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.

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.

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?