The Reddlemen of Angleton were one of three garage acts on the Custom label out of Tyler. They cut this one great 45, the amazing “I’m Gonna Get in that Girl’s Mind”, with the Byrds-influenced “I Can’t Go On This Way” on the flip.
Les Roberts of the Brym-Stonz Ltd. remembers the Reddlemen and their guitarist and songwriter, Michael Cotton:
You asked about the Reddlemen, they were great musicians. The lineup was Pat Harris vocals, Jim Howell Rhythm guitar and electric piano, Charles Smith bass, Gary Cotton drums, and Mike Cotton lead guitar. [Later,] Rick Hutchinson replaced Mike in the Reddlemen.
Mike was this incredible guitarist. He played a strat and used banjo strings to stretch and bend for his solos long before light gauge strings and unwound G strings came about.
Mike went out to California in the mid-sixties and was roommates with his cousin Keith Allison who played with Paul Revere and the Raiders on a show called Where the Action Is! Mike played guitar on the opening theme to the show. He auditioned for the Beau Brummels also. Tragically he was killed in Vietnam.
An old auction for their 7″ master tape reel mentions two unreleased songs by the band. I’ve never heard these and don’t know the titles.
“This photo was taken in 1967 in the high school auditorium before we were to play.” – Les Roberts. From left: Mike Riggle, Don Prilop, Les Roberts, Henry Munson, and Dwayne Sanders.
An underrated 45, the Brym-Stonz Ltd cut the excellent “You’ll Be Mine” on the Custom label sometime in late 1967 or ’68.
Although I thought it was recorded at Robin Hood Brians’ studio in Tyler, TX, like other Custom 45s by Billy McKnight and the Reddlemen, Les Roberts states that it was recorded in Custom owner Curtis Kirk’s garage.
“You’ll Be Mine” is fine, moody garage, with a prominent bass line and some unusual chording on guitar and organ. It was written by Dwayne Sanders, while the psychedelic ballad on the flip, “Times Gone By” was written by Leslie Roberts.
Members on the single were:
Leslie Roberts – lead guitar and vocals Mike Riggle – rhythm guitar / 12-string Rickenbacker, vocals Henry Munson – Vox Continental organ Dwayne Sanders – Hagstrom bass Don Prilop – drums
Earlier members included Ronnie Rogers and Pat Howard.
Curtis Kirk ran the Custom label and seems to have put his name on every song he ever released, but I doubt he contributed to lyrics like “Colored contrasts call me back from illusions of love/ the variations of oceans of lavender skies!”
I recently heard from Les Roberts, lead guitarist and one of the singers for the band:
The Brym-Stonz were a band from Angleton, south of Houston. We were in high school and like most bands met through wanting to play music. We played lots of school functions and after game dances.
The band members were Henry Munson (Vox Continental organ), Don Prilop (drums), Dwayne Sanders (Hagstrom bass), the late Mike Riggle (rhythm/12 string Rickenbacker) who sang the lead vocal on “You’ll Be Mine”, and Leslie Roberts (lead guitar and vocal on “Times Gone By”). The [1968] picture of the band is from after Dwayne Sanders had left.
We recorded these songs in December 1967 at Curtis Kirk’s studio converted garage in Tyler. We actualy recorded 4 songs in Tyler but only put the two songs on record. Curtis Kirk always put his name as a co-writer on songs he recorded. Probably to garner writers royalties in case the song did well.
I used to make the dances at the Brazoria County Fairgrounds auditorium each weekend. I got to see lots of local and regional bands such as BJ Thomas and the Triumphs, Roy Head and the Traits, Freddy Koenig and the Jades, Fever Tree, and others.
We formed another band in ’72 called Moonchild and over the years people left. I still play in a band called Dog Town Blues but everyone else has stopped playing.
Les Roberts
1968 clipping, from left: Don Prilop, Leslie Roberts, Mike Riggle and Henry MunsonEarly photo of Brym-Stonz Ltd wearing jackets borrowed from the Reddlemen! From left: Les Roberts, Dwayne Sanders, Ronnie Rogers, Henry Munson, and Pat Howard
Out of Tyler, Texas come Billy McKnight & The Plus 4 on the Custom label. “You’re Doin’ Me Wrong” is a fine Yardbirds-influenced punker, the drumming is especially fluid. An odd feature is the way the song fades out twice, each time coming back with a shrill keyboard note.
“Time Wasted” is almost country in its sound. I don’t know who else was in the band; Larry Graham did the arranging.
Both songs were written by McKnight and Curtis Kirk, who ran Custom and also owned Tyler Publishing. It seems he was the type of publisher who had his name added onto every song released on his label. Kirk had been a country singer in the ’50s (info on his first session here), most notably cutting “I Can’t Take It With Me”.
“Unlike Robin [Hood Brians], who began in the living room and moved to the back yard, Curtis started in his garage and stayed there!” – from a feature on Tyler studios in Billboard’s Sept. 8, 1973 issue.
This was the first garage 45 released on Kirk’s own Custom Records, which usually released country or gospel 45s. After the Billy McKnight 45, Custom released a killer by the Reddlemen , “I’m Gonna Get in that Girl’s Mind” and a very good one by the Brym-Stonz Ltd.
Billy released a 45 on International Artists the following year as Billy Wade McKnight, “Trouble’s Comin’ On” / “I Need Your Lovin'”, both McKnight originals. These are lighter pop sides, verging on country music, and were produced by Curtis Kirk and Steve Wright, and arranged by Larry Graham.
In 1970 he cut another single as Billy Wade McKnight on Congress, “Stacey” / “Mary Anne”, produced by Tommy Cogbill, but I haven’t heard this yet.
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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