to me so long ago.
The Wild Kingdom were from the Peninsula (Hampton, Newport News) and used to play on the Southside at all the usual teen clubs.
The Swinging Machine and the Wild Wild Kingdom, at Hullabaloo, Newport News Daily Press, June 1968The band personnel were: John Etheridge (drums), Glen (Robbie) Robertson (bass), Bruce West (vocals), and Mike Johnstone (guitar). Johnstone was an extremely gifted player who enjoyed considerable acclaim among area musicians. Etheridge and Robertson wove a tightly solid sound, more like an R&B rhythm section than one might have expected from a hippie band in those days. West was a versatile singer and quite the showman.
At one point, they hooked up with Keith (of “98.6” fame) and toured as his backup band for awhile. They later morphed into “The Back Door” and continued playing at local clubs until they scattered to join various other local groups. They were the great unknowns in those days, being somewhat eclipsed by Swingin’ Machine. However, they were outstanding players and didn’t pay lip service at all to the “blue-eyed soul” genre that ruled the area back then. Their manager, Jim Tatum, also handled Bill Deal & the Rhondells – go figure!
Wild Kingdom and Back Door were a huge influence on many of us Southside garage punks. We ranked them above Swingin’ Machine, partly because they didn’t cover any radio hits, but mostly because they were the better band.
I don’t remember Wild Kingdom/Back Door surviving beyond 1969. At that time, Bruce West injured his leg in a motorcycle mishap and “retired” from the music scene. Robbie Robertson likewise dropped off the radar about then. Mike Johnstone & John Etheridge continued performing with various other area groups until at least the mid 1970’s. Some of the bands I recall were “Headstone Circus”, “Rooth”, “The Dubonettes”, and “Hot Cakes”.
To my knowledge, there are no recordings of the Wild Kingdom.
Jerry Harden published a brief memoir about Barnie’s in Buckroe Beach, VA that mentioned some of the bands I’ve covered, including Adrian & the Sinsations and Danny and the Delnotes. About the Wild Kingdom, he lists an additional member, Ray Witham, and writes that Robby Robinson [sic]: “was arrested on stage for wearing a sword as part of his costume”!
Steve Monaco and Bob Schlagel of the Back Door, 1967
Tina Monaco sent in these photos of the Rogues and the Back Door, two Hampton Virginia bands that didn’t make records but would have at least two members who would go on to Headstone Circus: Mike Johnstone on guitar and Bob Schlagal on bass.
The Rogues 1965-66, Hampton VA, from left: Tommy Clark, Bob Schlagal, Jimmy ?, Jerry ?, and Steve Monaco.
The Rogues ran during 1965 and 1966, and included:
Jerry ? – lead vocals Tommy Clark – lead guitar Jimmy ? – rhythm guitar Bob Schlagal – bass Steve Monaco – drums
The Back Door existed circa 1967 and included:
Bruce West Mike Johnstone – guitar Robbie Robertson Bob Schlagal – bass Steve Monaco – drums
Bruce West, Mike Johnstone and Robbie Robertson were also in the Wild Kingdom in 1968.
Tina wrote to me in 2025:
I am Tina Monaco, sister of Steve Monaco. He was a drummer for an incarnation of several bands from the 60s. The bands would practice in our garage at our residence on Big Bethel Road.
We were kids of a career Air Force father and our family retired in 1968 in Miami, Florida. Steve went on from there to marry his Lakenheath American High School sweetheart from our earlier days 1963-1965 in England. He became a commercial airline pilot for major airlines. He and Nancy are retired living in Arizona. I am retired as well, living in Lake Worth Beach Fl.
The Back Door, 1967 from left: Bruce West, Bob Schlagal (at top), Mike Johnstone, unidentified in white shirt, and Robbie Robertson at far right. Steve Monaco drummer not pictured.
The Slithy Toves, from left: Chet Blackstone, Don Smith, Jon Harris, Lou Cordera (standing), and Bruce BrandfonFounded in 1967, the Slithy Toves did not release any recordings, but were an active live band in Virginia and North Carolina, including a week’s residency at the Other Place, a club in Nags Head, NC that lasted only one summer.
Bruce Brandfon wrote to me about the group:
I was the bass player in the Slithy Toves. We were all students at UVA in Charlottesville.
Members of the band were: Chet Blackstone – lead guitar, Don Smith – drums, Jon Harris – vocals and rhythm guitar, Lou Cordera (standing) – keyboard, and Bruce Brandfon – bass.
The Circle Ltd in Carrboro: a weekend with the Counts IV, Slithy Toves, and August, from the Daily Tar Heel, Feb 13, 1969We played all over Virginia (and especially at UVA): fraternity parties and clubs as well as opening for the Box Tops, the Spencer Davis Group, Martha and the Vandellas, when they played concerts at University Hall. We played at UNC parties also and quite a few times at a very cool club The Circle Ltd in Carrboro NC that was a sit-down music club. We loved playing there, rapt audiences who came to listen to the music.
We played at the Electric Circus in NYC and were hired to play a sweet sixteen party in Cleveland by a rich guy whose daughter wanted an Alice in Wonderland themed party, hence The Slithy Toves.
We played at The Other Place in the summer of 1968. Don Smith, who was our drummer and my roommate, was contacted by a booking agent about the gig in Nags Head. We loved that gig and the audiences were totally into the music. We shared one of those iconic posters with The Swinging Machine. I still have copies of the poster.
WUVA Rock Festival, May 1969, with Slithy Toves, Chrysanthemum, and Rock Lustre, May 1969Don Smith and I (founders of The Toves) graduated in 1969 so a couple of the shows you found were with another incarnation of the band. Don and I, and three of the remaining Toves (Barry Smith, Don’s bother and lead guitarist, Kent Beyer, bass guitarist, and Lou Cordera, keyboards) reunited in 1971 when those three all had graduated and we formed Childhoods End. I played saxophones in that band, and Lou’s friend David Simoni joined us as vocalist and rhythm guitarist.
Childhoods End moved up to New Jersey where we lived at Rolling Knolls Farm and became the lead house band at Mother’s in Greenwood Lake NY (when the legal drinking age was 18 in NY and NJ kids from just across the state line would come to party). Childhoods End played with Springsteen at shows on the Long Branch NY pier and the famous Satellite Lounge near Fort Dix (on the same bill as The Ronettes, with whom we shared a dressing room).
Childhood’s End recorded Decca Studios in New York and then at Chordata records in Manhattan. Recordings of both bands can be found on Reverbnation and Soundcloud.
The Slithy Toves in the Daily Progress, October 31, 1969.The Slithy Toves in 1971 before they became Childhood’s End. From right to left: Don Jay Smith, drums; Kent Beyer, bass; Barry Smith, guitar; Lou Cordera, organ and vocals; and Bruce Brandfon, sax and vocals. Not shown is David Simoni, guitar and lead vocals. Photo courtesy of Don Jay Smith
The Changing Tymes were based out of their own Club Moss in Gate City, Virginia, located in the far western part of the state just across the state line from Kingsport, Tennessee. Four of the band were from Hiltons, VA, with another from Johnson City, TN.
Members were:
Buzzy Jones – lead vocals, guitar Jimmy Harris – lead guitar, vocals Lenny Gillenwater – organ Allan McMurray – bass Buddy Babb – drums, vocals
The group released two seven-inch records on their own Moss label, featuring good original songs by the band. “The Only Girl I Love” (McMurray – Jones) / “Parody of a Love” (McMurray, Gillenwater) came out on Moss 000-001/002 in August 1967, followed by “Go Your Way” (Gillenwater – Jones) / “She Laughed at Me” (Gillenwater) on Moss 000-003/004 in December.
Chronos Music published all four songs.
The Clinch Valley College in Wise, Virginia newspaper, the Highland Cavalier, profiled the group on November 1, 1967, for their upcoming show at the Cotillion Club Harvest Dance on November 4:
They were called NUTHIN then … after a while they figured The Changing Tymes fit better’n anything else.
Last New Year’s Eve … the Changing Tymes opened a place of their own and they called it Club Moss …
Every Saturday night since, Moss has been open from 8:30 – 11:30 … Sometimes the crowds have been huge with hardly room to dance, and at other times there wasn’t more than 50, but the music goes on and the quality is good … the best sound around. “Big Daddy Harris” and “General Jones” are always around somewhere in the shadows, but they never give the feeling that they’re watching for you to do something wrong.
Club Moss ad with the Changing Tymes, in the Kingsport Times, February 3, 1967
In August the Changing Tymes went to Nashville for their first recording session. Allan McMurray, Bass player had written some words for which Buzzy Jones and Lenny Gillenwater had written some music … they called the two songs “Parody of a Love” and “The Only Girl I Love”, sung by Buddy Babb, drummer, and Buzzy Jones.
… Last week “Parody of a Love” made the “Top Forty” at WNVA …
… four of them are from Hilton, Virginia: Buzzy (Rhea Wilbur Jones, Jr.), Larry (Larry Wayne Gillenwater), Jimmy (James Oscar Harris, Jr.), and Alan (Alan Rhea McMurray).
Buddy (James Howard Babb, Jr.) lives at Weber City, but during school he lives in Johnson City while studying at East Tennessee State University.
According to the article, Jimmy Harris was the youngest of the group, a junior at Gate City High School. Larry Gillenwater attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute (now Viginia Tech), while Alan McMurray and Buzzy Jones were at Clinch Valley College.
Discussing Club Moss, February 2, 1968
The Kingsport Times ran a feature about Club Moss on February 2, 1968:
… a basement in the old Craft Motor Company Building … could hardly be described as swank …
“It has the best band in the Tri-Cities,” Steve McMurray said, “except maybe the Scat-Cats. They drew the largest crowd we’ve ever had, about 450, but there was still room to dance.”
“If you like to dance,” Lester Spivey said, “it’s a good place to go. They have a good sound system and the band is good.
“The walls have a black background with op art designs on them,” he said, “and they use colored lights. It looks real nice.”
“And you get bored just staying at home,” Chuck Quillen said. “You get tired of your parents, could even start to hate them …”
The last annoucement I can find for the group comes from the Kinsport Times on September 18, 1968, announcing a band competition at the Scott County Tobacco Festival in Weber City.
Club Moss continued for some time. Kingsport Times articles from January 17 and 29, 1969 discuss the re-opening of the club:
Last summer, its previous managers (teenage members of the Changing Thymes [sic] band) decided to close the club because of questionable legality of their license and a growing problem with teenage activity outside the club …
The new managers were Tommy Francisco and Eric Darnell [Eric Darnel in the other article], and Jack Francisco was a chaperone:
Gate City Sheriff Ernest Culbertson said that he hadn’t endorsed the re-opening of the club. “I do not approve of the re-opening of the Club Moss … Whenever teenagers get together, there’s going to be trouble.”
The article mentions a group the Seventh Dawn performing at the club and a bank Christmas party.
Club Moss did not last long, however, because in April 1970 another article mentioned several spots that closed: Club Moss, the Barn in Rogersville and the Purple Penguin in Kingsport; and discussed whether a new teen club could open.
Anyone have a photo of Club Moss, or pics of the Changing Tymes or other local bands?
The Kingsport Times ran this photo on April 24, 1970, but didn’t specify if it was one of the local clubs or a stock photo.
The Panics started in 1963, formed at Huguenot High School in Richmond, Virginia.
The lineup was
Jimmy Sherwood – lead vocals and rhythm guitar Bill LaRue – lead guitar and vocals Bill Lyell – bass John Herbig – drums
Dwyane Givens was their equipment manager.
Their only single contains two original songs by Bill Lyell and Bill Larue, the mid-tempo “I Pretend” shows some Beatles influence, and the fast-paced “No More” opens with a Lennonesque “Oh!”
It was released on Shoestring Records SHO 107 in 1965, a styrene record from the Columbia Records plant at Terre Haute, Indiana.
Clyde Atkinson of the Wild Ones and Mickey Russell of the Fugitives also went to Huguenot High. The Fugitives had a single on Shoestring.
After the Panics, Bill LaRue would form a three-piece blues band, Blue Alfred. He would have one more record that I know of as Snelson & LaRue “I’m Tired of Getting Put Down” / “Making Your Mind Up it’s Over” with David Snelson and Cynthia LaRue, recorded at Audio Communications in Richmond.
Anyone have a good photo of the group?
A couple of very small photos of the group are in the booklet to Aliens Psychos & Wild Things vol. 2.
December’s Children at the Alexandria Roller Rink, November 22, 1967, Jerry Burke holding the mic, photo courtesy of Bud Becker
December’s Children came from Falls Church, Virginia, and part of the same Washington, D.C. music scene as the Telstars. Bud Becker managed both bands, and the photos here come from his collection.
I don’t have the lineups down exactly but I believe members included:
Jerry Burke – lead vocals Clay Staples (J.C. Staples) – lead guitar Pete Kahn – rhythm guitar Steve Gilles Matt ”Red” Kilmer – organ Mike Martino – drums Mick Coiner (Mic Coiner) – lead vocals (replaced Jerry Burke)
Dick Alfers was a roadie for the band.
December’s Children at the Alexandria Roller Rink, Jerry Burke with tambourine, November 22, 1967
Ad for the December’s Children supporting the Turtles at the Alexandria Roller Rink, November 22, 1967December’s Children biggest show may have been supporting the Turtles on November 22, 1967 at the Alexandria Roller Rink with Bobby Howard and the Sweet, the Plum Beach Incident, the Hounds of Baskerville, the Fantastic Plastic, the Seeds of Life, the Rokz, the Kings Row, the Gnu Generation, and the Yorkshires. WPGC “Good Guy” DJ Jack Alix presented the show.
Also in 1967, the group made their only single, featuring a cover of Love’s “Signed D.C.” backed with an original “So Long Ago” by Burke, Gilles, and Staples.
On the record the group is listed as December’s Children, Ltd., released on Domestic Sound Records DS-123, with an address at 133 South Washington Street, Falls Church, VA. M.A. Becker and December’s Children and DSP Music published “So Long Ago”.
After Jerry Burke left for Vietnam in 1968, Mic Coiner took over on lead vocals.
I don’t know if the band’s members continued in music. Jerry Burke passed away in 2007.
Bud Becker’s silent footage of December’s Children at a VFW hall with Jerry Burke on lead vocals, followed by Jerry Burke’s haircut shortly before going into the Marines, ending with a short clip at a Hullabaloo with Mic Coiner on vocals.
Thank you to Bud Becker and Paul Burke for their help with this article.
For some reason I had the band listed as from Fredericksburg, which seems to be incorrect, unless certain members started out there. Thank you to Bill Pooten for pointing that out.
December’s Children at the Alexandria Roller Rink, November 22, 1967
The Monic Depression released one single, “Wondering Why” / “Midnight Hour”. I wish I could tell you more about the band but nothing is known at this point.
“Wondering Why” is an excellent original by K. Ellmer. The organ, guitar, bass and drums blend into a near-perfect garage sound, even if the record was made in 1969, as someone wrote on my copy.
Kevin Ellmer, Keith Ellmer, Ken Ellmer, Knox Ellmer?!
The flip is a good version of “Midnight Hour”
Teen Beat Mayhem lists the band’s location as possibly Virginia, while I’ve seen Pennsylvania on the internet, possibly Scranton.
Released on HRS 45-218, possibly HRS stands for a recording studio. Harrisburg?
I love the band name, was the spelling of Monic intentional or was it supposed to be Manic Depression? There’s at least one copy with the Monic changed to Manic with pen.
Michael Kuzmin turned up a news item from the Jersey City Journal on May 9, 1968, but the names listed do not include the writer of “Wondering Why” so it’s likely a different group:
Ronald de Stefano, Keith Lambert, Richard Russo, Paul Menendez, Frank Costa and Bob Greenhouse, who formed the new “The Manic Depression” group are becoming very popular.
The Tel Stars, from left: Jimmy Carter, Ronnie Wilson, unidentified – can anyone ID? and Terry Gorka
The Telstars were a big draw in the Washington DC area, playing at the Bayou among other venues.
The band was based in Falls Church; members included:
Jimmy Maddox – guitar Gary Johnson – guitar Jimmy Carter – guitar Terry Gorka – bass Ronnie Wilson – drums
Bud Becker sent in the photo seen here, and remembers two vocalists with the band, Jerry Burke, who went into the Army, and a second named Mick. He also remembers Terry’s wife Cherrie Gorka was a seamstress who made costumes for December’s Children, and that Barry Siedel managed the band.
The Telstars put a lot of fuzz behind “Keep on Running”, a song written and originally performed by Jackie Edwards, and made famous through the Spencer Davis Group. It’s a good version, but I like their take on “Hold Tight” even more. Sylvia Fricker of Ian & Sylvia wrote “Hold Tight”, registering copyright in September, 1966.
“Hold Tight” appeared on Ian & Sylvia’s 1967 album So Much for Dreaming, which I don’t have a release date for, but I believe it shortly precedes the Telstars single on Columbia 4-44141 in May, 1967. I’d be curious if the Telstars heard “Hold Tight” on the album or from a songwriting demo.
The production credit is interesting. Bob Wyld and Art Polhemus of Longhair Productions created many great singles with the Blues Magoos, including “Tobacco Road” and “(We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet”; the Magicians (“An Invitation to Cry”, “About My Love” and more), the Blue Beats and others, usually on Columbia Records.
Barry Seidel (with Tom Traynor) produced records by the Mad Hatters and the Fallen Angels. The Telstars record is the only time Seidel worked with both Wyld and Polhemus, but Bob Wyld would later produce albums for acts that Seidel managed, Steel Image and Exuma.
Bud Becker thought the Telstars recorded at either Rodel Studios in Georgetown or Edgewood Recording Studios. Bud managed various groups, such as the Winds of Change and the Yorkshires.
Terry Gorka would go into the Reason with Tommy Dildy, Bill Manning, and Billy Windsor, releasing an album Age of Reason on Georgetowne Records.
Thank you to Linda Shekan for correcting some errors in this article with her comment below.
The Beau Havens had one record, the fantastic “Elizabeth” / “Feel So Good” on Gama Records 45-705 from September, 1966. The photos seen here were taken about a year earlier, in 1965.
I’m trying to decipher the hand-writing on this card, so members’ names may not be spelled correctly. Any help would be appreciated:
John Colgan – drums, vocals on “Feel So Good” Kerry Miller – lead guitar Jim Whelan – lead vocal on “Elizabeth” Allan Hurdle (or is it Allen Hurdle?) – guitar Tom Whelan – piano
Kevin Miller – manager
The group were all young teenagers in ’65.
Belle Haven, VA has been listed as their town of origin, however that eastern shore town is nearly four hours drive from the Springfield, Virginia American Legion Hall where these photos were taken.
The Beau Havens were actually from the Belle Haven subdivision south of Alexandria, VA, in Fairfax County (tip of the hat to Chris Farrell for pointing out the correct Belle Haven).
A neighborhood newsletter, the Belle Haven Tribune, from May 7, 1965 featured the group. The newsletter spells the brothers names as Tom Whealen and Jim Whealen.
A Pi Alpha Gamma banner appears behind the group, and it’s likely the Beau Havens shared the bill with the Londoners and the Roaches.
This should be Johnny Colgan on drumsPhoto of the Beau Havens – the drummer lacks his cravat
Jim Whelan wrote and, I think, sang lead on “Elizabeth”.
Rick Fulton wrote “Feel So Good”. I’m not sure if Rick was a later member of the band or simply a friend. Johnny Colgan appears to have sang lead on this side.
Both songs likely were cut at Edgewood Recording Studio at 1627 K Street, N.W. in Washington D.C. A couple of Edgewood acetates of the single exist. On one the song has the title “She Makes Me Feel So Good”, corrected in pen to “She Makes Me Feel Right”.
Doesn’t sound like the Beau Havens had a keyboard player on the record. Claiborne Music published both songs.
I believe this is Kerry Miller of the Beau Havens
More info on the Beau Havens would be appreciated.
Update May, 2022:
Danny G purchased a guitar in the D.C. area and the name on the case helped him trace it to this post, where it is clearly the guitar in the last photo above. Below are some interesting photos of this custom-made guitar provided by Danny along with his description:
Kerry Miller’s custom-made guitar
Likely a neck taken from an unbranded Kay guitar and put onto a solid chunk of mahogany (?). The white paint was to emulate the pickguard on a Höfner bass.
The guitar uses two Lafayette pickups, a 99-4536 in the neck which is a screw on pickup made for jazz arch top guitars and a PA-297 acoustic soundhole pickup in the bridge. The guitar has a really unique sound because of the odd choice of pickups, and that’s part of the reason I bought it.
The bridge pickup came with an RCA input and he simply repurposed it as the main input.
Kerry’s guitar – one hook to keep the pickup selector in place, and an eye for the guitar strapGretsch Tone-Twister palm vibratoLafayette pickups
The East Coastmen, from left: Don Newsome, Mike (surname unknown), Alan Partin, Spiller Anderson, Charlie Harbrook, Thom Clement, Dave Herndon, and Bob Kerwin. Photo submitted by the estate of Joanne Tluchak, Virginia Beach
The East Coastmen were not a garage band, but a revue or pop group with horns, listed in Billboard’s Campus Attractions issue of 1971.
Don Newsome commented with the names of the members, so I’ll add them here:
Don Newsome – Bass Mike (surname unknown) – Sax Alan Partin – Drums Spiller Anderson – Trumpet Charlie Harbrook – Trombone Thom Clement – Keyboards Dave Herndon – Frontman, lead singer Bob Kerwin – Lead guitar Gary Ricks – Trumpet, trombone
Personal Manager was D.C. Auman. They were booked by Attractions Ltd in Hampton.
Bob Kerwin sent in songs cut on a two track machine at D’Arcy Studios on 21st St in Norfolk, version of Ollie & The Nightingales “Girl You Make My Heart Sing” and Robert Parker’s “Barefootin’.
The East Coastmen, from left: Charlie Harbrook, Dave Herdon (wearing hat), Bob Kerwin, Thom Clement, Alan Partin, Mike (unknown last name), Spiller Anderson, and Don Newsome. Missing is Gary Ricks, trumpetThe East Coastmen, from left: Bob Kerwin, Spiller Anderson, Alan Partin, Charlie Harbrook, Dave Herdon, Thom Clement, Mike (unknown last name), and Don Newsome. Missing is Gary Ricks, trumpet
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
