The Bed of Roses came out of the same Bay City, Michigan music scene as the Jayhawkers and Dick Rabbit. Like those artists, they recorded for Deltron Records.
In August, 1967, Deltron put out Bed of Roses’ first single, a cover of “I Don’t Believe You” (my copy has “ASCAP DYLAN” stamped on it) b/w a ragged raga-rock instrumental, “Hate” with no songwriting or production credits on the label.
I’ve read that in late ’67 the band moved to San Francisco for a short time, returning to tape a second single in a room above a record shop. However, “tea Records” is a Fenton custom label, so the band likely recorded the songs at Fenton’s Great Lakes Recording Studio.
The four-minute long “Quiet!” (written by F. Dash) was backed with “I Gotta Fight” (by J. Light), that starts out with a menacing feel, but the shouting chorus brings it out of that mood.
The single came out on tea Records 2577 in February 1968. I can find no list of band members. Copyright records show a F. Dash as a pseudonym of Fredrick Dashkovitz, the writer of a song called “My Feeling” published in November, 1968, however I don’t know if this is the same F. Dash.
The Barons were one of the early garage bands in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They released their single on a custom Fenton label, Jafes 985, in August 1965.
My copy is signed by Dick Gates, Dave Marquette and Brandon Scott. Dave Marquette wrote the A-side, “Try A Love With Me”. Dick Gates wrote the uptempo “Don’t Come Back No More”. Marquette and Gates seem to have been stage names for Dave Rutkowski and Dick Steimle.
Dick Gates (Dick Steimle) – guitar Dave Marquette (Dave Rutkowski) – vocals, guitar, keyboards Bill McNamara – bass Steve Carpenter (Mandrill Fern) – drums
Since that site doesn’t list Brandon Scott, I’m not sure if he was a drummer or bassist at the time of the single, or if he was even in the Barons.
The two sides of the single sound like they were recorded at different sessions, with the bass easy to hear on “Try a Love With Me” and fainter on the flip. Dick Steimle plays some fast and tricky guitar work with a dry tone on “Don’t Come Back No More”.
The record seems to have come early in their career, and they changed from a trio to quartet at some point. Their record label came from the nickname of their manager, Jim “Jafes” Kemp.
Dave Rutkowski would join the Pedestrians in 1967, in time to record their third Fenton single, “The Unpredictable Miss Kinsey” / ” You Aren’t Going To Say You Know”. Jim Kemp managed the Pedestrians as well as the Barons.
Dick Steimli would leave the Barons to join the Soulbenders, best known for their versions of “Hey Joe” and “Seven and Seven Is”.
Back row: Jim Ovaitt (keyboards), Rick Garfield (drums), Rick Blomstrom (lead guitar). Second row Mike Gilliam (bass guitar), Bruce Reinoehl (rhythm guitar). The Chancellors were a quintet from Lansing, Michigan with two 45s on the great Fenton label. Since my original post I’ve been in touch with Chancellors rhythm guitarist Bruce Reinoehl, who wrote up a short history of the band:
The Chancellors was a mid-Michigan band which was active between mid 1965 and late 1967. The band formed around the direction of keyboard man and lead singer Jim Ovaitt. During the summer of 1965, the group underwent several personnel changes before its final composition of Jim Ovaitt, keyboards and lead singer, Rick Garfield drums, Rick Blomstrom lead guitar and vocals, Mike Gilliam bass guitar and vocals and Bruce Reinoehl rhythm guitar and vocals. At the time we were all high school students in East Lansing and Okemos, Michigan.
Our first jobs consisted mainly of high school dances. As we continued to improve we moved up to Michigan State University fraternity parties and local night clubs. In early 1966, we cut our first record. This was the “Journey” / “One in a Million” record of which only a few hundred were pressed. Today that record is quite scarce. I can remember the fairly primitive by today’s standards studio which at that time did not have the ability to double track recordings. That meant everyone had to play all parts of both songs well enough to make a record. That sounds easy especially with all of the rehearsing we had done before going to the recording studio. As with anything one makes, the builder is the one who knows where the blemishes are. There always seemed to be something that just was not good enough. By the time we were finished, I never wanted to play or hear either of those songs again. That changed when I heard “Journey”, an instrumental, used by one of the local radio stations as a lead up to one of their news broadcasts.
By late 1966, the Chancellors were becoming fairly well known in the mid Michigan area. We were playing jobs in Saginaw, Bay City, Jackson and as far away as Harbor Springs. We played at nightclubs where the Byrds and Beach Boys had played a week or two previously. We also cut out second and final record around this time. This was the “Dear John” / “5 minus 3” record.
The picture which was staged on the piano was taken in at the studio of Jim Ovaitt’s piano teacher. The on stage pictures taken while playing were taken at the Band Canyon a nightclub in Bay City, Michigan. Among other bands playing there were the Byrds. The pictures of the equipment were taken at Club Ponytail in Harbor Springs, MI. The Beach Boys also played that club. The motel photos were taken in Harbor Springs. Neither club is still standing.
Playing with the Chancellors was a great experience but it was also obvious that we were not cut out to be professional musicians. All of the members of the band ended up going into professions other than music. In looking back, it was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. I treasure the friendships and memories that have resulted from my experiences with the Chancellors.
Bruce Reinoehl
Bruce Reinoehl and Jim Ovaitt co-wrote both songs on the first 45, “One in a Milliion” and “Journey”. “Journey” and “5 Minus 3” feature Jim Ovaitt’s organ playing, but “5 Minus 3” is especially interesting for being a raucous duet by just Ovaitt and drummer Garfield.
The organ also dominates their first vocal song, “One in a Million”. “Dear John” gives the guitarist and vocalist more room and succeeds as a pop song.
Thank you to Paul Reinoehl for helping me get in touch with his brother and for sending in these great photos, and to Bruce Reinoehl for his history of the band.
Note: one source lists this group as cutting a third 45 on Chamus: “Places We Once Knew” / “Something for Sure”. However, this was a different Chancellors band out of Lincoln, Nebraska featuring Keith Goins and Max Carl Gronenthal. That band had another release on El Cid: “Everbody’s Got To Lose Someone Sometime” / “It Was A Very Good Year”, both singles are good blue-eyed soul with horns. Tip of the hat to Martin Hancock for pointing out this was a different band.
The Chancellors at the Band Canyon in Bay City, MIThe Chancellors at the Band Canyon in Bay City, MIThe Chancellors at the Band Canyon in Bay City, MIAt the Club Ponytail in Harbor Springs, MI
The JuJus started as a trio doing a parody of the Beatles at Godwin high school in Grand Rapids in 1963. Members were Rod Shepard on guitar, Max “Junior” Colley on sax; and Bill Gorski drums, their name came from Max’s little brother’s pronunciation of “Junior”.
In 1964 the band added Ray Hummel III on vocals and guitar and Rod moved to the bass. Hummel had a distinctive voice, and his talent for folk-influenced songwriting changed the band’s sound. Later on Rick Stevens of the Paeans (who had an unreleased 45 recorded at Fenton) came in to play guitar.
The band played live shows at the Ponytail in Grand Rapids and nearby towns like Holland and Saugatuck. In 1965 worked out a deal with Dave Kalmbach of Great Lakes Recording to do their live act between films at the Hour Theater in exchange for recording time when the theater was closed.
Great Lakes was a vanity label: the bands had to cover all recording and pressing costs and do their own promotion. Studios were originally in Dave Kalmbach’s basement, then moved to the Hour Theater, and later to the nearby town of Sparta. Bands would chose whatever label name they wanted for their 45, Fenton being the most common choice. The records were pressed at the American Record Co. in Owosso, MI, later destroyed by fire in October, 1972. Rod Shepard says, “those records sold for about ninety-eight cents of which we ended up with about a dime.”
The Ju Jus first 45 had two Hummel originals, the amazingly powerful “You Treat Me Bad” and the fifties-sounding “Hey Little Girl”. The record did well locally, supposedly reaching #2 on a chart in western Michigan in October, 1965. The future looked good and Drummond Records of Detroit offered Ray Hummel a contract based on his songwriting. The band couldn’t sign because a newly-married Ray refused to tour out of state, and Ray soon left the band. He recorded a few solo pop 45s over the years, including “Gentle Rain” / “Fine Day” on Fenton with Max Colley playing sax and Bill Gorski on drums.
The JuJu’s had several personnel changes before making their next record. Brett Wells came in on vocals, and Bruce Essex, who had played guitar with Rick Stevens in the Paeans joined for part of 1966. Then Max Colley left and Bill Gorski was drafted, so the band found guitarist Ron Burke and drummer Ron Homrich. Before long Brett left and Ron Burke took over on vocals. Rick Stevens now became the primary songwriter for the band.
Though missing Ray’s unique vocals, their second 45, from 1966, is just as good as their first. “I’m Really Sorry” has been one of my favorite garage songs since I first heard it, and “Do You Understand Me” is a strong Stones-influenced punker with sharp guitar, buzzing sounds and broken glass. The United label is another band-financed record recorded through Fenton.
In the summer of ’67 their manager Jim Geeting opened The Island, a teen club in Ludington, in which the Ju Ju’s played regularly and supported touring national acts like the Kingsmen and the Electric Prunes. By this time the band had a tougher rock sound.
In late 1967 the band broke up as Rod Shepard and Rick Stevens went into the military. Rick Stevens joined the Air Force and later died in a plane crash in New Mexico. A number of unreleased songs recorded over the years at the Hope, Chess, and Phil Robert studios have yet to see commercial release. Until recently they were distributed on tape and CDR, but they are currently unavailable, and I haven’t heard them yet.
The Renegades, from left: Dave Heth, Craig Menees, Scott Vanderleest, Fitz Green and Rick Idema
The Renegades of Grand Rapids, MI, had roots in a music scene that predates the British Invasion. As the Renegades IV and Renegades V, they released two 45s, instrumentals “Greensleeves” / “Autumn Night” on Fenton 945 and “Wine, Wine, Wine” / “Love and Fury” on Dubonay 982 (a Fenton offshoot) that are steeped in 50’s rock ‘n’ roll, as their frantic version of “Wine, Wine, Wine” attests.
Dropping the roman numerals, they cut their finest and most original record, “She’s Your Find” / “Raving Blue” in 1966 for the Cambridge label. Here the band is at their peak, playing with intense restraint behind Scott Vanderleest’s impassioned vocals on two well-crafted songs by the band.
“She’s Your Find” is a collaboration by Scott Vanderleest and guitarist Fitz Green, and features a fine guitar solo, booming and precise drum work and prominent tambourine. The other members of the band were Craig Menees on five string bass, Brian Bracken on the Conn organ (prior to the Cambridge 45, as Craig points out below), Dave Heth on organ, and Rick Idema on drums.
Fitz Green wrote the other side, the beautiful lament “Raving Blue”. My copy of the 45 is scratched as can be, but I had to include this song despite the less than perfect sound quality.
All three of their 45s charted locally on either WERX or WLAV. Unfortunately the band broke up soon after releasing “She’s Your Find”, ending their promising career.
Recently bassist Craig Menees filled out the history of the group:
The group began instrumental-only and I was not the original bass player. My predecessor was named Bruce Baldwin, the bassist on “Greensleeves” / “Autumn Night”. When he left East High for private school I came on board which would have been Rick, Fitz and my junior year in high school – 1964. We were classmates and knew each other well. Brian was a year older and his mother sort of managed the group. East High was the connection.
We knew early on (Kingtones?) that a vocalist was important in order to appeal to a larger audience. A few groups (Dave and the Shadows) had a female singer, but traveling at our age and the parental concern nixed that idea. One guy (Dwayne King?) from up North was very talented, but wanted to play lead guitar and sing which would have diminished Fitz’ role and Fitz was much too talented to just play rhythm guitar.
Somehow I think Scott heard we were looking for someone (I’ll have to confirm this with him) and he came over to try out and we knew very quickly that he was a good choice and why not? – tall, Elvis look alike who sounded like him too. Maybe a bit more like Ral Donner out of Chicago.
Our drummer, nicknamed HI3 (Henry Idema III), was often courted to join other bands, including, if I recall, the Kingsmen when they were playing the Michigan State Fair one summer.
“Greensleeves” / “Autumn Night” and “Wine Wine Wine” / “Love and Fury” were recorded at the Our Theater [in the basement, the first location of Dave Kalmbach’s Great Lakes Recording Studio]. I believe that to be the case because I do not recall traveling to Sparta.
Like many groups eventually personality issues flared up and Brian was replaced by Dave who had attended Albion, but was living in GR and going to Calvin at the time. Dave had a younger brother, Jeff, who was a classmate of ours so we knew the family and I knew Dave through athletics. We underestimated his musical abilities until he auditioned. Once we began practicing in earnest and playing regularly things worked out very well.
The keyboardist on “Raving Blue”/”She’s Your Find” was actually Dave Heth. Dave and guitarist Fitz Green sang the harmony on “She’s Your Find” behind Scott’s great voice. “Raving Blue / “She’s Your Find” were recorded in Phil Robert’s family home basement studio in East Grand Rapids before he opened Midwestern Sound [on] Leonard St. I was never in the facility, but Fitz probably was at various times. Like so many others we were big Kingtones fans, knew Phil and his brother Dave, and in some ways tried to emulate them.
“Raving Blue / “She’s Your Find” were recorded in Phil Robert’s family home basement studio in East Grand Rapids before he opened Midwestern Sound. I suspect the neighbors complaining about a business in their residential midst (lots of cars) and Phil’s increasing client list lead to his move to Leonard St. I was never in the facility, but Fitz probably was at various times.
Rick’s pearl gray Ludwig drums and Fitz’ white Fender Jaguar (he also had a beautiful Gibson 12 string heard on Raving Blue) came from Manny’s Music House in New York City. Scott’s sound system consisted of a Bogen amp, Shure microphone and JBL speakers with no enhancement which was a tribute to his voice. Fitz used a Fender amp with reverb and I played a rare white Fender 6 string bass through a Dynaco amp with a 15″ JBL speaker.
Our senior year in high school the band played every week including three consecutive weekends at the old Ponytail Club in Petoskey/Harbor Springs. Frank Russo, who was a close friend of Scott’s from South High, was the informal manager and we used to meet at his family’s pizzeria on S. Division and critique our performance when we returned to Grand Rapids, typically well after midnight.
Probably the best the group ever sounded was the summer of 1966 when we played two separate two week gigs at the Shamrock Lounge. Problem was we were underage except for Dave so our contemporaries could not get in to see us.
Four songs I recall would at times cause the audience to stop dancing and watch – Fitz’ playing “Misirlou” and “Johnny B. Goode”(his right hand was a blur), Rick playing “Let There Be Drums” (long, powerful solo) and Scott’s soulful rendition of “Old Man River” (not often heard in rock circles). Scott was both charismatic and humble which doesn’t always happen with a lead singer. Turns out he and I were in Vietnam within a year of each other although we didn’t know it until recently.
The band broke up primarily because of geography (Fitz – Kalamazoo; Rick Idema – Ann Arbor; Scott – GR; myself – E. Lansing) and Dave Heth’s untimely death in an automobile accident. I recently spoke with Scott and we hope to rendezvous in the near future…
Craig Menees June 2009
Thank you to Bill Vander Ploeg for the photo of the group at top!
I’m sorry to report Scott Vanderleest passed away on January 13, 2021.
Update: Fitz Green has continued in music, playing with the Moonrays, among other groups.
The Penetraters were from Traverse City, Michigan, about a two hour drive north of Grand Rapids, where they cut this 45 at the Great Lakes Recording Studio. This is one of the earliest garage releases on the Fenton label, which catered to bands looking to finance their own records.
“What Went Wrong” was comped on the Fenton box, Scream Loud, but the ballad flip “Cross the River of Love” was left off. I like its mellow Ricky Nelson “Lonesome Town” kind of style. Both songs were written by William Soapman.
Supposedly the Penetraters members also worked as a polka band called the Jaguars.
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
The Bed of Roses came out of the same Bay City, Michigan music scene as the Jayhawkers and Dick Rabbit. Like those artists, they recorded for Deltron Records.
I’ve read that in late ’67 the band moved to San Francisco for a short time, returning to tape a second single in a room above a record shop. However, “tea Records” is a Fenton custom label, so the band likely recorded the songs at Fenton’s Great Lakes Recording Studio.
