The Vaqueros, from left: Steve Corona, Tom Corona, Larry Weld and David Heath
The Vaqueros had the first release on the Audition Recording label out of Rochester, New York, “Echo” / “Desert Wind”. It hit local charts in early June, 1964 and received a review in Cash Box on June 13, 1964.
Audition Label Bows with “Echo” by the Vaqueros, Cash Box, June 27, 1964
The group registered copyright for “Echo” on June 15, 1964, music by Larry Weld (Laurence R. Weld), David Heath & Tom Corona (Thomas J. Corona). I haven’t yet found a copyright registration for “Desert Wind”.
Band members were:
Larry Weld – lead guitar Tom Corona – rhythm guitar Steve Corona – bass David Heath – drums
The Vaqueros, from left: Larry Weld, Tom Corona, David Heath kneeling with drum sticks and Steve Corona with bassVaqueros in the Democrat And Chronicle, June 8, 1964
David Heath wrote a history of the band and provided the photos seen here.
In 1963 two 16 year old boys found an old guitar in the house attic in Rochester NY. Larry Weld, the older of the two, decided he would put strings on it and learn how to play. The other boy David Heath said he had a small pair of bongos, round metal tray mounted on a wood stand and a pair of drum sticks. Together they spent many hours trying to play songs they had heard on the radio.
One month later Larry had purchased his first electric guitar and Dave had purchased his first drum set and by this time both had learned several songs and were starting to make new songs of their own. Knowing they needed a rhythm background Dave and Larry asked another Charlotte High school student Tom Corona to join the group and decided on the name “The Vaqueros” for the band. About a month later we composed the song “Echo”. At this point we were starting to play at many parties and events.
Record review in Cash Box, June 13, 1964Vaqueros with Al Cecere at WBBF Studio, June 25, 1964
Around 10 months after we first started playing we were asked to play for a Rochester business event and that was the first time we met Al Cecere who was just starting Audition Records. Al said he liked our band sound and said he would like us to make a record with his new company. We said we would and set up a date to record but we had two major problems to overcome.
1: We had no bass player in the band
2: We had no second side for the record
The first problem was resolved by asking Tom’s older brother Steve Corona to play bass. He agreed and he purchased a bass guitar. Then Tom and Larry showed him what notes to play so we could make the record. The second problem was resolved by rapidly (in one day) composing the song “Desert Wind”.
The Vaqueros (and Al Cecere in back) with the Letterman, NiagaraThe Vaqueros opened for the Lettermen at Niagara Falls Memorial Arena, July 11, 1964
The Vaqueros in Cash Box, July 18, 1964After the song was released and hit #1 on the Rochester and surrounding radio stations we had steady play dates in many venues. We had interviews on radio stations, band picture signing dates, photos and release info in Cashbox, and we were the opening act for The Lettermen in Niagara Falls Canada.Within the next month we wrote and (on acetate demo record) recorded our next two songs to be released “Whiplash” and “Our Lost Love”. Al Cecere was setting up for us to open for The Beach Boys.
Just as things were going very well for the Vaqueros the dark side of this business began to show its face. Al Cecere never informed the band of any record sales and stopped supporting us. He had moved on.
With communication with Al Cecere heading downhill, everything slowed and we were all around 18 years old at this point. Life took over and the band started to split. Larry, Dave and Steve went on to other Rochester bands and Tommy married and started a family. We never played together again but do remain friends. Tommy passed away in 2025.
The Vaqueros and the Tweeds at Teen Town, Kenmore, NY, October 1965
The Vaqueros recorded other songs that went unreleased at the time that now exist on lacquer “acetate” or second-generation tape; a few very effective instrumentals that were ready for release and others that were in progress.
“Whiplash” has an excellent ‘wet’ surf sound I did not find a copyright registration for this one.
“Daybreak” is a spirited vamp with excellent lead guitar from Larry Weld and agile drum fills from David Heath. The group registered it as “Daybreaks” on February 25, 1965, with copyright to the full band including Steve Corona.
“Our Lost Love” is a slower ballad, registered on July 1, 1965 to the four members of the group.
Thank you to Dave Heath for his help with this article and for letting me hear the unreleased songs.
The Traits, 1967, from left: Bob Creaturo, Bobby Williams (on drums), Mike Carroll, Phil Daddona, Jim Klieforth (on keyboard, obscured) and Artie Williams. Photo from Mike Carroll, courtesy of his family.
I corresponded with Jim Klieforth of the Traits in 2009, about a year after writing about them in some detail in regard to the Ren-Vell Records Battle of the Bands LP. Below is our conversation from that time.
Jime Klieforth: My late brother [Charles Klieforth] was a bit of a wheeler-dealer who wasn’t musical but wanted to be in the rock business in some capacity, nurturing a fantasy of being an impresario. I’d been playing guitar and keyboards for a couple of years and our family home had an empty basement that was suitable for a group to rehearse in, so he sweet-talked me and the best musician-singers he knew into forming a group with him as manager. I’d never met any of these guys but was very impressed with the line-up’s talent and professionalism.
Back then, a group needed to have a couple of hours of material well rehearsed for public performances and we had enough musical common ground to pull that together within two weeks. My brother Chuck and his assistant, Don Reid, started aggressively pursuing work for the band and getting us publicity. Almost overnight, we were playing every local venue and from then on out, our rehearsals were jammed with our local contemporaries (mostly schoolgirls) eager to monitor our development. It was an odd and unexpected social change for all of us.
I wish I could say that we were friendly with other bands at that time but the truth is that we saw all of them as competition that needed to be vanquished. The Orphans, for example, who didn’t shine on the Renvell record, turned into a force to be reckoned with when Bobby Mayo (later of Peter Frampton fame) joined up.
We’d had a real advantage by starting out with a good rhythm section and an extraordinary guitarist (Dom Chicerchia, who left the band just before the Ted Mack show we did) but our competitors began acquiring skills at a pace that caused us to get very serious about playing well and refining all aspects of our performance. In an unfortunate reversal of what usually happens, the only recordings of the band were from very early on, before we really developed musically.
I was born in White Plains. Jimmy Carpenito of the Mystics told me Renvell’s studio was next to Gun Town on Central Ave, a store I vaguely remember from my childhood. Hard to believe there was a recording studio on Central Ave! I’m in Brooklyn, now, but my family’s still in White Plains and Yonkers.
As I recall it, Renvell was a second floor walkup, a big room that struck me, even then, as being quite low budget, a shoestring operation with cheap and/or antique equipment. Given how few records carry the Renvell label, I have to assume that most of their business was geared to commercial jingles for local businesses and radio play. I ran into the guy who ran it (I believe his name was Joe Renda) years later, when he owned Northlake Studios in White Plains.
I reminded him of the album and told him I’d been on it and he replied with a story that I thought at the time was an overblown fabrication. According to him, a couple of big DJ’s in England had fallen in love with the Battle of The Bands album and by repeatedly featuring it, had cultivated the development of the garage band sound there, setting the stage for punk. As he told it, the album was selling for $200.00 a pop there (in 1980 dollars) and “High On a Cloud” had received extensive airplay. It turned out that he’d been telling the truth, and the song became known well enough to end up being covered by the Pandoras. Since then it has been put on more compilations than I’ve been able to keep track of. In what is a common story about recordings of that era, no request for usage in these compilations has ever been requested from the band and no compensation has ever been forthcoming. Some of my former band mates are unhappy about this, but personally, I’m delighted that the recording has been archived and perpetuated as a minor archetype of the true garage band sound.
Traits to appear on Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour on Sunday, September 17, 1967
Q. When Dom left the band, who replaced him for the Ted Mack show, playing guitar behind his neck on the film?
That was Phil Daddona, who had to attempt to learn Dom’s “behind the neck” trick very quickly. As you can see from the film, he wasn’t particularly adept at it, whereas Dom had been the pre-Hendrix master of it.
Jim Klieforth (2009)
The Traits on “High on a Cloud”:
Mike Carroll – lead vocals Dom Chicherchia – lead guitar Jim Klieforth – keyboard Bob “Creature” Creaturo – guitar Bobby Williams – drums Unidentified bass player
The Traits on Ted Mack (July 31, 1967, aired Sept. 17, 1967):
Mike Carroll – lead vocals Phil Daddona – lead guitar Jim Klieforth – keyboard Bob “Creature” Creaturo – guitar Bobby Williams – drums Artie Williams – bass
The band seems to have slowly split up, as Mike Carroll was drafted in ’68, but must have come back at some point to be the lead vocalist on the Nobody Loves the Hulk release, from 1969.
Bobby Williams reportedly died some years ago, details are unknown. Three other Traits members have passed: Bob Creaturo on September 12, 2014, Mike Carroll on March 15, 2018, and Dom Chicherchia on August 24, 2021.
The Traits at the entrance to the Pelham Parkway IRT station (the 5 train)
More info can be found in the accompanying booklet to the Mojo-Bone release and Ugly Things #66.
The Psychedelic Sound, January 1968, front left: Linda Lizzi and Tina Bauer, back from left: Jim Schelley, Ronnie Amato and Tom Berger. Not pictured: bassist Kevin Kerr.
The Psychedelic Sound were one of the bands who recorded at Earl Kennett’s studio in Kinderhook, New York.
Lacquer with both songs of the Psychedelic Sound 45The band released two original songs, “Sorry Baby – Goodbye” / “Stars Cease to Shine” on Sunny-Side Records 0014, Sunnyside being the name of the Kennett family’s horse farm where the studio was located.
Members included:
Linda Rizzi – vocals Tina Bauer – drums Jim Schelley – guitar Ronnie Amato – vocals and keyboards(?) Tom Berger – guitar Kevin Kerr – bass
plans include making another recordThe Kingston Daily Freeman reported on January 22, 1968 that: “the Psychedelic Sound would take part in the annual March of Dimes benefit show Jan. 28 at municipal auditorium. They recently cut two successful platters, Sorry Baby – Goodbye and Stars Cease to Shine.”
A Daily Freeman notice from July, 1968 remarks:
The Psychedelic Sound, a five-piece musical group consisting of teenagers from Kingston and Lake Katrine, won the Battle of the Bands, sponsored by the Saugerties JayCees, which was held July 3 at Cantine Field.
The group has played for many benefits including the American Legion, Band Battles and Cerebral Palsy, and are under the direction of Mary Rizzi, Lake Katrine.
Mary Rizzi, presumably Linda’s mother, is also credited as producer of the 45, as M. Lizzi. The band probably broke up as Linda Rizzi and presumably others were attending college in the fall.
After the Psychedelic Sound, Kevin Kerr is mentioned as the bassist for the Contemporary Souls, in a photo that ran in the Daily Freeman showing guitarists Jim Kluepfel and Guy Walker with drummer Ted Blankschan for a YMCA/YWCA/Kingston Recreation dance on Dedrick Street in August, 1968.
Ronnie Amato played organ at the Cedar Grove Inn in Saugerties and Liguori’s Restaurant in Rosendale.
Tina Bauer had previously been in another local group called 3 Hits and a Miss with a photo that ran in the Daily Freeman in September, 1966 for a dance at Ulster Park Grange Hall.
3 Hits And A Miss, from left: Sal Greco, lead guitar; Tony Greco, vocalist, Tina Bauer, drummer and Al Pace, rhythm guitar
Thank you to Achille Brunet for tracking down the news clips seen here. Achille has his own site, Strange Lights to cover other bands of this period.
There used to be a dozen such blogs and sites going to cover ’60s ‘garage’ music, but the number of active ones has dwindled in recent years. I hope more start up, because there are too many bands from this era whose history is still undocumented.
The Rebellers in the 1968 Milby High Valentines Varieties show, from that year’s yearbook. From left (please correct if these IDs are wrong): John Manlove, David Rodriguez, James Manlove and Jeff Gray
The Rebellers came from the Houston, Texas metro area, recording James Manlove’s original song “The New Generation” for Orbit Records 1114 in the summer of 1967.
Members included:
James Manlove – lead vocals, rhythm guitar John Manlove – keyboards and vocals Jeff Gray – bass guitar and vocals David Rodriguez – drums
The flip, “The Common People” was written as “Love of the Common People” by the prolific songwriting team, John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins.
Early versions of the Cicadelic compilation Three O’Clock Merrian Webster Time included “The New Generation” mistakenly attributed to the Nomads but with the correct writing credit. This has led some website to include James Manlove as a member of the Nomads, which I believe is incorrect.
The Rebellers featured in the Houston Post nowsounds calendar, November 19, 1967
The November 19, 1967 Houston Post nowsounds calendar ran a photo of the Rebellers.
From a photo in the 1968 Milby High School Yearbook, the Rebellers played Milby High School’s Valentines Varieties show that year.
According to his Discogs profile, David Rodriguez was a member of the group, but a commentator on youtube listed the drummer as “Pete”.
Gig list compiled from the Houston Post nowsounds calendar and other news items:
September 20, 1966: there’s a notice of the Rebellers at a benefit with Jack Jones, Garry Mann, the Bachelors and Tommy Graham at the Gulfgate Cellar Club, but that may be a little early for this band, whose frequent gig listings start in May, 1967.
Friday, May 19, 1967: at Insight Au Go Go, 12826 Beaumont Highway 90 Friday, May 26 and Saturday May 27, 1967: at Lions Club Hall, Friendswood, Highway 518 Saturday, June 3, 1967: at Grand Prix, Bay City Tuesday, June 13, 1967: at Conroe Ballroom, Gladstell West off 45 Friday, June 16, 1967: at the Dungeon in Spring Saturday, June 17, 1967: at Sea Isle Teen Dance in Galveston Tuesday, June 20, 1967: at Love Street Light Circus Wednesday, June 21, 1967: at Hullabaloo Tuesday, June 27, 1967: at Conroe Ball Room Saturday, July 1, 1967: at Insight Au Go Go Saturday, July 15, 1967: at Sea Isle Teen Club, Galveston Saturday, July 22, 1967: at Buddy McGregor Saturday Show, Foley’s Town Hall Wednesday, July 26, 1967: at Fun Corral, 9801 Airline Saturday, July 29, 1967: with the Entire Thing at Sea Isle, Galveston Friday, August 18, 1967: at the Vault, Pasadena Saturday, August 19, 1967: at Deer Park Civic Center Wednesday, August 23, 1967: at Carousel Skating Rink, 9190 Old Katy Road Thursday, August 24, 1967: at KNUZ back-to-school festival at Sharpstown Center Friday, August 25, 1967: at Teen Hall, Bryan TX Saturday, August 26, 1967: at Ken Grant Show, Sharpstown Shopping Center 2 PM, and Insight Au Go Go, Beaumont Highway Friday, October 6, 1967: at Teen Hall, Bryan Friday, October 20, 1967: at Lodge Pokrok, 15th and Beall Saturday, November 4, 1967: at Lions Club, Pearland Saturday, November 11, 1967: at Kerwin High School, Galveston Friday, November 17, 1967: with Lemon Fog, Soul Searchers, Duke & the Kingsmen, and the Inquisitions at San Jacinto High School Soul Spectacular Saturday, November 18, 1967: with Audio Manifesto at Mount Carmel High Wednesday, November 22, 1967: at Brenham Hanger Club Friday, December 15, 1967: at the Vault, Pasadena Saturday, December 2, 1967: at Taylor Hall, Pasadena Saturday, December 23, 1967: at Nottingham Forest Country Club Friday, January 12, 1968: at Lodge Pokrok Saturday, January 27, 1968: at Milby High School Saturday, February 10, 1968: at Love Street Light Circus February ?, 1968: Milby High School’s Valentines Varieties show Friday, March 22, 1968: at the Vault, Pasadena Friday, April 19, 1968: at Teen Hall, Dickinson Saturday, May 4, 1968: with Ninth Street Bridge, Lemon Fog, Apollos at Taylor Hall, Pasadena Saturday, June 8, 1968: Jamaica Beach, Galveston Friday, June 21, 1968: at Lodge Pokrok Saturday, June 29, 1968: at Sea Isle, Galveston Saturday, July 20, 1968: at DERA Hall, Orange Friday, August 2, 1968: at the New Vault, Pasadena
Members of the Grapes of Wrath group play music worthy of putting on a record. The SPHS students are (left to right) Brian Magnan, Bill Lichty, Ralph Sias, Danny Morrow and William Doheny., San Pedro News-Pilot, May 17, 1967.
The Grapes of Wrath cut one 45, “For Every Year” / “Cause it Was Her”, both written by Ralph Sias.
The group came from San Pedro, California, in the South Bay of Los Angeles.
Members were:
Brian Magnan – lead vocals Bill Lichty – drums Ralph Sias – guitar Danny Morrow – bass William Doheny – keyboards
H. Eugene MacDonald produced their record, released on Vita Records V-005/V-006 with an address of 301 S. Western Ave, San Pedro, CA.
The San Pedro News-Pilot profiled the group twice, first on May 17, 1967 with an article written by the group’s bassist!
Grapes of Wrath band makes recording noise
By Danny Morrow
“This is it, boys. What’s it going to be next year.- trucks or Cadillacs?” With these words of encouragement from producer, Mr. Roth, and “unknown” teenage band called, hauntedly … “The Grapes of Wrath,” began its first recording session at American Recording Studios in Studio City.
The band is made up of five “crazy” individuals named Ralph Sias, Brian Magnan, Bill Lichty, William Doheney and myself, Danny Morrow.
Ralph writes the songs, plays lead guitar and gets nervous. Brian sings lead vocal and smiles at girls. Bill plays organ and wears leather boots. Williams plays drums and loves drums. I play bass and get in and out of trouble.
At the session, two songs written and arranged by Ralph, were taped in a stretch of nervous sweaty work that lasted five hours. The two songs, “For Every Year,” and “Cause It Was Here,” can presently be heard on the local rock station with a little patience and luck.
With the number of teenage bands easily numbering in the tens of hundreds in California alone, how did this group … manage to talk the Sunburst Record Company into backing a recording session?
First, a few months before the session a rough “demo” (45 RPM recording on a six-inch disk) was recorded at a small recording studio, and the manager, U.L. McDonald took the demo to different recording stations.
The vice-president of Sunburst, Mr. Roth [sic – Adam Ross], was impressed both with the band and the recording …
The next step is up to the “hippies” who buy the records.
The record did not come out on Sunburst, the label that released the E-Types “She Moves Me” and the Zoo’s LP The Zoo Presents Chocolate Moose, as well as a number of pop singles produced by Ed Cobb, but instead saw a release financed by the band under the auspices of H. Eugene MacDonald (the U.L McDonald cited in the article, presumably).
The second article came on September 4, 1967:
Folk-rock group wins popularity
By Rita Pedersen
A San Pedro rock ’n’ roll band has proved long hair and unconventional clothing are not necessary to become popular.
The band, the Grapes of Wrath, is a “short hair” outfit, and wears burgundy-cherry dinner jackets.
Despite their neat appearance, the group leaves Saturday for a week-long tour of Northern California.
The five-member band will appear on a Fresno television show and play in Redding, Red Bluff and North Sacramento Valley.
Members of the band are Ralph Sias, Bill Doheney, Danny Morrow, Brian Mangan and William Lichty, all of San Pedro. They are all San Pedro High School graduates, except for Lichty who will graduate next year.
The tour was arranged when a recording by the band, “Cause It Was Her,” became popular in the Redding area.
Doheney, an amateur radio operator, began talking to a Redding disc jockey Ian Evans, and he offered to play the group’s recording for a trial period.
Listener reaction was good, according to Doheney, and the band was signed for personal appearances.
The group was organized last summer when the youths were on the high school gymnastics team. Only Lichty was not on the team.
Doheney described their style as folk-rock and said Sias and Mangan write many of their songs, including “Cause It Was Her.”
There was a great profile of the band and interview with Bill Doheney, that didn’t include these news clippings, at www.westcoastfog.com/the-grapes-of-wrath/index.html, but unfortunately that site is now defunct. A version of that article was also in print in Ugly Things issue #39.
I see that Achille Brunet has just added a profile of the band at his site, Strange Lights, with more info than I have here. I’m sorry for the duplication, Achille, but glad to see someone else working the ’60s garage beat! It’s been quiet for a long time.
Rocky and the Flying Squirrels, published November 1965. The caption is incorrect. Should read from left to right: Mark Johnson (“Rocky”), Dan O’Banion, Paul Oakley, Bill McCollough (on drums), and Whit Snell.Rocky and the Flying Squirrels or earlier group. Top from left (I think): Paul Oakley with bass, Whit Snell, and Dan O’Banion; bottom from left: Bill McCullough and Mark Johnson. I would appreciate any help to confirm these IDs.
The Beefeaters were part of the North Texas State University (NTSU) scene which included the Chessmen, but their story starts out 300 miles away, in San Antonio. Five students at Alamo Heights High School formed Rocky and the Flying Squirrels, wearing World War I aviator helmets and goggles, scarves, and turtle-neck sweaters in honor of their animated namesake.
Members included: Mark Johnson on lead vocals, Whit Snell lead guitar, Dan O’Banion rhythm guitar, Paul Oakley on bass, and Bill McCullough playing drums.
Rocky and the Flying Squirrels, in white from left (I think): Dan O’Banion with the Rickenbacker guitar, Bill McCullough drums, Paul Oakley with bass and Whit Snell. At left, I think that is Mark Johnson with the microphone. I would appreciate any help to confirm these IDs.
They played live at Alamo Heights High School auditorium and the student-run Mule Barn teen club by the football stadium, but the band made plans for a bigger future.
Rocky and the Flying Squirrels, front left: Dan O’Banion with hand-drawn raccoon tail), Whit Snell, Mark Johnson with tambourine, Paul Oakley (or Cary surname?) on bass with added sideburns, and Bill McCullough. Photo courtesy of Bill McCullough, like many of the ones seen here.The Beefeaters 1966 promotional photo
From the Flying Squirrels to the Beefeaters
Graduating in May, 1966, all except Paul Oakley agreed to attend NTSU (now the University of North Texas) in Denton, northwest of Dallas. Bill McCullough’s older brother David, Jr. took over on bass to replace Paul. David had been guitarist in his own group in San Antonio, Spider and the Flies.
They cultivated the sound and “mod” looks of the English groups of the period, and took a new band moniker to fit the image: the Beefeaters.
The Beefeaters on stage 1966: Rocky and the Flying Squirrels, front left: Dan O’Banion, Mark Johnson, David McCullough, Bill McCullough on drums and Whit Snell
The Beefeaters’ first gig, on a flatbed truck on the commons by the NTSU student union, was a success and they started landing regular bookings at the Spinning Wheels skating rink and local frat parties. They bought a used ’56 Cadillac hearse, like other Denton groups, and adorned it with their band name and bumper stickers (“Eat More Beef” for one).
Who’s that pushing the hearse?!The Chessmen, Felicity, the Jackals, the Beefeaters and the Briks at Club Saracen on San Jacinto in Austin, Sunday, April 16, 1967
Within a short time, the manager of the Campus Theatre, George Rickrich, brought the Beefeaters into his Bismark Agency, which also represented the Briks, the Chessmen, Felicity, and the Jackals. Rickrich booked the bands for college parties throughout Texas and into Oklahoma, and clubs: including Louann’s, the Three Thieves, and the Cellar in Dallas; the Box in Ft. Worth; Club Saracen, the New Orleans Club, and the Jade Room in Austin where they also shopped for clothes at the Electric Rocking Horse.
Whit Snell remembers all the Bismark bands used to “caravan down to Austin in the hearses. Felicity had a Ford van, however … seven or eight weekends in a row. We had to cut class on Friday to make it to Friday’s gig.”
The Beefeaters provided entertainment on a day-long chartered train, the Santa Fe Big Chief, for a football game at Wichita State U. in Kansas. The Campus Chat covered the journey:
… North Texas won the game … the dance bands played well despite their precarious perch in a bucking, 9- by 70-foot baggage car, and the legal age for buying beer in Kansas is 18 …
The New Sound plugged in to one of the three baggage cars around 9 and, after 30 minutes of blow switches, was in full swing … Dancers, about 50 at a time, battled flailing elbows and a lurching floor in the cramped car …
… the Beefeaters struck up, and the dancers were once again making the most of their promised 20 hours of fun …
A promo sheet for the group lists Whitfield Snell, David McCullough as contact in Denton, and David Black in San Antonio.
The Beefeaters, possibly at the Alpha Delta Pi sorority house, from left: Whit Snell, Mark Johnson (with jug), Bill McCullough (drums), Dan O’Banion, and David McCullough (bass)On stage at Club Saracen, Austin!
Towards the end of 1966, the Beefeaters entered a studio in Dallas to cut two originals by Whit Snell, “Don’t Hurt Me” / “Change My Mind”. The lineup that recorded these was: Mark Johnson, Whit Snell, Dan O’Banion, David McCullough, Jr., and Bill McCullough. Whit remembers Lee Hardesty of the Briks accompanying the band to the studio, and lending Whit his Vox fuzz pedal for “Don’t Hurt Me” and 12-string guitar for the “Change My Mind”.
Though satisfied with the recording, Whit thought the songs were not good enough, which may have been one reason why they didn’t see release on the Bismark label at the time. Tapes of the songs have circulated since, and they’re widely regarded as classics of the ’60s Texas teen sound.
Whit Snell of the Beefeaters at the Pusi-Kat Club, San Antonio, 1967The Jackals, the Beefeaters, the Felicity with the Sweetarts, the Chevells and Chain Gang at Club Saracen on San Jacinto in Austin, Sunday, June 25, 1967. I’d like to know more about the Lebanon School Fund
During the Christmas holiday in 1966, the Beefeaters returned to San Antonio to play the Pusi-Kat club from December 26-30 with Lord August. When the band went back to Denton in January 1967, Mark Johnson had left the band and school to travel abroad.
That same January, the Denton Record-Chronicle reported the Beefeaters hearse was stolen from the NTSU campus, and they lost $4,000 worth of amplifiers, drums and guitars. Funny enough, the first report said it was the Chessmen’s hearse, but the paper corrected the story a few days later, and a later follow-up said the instruments were recovered in Gainesville.
The 1967 and ’68 school years saw the Beefeaters expand the scope of their gig territory: as far north as Amarillo, Wichita Falls, and Oklahoma City, east to Houston, Galveston and Fort Smith, Arkansas, and south to Corpus Christi, and Matamoros, Mexico.
By the summer of ’68, Dan O’Banion and Whit Snell were living at the Eagle Apartments in Dallas near Don Henley and other former Denton musicians, a musically rewarding time.
The military draft pulled any band members who left college, including David McCullough, who joined the Navy, became a Corpsman, and was assigned to the Marines. During the war he was stationed in the Philippines and served on a hospital ship. Members of other groups, such as Cecil Cotton and Steve Martin of the Briks, and Mike Neal of the Jackals had already joined the reserves and returned to the scene.
The Beefeaters on stage at Gibson’s Discount Center in Kerrville: from left: Jimmie Randall, Whit Snell, Roger Brooks or Doyle Bramhall on drums, and Dan O’Banion.The Beefeaters on stage at Gibson’s Discount Center, Whit Snell in foreground
Because of the draft taking David, and Bill McCullough leaving at about the same time, the Beefeaters went through a rotating cast of Dallas and Denton musicians filling in for short periods, including Jimmie Randall (of the Gentlemen) on bass; Roger Brooks, then Doyle Bramhall (of the Chessmen) on drums; John Talley (of the Jackals) on keyboards; and Lee Hardesty on guitar.
Roger Brooks or Doyle Bramhall, performing with the Beefeaters at Gibson’s in Kerrville
A series of photos taken onstage at Gibson’s Discount Center in Kerrville, TX show Jimmie Randall on bass and I believe either Roger Brooks or Doyle Brahmall on drums. Other later members include Ray Holland on bass and his brother Carl Holland on keyboards. Whit Snell told me Doyle only joined after Whit left Dallas in ’69.
The Beefeaters played the Pusi-Kat in San Antonio frequently during the summer of ’68, as well as Love Street, and a show at the Teen Canteen in October, but their most notable gig was opening for the Jeff Beck Group at Southern Methodist University’s McFarlin Auditorium on Saturday, November 9, 1968. Whit recalls the Beefeaters also opened for the Jeff Beck Group in Oklahoma City on Sunday, November 10.
The Jeff Beck Group, Brige, and the Beefeaters at McFarlin Auditorium at SMU, November 9, 1968. I haven’t heard of Brige before.Flyer for one of their later shows at Family Circle, 1901 Canton at Marilla in Dallas
Whit Snell left the band and school in 1969, but various lineups continued gigging as the Beefeaters for another year or so.
Thank you to Whit Snell, Dan O’Banion, Bill McCullough, and Mark Johnson of the Beefeaters (RIP David McCullough); William Williams (Wm Wms) of the Jackals, Birdman Cantillo, Don Julio, Wm Wms and other contributors to the now defunct Big D ’60s yahoo group and Trinity River Music flickr group, and anyone else I’ve missed. Photos courtesy of Bill McCullough, Whit Snell and Wm Wms.
Bill McCullough and Dan O’Banion
A shorter version of these notes accompany the new remastered 7″ release of “Don’t Hurt Me” / “Change My Mind” now available on Mojo-Bone Rekkids.
Bill McCullough
As always, I’d appreciate more info on the group, and help correcting any errors.
The Mad Lads came from Birmingham and seem to have been active no later than late summer 1966.
They cut one excellent original song “Come Back to Me” written by Butch Romana and Larry Rosser, backed with a good version of “Tossin’ and Turnin'”. It was released on Prestige Productions Records PP66-152 in August 1966.
The Mad Lads did get some fine gigs, including Stage Center for the April 19-20, 1966 Festival of Arts at Third Avenue and 20th Street North. Other rock performers those days included the Shades and Carol the Go-go Girl, the Discotheques, and the Blackouts.
They also played at Holiday Beach on the Tuscaloosa Highway in June, 1966.
Most notably they performed at a Battle of the Bands on TV Channel 42 vs. the Impacts on Saturday, March 26, 1966!
I would appreciate more info on the group. Does a photo of the band exist?
Channel 42 Battle of the Bands – The Impacts vs. Mad Ladson March 26, 1966
Richie’s Renegades in the Daily Item, April 17, 1966
Richie’s Renegades came from Lynn, Massachusetts. After winning a state-wide battle of the bands in May, 1966, the group cut a fine single on the Polaris Records label, “Don’t Cry” / “Baby It’s Me” released in August.
Members included:
Richie Reynolds – lead vocals William Dunn – guitar Robert Leger – guitar Robert Peck – organ Brian Michaels – bass Kevin Robichaud – drums
Erik Lindgren’s notes to The Polaris Story CD note that they cut the single at Fleetwood, while alternate versions of the single and a Pepsi commercial “Come Alive” featured on the CD were done at Ace.
The Lynn Daily Item ran photos of the group on April 26 and May 13, 1966:
Richie’s Renegades, a Lynn band, will be one of 18 competing for sate-wide honors tomorrow at Boston Gardens. They are on of a group of winners selected from more than 600 band taking part in local and regional contests, sponsored by the Jaycees.
The accompanying article noted that “Plans are now underway for a national competition next year, the Jaycees said.”
May 16, 1966 notice of their win
The May 16 Daily Item noted that the band won the final competition “which brings with it a $500 cash award, new musical instruments, recording contracts and other awards.
Inscribed to Edlita Adams (Miss Essex County and a Jaycee finals judge) by Billy Dunn, Bob Leger, Bob Reader (?) and Kevin Robichaud.
I found a copy of their record inscribed to Edlita, with four signatures: Bob Leger, Bob Reader [surname correct?], Ken Robichaud, and Billy Duran. Bob Reader isn’t in the lineups I’ve found online, and I read Robichaud’s as Kevin instead of Kenneth.
Kevin Robichaud is the correct spelling, as Lou Ames Music Store ran ads in September and October, 1968 with Kevin’s photo as a drum instructor, “featured with ‘The Playn Jane” and formerly with ‘Richie’s Renegades.'”
I found a notice in the Daily Item on August 25, 1966:
Richie and the Renegades of Lynn … will give two performances at the Pepsi booth as a highlight of the Family Day program at Topsfield Fair on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
The group will autograph their just released recordings “Baby, It’s Me” and “Don’t Cry” and, in addition, will offer autographed photographs.
One of the judges of [the Boston Garden battle] was Miss Edlita Adams, 19, of Lynn, reigning “Miss Essex County.”
That notice, and a couple others I found, list Robert Teck instead of Robert Peck.
The Boston Globe ran a brief item in April, 1967 about the group going to Worcester for the national competition with the same lineup listed as in 1966.
November 24, 1967 notice in Greenville, New Hampshire with William the Wild One, Tall Paul Floyd, and the Young Adults.
A December 20, 1966 notice in the Daily Item ran:
The Lynn Young Democrats held a Christmas party for needy children, highlighted by the appearance of a local band, Richie’s Renegades …
Members of the Renegades, donating their services for the occasion, were Brian Michaels, Bob Leger, Bill Dunn, Bob Peck, Kevin Robichaud, Dick Tarnborini, Bill Barry and Richie Reynolds.
The inclusion of Bill Barry is interesting, as he is also known as William the Wild One, who cut a great 45 on Festival in 1966, supposedly with Richie’s Renegades providing backing. A Fitchburg Sentinal notice mentions the Renegades playing a show with William the Wild One at Appleton Academy in December, 1966, noting that William “toured the country with the Dave Clark Five. He and Reynolds are cousins of Dave Barry, a student at the academy.”
By 1968, Richie’s Renegades became Playn Jane, mentioned in the February 29, 1968 Daily Item:
The third annual Battle of the Bands sponsored by the Lynn Jaycees will be held Saturday night at Classical High.
The competing teenage bands are Danny and the Dreamers, Passing Times, Playn Jane, Psychedelic Innovation, Satisfaction and the Sinders …
Dancing will be allowed during the competition.
Robert Leger passed away on January 7, 2020.
September, 1968 ad for Kevin Robichaud of Lou Ames Music Studio
The Road Runners have a Gadsden, Alabama address on their only 45, but a notice in the Alexander City Outlook on December 15, 1966, mentioned a performance at the Goodwater, AL home of Mr. & Mrs. Steve Gilliland, Jr. Both towns were east of Birmingham, but at some distance from each other. The other names on the notice are Dr. & Mrs. Joe T. Roberts, likely parents of another band member.
The A-side is a good, jaunty version of the Contours hit, with the full title “Do You Love Me Sixty Six Style”. The flip is a light instrumental credited to Gilliland, “To Be With You”.
The Five Flys, from left: Rich Murlo, Tony Tonon, Steve Kucey, Skip Nehrig and John Gallagher. Photo courtesy of Tony Tonon
The Five Flys released their only single “Livin’ for Love” / “Dance Her By Me” in 1966. It was the last single on Samron Records S-104, and the only one with Coaldale, PA on the label.
Members included Rich Murlo, Tony Tonon, Steve Kucey, Skip Nehrig and John Gallagher. They were from the Coaldale area in Schuylkill County, like Angie and the Citations.
Five Flys and the Chevelles at Tam-Au-Go-Go Bandstand, Tamaqua, August 6, 1965. This ad ran in the Mahoney City Record American.
The Five Flys played local shows in Coaldale and Mahoney City in 1965 and 1966, and further away in Allentown and Bethlehem.
A report of an August 1966 show at St. Joseph’s in Summit Hill described “music for street dancing by the Five Flys”.
Thank you to Tony Tonon for the photo. I would appreciate more info on the Five Flys.
Five Flys at Jamaican A Go-Go, Bethlehem, July 1966, days after the King’s Ransom and the Scott Bedford Four
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.
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