Early photo of the Staunchmen with Silvertone Bobkat guitars, from left: Paul Nagle, Don Cox, George Harvey (drums), Paul Beecher (with tambourine), Barry McLean, and Doug Smith (sax)
P.B. & the Staunchmen cut this rare 45 on Lee, the same label as the Ascendors “I Won’t Be Home” in 1966. The label was located out of Hornell, New York, 40 miles south of Rochester but the band was from Dansville, another 20 miles south/southeast.
P.B. is Paul Beecher, credited along with the Staunchmen for writing both sides of the 45. Members were:
Paul Beecher – lead vocals Doug Smith – sax Paul Nagle – lead guitar Barry McLean – rhythm guitar Eric Young – organ Don Cox – rhythm and bass guitar George Harvey – drums
“Mean Willy” is a driving track with some wild guitar breaks and screams between repetitive lyrics and droning saxophone.
All the girls they can’t sympathize, They know that he goes around telling ’em lies, When he looks into their big brown eyes.
The flip, “Lost Generation”, sounds like it has roots in “Eve of Destruction” (though it actually came out earlier – see Don Cox’s comment below). The lyrics are defeatist and downright depressing, if I am reading them right:
This poor war is here to say, There’s nothing you can do to keep it away, My brother’s dead, there’s no denying, This lost generation has me cryin’. ‘Cause it’s lost, this generation, it’s gone away, It’s lost no matter what you say.
The kids are turnin’, their cards are burnin’, Trying to escape this war, The game they’ve lost and now they’ve found, It doesn’t matter anymore.
Left to right: Barry McLean, Paul Nagle, Paul Beecher, Eric Young, Don Cox, and George Harvey. Not pictured: Doug Smith. Photo courtesy of George Harvey.
Thanks to Don Cox for the lyric correction. Band photos courtesy of George Harvey, and Don Cox (top photo).
If anyone has more photos of the group, please contact me.
from left: Paul Beecher, Paul Nagle, George Harvey, Barry McLean, Don Cox, and Doug Smith. Eric Young absent.
Neil Sheppard (Producer) line up AB Michael Ship (Keyboards, Vocals) line up AB Marty Simon (Drums, Keyboards, Vocals) line up AB Danny Zimmerman (Bass) line up AB Jean Pierre Lauzon (Guitar) line up AB Barry Albert (Guitar) line up AB
Clockwise from top: Danny Zimmerman, Marty Simon, Mike Ship and Barry Albert
Neil Sheppard (real name Neil Ship) was a Brill Building songwriter who was trying to get his songs promoted with a group. Sheppard wrote all of the songs and produced Life’s lone album, released in spring 1970.In the early 1960s, Simon and Zimmerman had worked together in Montreal group, Marty Simon and The Capris and The Humdingers before forming The Scene.
Formed from the ashes of The Scene, the original line up was completed with Sheppard’s brother Michael Ship on keyboards and lead vocals, guitarist J P Lauzon (ex-Carnival Connection) and former Bartholomew Plus Three guitarist Barry Albert. Lauzon and Albert alternated lead guitar and rhythm on the band’s recordings.
The group’s debut single, a cover of The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever”, with an arrangement by Marty Simon, was a fascinating record with jazzy feel and featured Lauzon’s exquisite flamenco guitar solo. However, it did not do much chart wise (entered RPM on May 9, 1970, reached number 83 and charted for 5 weeks). Its follow up, “Hands of The Clock”, featuring Albert’s lead guitar intro, was the band’s only hit, reaching #19 on the RPM chart in August 1969, and charted for 12 weeks.
Life played at the First Montreal Bi-Cultural Pop Festival in June 1969, which was held at the Montreal Forum and featured Triangle, Robert Charlebois and headliner Steppenwolf.
The group’s lone album, which features contributions from Englishman Malcolm Tomlinson on flute from Milkwood, was recorded on four-track and then transferred to the first eight track in Canada by Andre Perry.
Towards the end of 1969, Simon left Life and moved to Los Angeles to work with a new group. The rest of the band carried on as After Life but split up in early 1970.
Simon and Lauzon reunited in Mylon Le Fevre. Simon later moved to the UK and formed Sharks with former Free bass player Andy Fraser.
Recordings 45 Strawberry Fields Forever/Come Into My Life (Polydor 540-005) 1969 45 Hands of The Clock/Ain’t I Told You Before (Polydor 540-009) 1969 45 Sweet Lovin’/Desire (Polydor 540-013) 1970 45 Needing You/Loving Time (Polydor 540-017) 1970 LP Life (Polydor 2424-001) 1970
RPM, April 14, 1969RPM, April 21, 1969RPM, May 5, 1969CFCF, April 25, 1969CFCF, May 9, 1969CFCF, July 4, 1969CFCF, July 11, 1969Life on the cover of RPM, July 14, 1969CFCF, August 8, 1969CFCF, November 7, 1969RPM, November 29, 1969
The Chantells came from Richmond, Virginia, where they attended Manchester High School. I love records like this but I didn’t know a thing about these guys until some comments came in below.
Their first single was the instrumental, “I Thought You Would” backed with a cool vocal original, “Who Meant The World To Me”, released in January 1965 on Century Custom 20135.
Their second single came later that year on Century Custom 20445. “I’m Leavin’ Here Today” was the slow top-side, written by Tommy Woodcock. More to my taste is the flip, “Break-Down”, a cool bluesy rocker with sax, organ and a fine guitar solo. The singer’s got the right voice for this kind of song, and the drummer really stands out. This side was written by Deets, Tom Woodcock and Long.
Rex Hawley managed the Century Custom Recording Service franchise in Richmond.
Here’s a contribution from JP Coumans, who writes:
Here’s an over-the-top-as-garage-music-should-be record: Jim Curran with the Lonely Ones – “Aren’t You Happy” – on the super obscure D-Rea records!
Probably dating from ’65 – ’66 and besides the incredible crude production it’s got great kinda “girl put me down” or is it “put the girl down” lyrics! And they definitely listened very well to “Twist and Shout”… since they took it over and changed it into their own song … with an incredible cool loud break!!!!!
This Jim Curran probably was a rich man’s son who invited the Lonely Ones to release a record together with him. While looking at Jim he’s probably some university dude who really wanted to make a record.
The B-side is something completely different … instead of “Let there be drums” it’s “Drums Send Me” … with only Jim Curran credits. Is this drum instro music? Definitely Jim hasn’t drummed before because that’s how it sounds … completely off rhythm and it sounds more like a space filler!
I’ll repeat Edward Scalzo’s comment about this release, as it gives the most information about it:
This record was recorded in 1966 in the basment of Jim Curran’s home is Rice Lake, Wisconsin. It is correct that he was a rich man’s son that wanted to make a record and asked the band to take part.
The Lonely Ones were a very popular band from Spooner, WI that played gigs all around northern Wisconsin 1965-66 and a little bit in ’67. Originally known as The Epitaphs the band loved doing Rolling Stones and the like. This song is not typical of the band. I played bass with the band ’65-66. The guys had a bit of a bad boy image, but not me. I am the young gentlemen wearing glasses upper right.
I do not have a copy but would like to have one. The flip side is Jim trying to learn to drum, it was just filler.
Original lineup of the Mike Jones Group circa 1965, from left: Earl Kimble, Bob Panetta, Mike Jones, Roger Rodier and Richard Dupuis. Photo courtesy of Louise D.
The Mike Jones Group’s “Funny Feeling” on Jet Recordsne of the very top Canadian records of the 60’s. Its origins were somewhat obscure until I heard from Bob Panetta and George Legrady in 2010 and 2011.
The A-side is a good cover of “Each and Every Day”, recorded by Manfred Mann and written by Mike Hugg. The flip, “Funny Feeling”, is something else altogether, blending a heavy fuzz riff, pounding drums, swirling organ and a first-rate vocal, with a ripping guitar solo to top it all off. It was written by the group’s bassist, Joey Campelone.
Mike Jones was an alias for Michael LaChance, a recording engineer from Montreal. I’d read that he put a studio band together with musicians from other groups for this 45, but the band was actually a working group. Roger Rodier described recording an acetate with the Mike Jones Group and traveling to New York to try for a record deal which didn’t materialize.
The original group, who recorded demos in New York that have yet to be released:
Mike Jones – lead vocals Bob Panetta – lead guitar Richard Dupuis – rhythm guitar Roger Rodier – bass Earl Kimble – drums
Later lineup:
Mike Jones – lead vocals Bob Panetta – lead guitar (replaced by Richard Lasnier) Billy Smith – rhythm guitar George Legrady – keyboards Joe Campelone – bass Earl Kimble – drums
Jet Records was run by Don Wayne Patterson and distributed by London Records. Rumor had it there is a whole LP’s worth of material in the Jet vaults, but that seems to be an exaggeration.
The Mike Jones Group, from left: Bob Panetta, George Legrady, Billy Smith, Joe Campelone, Earl Kimble and Mike Jones
Recently founding member Bob Panetta contacted me with the photos and some early history of the band:
I unearthed this rare photo of a later version of the Mike Jones Group. An old friend of the band, Louise D. had kept it in an old shoebox. From left to right: Bob Panetta lead guitar, George Legrady keyboards, Billy Smith rhythm guitar, Joe Camplone bass and vocals, Earl Kimble drums and Mike lead vocals.
When I met Mike at the St-Germain high school in Ville St-Laurent, I was already playing guitar for a few years. He was a great pop music aficionado. He had all the recent albums by Manfred Mann, The Animals, Stones, Beatles and the rest. We’d get together and learn all of the more obscure songs of these groups. We didn’t want people to tag us as a cover band.
We formed our first group The Forgotten, but it was just a garage band. I don’t think we ever played anywhere. Then we auditioned for Mel Younger who was to be our manager (he was also The Rabbles’ manager). We reformed the band with different musicians and changed our name to The Mike Jones Group with Earl Kimble on drums and Roger Rodier on bass. There was also a guy called Richard Dupuis on rhythm guitar. That’s the original band who went to New York to record a few demos.
We started at the Jail, a pretty hip little joint in the north-end of Montreal. We started getting a pretty good following of fans. As time went on we were playing bigger and bigger dance halls around Montreal. In those days there were literally hundreds of places you could play.
One of the more memorable places was the Bonaventure Curling Club in Dorval. That hall could contain thousands of people. If you were booked there, it meant that you had made it big in Montreal. There was also a place called the Hullabaloo but it’s kind of vague in my mind.
I was in the band for most of the journey and when I quit Richard Lasnier replaced me. They went on to record a single but the band broke up not long after that. I used to have a copy of the demos we recorded in New York but I lent them to some friends and never got them back.
I’ve been a musician all my life and still play to this day. In the ’60’s I played with a group called The Oven with Gary Marcus, a great guitarist and friend. We were the opening act for The Young Rascals at the Paul Sauvé arena if I recall. Then went on to backup French artists like Nicole Martin, Steve Fiset and Claire Lepage. Today I’m more into jazz & blues.
Bob Panetta
St-Germain high school in Ville St-Laurent, circa 1962. Mike Lachance (Jones) is in the second row, third from the right. Bob Panetta in the last row, fifth from the right.
Keyboardist George Legrady wrote to me with some information about the band and also his later experience with the Haunted:
The Mike Jones group in Montreal consisted of Mike Jones (Michel Lachance) on vocals, Earl Kimble on drums, Joey Campelone on bass, Ricky on lead guitar, I think Bill Smith on rhythm guitar, (he and I later played in the Haunted with Bob Bosak, Johnny Monk, Gary Marcus) and I on keyboards. I was the last to join the band in January 1966. We rehearsed in the basement of a suburban house out in north Montreal – I think Pierre Dumouchel was the name of the roadie and it was his parents’ house.
We were together for about 1.5 years and played all the time. There was a lot of youthful “lets conquer the world” energy. I was the youngest at 16 as most of the others were between 18-19 which at that time seemed to make a big difference. We played week-ends mostly french Canadian dance halls. I remember competition were “The Sinners” but then we crossed paths with the Rabble, and did see and admire the Haunted. We began with Animals songs, and moved on to Kinks, and other top music of the time. It was a great experience to be part of this group as for me, I was still in high school and it definitely gave me a boost in the “getting out into the world” scheme of things.
The group was very eager to get Don Wayne as manager.
“Funny Felling” was recorded in a Montreal studio near Cotes-des-Neiges Blvd. The song was written right near the end of the band’s existence, in fact. I played a Hammond B3 with Leslie speaker, but on gigs I normally used a Hohner keyboard and Fender amplifier. I don’t have any photos, nor have kept in touch with anyone, but I do have a tape with three other songs. We used to play at a club called the “Jail” in east end Montreal and one of the songs begins with an intro by Don Wayne…I have to find it…
Mike Jones Group stayed together from 1966 to about 1968. The band broke up because Mike got the offer to become a recording engineer at the studio where we recorded “Funny Feeling” [and] reverted back to Michel Lachance. I knew Roger Rodier but don’t remember when he was with the band. I think before I was in it. I don’t know what happened to the players.
Q. I asked Jurgen Peter of the Haunted if any members were involved in the Mike Jones Group, and he said no, but maybe he just didn’t know about it?
Jurgen does not list me at his website: http://www.thehaunted.com/ and he may have a block about keyboard players as there were others who are not listed either. I was part of the last group consisting of Johnny Monk, Joey Toplay, Gary Marcus, Bill Smith. The original mythic power of the early “1-2-5” rock band Haunted was gone. Jurgen continued to rebuild the band, and I was in the last one which was more Doors/Hendrix/LCD/hippie direction. Our lead guitarist wore a long Japanese robe and sword and went barefoot on Trois-Rivieres TV.
Jurgen did not play anymore but was the manager. He would travel with Hank Squires in front of the truck. I was also the youngest in this band. Jurgen and I had some email exchanges a few years ago about the fact I am not listed, and he was not that receptive to my request to list me as keyboard player. In fact, the exchange could have been a bit more constructive.
Q. How long did you play with the Haunted?
I think it may have been about 8-9 months. My father was pressuring me to go to college, and I had to drop around May 1969. I remember this as I chose to stop playing the night when the Haunted opened for the Who at the Forum who were on their highly successful “Tommy” tour.
Q. I’m curious as to how separate the French and English music scenes were in Montreal, and if it changed between the mid and late 60s. Did the Mike Jones Group sing only in English?
Mike Jones and also the Haunted played at a lot of French gigs. The odd thing was that the French were crazy about R & B. With the Mike Jones group at the Jail, I remember the minute we would break in-between sets Wilson Picket’s “Midnight Hour” would be received with total joy by everyone. We would make jokes about it.
Q. The flip of the Haunted’s 45 “Vapeur Mauve” was a cover of Talk Talk in French called ‘Porquoi’. I’ve read this was a different group and the Haunted were not pleased about it showing up on the b-side of their record. Any idea who the band was and why this was done?
I am playing the keyboards on “Vapeur Mauve” but there was a previous keyboardist I met who played on “Out of Time” the Rolling Stones song and some other recordings…I forget his name…nice person. Jurgen Peter was the business manager and so he was the one negotiating all of this. We were all surprised about the fact that someone else was put on the back.
George Legrady
The Mike Jones Group in Rag Pot vol. 1 no. 1, (Montreal’ s Latest Teenage Journal) Feb. 24, 1967 (click to see full cover)
Don Wayne Patterson sent to me the photo above from the cover of Rag Pot no. 1 and wrote to me:
Managed and recorded Mike Jones Group – have an album in the vault and a 45 RPM one-sided French version of “Each and Every Day”. Also put out a lot of other Garage bands on my Jet Label. Have a full album in the can from King Beezz (Edmonton). And have several master tapes of Louis McKelvey bought at a garage sale in Montreal.
Published seven issues of RagPot promoting Canadian groups … missing vol. 1 no. 3 and hope to reprint all issues (book form) along with several columns I wrote for Hollywood’s Teen Screen magazine and a small Rosemere newspaper.
Sources include: Roger Rodier’s notes in the reissue of his 1972 LP Upon Velveatur (thanks to Ivan for pointing that out). Thank you to George Legrady and Bob Panetta for their help.
The Darnells circa 1962, clockwise from top L: Tom Hahn, Mike Blattner, Bruce Wells, unknown (sax), center: Denny King (photo courtesy Bruce Wells).
These Darnells (unrelated to the ones on Gordy) began in Milwaukee as Denny & the Darnells circa 1959, with various musicians (including future Legends drummer Jim Sessody) passing through the band. The line-up that went into the Cuca studios to record the first single consisted of lead guitarist Denny King, tenor saxophonist Tom Fabre, singer Gary Lane, Bruce Wells on piano, Norm Sherian on rhythm guitar, and Jerry Sworske on drums. The A-side is their remake of Gene Vincent’s “Little Sheila”, while the instrumental flip is a Latin standard, featuring the jazz oriented sax-man Fabre.
Mike Blattner eventually replaced Sworske on drums, and singer Kim Marie was a member when they played off-night gigs at the Spa on 5th & Wisconsin in September 1962. Our Florida band, the Nightbeats, was touring through Milwaukee’s ACA agency, and they had booked us into the Spa for two weeks. We were looking for a different guitar man and King was looking for steady work, so he joined our band, putting a temporary end to the Darnells. However, five months later King and I left the Nightbeats to reform the Darnells as a trio, with bassist Tom Hahn. Hahn had already been out to Southern California with the Bonnevilles and he wanted to make another trip in order to obtain a Mexican divorce from his estranged wife. A SoCal trip sounded great to Denny and me, so in May 1963 we headed west and landed a gig for the summer at the Firehouse, a beer bar on 17th Street in Costa Mesa.
On the referral of the Nightbeats’ bass player, we connected with the Tide label in L.A. and recorded eight sides – two instrumentals and a pair of vocals by each of us. “Spooner”, the first instrumental, is an up-tempo, surfy, 12-bar blues guitar rocker. The flip is another 12-bar blues, this time a slightly jazzy mid-tempo swing. Denny King’s “She’s My Girlfriend” is teenish, while the flip has the flavor of Troy Shondell’s “This Time”. My own release is teen pop with added strings and voices. To my knowledge, Hahn’s vocals were the only cuts not released from those sessions.
We returned to Milwaukee that fall and, in January 1964, Hahn and I left to join the Cashmeres, bringing a final end to the Darnells. The Cashmeres metamorphosized into the Mojo Men (who later evolved into the Portraits with releases on Sidewalk). Hahn left the Mojo Men and did some work in Memphis with Ace Cannon (“Tuff,” 1962) before leaving the music business and settling in Michigan. After doing some club work with country singer Johnny Carver, Denny King returned to California and teamed up with the Canadian Beadles (sic), whom we had previously met in Ishpeming, Michigan. That combination recorded one single for Tide as the Mojo Men, but they had no connection with the Milwaukee Mojo Men. (It seems that Tide Records, having had their only national chart appearance with Larry Bright’s “Mojo Workout” in 1960, tried to capitalize on the “Mojo” name in every possible way).
After his solo recording for Specialty in 1972, King moved to the Sacramento area and formed a booking agency. He later imported medical supplies from Korea and had other business involvements before he died in 2000; Mike Blattner died in 2004. Gary Lane had gone on to work with the Mad Lads and the Saints Five, and later owned a club in Milwaukee. Besides the Darnells, Jerry Sworske had drummed with several other Milwaukee bands, including the Noblemen and Junior & the Classics. He later became a police officer. Tom Fabre moved to Los Angeles and continued in music until his death in 2007. Kim Marie has organized frequent oldies shows in Milwaukee since 2000. This writer has lived in the greater L.A. area since 1965, played full-time until 1982, and part-time since then.
Darnells releases:
Sara 1055: Little Sheila/Besame Mucho, 11/61 Tide 1090: Spooner/Sleepy, 9/63
Related:
Tide 1091: She’s My Girlfriend/Long Lonely Night (Denny King), /63 Edit 2005: Poor Little Baby/If (You’d Only Be Mine) (Gary Myers), 11/63 Tide 2000: Surfin’ Fat Man/Paula (Mojo Men), 2/64 Tide 2001: Mojo Workout/I Got A Woman (Tommy Hahn & the Mojo Men), 5/64 Specialty 726: Bessie Mae/Go Down Moses (Denny King), /72 Specialty LP 5003: Evil Wind Is Blowing (Denny King), /72
Gary E. Myers is author of two histories of Wisconsin music of the 50’s & 60’s, “Do You Hear That Beat” and “On That Wisconsin Beat”, as well as two instructional books, “Understanding and Using Chords and Chord Progressions” and “Understanding and Using Scales and Modes”. Check Gary’s website for more information.
Darnells in Appleton: Tom Hahn, Gary Myers, Denny KingDarnells 1963: Tom Hahn, Gary Myers, Denny King
The Yorkshire Puddin, from left: R. Ponce de Leon, Danny Jolin, Bob Heinich, and Bob Cotherin
The Yorkshire Puddin cut two 45s on Dellwood Records in ’67 and ’68. Their first 45 is the fine “Good Night Day” backed with “Ain’t Gonna Love Ya No More”. They updated their sound for the second release, “Keep Me In Mind”.
“Keep Me in Mind”, like both sides of their first 45 were written by Cotharin – De Leon and produced by Woody Gardella. “Black Jacket Woman”, the flip of “Keep Me in Mind”, is the same moody pop number also done by the Zone V and the Tropics (the original?). I hear a female voice on the harmonies on this song only.
Dellwood was based in first Hackensack then nearby Saddle Brook, New Jersey.
Rhythm guitarist and vocalist Frank DePauw left a detailed comment about the band below, that I’ll repeat here:
Bob Cotharin, left hand Hofner bass player, and head singer and spokesman of the group. Reynold Ponce De Leon, keyboards, (harpsichord), rhythm guitar, and harmonies. Robert Heinick, lead guitar, and vocalist. Gail Koennemann did some backup singing, and wed Bob Cotharin in ’69 or ’70. No longer together. Daniel Jollen, drummer, drafted into the Army in the summer of ’68 Frank DePauw, second guitar, harmonies, backup keyboards, and in spare time, light show producer.
The group was the “house band” for the “Castaway” in Hampton Bay, Long Island, N.Y. in the summer of “68, when the drummer was drafted. A mad search went out, but no one could fill Dan’s job, and the group, after trying to get the “sound” back, broke up.
The photo of the group gives Danny Jollen’s name as Danny Jolin, I’m not sure which is correct. Also it’s hard to read the hand writing, but is it Bob Heinick or Bob Heinich? The photo also has what may be a manager’s name, George Appleyard, as well as a second address for Dellwood at 10 Banta Place in Hackensack.
Can anyone fill in more history on how they came to record for Dellwood and play at the Castaway?
Thanks once again to JP Coumans for the scan of “Keep Me in Mind” and transfer of “Black Jacket Woman”.
Special thank you to Harvey Kornbluth for sending the photo of the group.
Back of 8 x 12 glossy photo of the band with Dellwood Music info
The Interns playing a dance at Spring Branch High School
Updated December 2009
The Interns have two 45s on the Paradise label, both have A-sides of straight up rock n’ roll. “Sally Met Molly” is a cool medley of Long Tall Sally and Good Golly Miss Molly. The flip is a a good version of Don Covay’s “Have Mercy”. What’s that someone shouts during the fadeout at the end of the song? Anyway, it’s like they were doing a song the Beatles covered on one side, and one the Stones cut on the other.
Their second 45 has “Don’t Make Me No Mind”, which sounds much like “Out of Sight”, backed with an original by Jack Durrett and Graham Hill, “Life With You”. With its harmonies and lighter sound “Life With You” is much different than their other material.
I knew nothing about the group until bassist and vocalist Graham Hill wrote in with info about the group (see comment below):
Lead singer- Jack Durrett, lead guitar- Reid Farrell, drummer- Rusty Dobson and I were the group’s main players. Ernie Graham from Kinkaid H.S. and Albert Dashiels from Lee H.S. played guitar and Tony Pryor and Johnny “The Rabbit” Bundrich [John Bundrick] from North Shore H.S. played organ at various times. We attended Memorial High School and graduated in 1967.
We primarily played private high school parties and after football game dances but we were the opening act for the Animals, Hermann’s Hermits, Neal Diamond, The Byrds, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs and other groups at concerts at the old Houston Colliseum. We also played the Houston Club scene. The other bands of our time were the Coastliners, Neal Ford and the Fanatics, Thursday’s Children, and Fever Tree. Roy Head and BJ Thomas were a few years older than us. Billy Gibbons was a little younger and he would hang out at our practices-Reid still stays in touch with him.
The recording you have was on a 4 track machine at Gold Star Studios. We double tracked the lead vocals on Have Mercy and added the hand clapping and back up singing on Sally Met Molly. We did hit the KILT radio top 10 list and were on the Larry Kane TV show several times.
Johnny has been playing with “The Who” since the mid-70s. Reid toured with Archie Bell and the Drells after graduating from high school. Jackie, Reid, Rusty and I still play once or twice a year in Houston.
Thanks to Graham Hill for info and photos of the band and for sending me their second 45 to transfer and scan.
Graham Hill and Reid Farrell of the Interns, opening for the Animals and Herman’s Hermits at the Houston Coliseum
As far as I know, Dick Curtis (Richard S. Curtis according to song publishing credits) only put out this one 45. The A-side, “Funny Girl” is kind of outsider pop, and interestingly it’s in stereo, primarily for the string arrangements. Most people reading this will prefer to skip that song and just listen to the quick moving “It’s Not the Same”.
The label is Colortronics Recording Industries, out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, a label that was active until at least 1972. I’d like to know who was backing Dick Curtis on this track.
In a comment below Brenda mentions a 45 Curtis produced by J & B Ware, which I haven’t heard yet. J & B were R. Joslyn and D. Baisch.
The Bugs had a reputation as jokers, but are solid professionals on their excellent first single. “Pretty Girl” is a fine British-influenced pop number that apparently hit the charts of local radio stations from Maine to Chicago to Florida. The flip is the raucous “Slide”, supposedly written in the studio but the band sounds too rehearsed for it to be a spontaneous performance. It must have been a staple of their live sets.
Both songs were written by Eddie and Rose McGee. I believe the drummer of the group was James McGee, another family member. This 45 was engineered by Ray Fournier.
From Erik Lindgren’s notes to The Polaris Story:
The Bugs were a quartet from Marlboro, MA that cut two singles for Astor records (Pretty Girl/Slide was also issued as Polaris 001) along with one unreleased track, ‘Gonna Find Me a Girl’. They were a ‘wacky’ group that included a female bass player by the name of Rose, who was in her early 40’s and married to guitarist Ed McGee. Polaris booked them throughout greater Boston and Rhode Island, including an appearance on Channel 12 in Providence.
‘Strangler in the Night’, originally credited to Albert De Salvo [the Boston Strangler], was actually written by a ghost writer, James Vaughn, who got drafted three weeks after the making of the single. The narration for ‘Strangler’ was done by Dick Leviatan, a well-known radio personality from New York City.
‘Pretty Girl’ and ‘Slide’ were recorded at Fleetwood Studios in Revere, MA., while ‘Strangler’, ‘Albert’ and ‘Gonna Find Me a Girl’ were recorded at Triple A [AAA Recording Studios] in Dorchester. The organ on the tracks done at the Triple A session was played by the engineer, whose name remains lost for posterity [actually it was Ray Fournier].
Producer Joe Melino dropped the Polaris label in the aftermath of the under-attended state-wide 1966 Battle of the Bands competition. The Astor label was named after the Astor Motor Inn, where Joe and his new partner had their office.
“Strangler in the Night” failed to get the hoped-for notoriety in the press. The single’s failure led to the end of a great run of 45s on the Polaris and Astor labels. Hear both sides of that novelty as well as the Bugs’ excellent unreleased track “Gonna Find Me a Girl” on The Polaris Story CD.
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
P.B. & the Staunchmen cut this rare 45 on Lee, the same label as the Ascendors “I Won’t Be Home” in 1966. The label was located out of Hornell, New York, 40 miles south of Rochester but the band was from Dansville, another 20 miles south/southeast.
The Chantells came from Richmond, Virginia, where they attended Manchester High School. I love records like this but I didn’t know a thing about these guys until some comments came in below.
Here’s a contribution from JP Coumans, who writes:
The Mike Jones Group’s “Funny Feeling” on Jet Recordsne of the very top Canadian records of the 60’s. Its origins were somewhat obscure until I heard from Bob Panetta and George Legrady in 2010 and 2011.
The Yorkshire Puddin cut two 45s on Dellwood Records in ’67 and ’68. Their first 45 is the fine “Good Night Day” backed with “Ain’t Gonna Love Ya No More”. They updated their sound for the second release, “Keep Me In Mind”.
Updated December 2009
We primarily played private high school parties and after football game dances but we were the opening act for the Animals, Hermann’s Hermits, Neal Diamond, The Byrds, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs and other groups at concerts at the old Houston Colliseum. We also played the Houston Club scene. The other bands of our time were the Coastliners, Neal Ford and the Fanatics, Thursday’s Children, and Fever Tree. Roy Head and BJ Thomas were a few years older than us. Billy Gibbons was a little younger and he would hang out at our practices-Reid still stays in touch with him.
The Bugs had a reputation as jokers, but are solid professionals on their excellent first single. “Pretty Girl” is a fine British-influenced pop number that apparently hit the charts of local radio stations from Maine to Chicago to Florida. The flip is the raucous “Slide”, supposedly written in the studio but the band sounds too rehearsed for it to be a spontaneous performance. It must have been a staple of their live sets.