There’s no denying the power of the Mondells 45 on Gaye, “I Got a Feeling” / “You’ll Never Come Back to Stay”. Both songs have thick distortion on the guitar, nice organ swirls, pounding drums, and good lead and backing vocals.
The code U4KM-5024 denotes an RCA custom pressing from the first half of 1967. The scan I originally posted showed no song writing credits on the label, but as Mike Markesich pointed out in his comment below, that scan was doctored to keep the writer’s name secret until the band could be found. From the scans I now have, Roy Farmer Jr. wrote “I Got a Feeling” and Benny Thomas wrote “You’ll Never Come Back to Stay”. Both sides are published by Margie Music, BMI, and listed as A Gaye Talent Production.
The group itself is still something of a mystery to me. I did find out that the Mondels, like Red Beard & the Pirates, came from the rural hills between Blue Ridge, Georgia (Morganton, Mineral Bluff, Epworth) and Copperhill, Tennessee / McCaysville, GA, about two hours drive north of the studio in Decatur, GA, just east of Atlanta. From the same area came The Blazers, who had a self-produced LP On Fire.
An old auction listing gives a couple names for Red Beard & the Pirates: Randy Queen and “Sea Dog”. The seller also mentioned two members of the Mondels: “Billy Suites (died from auto accident) and Lamar Harper (died a couple of years ago from cancer). Actually the name ‘Tootie’ written on the record is my sister-in-law and she dated Lamar.” I contacted the seller for more info, but I can’t confirm if these names are accurate.
The Mondels is one of the rarest and best 45s on the Gaye label.
Mike Dugo interviewed a member of the Penetrations who have a record on Gaye, “A Different Kind of Man” / “I Got A Girl” but they were from Belton, South Carolina, to the north east of Atlanta.
Thank you to Mike Markesich for the scans and info on the band. Transfers from Teenage Shutdown vol. 13.
Red Beard & The Pirates consisted of Larry Carruth, Don Miller, John Miller, James Weaver, Larry Queen and Randy Queen.
There are songwriter credits names on the 45. They were blocked / airbrushed out as the group was not yet found when the TS compilation was issued.
The group was from Blue ridge, GA according to contact sources that confirmed this after TS came out. Members included Roy Farmer (wrote “….feeling” and Benny Thomas (wrote B-side)
Other Gaye label 45s-
Garage:
Jerry Ashley – “Come On” / “Come On” (instrumental backing track) Gaye 3044
The Blades “Moving Out” / “I Need You” (Gaye 3045)
There are two pressings of Little Phil & The Nightshadows Gaye release.
The 1st is a dark purple pressing issued in late 1966 with the NRC code etched in the deadwax. There is no RCA matrix or account on this pressing.
The 2nd press, issued with the pic sleeve, is a black label, with the RCA pressing account # 672A and the U4KM master number.
Any additional information about Jerry Ashley, credited with Gaye record # 3044?
Where from, any additional recordings, etc.? Thanks!
I’d gotten an mp3 of the George Hughley single from GeorgiaSoul.blogspot.com, which described Gaye Records as “the somewhat mysterious, and elusive Gaye label out of Decatur.” That was from a 2009 post.
The contact for the blog is brian@georgiasoul.com. He might know more about the label, now.
There is nothing “mysterious” about the label, only that the operator of that noted Georgia soul music website doesn’t know enough, or didn’t undertake much research…
The label was based out of Atlanta, not Decatur. The name of the operation went under the identity of World-Wide, and Gaye was one of the in-house labels operated by the company (Gaye, Sound Of Atlanta/SOA, World-Wide and Space). The husband and wife team (John & Gaye Brooks) ran the operation that was staffed by a promo man, A&R man and publicist.
The Penetrations recorded twice in 1966 at Atlanta Sound Studio, with Johnny Brooks serving as engineer and producer at both sessions. The 2nd recording featured vocalist / songwriter Milford Fagg, who had been a member of The Injections band, also of Belton, SC. Songs were:
Do You Still Remember Me and Mr. Ivory. The artist name on the 2nd recording is: Milford Fagg with The Penetrations. Although Milford passed away in 1995, copies of that 45 are known to be in existence, most with surviving family members. At least one live performance of the 2nd recording occurred in late summer or early fall 1966 at the old Belton High School auditorium. David Powell and Tommy Hanley appear on both 45s. Go to Mike Dugo’s 60sgaragebands.com for Hanley’s interview. Go to Spin the Groove blogspot to hear both sides of The Penetrations’ first recording. TLH 10-29-11
In my previous comment above, I mentioned: “to hear The Penetrations first recording, go to Spin the Groove dot Com”. I no longer can recommend that site! Recent attempts to access Spin the Groove have generated warnings suggesting the site might have been hacked. Or it is possible the site was taken down intentionally, and since then may have been compromised by person(s) with other intentions.
I have a copy of your record with Mr. Fagg safe and sound here in Athens, GA (and your other release, as well!)
Passing on a question from a band member
– was the “tootie” mentioned here Sarah Jane Arp class of 1971 West Fannin Highschool Blue ridge, Georgia?
Just found a copy of Gaye 2002 in Savannah over the weekend, and was surprised to see it was mastered at Criteria in Miami… as evidence by Jack Davis’ JD symbol. I’m not sure how Criteria fit into the picture, but the JD number (2788) denotes 1964.
Flip side of 2004 Beverly taylor is “I BELIEVE IN YOU” pink label,can provide scans if needed.
This image appears to be Gaye 3031 as the aforementioned “Do You Still Remember Me?” recording by Milton Fagg and The Penetrations rather than the Little Phil recording stated in your discography.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=342334419212711&set=a.271412572971563.59260.271369882975832&type=1
Checking into this, it seems there were two Gaye 3031 issues. I’ve found label and sleeve for the Little Phil that state Gaye 3031. But thank you for pointing this out, I’ll add Milton Fagg to the discography.
I just noticed, on the facebook comments connected with the link to the Gaye record scan from a week or so ago …. there are some very crude, rude, and disparaging remarks on there! I know people are entitled to their opinions, and to their exercise of free speech. But I think most of those comments cross the line of normal behavior. Furthermore, it appears to me that the majority of those comments violate facebook’s guideline – especially when they’re posted on an open and public forum.
Thanks so much for finding and for sharing the image of Milford’s record, made with The Penetrations band, from Belton, SC in 1966. I was aware that the record number conflicted with one of The Nightshadows records on the same label (or at least in the known discography). I hope you or someone else can provide a photo of the flip side of the record. Even better would be to share the pics and songs on U-Tube. Someone some where has already done that with The Penetrations first recording of I Got a Girl and A Different Kind of Man. Milford passed away in 1995, but he is remembered in these parts as a true southern gentleman, and as a great songwriter / musician. He became a minister of music in several area churches, and was ordained as a deacon as well. He is survived by his wife (who has since remarried), and by two daughters. His wife Debbie provided assistance with recalling information associated with Milford’s musical career – remembrances that were included as contributions to Tom’s 2006 interview with Mike Dugo of 60sgaragebands.com May Milford’s legacy and music live on, and may he rest in eternal peace!
I agree with the comments made by Leopold on Feb. 28, 2013 about the disparaging remarks, etc. found on the facebook thread linked to kfitzer’s post above. The English language has changed much during the past 50 years, and not for the better! It is shameful that the record producer’s wife’s first name (Gaye), the artist’s last name, and the band’s name have been abused to the extent displayed in those facebook comments! That is sad, disgusting, and sickening. Unfortunately that is probably the future of facebook, and one thing probably will lead to it’s ultimate downfall. But facebook is not alone in allowing and encouraging such abuse. I discovered a post about the same record on Nov. 5, 2012, on celebrity Will Wheaton’s Google plus blogspot. The comments had been posted by a person in Kentucky, and I have to wonder if that comment may somehow have led to the more recent abuse on the facebook posts. I have confidence and faith that the truth will emerge over time!
Just an update to my previous comments. I discovered within the last few days that said person in Kentucky, who had made first reference to this record via Google Plus on celebrity Will Wheaton’s blogspot, now is claiming to own a copy of the 45 record, courtesy of his parent(s). He has posted a scan of side 1 of the record on his Google Plus account, which site can be accessed publicly. That is the same (and only) side posted on the Facebook link aforementioned in my previous comments. If indeed the gentleman from Kentucky has a legitimate copy of that rare vinyl 45 recording, I would challenge him to scan and post side 2 as well. That would offer additional evidence to support his claim of having a genuine 1966 record, and not merely a replicated scan of side 1 that has been used during the last nine months or so for other intents and purposes. Furthermore, uploading both sides to You Tube would be the most convincing evidence he could provide to those of us who have a genuine interest in the historical and preservational aspects of 60s bands and of their music. Thank you! TLH
Checking authenticity of Gaye record # 3040-1, song title “A Brand New Sound”, artist Jimmy Lunsden. Scan also shows Margie Music and Gaye Talent Productions on the label. Found recently on Google Images; directs to lin: rateyourmusic.co/label/gaye-records. No reference for side 2. Is it legit, and if so, any guess as to the genre (Garage, Gospel, other)? Thanks!
My dad Greg Seabolt was one of the members of the Mondels and my grandfather Roy Seabolt helped to manage the band. Would love to see some more published about the Mondels and other area bands.
Pourrait-tu dire le nom des membres et les instruments qu’ils pratiquaient s’il te plait?