The Oceans on stage. Note the piano player and string quartet in the background ready to be next to perform!
The Oceans came from Athens, Ohio, releasing “She’s Gone” / “Abilene” on Pla Me Records in December 1966.
“She’s Gone” is a great, moody rock number with horns that actually help the arrangement. The singer snarls and yells out the lyrics, the guitar and rhythm is dense.
“She’s Gone” was written by the group. Publishing was by B-W Music, now Weldee Music in Wooster, OH.
The band must have used all their creative energy for “She’s Gone”, because the flip “Abilene” is a slow version of the 1963 country hit. Gary Rhamy produced both sides.
Richard Brown’s son Eric wrote to me with the photo above and some information on the band:
Mike Cunningham: vocals, also guitar and saxophone
Ed Lonas: guitar
Richard Brown: bass, also trumpet (on “She’s Gone”)
Jim Dean: drums
Oceans first, Cobras of Beverly secondThey were from Athens, OH. The played mostly around the Athens & Belpre area in SE Ohio, from ’64 – ’67.
The picture is from a Battle of the Bands in either Charleston or Huntington, West Virginia. They won that competition, as noted in the newspaper clipping. Three of the four were students at Ohio University (in Athens), and Richard & Mike were childhood friends.
Thank you to Eric Brown for his help with this post.
7 thoughts on “The Oceans “She’s Gone” on Pla-Me Records”
The B-side may lack the excitement of that fantastic A, still I am interested in that side, to add it to my collection of Abilene-covers. Could you please send me an mp3 of the Oceans’ version? Any idea about the year of release? The A sounds like 1965, but I haven’t found a release date yet.
The RCA custom press code – 4TKM indicates it was mastered in Chicago in 1966 – maybe in the first half of the year. According to Teen Beat Mayhem it was released in December of 1966.
4TKM was actually the third pass in RCA Custom’s matrix numbering system during 1966, within the last month of the year (December), indicating that combined, the four studios (besides the Windy City, there was also New York, Hollywood and Nashville) came up with over 20,000 matrix numbers that year. (T4KM was in the early part of the year, and TK4M in the latter part, with only Chicago handling 4TKM’s.)
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The B-side may lack the excitement of that fantastic A, still I am interested in that side, to add it to my collection of Abilene-covers. Could you please send me an mp3 of the Oceans’ version?
Any idea about the year of release? The A sounds like 1965, but I haven’t found a release date yet.
The RCA custom press code – 4TKM indicates it was mastered in Chicago in 1966 – maybe in the first half of the year. According to Teen Beat Mayhem it was released in December of 1966.
4TKM was actually the third pass in RCA Custom’s matrix numbering system during 1966, within the last month of the year (December), indicating that combined, the four studios (besides the Windy City, there was also New York, Hollywood and Nashville) came up with over 20,000 matrix numbers that year. (T4KM was in the early part of the year, and TK4M in the latter part, with only Chicago handling 4TKM’s.)
TO THE WEBMASTER. ONE OF THE MEMBERS LAST NAME IS SPELLED INCORRECTLY. ED VONAS SHOULD BE ED LONAS. THANK YOU. 🙂
I was just about to say the same thing. Yes, it is Lonas. We’re his kids, lol
The Oceans drummer, Jim Dean, passed away in Westerville, Ohio, December 22, 2021. May he Rest In Peace.
Just found this song on the garage rock compilation ‘Turn To Stone Vol.2’.
.. and it is indeed, a great, moody rocker. It grabbed me on first listen.