The Riviera label was created for the Riveras, who scored with their first single, “California Sun”, released in October ’63 and hitting the national top ten in early ’64. Bill Dobslaw owned the label and also managed the Rivieras, occasionally singing with them as well.
Besides the Rivieras, the label released one 45 each by the Kastaways and the Sigma Five, one and the same group according to Otto Nuss of the Rivieras, who recalled in an interview with Kicks magazine that the original name of the group was the Sigma 5. This group was from La Porte, Indiana, a few miles west of South Bend. The Sigma Five’s keyboardist uses the electric piano instead of the organ sound that the Rivieras made popular.
“Comin’ Down” is a cool adaption of “Money”, credited to their producer Bill Dobslaw. The neat instrumental “Pop Top” was written by Banicki, who also wrote the Kastaways b-side “You Never Say”, which I haven’t heard yet.
Denny Laine (lead guitar, vocals) Binky McKenzie (bass) Wilhelm Martin (violin) John Stein (violin) Clive Gillinson (cello) Chris Van Campen (cello) Viv Prince (drums)
1966
October (8) After recording the single Life’s Not Life, Laine (b. Brian Frederick Hines, 29 October 1944, Tyseley, Birmingham, England) leaves The Moody Blues to pursue a new musical project. He briefly forms a trio but the project fails to gel as the others don’t share his new musical ideas.
December Laine forms an amplified string quartet with classical musicians Gillinson, Martin, Stein and Van Campen (who are all ex-Royal Academy), and a backing band featuring ex-Pretty Things and Bunch Of Fives drummer Prince (b. 9 August 1944, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England) and bass player Binky McKenzie, who has worked with future Crazy World of Arthur Brown keyboard player Vincent Crane and blues legend, Alexis Korner.
Denny Laine, 1967
1967
January (21)Melody Maker announces that Laine is recording for Decca’s new ‘progressive’ label Deram. Laine will continue to work under the guidance of producer Denny Cordell, who oversaw The Moody Blues’ recordings.
April(14) His debut single Say You Don’t Mind is released but fails to chart despite being aired on John Peel’s popular independent radio show Top Gear. The song’s advanced nature is confirmed when ex-Zombies lead vocalist Colin Blunstone takes a similar version to UK #15 in 1972. Disc magazine states that Laine has been commissioned to write an Italian film score and is expected in Milan in July for 10 days to supervise the recording. The project, however, is later shelved.
(29)Laine is a compere at the 14-hour Technicolour Dream concert at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Dutch sleeve with b-side title missing the definite article.
May(3) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band is supported by Robert Plant’s Band of Joy at Cedar Club, Birmingham.
Photo: Birmingham Evening Mail
(6) The band plays two gigs in Nottingham at the Beachcomber Club and the Britannia Rowing Club.
(7) The group’s debut performance at London’s Saville Theatre (which was originally scheduled for 3 May) is cancelled when Laine pulls out one hour before the show. According to Melody Maker, bass player Binky McKenzie leaves three days before the show and Laine is unable to get a replacement fully rehearsed in time. Shortly afterwards, Laine reorganises the group, bringing in new bass player Cliff Barton, and Angus Anderson (violin) and Haflidi Halynisson (cello), who replace Martin and Van Campen.
(10) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band return to the Cedar Club for another show supported by Robert Plant’s Band of Joy
Photo: Melody Maker
(19) His new group makes its debut at London’s Tiles Club on a double bill with his former band, The Moody Blues. (Disc magazine announces that Laine is due to do a six-day promo tour of the US from 24-30 May, but it is subsequently cancelled.)
(26)Say You Don’t Mind is given an American release.
Photo: Mirabelle, 24 June 1967 issue
June (4)The band finally plays at London’s Saville Theatre alongside Procol Harum, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and others. (According to Melody Maker, the group performs in Paris on 7-8 June and then travels to Brussels for three days of concerts and TV performances. However, this seems unlikely as a later issue claims that the group begins work on a new single and a debut album on 7 June.)
Photo: Melody Maker
(8) The group plays at the Marquee with The Pyramid (featuring future Fairport Convention singer Ian Matthews and several soon-to-be Denny Laine collaborators).
(10) Laine’s band is booked to play at the Birdcage in Portsmouth, Hants but doesn’t show up.
Denny Laine in Mirabelle, June 1967
(19) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band makes its debut BBC radio appearance on the Light Programme.
Photo: Melody Maker
(23)The band appears the Electric Garden in Covent Garden, central London with Apostolic Intervention.
(24)Denny Laine’s Electric String Band appear at the Swan, Yardley with The Maddening Crowd
Photo: Birmingham Evening Mail
July Laine cuts the ambitious track Why Did You Come? with new bass player Andy Leigh, which producer Denny Cordell subsequently holds back because he feels that it is “too subtle”. (A Melody Maker article from this time, however, claims that the master tape goes missing.) Leigh has previously worked with Denny Cordell’s “Studio G” project, which has recorded two tracks for a promotional EP circulated in tiny quantities to British television and film production companies. The project also features organist/pianist Mike Lease who is brought in by Cordell to arrange strings for one of Laine’s tracks and drummer Peter Trout, who joins the Electric String Band later in the year.
Denny Laine rehearsing the string band
(13) The new line up with Leigh performs at Blaises, Kensington.
(14) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band make an appearance at London’s UFO club, where they perform Say You Don’t Mind, Ask The People, Why Did You Come?, Catherine’s Wheel and The Machine Song, which is never released.
(29) Laine’s group finally appears at the Birdcage in Portsmouth, Hants.
August (5) The outfit performs at Matlock Bath Pavilion, Matlock, Derbyshire with Soul Concern.
(13) The band plays at the Windsor Blues and Jazz Festival, held at Windsor racecourse alongside Cream, Pentangle, Blossom Toes, Jeff Beck and many others.
Photo: Mirabelle, 12 August 1967 issue
(26) Laine arrives at his manager Brian Epstein’s Belgravia home hoping to arrange further work; little does he know that Epstein is dead inside from a drug overdose.
(26-28)The group takes part in a three-day rock festival held at Woburn Abbey with Eric Burdon & The Animals, The Jeff Beck Group, The Small Faces and others.
(27) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band appears at Saville Theatre with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Tomorrow, Georgie Fame, Eric Burdon & The Animals, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Dantalion’s Chariot and others.
Denny Laine, summer 1967, Fabulous 208
September (8) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band perform at the Marquee with The Gods.
(9) The band performs at the UFO at the Roundhouse, London alongside The Soft Machine, The Pink Floyd, Tomorrow and The Move.
(23) Laine’s group appear at the Middle Earth club, King Street, Covent Garden alongside T-Rex and Picadilly Line. Shortly afterwards, Viv Prince departs and forms the short-lived VAMP. Laine recruits new drummer Peter Trout, who has previously worked with Andy Leigh in the “Studio G” band and appeared on sessions for Pyramid’s single Summer of Last Year. The new line up rehearses but the string quartet (with the exception of John Stein) leaves for a tour of Russia. Laine adds new cello player Nigel Pinkett alongside Leigh, Proud and Stein.
October (4) Laine’s band records its debut John Peel radio session, recording Say You Don’t Mind, Why Did You Come?, Catherine’s Wheel, Ask The People, a cover of Tim Hardin’s Reason To Believe and a recent composition. The session is broadcast on 8 October. Peter Trout leaves and reunites with Denny Laine in 1971.
(6) The band, with a new drummer, performs at the UFO, the Roundhouse, London with Tim Rose.
Photo: Melody Maker
(15) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band return to the Middle Earth.
NovemberMelody Maker announces that a Denny Laine album, containing three Laine compositions and a new single are scheduled for a Christmas release. (The former is subsequently cancelled.)
(17) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band appears at Nottingham Technical College, Nottingham with Deuce Coup.
(18) The group performs at the Middle Earth with Alexis Korner and Pegasus.
December (6)The band joins Fleetwood Mac and Warren Davies for a show at the Royal Hotel, Woburn Place, London.
(16) Laine’s band plays at the Britannia Boat Club, Nottingham.
1968
January (12)Laine releases his second single, the equally adventurous Too Much In Love which also fails to chart. (Melody Maker states that an album featuring nine Laine compositions is scheduled for release in early February and that a 10-day tour of Sweden commencing on 25 January is imminent. However, neither transpires).
(24) Denny Laine’s Electric String Band make a second Peel session appearance, recording Catherine’s Wheel, The Machine Song, Too Much In Love, and two new songs, Masks and the folk standard, Sally Free and Easy. The session is broadcast on 28 January.
February Laine disbands the group and concentrates on solo work on London’s folk circuit. After a few months, he moves to Spain and lives a gypsy lifestyle. Leigh briefly joins Spooky Tooth (appearing on their Ceremony album), before releasing a solo album on Polydor in early 1970. He will then become an integral part of Ian Matthews’s Southern Comfort.
May Moving to Spain, Laine stops first in the Canary Islands where he meets American draft dodger, Charlie Jackson, a flute player who has come to Spain to learn flamenco guitar. The pair become friends and busk for six months before moving to Moron de La Frontera, a small town near Seville. While there, Laine learns flamenco guitar phrases from players from all over the world and is influenced by local star, Diego del Eastor.
October Returning to Britain, Laine jams with the ad-hoc outfit Balls, which features John Lennon and Rolling Stone Brian Jones. The band reportedly records a song titled Go To The Mountains for Apple but it is never released. Around this time, he reunites with Mike Lease, who is working with John Martyn’s wife, singer/songwriter, Beverly Kutner. Lease agrees to help Laine audition bass players and drummers for a new version of Balls but despite finding suitable musicians, including drummer Peter Phillips, the line up never settles.
1969
February Laine participates in an early Blind Faith session. He is, however, in the process of forming a new line-up of Balls with Trevor Burton of The Move and decides not to join the outfit. He will later join Ginger Baker in Airforce in the spring of the following year on an ad-hoc basis.
1970
August(5-6) Having contributed to Ginger Baker’s Airforce album and spent the last 18 months rehearsing material with Trevor Burton and ex-Plastic Ono drummer Alan White at a country house in Cholesbury, Bucks, Balls are scheduled to make their live debut at the ‘Popanalia’ festival in Nice, France. The group misses the concert, although their lone single, Burton’s Fight For My Country backed by Laine and White’s Janie Slow Down is rush released in France by Byg Records. (The group is rumoured to have recorded 12 tracks for an album, although they are currently without a record contract. The sessions include contributions from ex-Family member Ric Grech.)
October(18)Balls’ debut UK live performance at the Lyceum in London fails to materialise. (The group was planning to record the show for a possible live album, but internal problems result in a cancellation of the show.) White subsequently leaves and Laine and Burton perform an acoustic set at their next show, held at Trent Poly, Nottingham. Shortly afterwards ex-Spooky Tooth drummer Mike Kellie agrees to join while singer Steve Gibbons is also added. The new line-up vows to undertake a UK tour in January 1971, but by then the group has broken up. Fight For My Country is released by Wizzard Records but fails to chart.
1971
July Laine forms a new group with bass player Steve Thompson, guitarist John Moorshead and drummer Peter Trout, who worked with The Electric String Band and rehearses material. However, Laine abandons the project when Paul McCartney invites the singer to join Wings in August.
Sources:
Bacon, Tony. ‘London Live’, Balafon Books, 1999. Black, Johnny. ‘Blind Faith’. Mojo Magazine, July 1996. Clayson, Alan. ‘Denny Laine’. Record Collector, #191, July 1995. Clayson, Alan. Call Up The Groups – The Golden Age Of British Beat 1962-67. Blandford Press, 1985. Dellar, Fred. ‘Time Machine’. Mojo Magazine, August 1997. Doggett, Peter and Reed, John. ‘Looking Back at June 1968’. Record Collector #166, June 1993. Gardner, Ken. Peel Sessions. BBC Books, 2007. Hounsome, Terry. Rock Record #6. Record Researcher Publications, 1994. King, Michael. Wrong Movements – The Robert Wyatt Story. SAF Publishing, 1994. Laine, Denny. Denny Laine’s Guitar Book, Whizzard Press, 1979. Paytress, Mark. ‘Reading Festival’. Record Collector, #216, August 1997. Reed, John and Pelletier, Paul. ‘Middle Earth’. Record Collector, April 1996. Rees, Dafydd and Crampton, Luke. Guinness Book Of Rock Stars, 2nd Edition. Guinness Publishing Ltd, 1989. Wells, David. ‘Going Underground’. Record Collector, #216, August 1997.
Disc, April 15, 1967, page 4, May 6, 1967, page 6 and June 17, 1967, page 13.
Melody Maker, January 21, 1967, page 5; April 22, 1967, page 5; April 29, 1967, page 4; May 13, 1967, page 4; May 20, 1967, page 5; July 1, 1967, page 7; July 8, 1967, page 4; July 15, 1967, page 4; September 23, 1967, page 28; October 7, 1967, page 6; November 4, 1967, page 4; November 18, 1967, page 20; December 2, 1967, page 24; January 6, 1968, page 3; August 1, 1970, page 4; August 8, 1970, page 29; September 26, 1970, page 5; October 24, 1970, page 4 and November 14, 1970, page 14.
The Birmingham Evening Mail.
Many thanks to Peter Trout and Mike Lease for their memories of working with Denny Laine. Thanks also to Dave Allen.
The Velvet Haze, from left: Art Meushaw, Marty Martinez, Roger Bullock, Jim Jost, Rick Stone (obscured by speaker cabinet), and Mike Mullins, at Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, VA (circa 1970)
The Velvet Haze came from Alexandria, Virginia. The band started out as the Arratics in 1965. Members were Jim Jost vocals, Mike Mullins guitar, Ron Collins guitar, Dave Padgett bass and Steve Larrick drums. In 1966 they changed their name to the Velvet Haze.
The next year they had a major lineup change. Rhythm guitarist Roger Bullock told me that “Mike Mullins started the Velvet Haze and I joined in what could be termed phase II, i.e., Mike Mullins and Jim Jost remained from the original band, and Art Meushaw, Tom Futch and I joined the band — and a short time later we added Butch Martinez as a second vocalist.”
The Haze were known for playing some rough venues and it shows up in the heavy, scuzzy sound of their only 45, from 1968. The gem is the insane psychedelia of “Last Day on Earth”, an original by Mullins & Marty “Butch” Martinez. A drill-to-the-skull fuzz riff, garbled vocals, sharp solo and a cool drum break by Tom Futch, who is thrashing away throughout the song. The other side is a straight blues, “Bad Women”, written by Bullock and Martinez.
Members on the recording were:
Marty “Butch” Martinez – vocals Jim Jost – vocals Mike Mullins – lead guitar Roger Bullock – guitar Art Meushaw – bass Tom Futch – drums
Roger Bullock commented below in detail about “Last Day on Earth”, so I’ll repeat some of his comments here:
Mike Mullins wrote and played the lead guitar riff. “Last Day on Earth” was literally composed in Tom Futch’s garage.
Mike Mullins was playing a Gibson ES-335 through a Fender Super Reverb and standard, off-the-shelf, Maestro “Fuzz-Tone”. I played rhythm also using a Gibson ES-335, but played through a Fender Band-Master amp. Art Meushaw played a Gibson EB-0 Bass through a Fender Bassman amp.
The label has producer James Wilson’s Lorton, VA address. I’ve read that this was recorded at Wilson’s home studio in Mount Rainier, MD, however Roger Bullock remembers it differently:
The recording was done at the Roy D. Homer studios in Clinton, Maryland. Roy was a superb engineer in all respects with top end gear. James Wilson, our producer arranged the recording sessions. James was a disc jockey on WPIK/WXRA country radio station from Alexandria, Virginia. We provided the music for his cover release [as James Wilson & the Lorton Boys] of Joe South’s “The Games People Play” b/w the traditional “Worried Man Blues”.
Sometime after the single, Rick Stone took over as drummer until the band broke up in 1971. They reunited around 1975 for a show with Rick Stone on drums, at a local Alexandria, VA community center. Recordings of “Grizzly Bear” and “Let It Be Me” come from that show.
Several members continued in music in various combos right up to today. They had a website at velvethaze.com, but that is now defunct.
Thank you to Mike Mullins for sending in the photo at the top of the page.
Does anyone have photos of the group or one of their posters?
You could hardly find a 45 that defines ‘amateur’ better than this one by the Riviaires. That’s not to criticize – this duo of Wattsy Watts and Bill Latham are well-rehearsed. Sure the singing is off key and nasal, but the drummer’s precise and they don’t lack self-confidence!
I assume that’s ‘Wattsy’ on amplified acoustic guitar and vocals because he’s also the songwriter for both sides, which would make Bill the percussionist, but I could be wrong. They were maybe pushing fourteen at the time of recording. Released on Steck Records, Oxford, Mississippi.
I’m not sure how they got their timing info for the labels – “Bad Girl” is listed at 2:48 but runs close to 30 seconds less, and “Sticks” is clocked at 2:51, but actually runs only 1:39. Maybe we’re meant to play the single at some in-between speed, like 37.5 rpm!
Before the Night Mist were the Shags, from left: Terry Ottinger, Frankie Gorman (on drums), Bobby Burgess and Mike McMahan
The Night Mist came from Newport, Tennessee, east of Knoxville. A tremendous distortion sound distinguishes the psychedelic “Last Night”. The drummer pounds the toms throughout and the lead solo is cutting. Very few people have heard the flip side, the slow and dense ”Janie” which has more good fuzz and some wah as well. A promising solo gets cut by the fade out. Both sides were written by Michael McMahan.
Mike Markesich tells me it was released in December 1967, much earlier than I thought.
The Night Mist recorded at Vibrant Studios, which I thought was in either Cosby, TN, south of Newport, or Crosby, TN, half an hour north of Newport on the Dixie Highway (Rte 32, Interstate 25E) along Cherokee Lake, but Terry Ottinger says the studio was in Newport.
Above and below: the Shags
I had very little info on the Night Mist until I heard from bassist Terry Ottinger, who sent me the photos included here. As it turns out, the Night Mist were originally known as the Shags:
This 1965 photo [above] shows the original members of the Shags practicing in the basement of Terry’s home in Newport, Tennessee. Derry James on the sax and vocal, Terry Ottinger playing bass and vocal and Mike McMahan playing rhythm & lead guitar and singing lead.
The Shags of Newport, Tennessee started with original members:
Derry James (sax, lead vocals, drums) Terry Ottinger (bass and vocal) Mike McMahan (lead singer and guitar) Frankie Gorman (drums and vocal)
Later Bobby Burgess (lead guitar and vocal) and Jerry Burgess (keyboard and vocal) became members.
We played school proms, parties, dances, fairs, clubs and shows from 1965 through 1968. Competing twice, 1966 and 1967 for the Tennessee State Championship, the Battle of the Bands finals held in Oakridge, Tennessee.
Our managers were Gene “Wompo” Laymen; Frank Gorman Sr. and Dennis Burgess; Clinton Francis; and our last managers, Matt Osborne and Jack Brockwell, for both the Shags and Night Mist.
The Night Mist members were as follows (“M-F-T Record”):
Mike McMahan (lead singer and lead guitar) Frankie Gorman (drums and vocal) Terry Ottinger (bass guitar and vocal)
Terry Ottinger, May 2011
The Night Mist, from left: Mike McMahan, Frankie Gorman and Terry Ottinger photo courtesy of Terry Ottinger
Three schoolgirls, Serene Wee (13), her sister, Merlina Wee (12), and their cousin, Bernedette De Souza (12), won the Radio and Television Singapura Talentime contest for 1967/68 and as part of their prize got to record two EPs with RCA.
On the first EP they recorded the song that won them the prize, “I Believe”, and also “Lace Covered Window”, “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”, and “Never My Love”, the latter song made famous by The Association, but recorded by many other artists. The Tidbits were backed on this EP by popular Singapore band The Trailers.
On their second EP, also in 1968, The Tidbits were backed by The X’periment and then went back to being schoolgirls.
Left to right: Fred Olson, Marty Tyron, James Hendricks and Mike TaniFeature in Teenset
The little known folk-rock group The Lamp of Childhood was the brainchild of singer/songwriter and guitarist James Hendricks (b. 10 February 1940, Atkinson, Nebraska), who organised the original band around June 1966 after working with The Big Three and The Mugwumps. Beside Hendricks, the group also boasted Portland, Oregon, born lead guitarist Fred Olson and singer/songwriter and Hawaiian born rhythm guitarist Mike Tani (aka Michael Takamastu), who were both relative newcomers to the scene. Indeed, it was the group’s drummer, Billy Mundi (b. 25 September 1942, San Francisco), who was by far the most seasoned member, having studied music at UCLA during the late 1950s and performed with a number of noteworthy groups prior to completing the band during the summer. His musical credentials included spells with future Byrd Skip Battin’s group and as a member of another intriguing folk-rock ensemble, Mastin & Brewer.
It was Hendricks’ connections, however, which led to a deal with Dunhill Records and the release of a handful of singles over the next year. Hendricks’ wife was none other that Cass Elliot of The Mamas & The Papas, who were also represented by Dunhill, and the fact that she and singer Denny Doherty had recorded with Hendricks in The Mugwumps probably helped to clinch the deal.
To assist the band with its recordings, Dunhill linked The Lamp of Childhood up with English expatriate Andy Wickham and Israeli immigrant and classical pianist Gabriel Mekler, who oversaw the sessions for the group’s three singles and numerous unreleased recordings. “The story goes that when [Mekler] arrived in Los Angeles he finds his way to Dunhill Records and tells them he can produce a hit record,” says Jim “Harpo” Valley, who got to know the group while he was playing with Paul Revere and The Raiders. “He had never produced before and wasn’t that familiar with rock ‘n’ roll or pop music. They give him the opportunity with a new group called The Lamp of Childhood.”
Mekler’s relationship with the group was somewhat similar to that of Brian Wilson in The Beach Boys, joining The Lamp of Childhood in the studio but not participating in live work. Mekler’s piano playing was employed for several tracks and towards the end of the group’s life he also assisted with the song writing.
Little is known about the sessions that produced the band’s three obscure singles, but what can be gleaned is that Mundi stayed around long enough to appear on The Lamp of Childhood’s debut release, a low-key reading of Donovan’s “Season of The Witch” backed by Tani, Hendricks and Olson’s “You Can’t Blame Me”. It was an impressive start but the single’s failure to register on the charts that September probably played a part in Mundi’s decision to defect the following month to join Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention (and later Rhinoceros and numerous sessions).
The group carried on, working largely in the studio, and only picking up a drummer for the odd live performance. As Jim Valley suggests, the trio of Hendricks, Olson and Tani were often assisted in the studio by The Mamas and The Papas session crew, drummer Hal Blaine, pianist Larry Knechtel and bass player Joe Osborn. That at least is his recollections of one session, which he was asked to participate in playing acoustic guitar, alongside a string section.
“At one point during my year with The Raiders, I moved into an old mansion that used to belong to Greta Garbo. In the downstairs apartment lived Fred Olson [and] we became pals,” explains Valley, who was approached to join the band soon afterwards. “Gabriel and James asked me to record on one of the sessions. My time with The Raiders was becoming strained, my tunes weren’t being recorded and the group just wasn’t evolving as I felt they would or could.
“My song writing was changing due in part to my association with musicians like Gabriel and Jackson Browne and Pamela Polland, who was with a group called The Gentle Soul,” continues Valley. “So one night, Gabriel and James came over to the house very excited. They had decided that I should leave The Raiders and join The Lamp of Childhood. It felt like the right thing at the right time.”
As it was not everyone was happy about the decision to approach The Raiders’ lead guitarist. “The rest of the group wasn’t in on the decision and as it turned out Andy Wickham, the publicist from Dunhill didn’t agree with the move. He felt that Harpo from The Raiders was not the right move. So it never happened but it did show me I was ready to leave The Raiders,” says Valley.
Despite his fleeting relationship with the band, the guitarist has fond memories of the Lamp’s songs. “‘Misty Morning Eyes’ and ‘I Look For Your Smile In A Thousand Faces’ were the first recordings I heard from the group. Since 1967, I’ve never heard those songs again. I’d love to hear [them] again. Their voices were like angels and I was knocked out with their arrangements.”
Of the two songs listed, “Thousand Faces”, to give it its correct title, is a co-write between Mike Tani, James Hendricks and Gabriel Mekler. The author of the other title, however, is not known unless of course this is just a working title. The BMI, which represents, songwriters, composers and publishers, lists a number of songs written by the band’s members during this period but whether these were meant for The Lamp of Childhood and were recorded in the studio remains a mystery (and Hendricks cannot remember any titles).
To start with Mike Tani and James Hendricks co-wrote one song called “Low Down Woman” and also collaborated on another entitled “Blues for Django” with guitarist Eric Hord. The BMI lists a number of Mike Tani compositions with interesting titles like “Maybe Again”, “Prayer for Julian” and “Sad Sad Memories” but whether these songs were solo tracks, group recordings or meant for other artists is not clear.
As it was, none of the above tracks turned up on the group’s second Dunhill single, released in March 1967. Gabriel Mekler penned the A-side – “First Time, Last Time” backed by Tani, Hendricks and Olson’s “Two O’Clock In The Morning”. Once again, however, the single failed to make the charts despite both being strong numbers and coming in an attractive picture sleeve. The single, incidentally, featured new member, bass player Marty Tryon from The Purple Gang who added a fourth voice to the mix.
Back in the studio, The Lamp of Childhood recorded one final track, and arguably their finest moment on disc, “No More Running Around”, a co-write by Mekler, Hendricks and Tani, which features some fantastic piano flourishes courtesy of Mekler. Coupled with a re-release of “Two O’Clock In The Morning” on the A-side, the single was issued later that summer by which point the band had undergone a major upheaval, resulting in James Hendricks’ departure for a solo career. Like the other singles, “No More Running Around” fell on deaf ears.
In his place, Tani, Olson and Tryon recruited guitarist and singer John York (b. 3 August 1946, White Plains, New York), who had previously worked with The Bees, The Sir Douglas Quintet and The Gene Clark Group and would subsequently tour with The Mamas & The Papas and record with Johnny Rivers before joining The Byrds in late 1968 for two albums. “I joined The Lamp of Childhood after James Hendricks left,” explains York. “His girlfriend [sic] Cass Elliot wanted the band destroyed because she was mad at James and possibly because it might have been a threat to The Mamas & The Papas.”
The new line up did only one gig with a borrowed drummer at the Mount Tamalpais Festival in San Francisco in mid-June 1967. “I do remember vividly our gig at the 1967 Mount Tamalpais Music Festival,” recalled Tryon in an interview in Misty Lane issue 19. “We had to follow The Doors our first afternoon. The last song of their set was ‘Light My Fire’. We played as the people walked out. Our second afternoon, we followed The Fifth Dimension. Their last song was ‘Up Up and Away’ as skydivers with purple trails parachuted into the venue. We played as the people walked out. Talk about feeling invisible. We knew that feeling.”
According to John York, the plan was that the group would erase James Hendricks’ vocal parts on the unreleased songs and he would sing them. Apparently that was not enough for Cass and “Dunhill ‘froze’ the band for seven years.” James Hendricks, however, denies that there was any friction with Elliot and the group.
Whatever the case, the individual members went their separate ways, although Mike Tani and John York did reunite years later to work as a duo act for several years. Marty Tryon meanwhile hooked up with the remnants of John York’s former band, The Bees, now going by the name The WC Fields Electric String Band. After missing out on a chance to join Steppenwolf, he later did sessions for Simon Stokes. He currently works with the Smothers Brothers.
Olson, who moved into session work, appearing on Brewer & Shipley’s Weeds and Mike Bloomfield’s It’s Not Killing Me albums in 1969 and Southern Comfort’s eponymous debut in 1971, sadly died years later from a heroin overdose. Gabriel Mekler sadly is also no longer with us. After the band’s premature demise, he landed on his feet and found the success that he had missed with The Lamp of Childhood in his next project, the multi-million selling Steppenwolf.
As for James Hendricks – he attracted the patronage of singer Johnny Rivers, who expressed an interest in covering the singer/songwriter’s “Summer Rain”. Released as a single, it became a top 20 US smash in January 1968, and Rivers also recorded a number of Hendricks’ compositions for his new album, Rewind. Hendricks later recorded a solo album, produced by Johnny Rivers, with whom he maintained a close working relationship and he continues to record to this day.
In the months that followed The Lamp of Childhood’s demise, one final piece of work emerged on The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s album, Pure Dirt – the previously unreleased Tani, Hendricks and Olson collaboration, “You’re Gonna Get It In The End”. And apart from the inclusion of “No More Running Around” on the Dunhill Records’ sampler, The Penny Arcade, that’s all that’s been heard from a group that promised so much but never achieved its full potential.
Many thanks to James Hendricks, Jim Valley, Brian Hogg, Mike Paxman, John York, Marty Tryon.
The Tills under their new band name, the Yankee Clipper. Clockwise from left: Paul Strasser, Bob Kruse, Bob Fawcett, Ray Jacobs, and Nick Nizich in front center.
Tom Cleary, one of the owners of the Cody label in Chicago sent me these scans of the Tills 45. Tom writes about the Tills:
“A southwest side Chicago group Cody recorded in 1967 at Sound Studios. I met them at a performance and turned the recording element over to my partners. Stu Black, Chicago’s preeminent sound engineer of the day ran the session. They had limited play on radio station WCFL in Chicago. It exists as a DJ copy only.”
Both sides are fantastic upbeat pop. ”One Sided Love” has a siren-like guitar riff, good harmonies, and sharp drumming. “I Remember” is similar with fine vocal arrangements and a very Byrds-like guitar solo.
Either side could have been a hit with a little luck.
I knew nothing else about the group until Bob Kruse commented below. Then in 2021 Ray Jacobs sent in the promotional photo and holiday card seen here, with the band’s new name, the Yankee Clipper.
Members were: Paul Strasser – vocals Ray Jacobs – lead guitar Bob Kruse – rhythm guitar Bob Fawcett – bass Nick Nizich – drums
Ray Jacobs wrote to me:
Started playing along with Bob Kruse in High School rehearsing in his basement 1963/64. A few months later added Bob Fawcett [and] a few drummers that didn’t work out. Paul Strasser then joined the band followed by Nick Nizich.
Bob Fawcett linked us to a manager to book the band and later named the band the Tills, which no-one really liked. We were previously known as The Chosen Few, and the Ragged Edge.
I wrote the songs (copyrighted) as we needed to start moving away from being a cover band. The manager linked us to the people in Cody. We met at a home in Riverside and eventually booked a session at sound studios and got some play on WCFL.
Tills played at various teen clubs i.e. InnMotion, Green Gorilla, The Deep End (Papa Joes) and various school dances, battle-of-the-bands and night clubs in the Chicagoland area and Michigan. [The] band changed its name to Yankee Clipper as advised by manager Michael Degaetano.
Holiday card sent out by Yankee Clipper
Later, personnel left and changed things to the point of breaking up.
I went on to playing Rush Street (thanks to Nick) and various clubs with bands known as Chicago Choir and Rooster. We played throughout Chicago, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan ending in 1987.
Paul went to Colorado. I heard Nick went to Arizona. I know Bob Fawcett was into flying planes as he attended Butler aviation.
Last time I saw Bob Kruse and Nick was in a club called Let It Be on 83rd and Wood, 1970, where they came to see us as the Chicago Choir.
Thanks to Tom for sharing his memories of the Tills and scans of their 45. Special thank you to Bob Kruse for his comments, and to Ray Jacobs for contacting me.
Yankee Clipper holiday card with Ted Augustyn listed as member
Left-right: Jim McDaniels, Mike McCloud, unknown drummer, Sonny Page, Cleo Riley, unknown bassist
Al Collinsworth of the Outcasts wrote this history of the band of his friend Sonny Page, and sent in the fantastic photo above.
Sonny Page and the Triangles represented Lemco Records’ entry into the country music scene. Sonny’s recording of “Big Wheels”, which began with the sound of an 18-wheeler shifting gears as it sped by, received air-play on country radio stations such as WAXU in Lexington, KY and was promoted by Grand Ole Opry and Columbia Records recording star Esco Hankins. The recording included the Triangles and studio musicians Kenny Whalen on guitar and Bill Wasson on bass.
The original Triangles included Sonny page on vocals and guitar, Charles Burgess on steel guitar, Raymond ‘Timber’ Lowery on bass, William Hanshaw on guitar and David Miller on drums. Later, the Triangles added Jim Mcdaniels and Cleo Riley on guitars. Sonny also recorded on the Rem Records label (“The Golden Book” / “Lost City”).
During the 1960s, Sonny and the Triangles played country music shows with such stars as Webb Pierce, Pee Wee King, the Collins sisters and George Morgan. Always a very popular singer in the Lexington area, Sonny worked with the famous 50s star Little Enis and was a regular performer at Lexington’s Zebra Lounge. Sonny also worked at Martins where JD Crowe first started in Lexington.
Sonny retired from professional music and had a very respectable career as a peace officer. He was a lieutenant with the Fayette County Police, a Fayette County Deputy sheriff, a Fayette County deputy jailer and a bailiff for several high profile Fayette County judges.
Sonny is now happily married and living peacefully in Lexington, KY. Sonny told me that like many of us 60s era musicians, he too had lots of fun and has always had a genuine love of music.
The Chevrons, Jerry Vanderwal Wal at front leftThe Chevrons V came from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Their first 45 from January 1966 has a sharp bluesy lament, “I Lost You Today” on one side and the nonsensical chant “Niat Pac Lavram” (read it backwards) on the flip. Total time for both songs clocks in at a succinct 3:40! Bands today should consider that approach to recording.
It was considered a rare 45 until 2008 when fourteen or more copies turned up. No song writing or production credits on the label, but the same band released a later 45 as simply ‘The Chevrons’ on Fenton, “Hey Little Teaser” / “What Everyone Wants”.
There’s also another single as the Chevrons on the Dawn label, “Seeing You” (B. Goote, pub. by Nigel Music) / “My Mind’s Made Up”, produced by Goote and J. Williams, product of Midwestern Sound Productions, engineer Denny Cuson, “label by John Stevens”.
Patrick Strong wrote to me that he played guitar on “What Everyone Wants”. I’m not sure if he was in the group for the first 45.
I knew almost nothing about the band until Bob Goote commented below that I’ll repeat here:
I was a founding member of the Chevrons. The members of the band were:
Bob Goote (keyboards/lead vocals), Pat Strong (lead guitar), Bob Vandenberg (guitar/vocals), Steve Vanderark (bass/vocals), and the great Jerry Vanderwal on drums.
I wrote “I Lost You Today”. “Niat Pac Lvram” (Captain Marvel spelled in reverse) was a collaboration with the whole band, I wrote the music. I also wrote the songs “What Everyone Wants”, “Hey Little Teaser”, “Seeing You”, and “My Mind’s Made Up”.
Our record “Hey Little Teaser” / “What Everyone Wants” made it to #5 on the radio music charts in Grand Rapids.
We had a great time playing gigs while in High school at East Christian High in Grand Grand Rapids (65-68). After high school in 1968 we all sort of went are own ways and the band broke up. After the group retired I wrote and recorded a song called “Somewhere (Someone Is Waiting)” on the Coventry label. It also got some air play in the Grand Rapids market.
Bob Goote
Thank you to Chip for sending in the photo of his uncle’s band and correcting the name to Jerry Vanderwal Wal. If anyone has more photos of the band please contact me
Update, January 2020:
I found this demo lacquer 45 of “Seeing You” / “My Mind’s Made Up” credited to Jerry Vander Wal instead of the entire band, and dated 2/28/68. Interestingly the labels read Bell Sound Studios in New York City, though I don’t believe it was recorded there!
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 Riviera label was created for the Riveras, who scored with their first single, “California Sun”, released in October ’63 and hitting the national top ten in early ’64. Bill Dobslaw owned the label and also managed the Rivieras, occasionally singing with them as well.
You could hardly find a 45 that defines ‘amateur’ better than this one by the Riviaires. That’s not to criticize – this duo of Wattsy Watts and Bill Latham are well-rehearsed. Sure the singing is off key and nasal, but the drummer’s precise and they don’t lack self-confidence!
The Chevrons V came from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
