Categories: ARV International, Harlingen, Pharaoh, Rio Grande Valley, Texas

The Cruisers from Harlingen, TX

July 14, 2007 Chris Bishop 28 Comments

Cruisers Pharaoh sleeve Another Lonely Night — from left: F.G. Renaud, Bobby Ledesma, E.J. Ledesma (inside the car), Manny Carmona & Rafael Saldana.
Thank you to Gloria for providing the names in her comment below.

The Cruisers came from Harlingen, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley, like Noe Pro and Simon Reyes.

The Cruisers released at least eight singles on local south Texas labels. I didn’t know the lineup of the band until Gloria commented (see below) that the members on the sleeve above were:

E.J. Ledesma – lead vocals & guitar
Rafael “Kai” Saldana – lead guitar
Manny Carmona – sax
Bobby Ledesma – bass
F.G. Renaud – drums
Arnold Cano – trumpet, keyboards

Other members may have included Joe Rodriguez. More info on the band would be appreciated.

They had five 45s on the Pharaoh label from nearby McAllen, Texas, some of which are very pop oriented. The third 45 on Pharaoh, “My Place” fetched a lot of money when it sold recently, but I have no idea as to its quality.

Arnold Cano wrote to me with information about his time in the Cruisers:

The Cruisers were the first band I played with. The person most directly responsible for me joining my first professional band was Carlos (Charlie) Ledesma. He is EJ Ledesma’s younger brother and was in the Harlingen Coakley Band when I met him. Carlos is the one I will thank for the rest of my life for getting me involved in music.
I came to Coakley halfway through 8th grade from a private school in Brownsville. Lived in Harlingen and wanted to play in the school band. Ended up playing French horn and sat next to Carlos, who played saxophone. He was the one that told me that the band (Cruisers) needed a trumpet player and asked me if I thought I might be able to fill that spot. Even though I had just started playing the French horn that year I decided to give it a try. Asked my parents if they would help me monetarily with purchasing a trumpet and they did. Went to Bledsoe’s Music and bought one, to this day I still thank them for the support they gave me all through the years in music.
Carlos and I were considered younger brothers to the guys and we looked up to them as such. I was 15 and in the 9th grade when I recorded “Oh Sweetness” with the guys, I luckily wrote the month and year on the 45 back then or else there would be no way I would remember now.
I eventually moved on to playing keyboard, again asking my parents for the help. They never hesitated and soon I was playing keyboards with the band. What I don’t remember are the circumstances of leaving the band.
I also played with Noe Pro for a bit … Ray and The Carousels (formerly The Belaires), Los Hermanos Ramos, La Justicia, Tequila Sunrise, Kaos (this was at The Helipad), The AllNighter’s, Tequila Mockingbird and then moved to San Antonio with my AT&T job and played with a Texano band there. I transferred to the Dallas area to follow my telephone job and met an old musician friend I had played with in the valley (Henry Lee). Played in his band, Slick, for a couple of years and then got a call from another friend (Kevin Martin) that I had played with in Kaos Band back in the valley. He was going to contract event gigs and already had a couple of agents. I jumped at the opportunity to get away from the nightly club gigging. Started playing with his band (HitSquad) in Houston. It is a drive but we just do corporate and better paying events. I’ve played many years and still love the music.

E.J. Ledesma, who has had a long career in Tejano music wrote many of their songs including “My Place”, “Another Lonely Night”, “Please Let Me Be (The One for You)” and “Oh! Sweetness”. If anyone has scans or mp3s of the other Pharaoh records, please let me know.

The Cruisers had two releases on the ARV International label, also from McAllen, “Just Having Fun” and “Movin’ Man” were written, arranged and produced by Bobby Ledesma. The b-sides to each are lighter, with “Lucky Man” featuring horns.

List of 45 releases:

Pharaoh 125 – An Angel Like You / The Lonely (1964)
Pharaoh 128 – Another Lonely Night / Please Let Me Be (The One For You)
Pharaoh 139 – My Place / Walkin’ and a Ridin’ (1965)
Pharaoh 148 – The Fire’s Gone / Oh! Sweetness (Aug. 1966)
Pharaoh 155 – Celina / Baby Doll (February 1967)
ARV 5004 – Just Having Fun / Lucky Man (May 1967)
ARV 5010 – Movin’ Man / Children Playing In The Sun
Impacto IM-178 – Down By the River / I Can’t Believe It (1968)

For more on the Pharaoh label see the article on this site.

Thank you to Fred Hoyt for the scans of “Another Lonely Night” / “Please Let Me Be” and the sleeve, to Westex and Max Waller for additions to the discography, and to Danny and Gloria for the info on the band in their comments, below. Thank you to Arnold Cano for his story on the group.

Categories: Turkey

Kamuran Akkor

July 13, 2007 Chris Bishop 8 Comments

Kamuran Akkor has had a long career in music beginning in 1968. Kamuran is the sister of singer and actress Gönül Akkor.

This is her fourth single, I believe. “Sevgi Nedir Hiç Bilmedim” is a jaunty pop number with horns, featuring the band of drummer Vasfi Uçaroğlu. I think this 45 originally came with a picture sleeve – if anyone has the right sleeve for this single please contact me!

Muzik Ve Genclik (Music and Youth), November 16, 1968. To Kamuran's left is Berkant, and directly behind them is Vasfi Uçaroğlu — Muzik Ve Genclik (Music and Youth), November 16, 1968. To Kamuran’s left is Berkant, and directly behind them is Vasfi Uçaroğlu

Another wild photo – this release from 1973

Categories: Kansas, Wichita

The Moanin’ Glories

July 12, 2007 Chris Bishop 46 Comments

Ritchie Kunkle (guitar) and Andy Gore (bass) formed the Candelles in Wichita, Kansas in 1965. They changed their name to the Moanin’ Glories after Karl Berkebile (keyboards) and Marc Mourning (drums) joined in 1966.

The Moanin’ Glories recorded just one 45 for the Yorkshire label in 1967. The organ and harmony vocals give a dense sound to “She Took The Rain Out Of My Mind” and “You Better Watch Out For That Girl”. Both sides were written by Kunkle and Gore, and produced by Ken Ham.

Andy Gore had the band filmed performing both sides of the 45, using the set of KAKE-TV in Wichita for a promotional reel. The photos here are screen shots I took, but I unfortunately didn’t try to save the videos themselves. These were up on YouTube until a few days ago, hopefully they’ll be made available again soon.

The band relocated to Boston, Massachusetts in 1970, and toured Japan that year, but I’m not sure what they sounded like by that point. They broke up in 1971.

Categories: Argentina, Philips

Los Shimmys

July 12, 2007 Chris Bishop Leave a comment

Don’t know a thing about this band other than the Argentine origin. “Me voy de fiesta con mis amigos” is a cool rocker with an “A Day in the Life” interlude and strange ending that seems to cut too soon. The song was written by ‘Timoteo’.

Categories: Arizona, Chari, Hype, Original Sound, Scottsdale

The Bitter Sweets

July 8, 2007 Chris Bishop 19 Comments

Bob Sutko vocals and harmonica, Greg Farley guitar, Allan Chitwood bass and Paul Bennett drums were the Bitter Sweets of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Their first single is the slow and melancholy “She Treats Me Bad”, written by Bob Sutko and Paul Bennett with P. Boynton. I’m not sure who P. Boynton was, but a Tony Boynton played with another Phoenix group, the Young Men. It was released in June or July of 1966 on the Hype label.

For the flip, “Cry Your Eyes Out”, Sutko and Farley wrote new lyrics to the music of the Byrds’ “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better”, and it worked well enough to reach the charts on KRUX AM in Phoenix in September of ’66.

A few months later they released “She Treats Me Bad” again on the Chari label a with a different b-side, “Road to Rann”, written by Bob Sutko and Allan Chitwood. By this time Paul “Skip” Ladd from the Laser Beats joined on lead guitar.

Bittersweets Chari 45 She Treats Me Bad — Second release of “She Treats Me Bad”

Skip Ladd wrote to me:

The manager Chari Zelman hired me to change the sound of the Bitter Sweets because they sounded too much like the Byrds. I wasn’t on the Hype label 45 and hated playing “She Treats Me Bad”, depressing, but it was a gig and loved playing lead guitar with Twentieth Century Zoo. I wrote the oboe parts, played 12 string parts, and the piano parts, wrote and sang the harmony parts when I was 18.
“Road To Rann” was recorded at Audio Recorders on 7th Street in Phoenix. Only rock song to start with an oboe solo.

The band moved out to Los Angeles in 1967 and released one final 45 on Original Sound: “In the Night” / “Another Chance”, both written by written by T. Evans and Bob Sutko. After this 45, the band became the Twentieth Century Zoo with two 45s on Chari A. Zellman’s CAZ label, plus two more singles and an LP Thunder on a Clear Day on Vault. At some point Randy Wells replaced Paul Bennett on drums.

The Chari and Original Sound 45s list the band as one word, the Bittersweets.

According to a comment below, Bob Sutko and Paul Bennett have passed away.

Thank you to Garry Baur for the scans of the Chari and Original Sound 45s and to Skip Ladd for the photo of the band.

Categories: Delta, Edgewood Recording Studio (DC), McLean, Montgomery, Virginia

The Apollos

July 5, 2007 Chris Bishop 28 Comments

The original Apollos band established in early 1964 by Jim Price and Dave Harney. — The Apollos: front and center Wayne Groves, middle row (left-right): Tommy Vorhauer and Jim Price, back row from left: Dave Harney, John Parisi , and Don Harney.
This is the original Apollos band established in early 1964 by Jim Price and Dave Harney.

Updated Jan. 2, 2012

From McLean, Virginia, the Apollos went through several personnel changes while leaving behind demos, live tapes and two 45s as their legacy. I’ve read conflicting accounts of who was in the band when, but with feedback from Jim Price and Tommy Vorhauer, this seems to be correct:

The original band consisted of brothers Dave and Don Harney on guitar, Jim Price on bass, and Dave Elliot on drums. Jan Sylvester soon replaced Elliot on drums was himself replaced by Wayne Groves, and Jon Parisi came in on keyboards. The band’s repertoire leant heavily on surf numbers until they added Tommy Vorhauer on vocals. This is the group in the photo at top.

A win at a local battle of the bands gave them studio time at Edgewood Recording Studio in D.C., and they cut several sides, including early versions of “That’s the Breaks” and “Country Boy”. They re-recorded these two for their own Delta label in 1965.

“Country Boy” is a fine surf instrumental written by Don Harney. Surprisingly it has never been comped before. “That’s the Breaks” has great drumming and nice fluid guitar work with a strong vocal by Vorhauer. I’m not sure who’s playing the organ on this 45.

Tom Vorhauer clarified some points about the band in a comment below that I’ll reproduce here:

Jon Parisi played keyboard and wrote the music for “That’s the Breaks”. I wrote the words and sang lead vocal. I also sang lead vocals on “Target Love” and “It’s a Monster”. We were playing on M street in Washington DC at Mack’s Pipe and Drum and were approached by two gentlemen who were scouts for Paramount Artists. They were interested in signing the Apollos to a record contract but on one condition, they wanted to replace our manager Bill Moser, we refused and never signed.

By late 1966 Vorhauer, Groves and Parisi had left to be replaced by Doug Collins on vocals, Dwight James on keyboards and Wayne Goubilee on drums. Their second 45, “Target Love” b/w “It’s a Monster” on the Montgomery label is a great double-sided 45. I hope to feature it in the future, but it seems to be rarer than the Delta one.

There’s also a live tape of the band, with good versions of “Dirty Water” and “I’m Crying”. At some point they were turned down by MGM, and that seems to be the end of their story.

In December, 2011 Jim Price contacted me and gave some background on the group:

We were from McLean, Virginia, not Falls Church. Dave, Don and I all lived in Woodside Estates, McLean. That’s where it all started in 1963. I was playing my guitar on our front porch and Dave and Don came wandering up and introduced them selves and said they played as well. I was playing lead guitar, Dave rhythm and Don played bass.We switched up as time went on and everyone found their niche.
We did our demo cut of 4 songs at Edgewood:
1. “That’s The Breaks” words by Tommy Vorhauer and music by the band.
2. “Country Boy” by Don Harney
3. “Dance Dance Dance” (Beach Boys) sung by Wayne Groves
4. “Mr. Lonely”, a remake of the original, sung by Tommy Vorhauer
“Mr. Lonely” was to be our front side of the first 45 but we decided to go with two original songs instead. They were both hits but “Mr. Lonely” would have been a hit as well. It would today.
I created “Delta Music Company” with the help of our agent Bill Moser, thus Delta on the label. We outsourced the art work for the label. Since Edgewood had recorded the songs we contracted through them to have the records pressed and the labels put on them. The records would then be made and sent to us and Bill and I would take them out to the stores and put them on the shelves. In those days you could put your records in stores on consignment. It was all we could do to keep up.
MGM did offer to buy the rights to “That’s The Breaks” but we turned them down. Paramount contacted our agent Bill Mosser three times trying to get us to sign a contract with them but we would lose $ on each record that was sold so we turned them down. Within 3 weeks of the last turndown, our records were not being played on any radio station in the nation. Paramount told Bill that “the boys will be sorry they did;nt sign with them.” The stores even started refusing to slot them any more. “Target Love” and “It’s A Monster” only made it to #10 before it vanished from the airways.
Through this phase the band members were: Don Harney, Dave Harney, Wayne Groves, John Parisi (now John Ian), Jim Price and Tommy Vorhauer. Some time after that John Parisi left the band and we added Dwight James.
The summer of 1966 we recorded “It’s A Monster” and “Target Love” on the Montgomery Label. I can’t remember the name of the studio. Shortly after that Tommy and I left the band and went to Boston to college. Dave and Don Harney continued to run the band with a new drummer who was the singer as well. When I was home on break, I would go and sing with them down in Georgetown, lots of fun.
The band stayed together for a while longer then everyone seemed to go their own way. Tommy is now in Denver, Dave is in Dayton Ohio, Don is in Seattle, Wayne is in Great Falls VA, John Ian DC, Dwight Fairfax VA and I am in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
My oldest son Jason Price does production work in his spare time in the northern VA area – take a look at www.squadcar37.com.
Jim Price

Categories: Japan, Osaka

Akiko Wada

July 5, 2007 Chris Bishop 3 Comments

This is japanese pop with a sound that reminds me of soundtrack music more than anything else. Great sleeve, for sure. Wada was born in Osaka of Korean parents.

“Doshaburi no Ame no Nakade” (In the Pouring Rain) / “Boy and Girl” is her second release, a big hit in early ’69. Akiko had a starring role in one of my favorite Japanese films, Stray Cat Rock: Girl Boss, which also features a version of her singing “Boy and Girl” backed by the Mops.

Akiko Wada is now a well-known TV personality in Japan.

UpdateIn 2008, Akiko did a big 40th anniversay in show business at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, a very good and exhaustive overlook of her career.

Categories: Hightstown, New Jersey, WGW

The Werps

July 5, 2007 Chris Bishop 19 Comments

The Werps recorded one 45 for the WGW label of Somerville, New Jersey in 1967. People who think horns have no place in garage songs dislike “Love’s a Fire”, but I think the horns help the sense of mayhem, and I dig the soloing over the drum rolls. There’s really no other record from any era quite like this one.

Tim Warren made a huge effort to get a version without the horns for Back from the Grave vol. 6, but wound up with a slower take without the shouting and intensity of the 45 that dissatisfied most everyone.

“Shades of Blue” burns at a slow pace compared to the urgency of “Love’s a Fire”, but it’s excellent too. Both songs were written by James Serenko and John Matzko, and the record was produced by Geno Viscione.

I don’t know the full names of all the members or what instruments they played. According to comments below, there was a guitarist named Clark (surname?) and a drummer Paul (surname?).

Tage Weie sent me the scans and transfers of an acetate from Studio 76. The version of “Love’s a Fire” on this acetate is the same as the one on Back from the Grave, except it’s about 20 seconds shorter, with a fade out instead of coming to a stop. The flip of the acetate is another cool original, “Voodoo Doll”, subdued but also intense, and possibly inspired by Arthur Lee’s “Signed, D.C.”

Studio 76 was located at 1650 Broadway, around the block from the Brill Building. The studio was owned by Ed Chalpin, who is best known for having Jimi Hendrix under contract “for $1 and 1% royalty” before Jimi met Chas Chandler – a contract that has since earned Chalpin millions through lawsuits, as well as U.S. rights to the “Band of Gypsys” LP. I highly recommend Mike Rashkow’s article about working at Studio 76 with Chalpin and his father Sam.

Anyone have a photo of the group?

Thanks to Tage Weie for sharing his one-of-a-kind acetate with us.

Categories: Japan, Yokohama

The Carnabeats with and without Gary Walker

July 3, 2007 Chris Bishop 2 Comments

Their fourth 45, with one of their finest B-sides, "Chu! Chu! Chu!" — Their fourth 45, with one of their finest B-sides, “Chu! Chu! Chu!”

In early 1967, teenager Ai Takano was playing drums and singing at the Red Shoes club in Yokohama. When an opportunity to join the Freelancers fell through, Takano and ex-Swing West guitarist Jiro Kitamura formed Robin Hood adding friends Keikichi Usui on vocals, Hiroshi Koshikawa lead guitar, and Paul Tadao Oka on bass.

Within a week of forming they had a contract and a new band name, the Carnabeats. They immediately went into the studio to record their first 45, a cover of “I Love You” by their main influence, the Zombies. It was a huge hit, the biggest of their career, and led to the release of the Zombies original version on 45 in Japan.

They put out a total of ten singles, a split LP with the Jaguars, and their own LP Carnabeats First Album, all of varying quality before breaking up in 1969, but here and there are b-sides and odd releases that together make for a good collection of music.

The B-side of their second 45 “Koio Shiyo Yo Jenny”, is a cover of the Canadian band the Great Scots’ “Give Me Lovin'” every bit as good as the original.

Back cover of "Chu! Chu! Chu!" sleeve. — Back cover of “Chu! Chu! Chu!” sleeve.

The b-side to an overwrought ballad, “Chu! Chu! Chu! (Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!)” shows how the Carnabeats could range from silly pop to rocking moments within a single song. Still, this is maybe their wildest performance, containing a stupendous fuzz break and slamming drum work by Takano.

"Cutie Morning Moon" lyrics — “Cutie Morning Moon” lyrics

Their next 45 was a collaboration with Gary Walker (Gary Leeds). “Cutie Morning Moon” must be one of the strangest of all Group Sounds records. Produced by Scott Walker, “Cutie Morning Moon” is wonderfully moody and uncommercial. Not many have heard the flip, “Hello Gary”, which is merely a dopey Gary Walker goofing over the backing track of “Cutie Morning Moon”. Later on, the Carnabeats opened for Gary Walker and Rain’s Japanese tour.

From japrocksampler.com:

Although The Carnabeats were friendly with other Group Sounds acts, the band’s management insisted that they maintain a distance in public in order to appear cool and aloof, and Carnabeats drummer Ai Takano later described Jaguars singer Sin Okamoto visiting his house after dark to keep up the deceit.
However, a professional friendship developed between the band and The Walker Brothers. Ai Takano later described drummer Gary Leeds, who appeared on the B-side of their super-groovy Strangeloves style hit ‘Cutie Morning Moon’, trying to sing and play the A-side song and failing miserably.

“Go Go Stop” is from what seems to be their rarest 45. It’s a fine b-side that hasn’t been comped before to my knowledge.

Last up are a couple tracks from various artists LPs from the time. “Love Only For You” is a track from Let’s Go Group Sounds #3 and “Twinkie Lee”, with a brief but rockin’ guitar solo, is from Group Sounds World Top Hits.

After breaking up, Tadao Okada joined the Japanese cast of Hair while Ai Takano joined the Eddie Ban Group and then the Golden Cups, performing with them at their last, disastrous gig in Okinawa. Ai has since passed away.

Categories: Brooklyn, Demo-Disc, Dick Charles Recording, Kef, New York, New York City

The Go-Nuts

July 3, 2007 Chris Bishop 8 Comments

A couple months ago I wrote about the Go Nuts, a short-lived group from Brooklyn, NY. Their 45 “Flower” is an idealistic tribute to the Summer of Love youth that has been compared to the Seeds for its organ sound and vocals.

Soon afterwards, Jared K. sent me a scan and mp3 of a quite different record by Patrolman Vic Virzera with the Premiers. It seems that when they weren’t waxing eloquently about the flower children, the Virzera brothers were trying to convince the kids to trust the cops!

Jared wrote: “Sounds like he may have been the coolest cop of all time. ‘He’s On Your Side’ is the a-side and is another organ driven rocker (with none of the psych flourishes of ‘Flower’) about getting along with the police, because they’re here to help. Flip is a doo-woppy group vocal.

“Both sides have songwriting credits to brothers Vic and Michael Virzera with the b-side additionally crediting P. Drift. Michael produced the b-side (‘Two Hearts’) and Elliot Chiprut produced ‘He’s On Your Side’.”

Recently I heard from Vic Virzera himself, who have me the history of his groups, and sent me two early song they cut, the 50’s rocker Nina that I’m featuring here, and a ballad called Mystic Mirror. In Vic’s own words:

In 1962, Nina and Mystic Mirror were local grass roots Flatbush hits….our demos were being played in quite a few juke boxes. At that time we were The Premiers with the sub theme “Music with a New Sound”.
Elvis’s early producers, Wally Gold and Araon Schroeder (they wrote Elvis’ 1960 #1 hit “It’s Now or Never”, and Wally Gold co-wrote “It’s My Party”) offered us a contract that had “power of attorney clauses” and we declined….in retrospect …I guess we should have signed it, but at the time we thought we were doing the smart thing. We knew of so many groups that were working their butts off, traveling around the country while the powers that be would make all the money (since they had the power to sign your name to spend the earnings), claiming the money went for promotions, expenses, etc. Another consideration was the fact that, my brother, Mike, would have to had given up his job in open heart research, where he was instrumental in designing a heart-lung machine apparatus.
The Go Nuts were formed as a rock show group in 1965 and lasted about two years. We did recordings and appearances, including a performance aired Christmas Day, 1966 on the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour. It was at the CBS Ed Sullivan Theater. Our rock rendition of “Shortenin’ Bread” really went over well… …girls were screaming, people standing and rocking with the beat, lots of applause etc. Unfortunately, similar to what happened to the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show, probably the same tech engineers had my lead voice as low as the background voices and what was aired sounded like all background. Still, we came in second and had a great time.
Regarding Patrolman Vic Virzera and the Premiers, in 1971 we were scheduled to perform the song on the cross country David Frost Show, a special on police. Being a live show they ran out of time but paid us for being there and the rehearsal.
I retired several years ago from the NYCPD but I’m still playing gigs with my brother, Mike, and my band, the Vic Vincent Group, in the New York Metro area.

The Premiers – Nina

The Go-Nuts – Flower

Patrolman Vic Virzera with the Premiers – He’s On Your Side

Thank you Jared for contributing “He’s On Your Side”, and Steve Hogan for contributing the photo of the Go Nuts. Special thanks to Vic Virzera for sharing his acetate of “Nina”.

Garage Hangover