The Misfits, 1966. from left: drummer possibly Micky Bishop, Jimmy Frost, Peter Black and James Harrell on bass. Scan courtesy of the Frost family.
The Lost and Found came out of Bellaire High School, 10 miles southwest of downtown Houston, and originally called themselves the Misfits.
Members were:
Peter Black – guitar and vocals Jimmy Frost – lead guitar James Harrell – bass
They went through a succession of drummers, first Norman Blythe, then Micky Bishop, his younger brother Stephen Bishop, and finally Steve Webb.
On March 11, 1966, the Baytown Sun ran the photo of the Misfits seen at top, with the caption:
Meet the Misfits. This band with the big beat will play at “Safari A Go Go” Friday night at a teenage dance in the Bayshore Rod, Reel and Gun Club, 3223 Minnesota. Hours will be from 8 p.m. to midnight. Admission will be $1.25 per person.
The Misfits played shows at Love Street and La Maison, where, according to Jimmy Frost, they met the 13th Floor Elevators for the first time. The Elevators would have a big influence on their sound, and their friendship with Roky Erickson and Stacy Sutherland would eventually lead to an introduction to the International Artists label. Frost stated that they did not make any records as the Misfits.
On November 29, 1966, at the start of a residency at the Living Eye in Houston, they became the first Texas group busted for LSD. Jimmy Frost remembered Peter, James and Mickey facing charges, and that one of the reasons the band signed with International Artists was because its owners, Bill Dillard and Noble Ginther, were lawyers who could help them with the bust. Actually it was Micky’s younger brother Stephen Bishop who was arrested with Black, Harrell and their friend George Banks.
The Houston Chronicle broke the news on November 30, 1966 in a front-page feature “Dope, LSD Raids Net 12 in City”!
Marijuana Found In a Black Hearse
A raid on two apartments at 2404 Yoakum Blvd. resulted in the arrest of four men on charges of possession of dangerous drugs and possession of marijuana. Those charged were George Baldwin Banks Jr., 22, James Lee Harrell, 19, Stephen Stafford Bishop, 21, and William Peter Black, 21. A 17-year-old girl and an 18-year-old youth were questioned but were not charged …
The article stated “Chemists are analyzing 49 white pills in possession of some of those arrested. The police narcotics squad has been told they are LSD tablets …” However, only one one person is listed as actually possessing LSD, “a 21-year-old man from San Francisco who said he brought 50 or 60 LSD tablets here from California five days ago. He gave police a bottle containing 34 pills he said were LSD. He was not charged.”
The Associated Press version confirms that the band was busted for LSD: “Those charged and liable to prosecution in an LSD test case include four members of a Rock ‘n’ roll group: George Glandwin Banks, Jr., 22; James Lee Harrell, 19; Steven Stafford Bishop, 21, and a 23-year-old service station attendant, Robert Bruce Kilpatrick”; and that it would be the first LSD prosecution in Texas: “… based on Texas ‘dangerous drug’ statues … Dist. Atty. Carol Vance said he knew of no other LSD charges filed in Texas to date.”
Frost told Not Fade Away that the charges were dismissed because, unlike marijuana, LSD was not yet illegal (which is correct: possession was not criminalized federally until 1968). Frost also said that Scott Holtzman of the Living Eye wanted the Misfits to change their name after the drug bust. However, the name change to the Lost and Found, seems to have come a few weeks before the bust, and in any case was a more appropriate band name given the increasingly psychedelic direction of their music.
George Banks with Misfits Peter Black, Stephen Bishop and James Harrell, plus Robert Kilpatrick who may not have been an associate of the band, November 30, 1966
George Banks, a friend of the band who took over management of the Misfits, wrote to me:
I spoke with James Harrell, just to confirm what I am about to list. First, the MISFITS was a name Micky Bishop came up with, as it was a group he played with in the Navy. He was the first drummer, and to James’ recollection, Kearney never played in the group. After Micky, his younger brother Steve also played drums in the band and as I recall then Webb. There may have been the other fella you mention [Norman Blythe], but I do not know him.
We all met the Elevators in Austin, before they played the infamous Jade Room gig, and all remain friends to this day. I was maybe a try-to-be manager with the original Misfits, after leaving the military; and then later the Lost and Found, but I also assisted (I’ll describe it that way) Euphoria, which you rarely see any info about.
La Maison, second location, 319 McGowan at Bagby
Euphoria did come into Houston about high times for the Elevators and others of the IA time frame. They were a sizzlin’ three piece group. Wesley Watt, David Potter, drums and Pat.. I forget his last name.. [Pat Connolly of the Surfaris] on bass (early on, in CA, Pat was with a surf group, pre-Beach Boys, and they were very successful in their locale.) Euphoria and the guys from the Misfits got along quite well and … through some differences .. all together left for LA, minus Frost, who having married early on and was with their first child, did not travel to CA with everyone else.
We played around out there got a recording contract. I brought the first release [Euphoria’s “Hungry Woman” / “No Me Tomorrow” 45 on the Mainstream label] back to Houston and presented it to Larry Kane. It didn’t really take off, Euphoria hadn’t stuck around town long enough to really develop any notoriety, or following.
The band in LA went through a lot of emotional changes in part due to the fact that Wesley and David were married (and drugs). The times got tough, to even feed ourselves. James, Pete and I headed back to Houston, the rest kind of picks up with the bust after we had been back a month or two. Micky was not included in the bust in ’66, it was his younger brother Steve and another fella, a writer, Roger Hamilton (deceased) aka William West, and James. Their arrests were dismissed, we each served 10 year probation sentences.
I don’t believe that the signing with International Artists had anything to do with there being attorneys in the head office. If I am mistaken, well, I don’t know every minute detail of all these guys lives, but we did live and recreate together often. It was not the notoriety that changed the bands name (I don’t think). But having returned from CA and playing with/as Euphoria the group was rejoined with Jimmy Frost. So I felt the absence from and the reunion, as it were, with the whole band, it was .. well .. Lost and Found.
The Lost and Found at Lake Travis Dam, from left: Jimmy Frost, James Harrell, Steve Webb and Peter Black. Photo courtesy of Tiffany and the Frost family.
“Lost and Found” at the Living Eye November 11 and 12, 1966, before the bust. Image from Not Fade Away #4
Scott Holtzman’s nowsounds column on June 19, 1966 mentioned Euphoria being “fresh from Hollywood’s Sunset Strip … playing at La Maison and recording at Houston’s Andrus Productions.” For his July 24 column, Scott wrote “Wesley Watt of Euphoria called Frank Davis from LA and asked him to come out there and engineer and play and sing on their sessions. Frank would rather stay at Andrus Productions though.”
October 9, 1966 nowsounds: “George Banks, manager of Euphoria, is in town promoting their new Mainstream single. Wesley and Dave have combined with two former Misfits, (James Harrell and Pete Black) and their sound is something else.”
November 6, 1966 nowsounds: “Euphoria broke up for good. George Banks is building a new group from the old Misfits into Lost & Found.”
The gist of this timeline is that the Misfits took a hiatus around late July or August of 1966 while James Harrell and Pete Black accompanied George Banks, Wesley Watt and Dave Potter to Los Angeles where James and Pete may have played on Euphoria’s Mainstream 7″, “Hungry Women” / “No Me Tomorrow”. By early November, 1966, that version of Euphoria had broken up, and James Harrell and Pete Black were back in Houston, reforming the Misfits as Lost and Found with Jim Frost back on lead guitar, and probably Stephen Bishop on drums, since he was arrested with James and Pete that month.
Certainly the group was trying out the new band name before the arrest. An ad for shows at the Living Eye lists the “Lost and Found” opening for Neal Ford and the Fanatics on November 11, and then the Coastliners on Saturday, November 12, 1966.
The signing with International Artists probably came months after the bust, sometime in 1967, as the copyright for most of the songs on the album were registered on August 30, 1967.
Their first 45, “Everybody’s Here” / “Forever Lasting Plastic Words” shows the lighter side of their repertoire, and the band complained that IA toned down their sound. Recorded at Andrus Studios, the engineer was Frank Davis who worked with other IA bands, like the Elevators and the Golden Dawn. Though at times sounding like the Elevators, their LP has many good songs such as “I Realize” and “There Would Be No Doubt”. George Banks did the cover art for their LP as well as the covers of the Elevators’ Easter Everywhere and Golden Dawn’s Power Plant.
Jim Frost wrote “Everybody’s Here“ and “Let Me Be”, while James Harrell wrote “Foreverlasting Plastic Words” and three songs on side two: “I Realize”, “2 Stroke Blues”, “I’m So Hip to Pain”. “Zig Zag Blues” and “Living Eye” was a collaboration between Harrell, Frost, Black and Webb.
Peter Black and William West wrote “There Would Be No Doubt”.
The back cover lists first names only, including Steve (this would be drummer Steve Webb), and Frank (Frank Davis). Producer Lelan Rogers praises Frank Davis in the back cover notes and calls him the fifth member of the band.
The Lost and Found at the Living Eye
The group recorded some more songs in February 1968 that went unreleased at the time. Lelan added “25 MPH” to the Epitaph for a Legend album he compiled in 1978. I haven’t yet heard “Girl with a One Track Mind”, written by William West according to George Banks.
Lost And Found at the New Orleans Club, Austin American, November 19, 1967By the time they recorded their second and last 45 in ’68, their sound was totally original and psychedelic. “Professor Black” is supposed to be about Pete Black, it was written by Black, James Harrell and George Banks. “When Will You Come Through” is just as good, with searing guitar work. This time they worked with Fred Carroll as producer, who perhaps did not restrain them in the studio as much as Lelan Rogers. Fred Carroll (real name Fred Courtney, Jr) founded International Artists in October of ’65, but sold it soon after, then returned as a producer after Lelan Rogers left. He also started the Solar label and managed the Coastliners. He passed away in late June, 2007.
Lost And Found with Shiva’s Head Band at Vulcan Gas Company, December 15 and 16, 1967The Lost and Found played at lead four weekends at the Vulcan Gas Company in Austin from December 15 and 16, 1967 to March 22 & 23, 1968, usually with Shiva’s Headband. They also played the New Orleans Club in Austin on at least one occasion. See the partial gig list at end of article. Strangely, I can find no gig listings for the Lost and Found from January through October 1967!
There were other songs recorded around this time for a second LP, but before that could come to pass, International Artists booked them on a tour of Texas, Louisiana and Alabama with the Music Machine, I believe in May or June 1968, though I would like to find some gig notices.
Jimmy Frost: “When we got back International Artists said we owed them money and that just finished the band off, we didn’t see any money from the tour, and we were all so broke that the band just split up.”
Still under contract from IA, Pete Black and James Harrell reluctantly played about a dozen dates with Stacy Sutherland and Danny Thomas in a ersatz version of the 13th Floor Elevators after the release of the fake “Live” album in July of ’68. This lineup of the Elevators may have included Steve Webb, who I’ve read was able to mimic Roky’s wailing vocals.
Pete Black joined Endle St. Cloud. I’ve read Steve Webb played drums with Potter St. Cloud and Euphoria, but that conflicts with David Potter’s account (and Potter certainly was the drummer on Potter St. Cloud’s album). Steve Webb passed away a few years ago.
George Banks continues on the connections between the Lost and Found, Endle St. Cloud and Euphoria:
Alan Mellinger (Endle St. Cloud) .. some how.. after we’d left LA.. wound up in LA playin’ around with Euphoria.. in fact they released an album – [A Gift From] Euphoria. James Harrell, after the bust here in Houston, returned to LA (he did studio work for a couple of years) and may have been on that album also (?). Euphoria later did an extensive tour with Blue Cheer. I visited Alan Mellinger in Morrison, CO some many years ago where he and his wife and two children were doing quite well, as Alan was a partner in a Clinical Drug and Alcohol Re-Hab Practice in Denver. While there we called David Potter, who at the time was living in I believe, Wisconsin or Minnesota, working construction as a masonry contractor. A couple of years later I heard that Alan died of a heart attack.. and so ends my immediate and intimate association with the ‘Music World’ of the 60’s. As a footnote I think that Frank Davis, besides being one of Texas’s true hidden jewels as a performer, did all he could with the available equipment of the times.
I read that John Kearney of the Spades played with the Misfits for a short while after the Spades had split up in 1965, but neither George Banks nor Jimmy Frost remembered him in the group.
Jimmy Frost with Gibson. Photo courtesy of Jim Frost’s family.
Update: James “Frosty” Frost passed away on July 2, 2025, at the age of 81 in Round Rock, Texas.
A couple quotes from Jimmy Frost’s interview in Not Fade Away:
“[The Catacombs], they were the competition, we never played over there. That was the rich kids [laughs] … we played a Foley’s fashion show one time and the management said we were too loud and wanted us to quit so we just turned it way up…!”
“Me and Stacy [Sutherland] were good friends, we used to trade licks alot. He was an excellent guitar player … boy when he’d start hitting the beat and stompin’ his feet on the state the dust would fly …”
Sources include: Interview with Jimmy Frost in Not Fade Away #4, Paul Drummond’s Eye Mind, and my correspondence with George Banks. Some photos were originally taken by their manager, Gary Iwers. Misfits business card from the collection of Andrew Brown. La Maison photo courtesy of Nancy Kuehl.
Special thanks to Jim Frost’s daughter, Tiffany for sharing her family’s photos. Her interest in her father’s music has led me to revise this article in July, 2026, with a fresh look at my old sources and a search for some new ones.
Very incomplete gig list:
Friday, March 11, 1966: The Misfits at Safari a Go Go in Baytown
Friday, November 11, 1966: Lost and Found, Neal Ford & the Fanatics at the Living Eye Saturday, November 12, 1966: Lost and Found, the Coastliners at the Living Eye Friday, November 18, 1966: Lost and Found, the Runaways at the Living Eye Saturday, November 19, 1966: Lost and Found, Neal Ford & the Fanatics at the Living Eye Friday, December 2, 1966: Lost and Found, the Moving Sidewalks at the Living Eye Saturday, December 3:, 1966: Lost and Found, Neal Ford & the Fanatics at the Living Eye
Sunday, November 19, 1967: Lost and Found at the New Orleans Club, Austin Friday & Saturday, December 1 & 2, 1967: Lost and Found, Starvation Army Band at Love Street Light Circus Friday & Saturday, December 15 & 16, 1967: Lost and Found, Shiva’s Head Band at the Vulcan Gas Company Sunday, December 17, 1967: 13th Floor Elevators, Lost and Found, Shades and Starvation Army Band at Love Street Light Circus
Friday & Saturday, January 12 & 13, 1968: Lost and Found, Shiva’s Head Band at the Vulcan Gas Company Saturday, February 3, 1968: Lost and Found, the Starvation Army Band at Taylor Hall, Pasadena Friday & Saturday, February 9 & 10, 1968: Lost and Found, Georgetown Medical Band at the Vulcan Gas Company Friday & Saturday, March 22 & 23, 1968: Lost and Found, Shiva’s Head Band at the Vulcan Gas Company
“I Need Love” was a song written by Tom Curley, vocalist with the Maryland group the Mad Hatters. The Mad Hatters cut the original version in late ’65. The Time Stoppers version wasn’t released until 1967. I’ve heard it called ordinary, but I’ve always liked it very much.
The band were probably from Pittsburgh, but I don’t know who was in the group. Jules Kruspir, publisher and co-producer of this disc, owned St. Clair records, which released great records by the Swamp Rats and Pat Wallace. The flip is a forgettable instrumental, “Fickle Frog”.
This also appears to be about the last record ever released on the eclectic HBR (Hanna-Barbera Records) label.
The Preachers were from Tuscaloosa, but other than David Keller, I don’t know who the members were. Keller seems to have been running the show along with producer and co-writer Steve Norris.
“Inspiration” shows a heavy Dylan influence, but though I’ve listened to it a dozen times in the last two days, I still can’t make out what he’s saying.
It was released twice on the Righteous Enterprises label out of Birmingham. The first release on RE-1001 had “Who’s That Hiding in the Closet” on the B-side, a good horn-driven instrumental.
The second release of “Inspiration” on RE-1003, backed the eerie “Hallowed Ground”, it made it all the way to #7 on WGNE in Panama City, Florida on Sept. 9, ’66, where Keller had a club called the Head Shop.
“Hallowed Ground” was also released twice, once with “What’s Happ’nin Pussy Cat” on the flip, as RE-1002.
There was a long-standing rumor that this label was run by the Righteous Brothers, but this seems to be completely wrong, and I can’t confirm any connection. It seems unlikely – the “Brothers” were from California, not Alabama anyway.
The Preachers had a fourth 45, a cover of the Everly Brothers “Girls, Girls, Girls” b/w “Dedicated”, from April 1966.
An unknown band from California, here they cover Them’s “Little Girl” retitling it “Pretty Girl”, with the singer substituting a head cold for Van Morrison’s soulfulness. Good shot anyway, backed with an unsuccessful cover of “Heatwave”.
This was the third release on the Two + Two label, it was preceded by The Menn “A One Way Deal” (Kenneth Johnson) / “Ian Fleming Theme” (Two + Two 101, produced by Gary Paxton for Limelight Music, BMI) and the Emperor’s “You Make Me Feel So Good”/ “Love Pill” (Two + Two 102).
One source gives the names of the Menn as Don Bagby (lead guitar), John Barnett (drums), Marvin Hale (lead vocals), Don Gray (rhythm guitar) and Fred Vanderheide (bass). Another stray sentence online lists Reynold Bagby as the owner of the Two + Two label, so maybe Donald Bagby of the Menn was his son.
The Shambrels, 1965, from left: Bruce Corvin on sax, Danny Sterling, Ronnie Bailey, Bob Gordon on drums, Don Skipper, and Danny Bradley
The Shambrels came from Oneonta, Alabama, about 35 miles northeast of Birmingham. I knew nothing about the group until Jerry Yancy commented below, so I’ve added his info to this post.
Members included:
Bruce Corvin – sax Danny Sterling – lead guitar Ronnie Bailey – lead vocals Bob Gordon – rhythm guitar and vocals Don Skipper – bass Danny Bradley – drums
Bob Gordon added these other members, not pictured in the photo:
Larry Coker – keyboard Dee Decker – drums
“Summer Girl” is the flip of the more pop-oriented “Girl, I’m Glad”. Both songs were written by Bob Gordon.
The Vaughn-Ltd label released at least eight garage 45s that I know of, including good records by the Bassmen and the Rockin’ Rebellions. Most bands on that label were from Birmingham.
The Shambrels were one of the last released on Vaughn-Ltd.
The Reddlemen of Angleton were one of three garage acts on the Custom label out of Tyler. They cut this one great 45, the amazing “I’m Gonna Get in that Girl’s Mind”, with the Byrds-influenced “I Can’t Go On This Way” on the flip.
Les Roberts of the Brym-Stonz Ltd. remembers the Reddlemen and their guitarist and songwriter, Michael Cotton:
You asked about the Reddlemen, they were great musicians. The lineup was Pat Harris vocals, Jim Howell Rhythm guitar and electric piano, Charles Smith bass, Gary Cotton drums, and Mike Cotton lead guitar. [Later,] Rick Hutchinson replaced Mike in the Reddlemen.
Mike was this incredible guitarist. He played a strat and used banjo strings to stretch and bend for his solos long before light gauge strings and unwound G strings came about.
Mike went out to California in the mid-sixties and was roommates with his cousin Keith Allison who played with Paul Revere and the Raiders on a show called Where the Action Is! Mike played guitar on the opening theme to the show. He auditioned for the Beau Brummels also. Tragically he was killed in Vietnam.
An old auction for their 7″ master tape reel mentions two unreleased songs by the band. I’ve never heard these and don’t know the titles.
An early photo of Billy and the Kids, with Mike Rice at top center.
Bob Gourlie – lead guitar Ken Laymance – rhythm guitar Mike Rice – keyboards and vocals Russ Wagner – bass Bill Burns – bass and vocals Bob Burns – drums and vocals
In the mid-60’s, twelve and thirteen year-old kids regularly recorded better music than most of what has been done since by groups of any age. “Say You Love Me” is such a song, featuring a tough rhythm, vocals tossed off without a care, and some wild high-pitched screams. It even has a good guitar solo! The a-side of their first 45, “It’s Not the Same” is definitely lighter pop, but will interest some listeners.
They recorded “When I See You” a year or two later, and the band is even sharper, with a fast bass line and frantic drum playing.
I’ve seen Loren Bolinger, who played guitar and keyboards for the Talismen also listed as a member, but I’m not sure if this is correct.
A local article wrote about the group:
‘Billy and the Kids’, five talented junior high school youngsters from East Wenatchee, Wash., make their professional debut on records with ‘It’s Not the Same,’ b/w ‘Say You Love Me.” Uniquely, this group is comprised entirely of 12- and 13-year-old boys who write all their own material. This group consists of twins Bill and Bob Burns on the drums and guitar, lead singer Mike Rice, lead guitar man Bob Gourley [Gourlie], and Ken Laymance on the rhythm guitar. An attractive and vibrant ‘go-go’ girl, Pam Cartwright, joins the group for public appearances. ‘Billy and the Kids’ demonstrated exceptional poise on their first professional recording endeavor. ‘They play the good hard rock as well as any group I’ve ever heard,’ was the appraisal made by veteran Wenatchee disc jockey Don Bernier, who helped launch the professional careers of these teenagers by recording ‘It’s Not the Same’ on the Julian label, a Bernier enterprise.
The band was managed by the twins’ father, Oliver ‘Ollie’ Burns, who was also a promoter of shows in the area.
In an interview by Oktay Gurbuz, Bill Burns wrote:
My father Ollie Burns (Jollie Ollie) booked and managed us at that time. My father was the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer of Douglas, County Washington. He also was a promoter. Every weekend he would rent halls, hire bands (Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Shindig Show, etc) and have dances.
I was able to hear live music and ask the musicians questions. There was a local band The Talismen. They were older guys and Bob Burns (my brother the drummer) and I would go watch them practice. They took us under their wing. I was the bass player. I played guitar but, we needed a bassist.
The first single was released between 7 and 8 grade so [it was] juvenile. The second record [“When I See You”] only a year later was a better recording, for 8th graders. The owner of the local radio station was in on the Julian Label. It was certainly exciting.
We played in Washington, Oregon, Idaho…for kids we had a following. Opening for the Wailers, Don and the Goodtimes, Billy, Dino and Desi, etc. The two records helped.
I have a tape (somewhere) of later incarnation of Billy and The Kids that was never released.
Bob and I formed Double Image, then News, recorded with Meredith Brooks, that album was released internationally. We have a project The Called. Bob Gourley I have not talked to since.
Don Julian Bernier owned the Julian label, issuing records by Wenatchee and Chelan acts the Aztecs (actually from Waterville I’ve since learned), the Talismen’s great “She Was Good” (Julian 105) and “I Know a Girl” b/w “I’ll Take a Walk” (Julian 108), the Chargers, Blane and the Julians, Linda Jo and the Nomads, and Judd Hamilton and the Furies. Don Bernier passed away on August 30, 2010.
Mike Rice and Bill and Bob Burns formed Double Image, a group that lasted until 1972 and had some lineup changes with members including Loren Bolenger, Steve Burdette (vocals), Don Gilbert, Doug Johnston (keyboards), Steve Nelson, Dave McKibbin (guitar) and Eric Peterson. For later photos of Double Image see PNWbands.com.
Russ Wagner went into Brand X, Inc from Portland, OR, with Jimmy Holt, Greg Johnson, Cliff Leisure and Scott Medler. Ken Laymance became a DJ in the Ukraine. Ken passed away in November, 2006. Mike Rice passed away of complications from lung disease due to smoking on February 25th, 2008.
Thank you to Paul Wentink for sending the top photo of the band on the slide and the poster, and for notifying me of Mike Rice’s passing. Bottom photo from the Pacific Northwest Bands site.
Very early photo of Billy & the Kids, courtesy of Bob GourlieBilly & the Kids, circa 1967
Billy & the Kids playing live, March 1967Billy & the Kids playing live, March 1967
The two photos above and four below, Billy and the Kids in the studio, September 1967
Bob Burns on drums
with the Fabulous Wailers in Walla WallaEarly photo of the Double Image, which featured Bill and Bob Burns and Mike Rice.Early photo of the Double Image
Here’s a fratty attempt at r&b called “Sweet, Sweet Soul” by the Dimensions 4 of Jackson, South Carolina. It’s not totally successful, but there’s no denying the funkiness of the opening beat and organ.
It’s probably their best song, though each has its moments. The flip “The Walk Out” is milder, and their second 45 on their own T-D-4 label, “Boogaloo King”, is not as exciting as the title suggests. All their songs were written by Melton Knight.
Hadji in front, Jack on bass, Rich on guitarCarl Storie and HadjiSteve “Hadji” BabaCarl Storie and Rich Burman
There were many bands named the Chosen Few but this one was from Muncie, Indiana. Some of them were students at Ball State, and were originally known as the Invincibles.
According to comments people have left below, original members of the group were:
Jack Hamilton – bass Rich Burmann – guitar Steve Baba (also known as Hodgie or Hadji Baba) – vocals Steve Nephew – drums
John Cascella joined on keyboards in 1966, and the band changed their name to the Chosen Few in early ’67. Baba was their original lead singer, but Steve Nephew and Jack Hamilton also took turns on vocals. Carl Storie joined in late summer or fall of ’67, giving the band two lead vocalists and a boost to their stage presence. This combination was together for almost a year. At times Jack switched to piano or harpsichord while Hadji played bass.
“It Just Don’t Rhyme”, released in May of ’67 is the first of four 45s they released on the Denim label, and the most rockin’. The guitarist’s snappy rhythm on the intro provides the hook as the singer tells the girl to get her head out of the clouds. Jack Hamilton handled the lead vocals on this song. The band liked it enough to record it a second time with fuller vocal tracks and heavier organ as the a-side of their third single, this time backed with a cover of “Lucille”.
“Don’t Say It” has a different kind of sound, rooted in 50’s r&b, featuring good horn arrangements and a nice bass line. “Don’t Say It” was written by Jack Hamilton, “It Just Don’t Rhyme” had music by Hamilton and words by Steve Nephew.
Their second 45 has the folk-rock sounds of “We Walk Together” (a Jack Hamilton composition) backed with the solid pop number “Foolin’ Around with Me” (co-written by Hamilton and Nephew). Production was by Bill Michael.
Sometime around late 1967 or 1968, Rich Burman and Steve Nephew left the band, and Dave Bennett (guitar) and Dave Barnes (drums) took their place. Hadji Baba left and joined the Ritual as their vocalist. The band’s later work is more pop based, as evidenced by their fourth and last Denim 45, “Pink Clouds and Lemonade”, backed by a cover of the Supremes hit, “Stop! In the Name of Love”.
After leaving Denim, The Chosen Few released a 45 on the Talun label “Maybe the Rain Will Fall” / “Deeper In” which was picked up by RCA. The band signed to RCA for an album deal in 1969. Their self-titled LP continues the pop sound of their later 45s, adding horns to the mix, though some of the band was disappointed in how it turned out.
The Chosen Few evolved into the Faith Band, who released five LPs in the 70’s. By this time Jack Hamilton had left and was replaced on bass by Mark Cawley, leaving John Cascella as the only member who had been with the original Chosen Few in ’67. John Cascella went on to join John Mellencamp’s group until he passed away in 1992. Carl Storie is still active in music with his own group.
Thanks to Ann Likes and Gary for sending in the great photos of the group.
“Don’t Say It” written by Steve Nephew b/w “Melissa” by Jack HamiltonThe original entry I wrote has been corrected thanks to information from Jack and Cindy Hamilton and from comments below. Thanks to Jean-Pierre Coumans for the scans of “We Walk Together” and “Foolin’ Around with Me”. The Denim label also released the Jades “Come Back” / “Change My Ways”.
Updates: I am very sorry to report that Jack Hamilton passed away on September 26, 2021, after a brief illness. His obituary is online at Legacy.
Timothy Cox of 60’s Indiana Band Szene sent me this label scan of an early single from the Limit on Denim Records DS-1076, that predates the Chosen Few 45s. Did the group play live as The Limit, and are there any photos of this lineup?
Jack Hamilton (with polka dots), Rich Burman on guitar, John Cascella’s legs and bootsfrom left: Hadji, Jack, Rich and JohnRich Burman on guitar and Steve Nephew on drumsfrom left: Steve, Rich, JohnCarl singing, Steve Nephew on drumsCarl and SteveRich BurmanSteveCarl, Rich and Johnfrom left: Steve Nephew on drums, Rich Burman guitar, HadjiSteve ‘Hadji’ Baba (aka Captain Schoolbus)1969 promo photos (thanks to J. for this scan and the LP cover below)
A real obscurity here. I’m not sure where the band was from, but the label was based in Commerce, Texas, about 60 miles northeast of Dallas.
“All Is Gone” is a monster of a song, with a spooky organ sound and unrelenting snare beat. The loud mastering leads to some distortion in the 45. The songwriting credits go to Humphrey – Bates, who I suppose were band members.
For the A-side they went with a safer bet, a good cover of “Big Boy Pete”. The Olympics had the big hit with this song, but judging from the Shade’s arrangement I think they probably picked this up from Paul Revere and the Raiders first album.
Their producer was Mike Stanglin, who told me, “My family owned the Twilight Skating Rink in Pleasant Grove section of Dallas. The Shade was a very good band that played there for the “sock hops” that I was in charge of. Roy Clark was the lead singer, who later called himself Royce Clark to keep from being confused with Roy Clark the country singer. I went to college at East Texas State University in Commerce, TX, hence the Commerce address.”
The Shade 45 was recorded at Sumet Studio (the first one) in Dallas. Mike had produced a couple other 45s prior to this, and continued releasing records on Twilight into the late 70’s, including a rap single by FBI…Fresh Brothers International. As for the Shade, they seem to have disappeared.
This site is a work in progress on 1960s garage rock bands. All entries can be updated, corrected and expanded. If you have information on a band featured here, please let me know and I will update the site and credit you accordingly.
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The Lost and Found came out of Bellaire High School, 10 miles southwest of downtown Houston, and originally called themselves the Misfits.
Members were:
The group recorded some more songs in February 1968 that went unreleased at the time. Lelan added “25 MPH” to the Epitaph for a Legend album he compiled in 1978. I haven’t yet heard “Girl with a One Track Mind”, written by William West according to George Banks.
Jimmy Frost: “When we got back International Artists said we owed them money and that just finished the band off, we didn’t see any money from the tour, and we were all so broke that the band just split up.”
The Shambrels came from Oneonta, Alabama, about 35 miles northeast of Birmingham. I knew nothing about the group until Jerry Yancy commented below, so I’ve added his info to this post.
