The Cavaliers in 1982 rehearsing for their 15th class reunion from left: Leslie Landrum, Tim Poole, John Burk, Elmo Peeler, Charlie Davis and Spencer Sanders
Tim Poole, Les Landrum, Gary Barnett and John BurkThe Cavaliers from Mississippi released only one 45 under their own name, “Looking for Love” / “You Better Move On” on the Spot Light label in May 1966. “You Better Move On” is the Arthur Alexander song that the Rolling Stones covered. I particularly like their performance on “Looking for Love,” an original credited to simply ‘Freeman’.
Their version of “You Better Move On” was picked up for release by Shelby Singleton’s SSS International label with a new group name, as the Moving Violations (catchy, right?). The flip was a different song for this release, “In the Deep Blue Sea”, written by Thomas, Mcree and Thomas. Production is by Huey Meaux, who passed away last month.
The Cavaliers also had an unreleased song from these sessions, “Girl Why Can’t You Understand”, that is excellent.
Some of the Cavaliers on the Gulf Coast with first manager Avon Frost from bottom left: Avon Frost with Les Landrum on his shoulders, Elmo Peeler, center, Charlie Davis with Tim Poole on his shoulders.Charlie Davis, Elmo Peeler and Tim Poole
I have to thank the Cavaliers’ drummer Charlie Davis for sending these songs to me and giving me the info about the group below:
I was in a band called “The Cavaliers” from Kosciusko, MS:
John Burk – vocals Les Landrum – lead guitar Tim Poole – rhythm guitar and bass Elmo Peeler – keyboards Gary Barnett – bass guitar Spencer Sanders – rhythm guitar and vocals Charlie Davis – drums
Les Landrum formed the group in ’63. We started out as a four-piece band playing instrumentals like “You Can’t Sit Down” and mainly influenced by The Ventures, “Walk Don’t Run”, etc. We broke up in 1967 when we graduated from high school and all went to different colleges. Of course we had added a main singer and keyboards during that time. In 1966 Spencer Sanders joined the group replacing Gary Barnett. Tim Poole then switched to bass guitar and Spencer played rhythm guitar and added vocals and harmony.
We mainly played in and around Mississippi during that time, alot on our Gulf Coast (Biloxi & Gulfport). The only out of state gig I can remember was for a LSU fraternity party in Baton Rouge, LA.
The record came about after we recorded a couple of songs written by our singer, John Burk as demos. We were then asked to record “Looking for Love” written by one of the owners of the studio in Jackson, MS. We played a lot of Animal tunes and Rolling Stones so the flip side was our version of the one put out on an album by The Rolling Stones, “You Better Move On”.
The record was first distributed on the Spot Light label and later on SSS International label (Shelby Singleton) where they changed our name to The Moving Violations. It never made the charts but I think got play on the Chicago AM station WLS.
In 1982 we got back together, practiced for a week, and played for our 15 year class reunion.
Elmo Peeler who played the Hammond organ went on to play with such notable artist as The Beach Boys, Rod Stewart, Ricky Nelson and The Sweet Inspirations. Although he never toured with them, he also played on CD’s by The Flying Burrito Brothers.
I also played drums on the session with The Ravin’ Blue … “Love” and “It’s Not Real”.
Charlie Davis
Charlie Davis at the Neshoba County FairLes Landrum and Tim PooleLes Landrum, lead guitarJohn Burk, Gary Barnett and Charlie Davis
Charlie Davis also created this video below, featuring “Girl Why Can’t You Understand” accompanied by some of the photos seen here:
Charlie Davis at the Neshoba County FairTim Poole and Les LandrumCharlie DavisTim Poole, Les Landrum, John Burk and Gary Barnett
The Local Traffic, circa 1967 From left: Mick Hassell, Buddy Bullard, Stormy Folse, Steve Morant and Mike Cottage
Mickey Hassell singing with the Local Traffic, 1967The Local Traffic’s incredible single on the Black Light label has remained almost unknown until recently and never reissued or compiled since its original release in June, 1968. “Time Gone to Waste” is a wild original sure to take its rightful place at the top of ’60s psychedelia. I love how it ends with that roll on the tom-toms. The B-side is “Second Century”, slow and stately but also excellent. Two copies of the 45 attained huge sums at auction in 2009 and 2010; there’s no doubting the rarity or musical quality of this 45.
Myles Hassell, then known as Mickey Hassell, sent in the photos and memorabilia seen here and wrote this history about the group:
In the later part of 1965, The Local Traffic came into being in the living room of Mickey Hassell’s house on Citrus Road in River Ridge; a sleepy little suburb located about 7 miles west of New Orleans, in between Harahan and Little Farms. The members of the band included Mickey Hassell (lead vocals and guitar), Stormy Folse (guitar, organ, vocals, and saxophone), Mike Cottage (bass guitar and vocals), Steve Morant (lead guitar and vocals), and Buddy Bullard (drums). The band’s manager, Skip Robinson, also played tambourine during live performances.
Our band existed outside the mainstream of the traditional music genres one associates with New Orleans (jazz, R&B, funk, etc.). Instead, we were strongly influenced by the British Invasion bands and the psychedelic music scene. If it was far-out, we played it.
When we began playing music together, we were all in high school (ranging in age from 14-16). From the start, we did not have an easy go of it. Our musical instruments and sound system were second tier: a hodgepodge gathered from pawnshops, family members, and wages earned by working after school. We had to make do with what we had – pushing our instruments and equipment to the limit when we performed. Because we were all underage, many of the local music venues such as bars, nightclubs, and other places where liquor was served were off limits to us; and other doors were slammed in our faces because we were not members of the local union of musicians. Furthermore, nobody knew us; we didn’t even have a booking agent. But we were young, and nothing was going to stop us. Through the efforts of the band’s members and word of mouth, we started to find gigs at local CYO Dances in Harahan, Little Farms, Metairie, and Kenner, along with some frat parties and block parties—anywhere we could find an audience for our music. We were beginning to build a reputation for being a band of versatile musicians that worked up a sweat and put on a good show every time we performed.
Many of the bands in New Orleans frequented Tippet’s Music store in Orleans Parish. Being kids from the suburbs, however, The Local Traffic shopped at Werlein’s Music at Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie, at that time an open-air facility. It was there that we met Andy Gallien, who was working in Werlein’s music department. Sometime during late 1966 to early 1967, Andy and Mike (our bass player) negotiated a way for us to lease some first-rate equipment—Fender and Gretsch guitars, Ludwig drums and Zildjian cymbals, Fender Dual-Showman and Fender Twin amplifiers, Farfisa keyboards, Shure microphones, a solid sound system, and all the electronics needed to make things hum. This equipment leveled the playing field for The Local Traffic, thus enabling us to stand toe-to-toe with well-known bands from New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and the Gulf South.
From 1967 on, The Local Traffic developed a reputation as a hard-driving force in the local music scene. This led to better-paying gigs at psychedelic teen clubs, such as The Purple Pickle in Slidell and The Hullabaloo Club in Metairie, along with high school dances and private parties. During this time, Bill Strong, a producer and promoter in the music business, approached us at one of our gigs, saying that he liked our music. Ultimately, we signed a recording contract with his company, Black Light Productions. At that time, we were still a cover band, and while we had dabbled in songwriting, we had neither practiced nor performed any original music. Therefore, we had some work to do for our upcoming recording session at the now legendary Cosimo Matassa’s studio on Camp Street in New Orleans.
Mickey wrote the chord progression, words, and melody for “Time Gone to Waste,” which was to be the A-side for our 45-rpm record. During this time, he was living in an efficiency apartment in the French Quarter, scratching out a living playing music, working as a roadie for a couple of bands from the area, and working at the PDQ Car Wash on Metairie Road. As the lyrics below reveal, the song’s imagery came from his mind and soul, his apartment, and life on the streets outside:
Before the flashing dawn, I put my new face on And I take the time to pull out my mind and then I can see once more the same mind I had before In my single window pane with a crystal picture frame
Love lights the night before, it makes me think of you once more And it leaves me senseless with a time relentless I pick my eyes up off the floor, I throw them out the open door And I laugh out crying instead of lying, I’ve got no use for lying
I sing out loudly mine, inside the flashing sign It’s a neon stillness like a creeping illness I see the carpets crawl up and down the patterned wall And they leave me a taste of the time gone to waste
Buddy’s driving drumbeat and Mike’s punching bass line created a rhythm section with the power of a locomotive roaring at full throttle. The guitar work of Stormy and Steve slashed, soared, and intertwined with the rhythm section. Mickey’s vocalization was defiant, yet laden with emotion. As recorded, “Time Gone to Waste” was a kick-ass song—combining poetry with rock-and-roll and psychedelics, and capturing the energy, creativity, and musicianship of The Local Traffic.
Mike created an elegant bass line, then Mickey created the chords, lyrics, and melody for a song titled, “Second Century,” which became the B-side for our 45-rpm record. The song was about a woman who kept others at a distance via mind-games and who tried in vain to ignore the passing of time and her loneliness. The song’s chord progression was tempered by Buddy’s skillful drum work and accentuated by Stormy’s sensitive touch on the electric organ. Steve’s guitar solo was adept, and his harmonic coda ushered the song to a climactic tonal flourish. Mickey’s vocalization was melancholy and the lyrics were poignant:
Second century woman, Second century child Talk with your mask and not your mind Singing songs stolen out of time
I feel the thunder, of the senseless words Open to those who sing your song Not trying to but aging along
I’ve been playing your lovely games And I’m tired of feeling just the same I’m cracked just like a broken dream That stopped for a while just to scream
Second century woman, Second century child You can remain with yourself You can remain with yourself in falling
Second century woman, with a hand of brass Reaching out to turn to gold In a world that makes you grow so old You’ve gone and you’ve left it How hard to forget where you’re at
A limited number of 45-rpm discs were pressed on the Black Light label (the label is florescent and glows if you hold it under a black light), and “Time Gone to Waste” was introduced to the New Orleans market in 1968. The song got some airtime on local radio stations WNOE and WTIX, both during the day and on the underground broadcasts at night. Through local record stores, we sold some 45s to our fans, and the radio airtime helped us land some good gigs in the area. During this time, Mickey was becoming prolific as a writer of songs and lyrics, so we laid some more tracks at Cosimo’s recording studio; also teaming up with another local songwriter. None of the tracks made it outside of the four walls of the studio.
In early 1969, The Local Traffic played its last gig at a country club (now gone) near the current site of the Greek Orthodox Church on Bayou St. John, just off Robert E. Lee Boulevard in the Lakeview section of Orleans Parish. After our work was done, we sat on the bank of the bayou, smoking, drinking, and saying our goodbyes. Perhaps it was the strain of balancing divergent interests in music; maybe we were frustrated by the outcome of our efforts in the recording studio; perhaps we were exhausted from busting our chops in the music business in the Crescent City; or maybe it was just time to move on. Whatever the reason may have been, we parted company that night and went our separate ways.
Q. It’s amazing you were able to come up with a song as strong as “Time Gone to Waste” considering the band didn’t do originals in their live shows yet. Did you ever play that song live?
Thank you for your compliment about “Time Gone to Waste.” It was one of the first songs I had ever written. After it was released in New Orleans, we played “Time Gone to Waste” and “Second Century” whenever we performed.
Q. Were there other groups on the local scene that your band was either friends with or saw as competition?
We competed for jobs with bands from out of town, such as The Basement Wall and the Greek Fountains. There was plenty of local competition from groups such as The Palace Guards, Yesterday’s Children, The Clinging Vines, The Gunga Dyns, The Souls of the Slain, The Better Half Dozen, The Glory Rhodes, and Leaves of Grass and more. When I first set foot on the campus of the University of New Orleans, it was like “old home week,” because a lot of the local musicians were going to college there. We had all heard of each other, and got a chance to get to know each other, at that time. That’s where I met and became friends with Rickey Moore, drummer from The Better Half. I also got to know Frank Bua (drummer w/The Palace Guards and later with The Radiators), Camile Baudoin (later with the Radiators), Richard Morant (lead guitar with Yesterday’s Children; his brother, Steve, played lead guitar in the Local Traffic), Quint Davis (tambourine with Yesterday’s Children; started the Jazz Fest in NOLA). During this time, I did roadie work with The Palace Guards and Yesterday’s Children (when the Local Traffic was not working), so I knew the members of those groups pretty well.
Q. Were you in groups before or after Local Traffic?
Before the Local Traffic, I did not play music with anyone else, practicing guitar and singing by myself. After the Local Traffic, I was active as an “outsider” musician in New Orleans, making some studio recordings of songs I had written and trying to form some bands. Much of this activity was not noteworthy, but there are some things of substance. . . . In the late 60s – early 70s, I did some more recording work with Stormy Folse and Bill Strong at Cosimo’s, Butch Elliot (son of Ken Elliot aka Jack the Cat on the radio in NOLA) at his personal studio, and another studio, can’t remember the name, on Tulane Avenue (during these sessions, Rickey Moore, former drummer with the Zoofs and The Better Half was on drums). I co-wrote a few songs with some other musicians; I can only remember Eddie Volker (later with the Radiators). However, no records were released from these sessions.
At several gigs in the early 1970s, I sang lead in a band featuring Emile Guest (lead guitarist with Roger and the Gypsies), short-lived and I can’t recall the name of the group. I sang and played acoustic guitar at several local pubs, such as The Rear End in Lakeview. In 1973 – 1975, I sang lead and shared lead guitar duties with Stormy Folse (from the Local Traffic), in a cover band named Wet Leggs. From 1976 – 1978, I sang lead and played guitar in another cover band–Straight Whiskey–and Stormy played bass guitar. I hung up my rock-n-roll shoes in the later part of 1978, after earning an MA in English Literature and getting a job selling office machines. In 1987, I went back to college to earn an MBA, and taught in the English Department at the University of New Orleans. During that time, I picked up an acoustic guitar, writing several songs, singing and playing in private only for about six months. Since that time, I have not played music or written any songs.
Myles (Mickey) Hassell, April 2011
Thank you to Myles for the history and images, and also for kindly answering my questions.
Update, July 2012
Mike Cottage wrote to me:
I went on, moved to California in ’73 and was a founding member of Sneaker produced by Jeff “Skunk” Baxter. We had moderate success with a few hit songs, “More Than Just the Two of Us” and “Don’t Let Me In” (written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagan). You can view our web site for more songs and info: sneakersongs.com. Sneaker has a number of videos on you tube if you search for Sneaker the band or type the song title “More Than Just the Two of Us”. And of course most of Sneaker’s songs are available on itunes.
Update, March 2016
Myles Hassell (Mickey) passed away on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 at the age of 66. Interviewing Myles for this article has been one of the highlights of my work on this website over the last 11 years.
Mike Cottage adds, “all of his band mates from the 60’s and the many friends he made through his journey will always be richer for having known him. Though he will always be with us, those who played music with Mickey will forever share in a special brotherhood and miss his creativity and brilliance. RIP Mickey. Thank you again for leading the way.”
At the Hullabaloo on Airline Highway, 1967 Note other shows by the Gaunga Dyns and the Leaves of Grass
Andrew Brown suggested I cover the Sands, a Houston group who cut the legendary Seeds sound-alike “Open Your Eyes” on the Capri label in 1966.
A Houston Post article from January, 1966, shows the band at what must have been one of the oddest gigs ever, playing for patrons of the Look Plaza Barber Shop in the Spring Branch neighborhood on the west side of Houston.
Members were Tom Smith (drums and vocals), Kevin Pitts (bass), Eddie Everett (guitar), Charlie Snell (guitar) and Keith Church (vocals).
The article also lists the barbers: Herb Barnum, Montaugn Wise and shop manager Bill Cox.
The Sands recorded their only 45 at Huey Meaux’s Pasadena studio on October 11, 1966, produced by Joe Falcone. The A-side, “Can’t Find a Way” was written by Tom Smith. The band is known today for the flip, “Open Your Eyes”, a rewrite of “Pushin’ Too Hard” credited to Eddie Everett. The band gives a spirited performance, with off-the-wall fuzz lead, frantic organ, snappy drumming and snotty lead vocals.
For whatever reason, this is one of the rarest of Texas garage singles.
Eddie Everett wrote to me:
Those were the days, my first real band! One of the barbers in the shop (keyboard player) replaced the rhythm guitar, Kevin Pitts. Shortly after that we recorded our first 45 rpm that put us on the map!
We did concerts with Fever Tree, Moving Sidewalks, 13th Floor Elevators. Down the road, I moved to Florida and played with the Night Crawlers (Little Black Egg) for two years.
Thank you to Andrew Brown for the clippings and 45 scans.
1962 or 1963, from left: Arthur Biggs, Bob Pettit, Bernie Smith, Johnny Devlin, Bryan Stevens, Mick Ketley, and Chuck Fryers
Mick Pye sent in these great photos of Johnny Devlin & the Detours, who later evolved into the Noblemen. Mick tells me these are from glass negatives, which I would think was an antiquated format for 1962 or 1963.
Notice retouching to remove the background on the promo shot, above.
Bryan Stevens wrote in a comment below with identifying info for the photos. He gives the lineup above as:
Arthur Biggs – rhythm guitar – Burns Black Bison 3 pick up 6 string guitar Bob Pettit – alto/tenor/baritone sax Bernie Smith – drums (replaced Roger Yardley) Johny Devlin – vocals Bryan Stevens – Burns Black Bison bass guitar Mick Ketley – Vox Continental keyboard Chuck Fryers – Lead guitar – Burns Black Bison 4 pick up 6 string guitar
Thank you to Bryan for identifying all the musicians and for sending in the poster below for their upcoming reunion show.
1961 or 1962, clockwise from top left: Roger Yardley, Mick Ketley, Bob Pettit, Johnny Devlin, Bryan Stevens, Arthur Biggs and Chuck Fryers.
Back to the 60’s – Revival Featuring The Detours, Johnny Devlin, The Diamonds, Dave Hooper, The Southbeats, Roy Haines of the Fenmen, The Concords, Colin Madeley and Cosy. Riverside, February 18, 2012Johnny Devlin & the Detours, The Post, January 25, 1964, submitted by Nick Warburton
From left: Ron Kinscherf, Steve Barone, Curt Dorey, Steve Nelsen and Tony Morgan Photo from pnwbands.com.
The Chargers came from the central Washington state town of Wenatchee, like Billy and the Kids. Steve Barone was 16 years old when he played lead guitar on the Chargers single on Julian Records, “Taxi” / “I’m So Alone”, released in October 1966. Steve plays some great lead on Steve Nelsen’s original “Taxi” with its super-cool lyrics. The girl’s going to leave so he might as well just call her a taxi and get it over with. “I’m So Alone” is one of the better downer songs of the ’60s, with a neat sliding guitar riff towards the end of the break.
About a year after the single, they recorded three more songs in Spokane that have so far been unreleased. I’ve only heard short excerpts of each. “Need Your Love” sounds a lot like “Taxman” but has its own charms. “You Got a Hold” has a great distorted guitar opening. “In the News” might be my favorite, with it’s heavy tom-tom opening, fine organ playing and interesting rhythm changes. All three of these deserve getting a proper release on CD or vinyl, I hope it happens soon.
Steve Barone wrote to me in detail about the band:
I am the lead guitarist and vocalist for the Chargers. I was born in 1951, and my earliest memories are of watching my dad play with his bands, and by five years old was playing his instrument. In junior high, I had a little group called The Hustlers. One guitar, one drummer, and five singers! We had the chicks screaming when we played Beatles songs at assemblies and dances … how naive they were.
Then I met Ron Kinscherf, Curt Dorey, Tony Morgan and Steve Nelsen. They had a band The Undertakers with Larry Youngblood (passed on) singing, and they were very good; the Hustlers didn’t have a bass man. We did a “battle of the bands” … they even had a coffin to haul equipment in! I was so impressed with them, and they with me, that I quit the Hustlers.
Early lineup of the Chargers, March 1966 L-R, standing: Don Sandstrom, Larry Roller and Curt Dorey; kneeling Tony Morgan and Steve BaroneSteve and Ron were part of the Undertakers but Tony, Larry, and Curt formed the three-piece Chargers, then I joined. Larry Roller was lead singer in the beginning but he liked ripping off stuff, like other people’s cars, so we axed him. There was also Don Sandstrom, who sang as well.
Don and Larry are both [in the talent show clipping]. That is because Don had just joined the group. He hadn’t been at the talent show but joined before the picture so there he is. Then Ron replaced Larry, then Steve Nelsen joined later on keys.
We actually let Don into the band because he was the only one with a driver’s license and would drive us all around in his mom’s Corvair … and usually with one or two of us in the trunk as that was a very small car! Especially on drive-in nights! One other friend, Phil Dorschak, had a ’58 Chevy with a tri-power 348 and a big trunk. We always gave him a few beers if he would help haul the equipment for us. I don’t know where he is and haven’t seen him since 1968.
Don quit after a couple years, leaving us a five-piece for the duration. Me on my 1963 Tiesco art-deco Japanese guitar and Silvertone twin-twelve amp, playing lead and singing, Ron on his red Lyle guitar and Paul McCartney vocal stylings, Steve Nelsen on the Farfisa keyboard, Curt Dorey on Fender Mustang bass, and Tony Morgan on drums. Toward the end of the band Tony quit, and was replaced by Jerry Riley on drums. He was the absolute best drummer ever.
We played all over, every high and junior high school dance we could handle, plus Yakima, Bridgeport, Spokane, all over except for the Seattle area. We weren’t ready for that yet.
Steve Nelsen and Ron Kinscherf lived on the East side. Me, Tony, Jerry and Curt lived on the West side. When we played at either high school, or junior high, we had fans in either case. The town didn’t matter much to us, but Billy & the Kids were all living with their folks in East Wenatchee so they had a “town loyalty”, as it were. Billy & the Kids didn’t go over that well at Wenatchee High … we ruled there, and played for nearly every dance from 1966-68. Especially after the record came out. But on the East side, Billy & the Kids had the edge. We always enjoyed the competitive nature of it, but were all brothers and respected each other a lot. I do give them credit, they took it a lot further than I ever did, and now Bill and Bob Burns have a group called “The Called”! Christian stuff of course.
The Chargers won a talent show in 1966, first prize being recording time at Julian records. We were excited, to say the least. We packed up the trailer and headed for Spokane one Friday afternoon. We went to some restaurant for dinner and cruised around town for a while, trailer proudly in tow. Nobody knew who we were then … but that was about to change. After settling in at a motel; the band in one room and the manager and his wife in another, we commenced to “hootenanny” and light farts all night long. After they shut the power off, we continued to sing and light farts in the dark!
In the morning, all fucked up from not sleeping, we headed to the other side of town, and pulled in to an unassuming, plain-looking building. Inside were many rooms and corridors, all full of amps, wires, speakers, etc. I was in heaven. We proceeded to lay down all the instruments at once, and got the songs down fast, albeit with a couple small mistakes that we left in just because. Then we went into a booth and did the vocals. All this recorded on reel-to-reel, very primitive even then.
When that hit the street, and went to #3 on the local survey the first week, we were gods. How overwhelming it is to hear your songs on the radio! We played at virtually all the big dances after the record came out.
Standing, from left: Curt Dorey, Steve Nelsen and Tony Morgan; seated: Steve Barone and Ron Kinscherf Photo courtesy Steve Barone
I have one old picture of the band in our suits, in a frame. We took many poses, in the house, in a tree, on another part of the roof, and gathered around our trailer that had the logo and a crazy horse on the sides. I don’t know where these photos ended up. It must have cost a lot; it was a professional photographer, and we took a LOT of shots.
Q. I notice Ron looks to be left handed and playing with a right-handed guitar turned upside down. Is he really left handed, or was this just for the photo?
Ron was intrigued with Hendrix but only for the photo was the guitar reversed unfortunately. That would have been something though! Sorta like I painted the “Vox” logo on my Silvertone/Tiesco guitar. Nobody ever knew but the band.
The story of “I’m So Alone” is a book in itself. I met Carl Hunt in 1963, at Pioneer Junior High. My neighbor, Jerry Highfill and I played guitars together a lot, and thus entered our first talent show playing a couple Ventures songs, and a tune called “Bulldog”. We caused pandemonium; nobody suspected I could really play and was actually “cool”. I looked like Fearless Fly; skinny, horn-rimmed glasses and clothes my mom picked out. But when Jerry and I won that first show, I suddenly had a lot more friends. Carl was way cool, smoking on the corner in his leather jacket, just being next to Carl made you cool.
He had one of those Silvertone guitars with the amp in the case. I never would have dreamed it, but Carl wanted to learn how to play, and all through junior high he was my body guard more or less, in exchange for guitar lessons. I spent the weekend at Carl’s often; his mom always fed us and let us smoke in his room, and occasionally we would smuggle in a few beers too. We had a few tunes down, and were joined by a drummer, Jerry Riley, in 1964. One night at Carl’s house, he said he had a new song, kind of a ballad. Then he started playing the two opening chords to “I’m So Alone” and started the plaintive vocal. I knew he was on to something, and before too long we sounded like the Everly Brothers on the chorus. But then I got asked to join the Chargers, formerly the Undertakers, and I spent a lot less time with Carl. Jerry joined the Chargers as well.
When the Chargers decided to record our first single, we already had “Taxi” on our playlist. But we needed a “B” side. So I remembered Carl’s song. I played it, and everybody liked it right away … and we ended up recording it. I never gave Carl credit for it though, and always felt a little bad. I didn’t see him much so I never knew if he was upset about me claiming his song. I did refine the lyrics but the music is all Carl.
Around 1976 I spoke with a man who was a former detective, and he said Carl had committed suicide that summer. I had not seen him since 1968.
You can sure tell in “I’m So Alone” that there is a Farfisa screeching away (man I hated that sound). We did an outdoor gig and it got so hot it just freaked out. The notes would go up and down and it finally pooped clear out. We got it fixed and jammed on. Later with Double Image, Steve got a B-3.
Ron Kinscherf, Steve Nelsen and I were always coming up with ideas for songs. Some were ok, most sucked, a lot of them were rip-offs of the Beatles or the Wailers songs, and all were eventually forgotten but for the five recordings. I spent a lot of time at Ron’s house in those days, and we would jam for hours on end.
We released the record, and in early 1968 went back, older and wiser, doing “You Gotta Hold”, “News in General” and “I Need Your Love”. With the three tunes in the can, the band split up before it was pressed. Only the masters and copies remain. By some miracle, of course, as Ron ended up with the masters at first. His stepdad was the manager. He ended up with at least 300 copies of unsold records, and used them for skeet. The rest of us were quite pissed when we found out where all the records went, but it was too late. I do have a copy, one I gave to my mom, and she gave it back to me just before she died. So it is priceless to me now and never sees daylight.
Eagles Hall, 1967 posterOne summer day, Ron and I went to a department store with a friend named Dale. He was, unbeknownst to us, a compulsive kleptomaniac. He would fill his trenchcoat with stuff and go unload it in the car while we were looking around the store. When we discovered how easy it was to rip stuff off, I tried to hork Jimi Hendrix’s first album and got caught by store security. After the cops came, and my folks came to get me from them, my guitar and amp were locked in a closet and I was forbidden to play music until I graduated the following year. This put an end to my membership in the band. They tried to carry on with replacements but it just didn’t work.
After I actually showed some remorse, worked hard at school and for the first time ever, made the honor roll, I got my guitar back. Then I hooked up with Dick and Jerry Riley, Bob Herron and Rick Troppman and formed “Subtle Difference”. We were cutting-edge, with a keyboard (Hammond B-3 and Leslie), two hot guitars and Jerry was one hell of a drummer. Rick was, and is, one of the best bassists I ever knew. We did Vanilla Fudge and all the hot psychedelic stuff.
Too bad it was the time of drugs, partying, Viet Nam and thoughts of marriage … all this combined to send all five of us in different directions. By 1969, the smoldering remains of the Chargers was officially put to rest.
Ron moved to Tacoma to play new wave, Tony and I joined the Army, Steve Nelsen joined “Double Image” with the Burns Brothers in Seattle, Curt Dorey went to work at Alcoa on the night shift. Jerry Riley overdosed on 96% pure heroin (from VietNam) in 1971. RIP old pal.
I moved to Tacoma in 1979, and played with Ron in “Kicker”, a three-guitar and keyboard band that specialized in AC/DC, Molly Hatchet, Led Zeppelin and Lynyrd Skynyrd. I also did time with Wakefield Manor and No Cheese Please … check them out on pnwbands.com. I left Tacoma in 1982 and never looked back.
Ron and I are the only ones still performing. I am in “Trio Deluxe + 1”, an oldies band ( the +1 is a sax player), “the Steamers” (check ’em out at lakeboys.com) and the church worship team. So I am heavily involved but in Wenatchee, also heavily poor. This town does not have a very supportive music scene, I have to spread it thin to stay working. But I will keep playin’ that rock and roll … until I die.
If there’s one thing I pray to never lose, it is my memory of those crazy times with that first “successful” band. This past October, on the occasion of Curt’s 60th birthday, we all got together, even some of our old “groupies” were there. I brought my Strat and Ron brought his bass and another guitar. We howled at the moon from 3pm until after midnight, and would not have stopped then except the neighbors complained. I still can’t believe we remembered all those old songs. But we are NOT going to get the band back together!
Steve T. Barone aka Bonehead
Thanks to Doug Shirk for his help in making this article possible.
clockwise from left: Tony Morgan, Ron Kinscherf, Steve Nelsen, Steve Barone, and Curt Dorey (holding Ron’s guitar) “My guitar is still sunburst … sort of. When I bought this ugly guitar, it had long cutaways which I took off with a hacksaw and made it a teardrop. The edges of the cuts still show raw wood in the pic. Then I painted it Krylon sea blue and hand-painted psychedelic stuff, along with boobs and snatches, all over it. I still have this guitar!” Photo from the cover of Teenage Shutdown “I’m Down Today”
My name is Jeweldine Taylor. I wrote and recorded “Look Who’s Talking About Love”, backed by Jim Bogle and the Beaumen. Recorded at Clifford Harring Studio, Fort Worth, Texas, on the T.R.C. Label. On the flip side was a song I also wrote, “Your Choice”.
at Geneva Hall, with Dale McBride, Gaylon Christie and Roy Robinson
A few months later, I formed my own band, Jeweldine Taylor and the Rockets. On occasions I appeared with other bands as a female vocalist.I had two lead guitar players, Tommy Christian, who I lost when he took a job with Chuck Harding and his wife. I then hired Jim Walker who stayed as long as I had a band.
Bass players were Tony Fishers, Wallace Pelton, Johnny Eubanks, and Algie Roundtree. Drummers, James Jackson, Mike Stewart, Mickey Sharp, and David West. Two saxophone players, Danny Fisk and Paul Jones. Other musicians were sometimes employed on a temporary bases until a permanent member could be found.
In the spring of 1965 I met a young Army officer named Douglas B. Gremel. We were married on August 7, 1965. After about ten months, with all contracts fulfilled, I dissolved the band and quit professional music.
About three years later, I started writing and recording gospel music as Jewel Gremel. My last recording was in 1999. My song New Jerusalem, was recorded by the Belville Brothers in the late 1990s.
Sincerely, Jewel Gremel
at the Imperial Club, featuring Earl Crosby 407 Dallas Highwaywith the Rockets at the Flame Room, formerly the Tropical 1520 S. Loop Drive, Wacowith Link Davis, Big Mamou and Paul Wayne at the Terrace on Dallas HighwayIn the Sahara Ballroom of the Sahara Club, 111 East Industrial Blvd.
The Kool, late 1967, from left: Jet Hodges, Dave Carol, Ray Brown, Pete Burt and Jeff Curtis (aka David Myers), photo courtesy Ray Brown
The Kool #1 (August-December 1967)
Jeff Curtis – vocals Dave Carol – lead guitar, vocals Jet Hodges (aka Richard Hodgins) – keyboards, vocals Ray Brown – bass, vocals Pete Burt – drums
Originally known as Jeff Curtis & The Flames, their manager, rock promoter Mervyn Conn changed their name to The Kool around August 1967.
Signing the band to CBS Records, Conn used The Ivy League and session musicians, including drummer Clem Cattini, to record Tony Macauley and John MacLeod’s poppy “Look at Me, Look at Me”, which was backed by the soulful “Room at the Top” (credited to Curtis’s real name: David Myers but actually a co-write with Ray Brown and originally cut as a demo by Jeff Curtis & The Flames around May 1966).
The A-side only features Ray Brown from the band who provides the lead vocal and is surrounded by the massed vocals of The Ivy League. The B-side is notable for its use of horns and cello and has a soulful feel with Jeff Curtis’s gravelly voice to the fore.
Produced by Mervyn Conn and arranged by Keith Mansfield, the single was released on 12 October 1967 but did not chart despite being plugged by DJ Tony Blackburn on Radio 1.
During the same session, Conn used The Ivy League as singers on an excellent version of “Step Out of Your Mind”, previously recorded and released in the United States by The American Breed, and a cover of Ralph Murphy’s “Funny What a Fool Can Be”. Like the previous B-side, Jeff Curtis sang lead vocals on this track and the band members are featured on the recording.
The two tracks were coupled for a second single, issued, and then mysteriously withdrawn, in limited edition, around December 1967.
That same month, the band played at Coronation Hall in Kingston with PP Arnold, after which Ray Brown departed to reunite with Steve Reading and Mickey Baker from his 1950s band, The Sky Blue Skiffle Group, in a new outfit called Champagne. During 1968, Champagne shared the bill with The Kool at Kew Boathouse. In 1969, Brown joined The Magic Roundabout.
With Ray Brown out of the picture, The Kool carried on, bringing in new bass player Brian Hosking.
Notable gigs:
Photo: Wakefield Express
9 September 1967 – Boogaloo, Castleford, West Yorkshire Billed as The Cool so may be another band
Photo: Ampthill News & Flintwick Record
15 September 1967 – Cesar’s Club, Bedford with The 100w Carnation
1 December 1967 – Coronation Hall, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey with PP Arnold (may have been later this month or first week in January)
The Kool, late 1967, from left: Ray Brown, Jeff Curtis (aka David Myers), Pete Burt, Dave Carol and Jet Hodges
The Kool #2 (January-August 1968)
Jeff Curtis – vocals Dave Carol – lead guitar, vocals Jet Hodges (aka Richard Hodgins) – keyboards, vocals Brian Hosking – bass Pete Burt – drums
Originally from Twickenham, Middlesex, Brian Hosking (b. 7 July 1947, Twickenham, Middlesex) was no stranger to the band having known Dave Carol from The Smokestacks in 1964. Hosking had first played bass with The Diplomats while at school and then joined The Feeet with guitarist Doug Ayris. During 1963, Hosking and Ayris formed The Legend with singer Nigel Kingswell and drummer John Sergeant.
In 1964, Hosking left to join The Smokestacks. Two years later, he helped form Twickenham band, The All Night Workers. However, after a few months, he departed to run a bar full-time in Heston and only returned to the live scene in October 1967 with a short-lived band called Deep Purple (no relation to their more famous namesake). When he joined The Kool, Hosking had given up the bar to sell car batteries in Slough and was living in Hounslow.
Kingston & Malden Borough News, 30 August 1968
In early 1968, The Kool appeared at London’s top nightclubs, the Cromwellian and the Pickwick. During the second part 1968, the band increasingly found work in the Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey area.
Notable gigs:
Photo: Swindon Advertiser
27 January 1968 – Locarno Ballroom, Swindon, Wiltshire with James Stuart Inspiration
Photo: Surrey Advertiser
15 June 1968 – West Clandon Youth Club, West Clandon, Surrey
22 June 1968 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey
6 July 1968 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey
Photo: Kingston & Malden Borough News
19 July 1968 – Apple Tree Club, Kingston Hotel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
The Kool #3 (August 1968-January 1969)
Jeff Curtis – vocals Dave Carol – lead guitar, vocals Jet Hodges (aka Richard Hodgins) – keyboards, vocals Brian Hosking – bass Steve Allen – drums
During late summer Pete Burt departed and joined up with keyboard player Bob Brittain for a tour of Germany. In 1969, Brittain offered Burt the drum position in his new band, Pickettywitch but the drummer declined the offer. The following year, he reunited with his old school friend from Roxeth Manor School – Rod Wharton and they formed the trio, Hogsnort Rupert. Burt subsequently retired from the music business and passed away on 20 March 2013.
Steve Allen, who was originally from Cornwall and had played in several West Country bands for five years before moving to Esher, Surrey, took over from Burt while working for the Inland Revenue in Richmond, Surrey during the day.
According to the Kingston and Malden Borough News, the new line up returned to the studios in early September 1968 to record three more sides, including two band originals, and two of the tracks recorded would be chosen for the band’s next single, due out around Christmas. The promised single never appeared.
The new Kool line-up, however, was short-lived because Allen did not like the band’s music and departed early on to join The Factory, led by singer Jack Brand.
Notable gigs:
16 August 1968 – Apple Tree Club, Kingston Hotel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
Photo: Kingston & Malden Borough News
24 August 1968 –Staines Town Hall, Staines, Middlesex
25 August 1968 – Apple Tree Club, White Lion, Putney, Southwest London
18 November 1968 – Orange Grove, Grove Tavern, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
6 December 1968 – Apple Tree Club, Kingston Hotel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
Photo: Melody Maker
The Kool #4 (January-May 1969)
Jeff Curtis – vocals Dave Carol – lead guitar, vocals Jet Hodges (aka Richard Hodgins) – keyboards, vocals Brian Hosking – bass Geoff Coxon – drums
Dave Carol enlisted his old friend from early 1960s band, The Drovers, Geoff Coxon, to replace the outgoing Steve Allen. Since splitting from Carol in 1964, Coxon had joined Hampton, Middlesex band, The Others, just in time to promote their lone single on Fontana, a raucous version of Bo Diddley’s “Oh Yeah”, coupled with the band original “I’m Taking Her Home”.
After The Others fell apart in October of that year, Coxon moved on to work with Colin Shane & The Shannons alongside guitarist Dave Mumford and bass player Dick Merritt. When this group split up in late 1965, the trio formed The Sugar Band with organist Malcolm Wainman, tenor sax player Pete Browning and baritone sax player Les Batt and worked the soul club circuit until late 1967.
The band’s agent then linked the musicians with Jamaican singer Delroy Williams and they became The Delroy Williams Show with The Sugar Band. By late 1968, the group had split from Williams and Coxon gigged around before joining The Kool.
Program for show in Caen, France in Feb. 1969. The photo shows the ’67 lineup before Brian Hosking and Geoff Coxon had joined. Program scan courtesy of Brian Hosking
The new line up travelled to France to play the Grand Ball at Caen University in early February. During that weekend, the new band members did a signing at a record shop for their forthcoming CBS single, which featured a photo of the original line up.
On 18 April 1969, CBS belatedly released The Kool’s second single, “Step Out of Your Mind” c/w “Funny What A Fool Can Be”, over a year after it was originally recorded. Despite a strong performance, the band’s moment had passed and the single failed to chart.
The single was reviewed in the Kingston and Malden Borough News’s 25 April 1969 edition, together with a photo of the original line up.
The current line up, however, signed to MCA and recorded a final single, issued in June 1969, coupling the poppy “Lovin’”, written by the song-writing team Capitanelli and O’Connor, backed by Dave Myers’ original, “Baby’s Out of Reach”. Produced by Phil Swern, arranged by Tom Parker, and with backing vocals by Sue and Sonny, the single had great potential but was another chart failure.
Before it was released both Jet Hodges and newcomer Geoff Coxon departed. Coxon joined Calum Bryce, reuniting with Dave Mumford. Coxon currently performs with a reformed The Others.
Calum Bryce, late 1969. Geoff Coxon at far left Photo courtesy of Geoff Coxon
Notable gigs:
15 January 1969 – Weybridge Hall, Weybridge, Surrey
Photo: Woking Herald
8 February 1969 – Grand Ball, Caen University, France
Photo: Woking Herald
2 May 1969 – Addlestone Community Centre, Addlestone, Surrey
The Kool #5 (May-August 1969)
Jeff Curtis – vocals Dave Carol – lead guitar, vocals Ronnie Clayden – keyboards, vocals Brian Hosking – bass Jim Park – drums
Jim Park (b. 21 March 1947, Staines, Middlesex) was recruited via an advert that Hosking put in Melody Maker. The band received over 60 applications for the drum vacancy but Park knew Clive Burrows, who was singing in the latest version of Hosking’s former group The All Night Workers, which still contained Hosking’s former band mate from The Legend, Doug Ayris. Burrows also worked as a store man at a shop Hosking’s girlfriend managed.
August 1969
Barely 20 years old, Clayden (b. 2 April 1949, Lewisham, Kent) was living in Ascot, Berkshire at the time and had previously worked with Maidenhead band, The John Thomas Blues Band, which included lead guitarist Graham Marshall and drummer Chris Stevens.
The John Thomas Blues Band landed loads of support gigs opening for the likes of The Pretty Things, The Gun and Aynsley Dunbar’s Retaliation and had even spent a brief period backing American blues singer/pianist Champion Jack Dupree. The John Thomas Blues Band appeared at the Crown pub in Twickenham on 11 January 1969. Clayden finds out about the position in The Kool through Jim Park whose parents worked with his.
Sir Robert Peel, photo taken September 2011
The Kool, however, were nearing their end and during a run of shows at the Sir Robert Peel in Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, longstanding front man Jeff Curtis quit the band and was replaced by singer Roger Semon, who’d previously fronted The In-Sekt Ltd and Coconut Ice.
Not long after newcomer Jim Park also departed and subsequently re-joined The All Night Workers. Alan Cottrell took his place on the drum stool.
After leaving the band he had led for nearly a decade, Jeff Curtis reverted to his real name, David Myers, and set up his own restaurant business. He died in tragic circumstances in the late 1990s.
Notable gigs:
19-20 July 1969 – Sir Robert Peel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
7 August 1969 – Sir Robert Peel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
9 August 1969 – Hog’s Back Hotel, Seale, near Farnham, Surrey
12 August 1969 – Sir Robert Peel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
The Kool, December 1970, from left: Brian Hosking, Alan Cottrell, Roger Semon, Dave Carol and (not pictured) Ronnie Clayden Photo courtesy of Brian Hosking
The Kool #6 (September 1969-December 1970)
Roger Semon – vocals Dave Carol – lead guitar, vocals Ronnie Clayden – keyboards, vocals Brian Hosking – bass Alan Cottrell – drums
Despite losing their longstanding frontman, The Kool continued into 1970 but did not record any more material. In early 1971, Hosking and Clayden both left.
Hosking later moved to the Guildford area where he worked with the band Bloodhound. Based on Bournemouth, he is currently working with a reformed version of The All Night Workers. Clayden, meanwhile, subsequently moved to the Camberley/Ascot area on the Surrey/Berkshire border and worked with the band, Snow Leopard. He later moved to the United States where he currently resides.
After bringing back Hosking’s predecessor Ray Brown from Magic Roundabout and carrying on without a keyboard player, the final line up continued as Easy Virtue throughout 1971. During that year, John Frost took over the drum stool from Alan Cottrell.
In 1972, Carol left and was replaced by lead guitarist Frank Torpey, who’d been in the original Sweet. The band then changed name to Crackers. However, in 1973, John Frost left to re-join Carol in a new version of Easy Virtue, which lasted into the mid-1970s. Carol subsequently left the music business and currently runs his own restaurant business in Southwest London.
Ray Brown meanwhile stayed in the music business until the mid-1980s. Crackers were studio winners on Opportunity Knocks in 1976 and recorded material at Abbey Road and Surrey Sound Studios. Three tracks featuring Roger Semon, Ray Brown and Frank Torpey were released under the name Horrorcomic on Lighting Records in 1977 and reached #28 in Melody Maker’s punk charts.
Two further singles were released in 1978 and 1979 with Roger Willis from Capability Brown on drums. All of the single releases, plus six previously unreleased recordings were issued in 2006 by Sanctuary Records on the CD England 77’. Brown later worked with comedy show group The Wallies and The Beasty Grandads before retiring from the music business in September 1988. He currently lives in Surrey.
Notable gigs:
10 September 1969 – Sir Robert Peel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
17 September 1969 – Sir Robert Peel, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
27 September 1969 – Kingston College of Technology, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey with Bobby Kerr Whoopee Band and The Webb
Photo: Kingston & Malden Borough News
5 December 1969 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey
22 December 1969 – Chessington Youth Club, Chessington, Surrey
Photo: Kingston & Malden Borough News
27 December 1969 – Kingston Rowing Club, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
Photo: Kingston & Malden Borough News
20 February 1970 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey
7 March 1970 – Kingston Rowing Club, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
21 March 1970 – Hook Youth Club, Hook, Surrey
4 April 1970 – Claygate Village Hall, Claygate, Surrey
17 April 1970 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey
24 April 1970 – Hook Youth Club, Hook, Surrey
Photo: Kingston & Malden Borough News
22 May 1970 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey
Photo: Kingston & Malden Borough News
17 July 1970 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey
Photo: Kingston & Malden Borough News
4 September 1970 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey
Photo: Kingston & Malden Borough News
23 October 1970 – Excel Bowl, Tolworth, Surrey
A huge thanks goes to Dave Carol, Pete Burt, Brian Hosking, Geoff Coxon, Ronnie Clayden, Ray Brown, Rod Wharton and John Frost. The Kingston and Malden Borough News also proved useful. Many thanks to Brian Hosking, Ray Brown and Ronnie Clayden for providing some of the images. This is dedicated to Pete Burt.
45 releases:
Look at Me, Look at Me/Room at the Top (CBS 203003) 1967 Step Out of Your Mind/Funny (What a Fool a Can Be) (CBS 2865) April 18, 1969 Lovin’/Baby’s Out of Reach (MCA MU 1085) 1969
I have tried to ensure the accuracy of this article but I appreciate that there are likely to be errors and omissions. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who can provide any additions or corrections. Email: Warchive@aol.com
The Nite RidersBeep Beep & the Road Runners with the Night-Riders (sic), November 25, 1966, Millbury Town HallNite Riders at the Firefighter Dance, Nov. 25, 1966 from left: Dave Daniels, Chucky Franczak and Bob Dube “Our bass player didn’t show up that night” – Bob DubeBeep Beep & the Road Runners with the Night Riders (sic), December 10, 1966, Webster Memorial AuditoriumBeep Beep & the Road Runners with the Nightriders (sic), St. Bernard’s Parish Hallat St. Peter’s with WAAB DJ Steve Kane
The Nite Riders were one of many very young bands of the ’60s who cut great records, releasing “She’s Mine / “Tornado” in 1967. “She’s Mine” opens with Chuck Franczak’s solid drum beat. Dave Daniels’ guitar has a fine natural distortion on the low notes and good reverb on the higher strings, which he makes use of for some fast runs and licks between chorus and verse.
“Tornado” shows this band had a handle on the tough instrumental style of a few years earlier, like “Shifting Gears” by fellow Worcester group Beep Beep and the Roadrunners. Through some error the label credits this song simply to “Dave”, probably for his lead playing, though the bass runs and drums are excellent here too.
David Daniels wrote to me about the group and included all the photos and clippings seen here:
Dave Daniels – guitar & vocals Bob Dube – rhythm guitar Bernie Thebado – rhythm guitar on the 45 Dean Johnson – rhythm guitar Bill [surname ?] – bass Tony Agby (Tony Agbay?) – drums until late ’66 Charles “Chucky” Franczak – drums
I started the Nite Riders when I was going to school at Chandler Jr. High, Worcester, Massachusetts. We were “The Nite Riders” (not “Night Riders”).
My dad played guitar and he showed me the basic chords. My family has always been around music, my sister “Snooky” (she worked at WORC late 50’s) was in charge most times of making contact and setting up gigs for the stars in and around Worcester. She became real good friends with Bobby Darin, he had been to the house many times. My mom would be making dinners for who ever was in town. So I grew up knowing a lot of famous folks.
The very first Nite Rider gig was a bar on Main St., Worcester, called the New Yorker. We made a $10 bill each and free cokes and chips. My dad who drove for the band in the beginning also got free drinks and $25 go figure. We found out real soon after the first set that this was a gay bar – remember we were 13 to 15 years old, we said “a what bar?”
We met Beep Beep and the Roadrunners when we had Tony Agby as drummer. He showed up with the “Roadrunners” (they were older than us) and boy we thought they were so cool with their full length double breasted dark blue “P” coats. They came to volunteer their time and help us learn how to improve our sound, and WOW! they were already professionals. Tony’s dad was our first manager.
After that is seemed we were always playing the same gigs together, I really had a great time back then. We were all age range 13 to 15 and the Road Runners were our idols. It was so cool that they had two drummers. We played most every place they played, Tony Agbie (spelling?) was our drummer and his dad Tony Sr was manager for the Road Runners.
The band really kicked off after winning a battle of the bands contest sponsored by WORC radio station and winning a chance to record a single, “She’s Mine” / “Tornado”. WORC paid for the session. It was recorded at Hill’s Sound Studio on Chandler St. in Worcester. Hill’s Studio was an old house made into a recording studio, they mostly recorded gospel groups. “Tornado” came about from a combination of the Ventures, Buck Owens, Chuck Barry, and maybe a little bit of “Shifting Gears” from the Beeps, but I think mostly from Danny & the Juniors, good friends of my sister Snooky especially Frankie.
Bernie [Thibodeau?] never played anywhere with us, he really wasn’t a guitar player. I showed him the chords so he could be on the record. You will also see “Hassett” as one of the writers (not). They were my friends and wanted to be involved with band, so I put there names on the record.
We got lots of airplay and loads of offers to play even in New Hampshire. “She’s Mine was #11 on the WORC request charts, July 1, 1967 (I think we had help). We sold our first 500 copies pretty quick mostly at Woolworths and another record store on Pleasant St. in Worcester. We also sold them at the concerts. We ordered another 500 on our dime this time but sales slowed down and we had like maybe 300 left but don’t know what ever happened to them.
The Nite Riders – three notches above Beep Beep & the Road Runners’ second single, WORC, August 25, 1967
The Nite Riders had two drummers Tony Agby and then 13 year old Chuckie Franczack, but Tony’s dad still stayed on as our manager.
Later on after the record in ’67 the drummer’s Mom bought a 1959 black hearse and 1960 black limo. Chuck’s mom would drive us to concerts and other gigs in a full chauffeur outfit and we all had black pants with white shirts and gold vests boy we thought we had made the big time.
Chuckie died at age 18 … drugs, he was a great drummer. Dean died in a motor cycle crash I heard. I would love to know if any folks from Worcester have any pictures or stories of The Nite Riders.
Nite Riders with Davey Daniels, November 9, 1967 Lucia’s Restaurant’s Peacock LoungeAt Elm Park, clockwise from bottom left: David, Bill, Dean and ChuckyCharles W. Franczak, 14-year old drummer …
The band broke up 1968 and I started a country-rock band “Dave Daniels and US.” When I was 19 years old, the band was playing a bar called Longo’s lounge and there was a big write up about me. Well some goodie goodie complained about an under age kid playing in a bar. I’d been playing bars since I was 13, even the police knew it, but always looked the other way. Well they couldn’t look away this time and I was banned from playing in bars.We fought it and even the Mayor was on my side. There was a town hall meeting and a council chamber meeting and up to 600 people showed up on my behalf. I won and there was an age ruling change for musicians as long as they did not drink and were accompanied by an adult. Until then many groups with minors could not work certain gigs. There was an article with the Cowsills and their trouble with playing certain clubs and in it they mention my case in the article paving the way for other young musicians.
Dave Daniels and US stayed together till 1971. We were to play Le Club International in Fort Lauderdale Florida, and while on the road some how the three cars got separated and the organ player and me wound up in Jacksonville where my car broke down. The organ player Rich went back to Worcester and I stayed and worked with a country band in Jacksonville.
One night some musicians came in and asked if I wanted to go on the road with a well known country singer Claude King (“Wolverton Mountain”) so I moved to Shreveport La. in 1973 and have been here since. We were called the Nashville Knights and then changed to “The Cotton Dan Band”. Our latest CD Claude King Live! can be found almost anywhere on the net.
The best thing I did (not the biggest) was my parents always wished I would be famous enough to play The Wheeling Jamboree WWVA, Wheeling West Virginia. Mom and Dad used to listen to that show every Sat. night and when I was a kid I told them I would be on that show one day. Claude King made it happen. He booked it February 1983 and it was recorded live. On the second half, not recorded but aired, he had me do two songs on his time and dedicated that section of the show to my parents in Worcester MA. Claude King is the best!
Tell Ronnie and the guys of the Beep’s David remembers them and hopes they are all well!
How many groups have a plug from a Filipino dictator on the back cover of their album?
“‘Your theme and vision are identical with mine. The future of Asia is in your hands. Go out and give it to the continent.’ – Fernand [sic] Marcos, President of the Phillipines”.
Up With People’s “Sing-Out 65” tour of Asia inspired the creation of Sing-Out Asia. The Sing-Out Asia group seems to be primarily Japanese with a number of Filipinos.
This album is credited to the United Sound, though only musical director Takao Nanri is named. In 1966 Nanri had a light pop group called the Village Singers. The liner notes say he resigned from the group to direct Sing-Out Asia.
Not surprisingly, this record repeats the Up With People formula of cheery, vacant songs sung in chorus, though the stiff accented English provides a twist. It would be forgettable, even offensive to people with any musical sense, except for one track, “Isn’t There Something”, which throws a good rock backing behind the chipper harmonies.
Sing-Out Asia actually made a lengthy tour of the U.S. in 1968, probably in conjunction with the release of this record, which is almost certainly a U.S. pressing [deadwax: stamped “H”, stamped “1001” etched “(stereo)”]. Some photos and recollections of the tour were at soa1968.multiply.com (website defunct as of 2013).
As an organization it seems to be still active, with recent tours of Indonesia and Japan.
The only mention I could find of Takao’s later career is production work with Kitaro on his LP “Ten Kai / Astral Trip” and the Manhunter soundtrack, though that name is sometimes listed as Taka Nanri – so is it the same person?
I haven’t been able to afford an original Decca pressing of the soundtrack LP to Gonk’s Go Beat, so I’m making do with this weird Taiwan (I think) issue instead. Condition isn’t the best, so you’ll have to put up with one couple skip and some surface noise. It’s worth any trouble to hear the Graham Bond Organisation’s “Harmonica”. If you watch the film you’ll see Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and even John McLaughlin in that scene besides Bond.
The album is only half good. The first side is almost solid, but the second side is weak, and I’m not going to put all the tracks up here, they’re just not worth your time. There are too many light pop songs by Alan David, Barbara Brown, Perry Ford and Dougie Robinson. The ‘Titan Studio Orchestra’ under Robert Richards transcends ordinary big-band material only on the excellent “Burn Up”.
Lulu and the Luvers have a couple good songs, especially “Choc Ice”.
The Long and the Short’s “Take This Train” is also excellent – that was a band I wanted to know more about and Michael Lynch filled me in:
Bob McKinlay: vocals, guitar Bob Taylor: bass Les Saint Stuart: guitar Gerry Watt: piano Alan Grindley: drums…and one of the drummers in the big drumming scene.
They were from Ashton and had two minor UK hits (like the 30s or 40s) in 1964: “The Letter” (obviously not the Box Tops song) and “Choc Ice” (the song Lulu does in the film). But they’re probably best know for having Bob McKinlay who later made a name for himself as a British country singer.
The “Drum Battle” is crucial. In the movie there are nine players, (eight of which shown on the cover here), but for some reason this studio recording only seems to credit Alan Grinley, Ronnie Verrell (later drummed as Animal in the Muppets), Andy White (session drummer on “Love Me Do”), and Ronnie Stephenson (pop and jazz drummer). The others were Ginger Baker, Bobby Graham (top UK session drummer), John Kearns (“drummer of the Vaqueros of Lancaster – they had an instrumental single called ‘Echo’ in I think 1964” – Michael Lynch), and Bobby Richards plus one other I don’t have a name for yet. Besides the two groups of four drummers that are facing each other, there’s a ninth in the background in some of the shots in the clip from the film.
I mistakenly thought Arthur Mullard was the ninth drummer, but reader Geoff S. pointed out to me that “he was a comic actor renowned for playing dumb heavies and he is the guy wearing the uniform and white headphones who is giving the orders in this scene”.
Drum Battle Musical Director for the soundtrack is Mike Leander. I kind of like the country-folk song “Broken Pieces” by Elaine and Derek (written by the film’s director, Robert Hartford-Davis). This duo were twins, Elaine and Derek Thompson.
Overall I liked the movie despite the inane plot. The musical finale at the end was visually cool but sonically disappointing except for the Nashville Teens doing “Poor Boy”.
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
I have to thank the Cavaliers’ drummer Charlie Davis for sending these songs to me and giving me the info about the group below:
When the Chargers decided to record our first single, we already had “Taxi” on our playlist. But we needed a “B” side. So I remembered Carl’s song. I played it, and everybody liked it right away … and we ended up recording it. I never gave Carl credit for it though, and always felt a little bad. I didn’t see him much so I never knew if he was upset about me claiming his song. I did refine the lyrics but the music is all Carl.
