Here’s an obscurity from the Tumblers, a quartet from Mt. Pocono, Stroudsburg and Bangor, towns in the eastern part of the Pennsylvania. They had one release on the Pocono label from July, 1965.
I think we can safely say this was not influenced by the British Invasion. The incredible “Scream” was ‘written’ by Larry LaSpina, and backed with a ballad, “Make You All Mine”, another LaSpina original.
Members of the band were:
Larry LaSpina Daniel Altieri Alex Coury Huck Gould – bass and vocals
Tumblers on the Chief Halftown show, September 26, 1964
This is actually the very first record released on the Ronn label, a subsidiary of Jewel, based in Shreveport, Louisiana. “Nothing You Do” is fine garage-soul, and though there are horns, the vocals, keyboards and driving rhythm remind me of the Music Machine more than anything else. It was written by Roger Barnes and produced by Gene Kent and Don Logan.
Barnes usually wrote soul or funk music, and in fact, the In-Crowd may be the only white artists in the whole Ronn catalog. A good version of “Midnight Hour” is on the flip.
I’m pleased to say I’ve been in touch with Steve Tuminello, the drummer for the In Crowd, so I’ll let him tell the In-Crowd story in his own words:
I was 17 years old when we cut that record at Robin “Hood” Brians studios in Tyler, Texas. Band members on the record were:
James Gordon – Vocalist Roger Barnes – Keyboard and Vocals Steve Tuminello – Drums Drake Lee – Guitar and Bass Richard Meeks – Guitar and Bass (He is on the fuzz tone lead guitar solo) Jimmy Lloyd – Tenor Saxophone Wallace Dingee – Trumpet Pat Anders – Lead Trumpet
Don Logan and Gene Kent were our managers and promoters of the shows we played. They called them dances, but the kids back then would stand in front of the band and “sweat” the band as they called it. It was kind of like playing a small concert because the halls we played would hold around a 1000 people.
Gene Kent and Don Logan were the top DJ’s in Shreveport, Louisiana at AM 710 KEEL Radio in the 1960’s. Don Logan also was a record executive with Jewel/Paula/Ronn Records. Stan Lewis founder of Jewel/Paula/Ronn records.
I remember Don Logan telling us we had to change the name of the band because we broke the Billboard top 100 (This was late 1966 and the first year Billboard had this designation) and we were being sued by a band named the In Crowd in California. I suggested we change the name to the Inn Crowd. I had the name painted on my bass drum and this was an easy fix. I believe the song hovered around the 10 or 11 mark on the regional charts, as I recall. I didn’t even know we were played outside of Ark-La-Tex.
We became local celebrities and the attendance to our shows increased dramatically. We were just a bunch of high school kids but we were booking for a large amount of money for those times. We used to make a $100 per night each and in today’s dollars that would be around $500 per night.
Roger Barnes and Drake Lee are still in Shreveport and I’m not sure about the rest of the band members. I have often thought a reunion would be a lot of fun. As you mentioned we were a blue eyed soul 8 piece horn band playing R & B covers. “Nothing You Do” was not really our style but was fitting for the AM radio waves in late 1966.
My Uncle, A.J. Tuminello, who taught me to play the drums at age 5, was the original drummer on Dale Hawkins’ Suzie Q, and was involved in the origination of the tune. He was not available on the date of recording so Stan Lewis had his younger brother Ron Lewis fill in for my Uncle in the studio. Ron Lewis is the namesake for Ronn Records.
“Nothing You Do” reached #19 on KEEL in Shreveport in January of ’67.This In-Crowd has nothing to do with the many other In/Inn Crowds around in the ’60s, including the Inn Crowd that featured Hal Ellis (of John Fred’s band), that had three 45s for the Montel – Michelle label.
Despite having recorded at Robin Hood Brians studio, they were also not the In Crowd with Jim Glaves and Bobby Rambo on guitar that released a 45 on Abnak and became the backing band for Jon and Robin.
Wally Dingee and some other members continued the band with Bill Wray on vocals, eventually renaming it to Bill Wray and the Showband Royale. They had a 45 called “For Our Friends” on the Readie label that I haven’t heard.
Thanks to Steve Tuminello for his history of the band and the news articles, and to Wally Dingee for the poster and stills from the Super 8 film of the band.
Pat Wallace and the Shadows – prior to the St. Clair 45
Based in the Pittsburgh area, Pat Wallace released many 45s, this one being more garage in style than most.
“Fill the Hole in Your Soul” is a straightforward come-on, but danceable and catchy for all that. The musicians must not have had any other song in mind for this session, as “C’mon and Work” is just the band vamping with Wallace chanting the title repeatedly. Not bad, though.
Pat tells me the band was Prince Valiant and the Knights, who had their own 45 on St. Clair, “Back Yard”/”Front Yard”, though Rick Sharp recalls playing on the session with his group the Sharades (see below). Songwriting credits are Pat Wallace and Jules Kruspir on “Fill the Hole”, and Rick Sharp – Jules Kruspir on the flip, production by J.J. Jules.
The St. Clair label is famous for releasing the Swamp Rats’ most beserk 45s.
Thank you to Pat Wallace for the photos seen here of his early group, the Shadows. Please do not reproduce these images without permission.
The Shadows with Pat Wallace, plus Chubby, Bill, Jim, Ed and Denny
Rick Sharp of the Sharades provides his recollection of how he came to record with Pat Wallace on this single:
Jules Kruspir managed my first Pittsburgh, PA band, The Vel Mars. We knew Jules for a lot of years, from 1963 to the late seventies (he managed the Marcels). Not quite sure how we met him though. He used to invite us over to his house to rehearse every month or so and seemed to have a genuine interest in our band, The Vel-Mars.
We were a guitar band, a la The Ventures, and were playing local school dances. Jules said he knew all the right industry people and we could go places. Actually nothing happened until he signed Bob Stupec to do a Christmas song, “Jake The Flake”. This was a huge production number, full orchestra (Jim Drake conducting & arranging), backing vocals by the Ray Charles Singers (“Love Me With All Your Heart” fame) and recorded at Bell Sound Studios in NYC. The tracks were absolutely beautiful!
But, Bobby (Bobby Star) couldn’t sing. It took 157 takes to complete the lead vocal track. I remember, Phil Ramone was the engineer. Well, we were to record the back side “Jingle Bells”. Studio time was running out, we cut our song in 1 1/2 takes. We broke a guitar string, but they spliced the tape & our record turned out great. The record was released a few weeks later, became the National Record Mart “Pick of the Week” and was played in NRM commercials for a few weeks. Picked up a review in Billboard (Jules had a full page ad), but the record never took off. Too bad. Bobby Star quit recording and went to Vegas and opened a casino.
In 1965, our Vel-Mars band broke up and I auditioned for a club band in Beaver Falls, PA. The leader was Gary Glenn. The group was Gary Glenn and the Jeweltones. The Jeweltones had departed and left Gary without a band, for which I was auditioning & was ultimately hired for. They had a local record out, “Goodnight My Love”, on the Cove label. Great record. I wrote a couple of songs for Gary that were recorded at Jerree Records in Beaver Falls, PA. “Always So True” b/w “What Do You Want”, released early 1966, but went nowhere. The original Jeweltones were later to become the Jaggerz of “The Rapper” fame.
I left Gary Glenn in mid 1966 & formed the Sharades. We were a cover band [but] with a lot of original songs. Jules expressed an interest in us again and asked if we would do a demo session at Glen Campbell Studios in Pittsburgh, PA. We did the session but nothing came out of it. A few of the songs were good though. Jules later asked us to back up Pat Wallace for a couple of songs at the same studio. We did and that’s where “Gonna Fill The Hole” & “Come On & Work” came from. And yes, “Come On & Work” was nothing more than a “B” vamp.
In 1966,Jules opened a record store in the Southland shopping center (Pat Wallace worked there) and I took a job with Kleins One Stop (Itzy Records) heading up their oldies department. Jules bumped into The Fantastic DeeJays (who had some local Music For Young Lovers songs for Terry Lee). He changed their name to the Swamp Rats and recorded “Louie Louie” & released it on his St. Clair label. (Jules lived in a community named Upper St. Clair).
Also in 1966, Jules picked up a group named the Dynatones. They had recorded a record “And I Always Will” b/w “The Fife Piper”. The local DJs flipped it over & the record went to Number 1. HBR Records, who just recently started a pop records division, picked up national distribution. The record went all the way up the national charts. Then … HBR called for a album followup to the single. Jules took the Dynatones down to Glen Campbells studio & cut 10 or 12 absolutely terrible tracks. Truth is, Jules couldn’t produce & Glens’ studio (3 track Ampex) was nothing more than a reverb box. HBR Records rejected the cuts for the “Fife Piper” LP. They produced all the tracks in LA with studio musicians.
I continued on working at Kleins and with my band, the Sharades. We were working steady at local clubs when we decided to go into the studio on our own. Late 1966 we recorded “Only A Tear” b/w “It’s A Groovy Day” at Gateway Studios in Pgh, PA (Some of the Lou Christie hits were recorded there). Our session was quick…maybe 1 1/2 hours. We only recorded the two songs. The record was released on Fasicination Records which was my label. Kleins One Stop (my day job) became our distributor. I started college in January 1967 and played weekends with the band. By springtime Terry Lee had picked up the record & began playing it every night at 11:00 as the opening song for his “Music For Young Lovers” show segment. “Only A Tear” was the only record released by the Sharades. We continued on as a band until the mid-seventies. I recorded “Surfin’ USA – Pittsburgh, PA” b/w “Pipeline” in the mid-eighties with a new group – The Allegheny Surfers.
Ron Gjerde owned the LeJac and Agar labels of Minneapolis, Minnesota, using his basement as the studio.
Partial LeJac discography (any help would be appreciated):
Singles: 3002: Denny Dale – Mr Moon / Why Did You Leave Me (9/1965) 3003: Denny & Jack – One More For The Road / Love You Everyday (9/1965) 3004: Motifs – Someday / Telling Lies 3005: The Peers – Once Upon a Time / Palisades Park 3006: The Bedlam Four – Watch It Baby (Dick Pogue) / Blue Blue Feeling JK-1942/3: The Transplant – Broken Engagement / With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm (1968)
LPs: 1001: The Starliners – Live at Papa Joe’s Northern a Go Go (1966)
The first two LeJac releases are by Fendermen bassist Denny Dale (Dennis Gudim), with the second featuring Jack Kollodge of the Starliners.
I haven’t yet heard the Bedlam Four on LeJac. Originally known as the Echomen with one 45 “Long Green” / “Chocolate Chip” on Fox, the Bedlam Four recorded ten or more songs at LeJac over the course of a year, most of them cover songs. They had a later release “Hydrogen Atom” on Armada and two later songs “No One Left to Love” / “Psychedelic Mantra” that were finally released by Caped Crusader Records in the ’80s.
Considering they were one of the greatest of all the 60s garage bands, there’s not much information out there on the Centurys.
From Lebanon, Pennsylvania, band members were:
Billy Beard – lead guitar and vocals Larry McKinney – guitar John Iacovone – bass Bob Koch – lead vocals and organ Bernie Orner – drums
In April of 1965, they recorded four songs at WSBA radio’s studios in York, PA, produced by Frank Treida. These four songs were released on two 45s on the Renco label and quickly sold out.
The first is “83” a lo-fi anthem that’s an absolutely classic. On the flip is the moody “So the Prophets Say”, another echo-laden number with wild drumming and intense vocals. It’s been described as anti-Vietnam war, but actually I think it’s pro-war. It’s definitely a dig at Dylan and the protest movement in general, and there’s a condemnation of communism: “a red slave song you’re singing, you’ll wish you had a gun in your hand.”
The second is “Don’t Bother”, with intense guitar riffing and haunting organ. The flip, “Together We’ll Stay” is not nearly as great as the other three songs, but it has some decent surf-type guitar in the break.
Their live reputation helped them land a 45 on Swan. “Hard Times” b/w “Endless Search” did very well in the area and should have been their big break. The Swan label was folding at the time, so it’s possible the record wasn’t promoted as well as it should have been.
Former Swan label head Bernie Binnick put out one last Centurys 45 on his BB label, “And I Cried” b/w “Catch Me Fast”. The band broke up in 1967 due to a combination of draft notices and a lack of success.
All their releases were original songs. Billy Beard wrote most of their best songs: “83”, “So the Prophets Say” and “Don’t Bother”, while “And I Cried”, “Hard Times” and “Endless Search” were co-written by Beard with Larry McKinney.
The two 45s on Renco were reissued on an EP in the ’80s as the Renco Demos. It’s possible the Centurys originally intended these songs to be demos for purposes of securing a record contract. Regardless, the Centurys did release these songs on 45 and sold them at gigs and local shops, which makes them not ‘demos’ in the usual sense. None of the songs on the EP are different versions of what was released on the 45s.
Centurys original 45 releases:
Renco 115 – 83 / What the Prophets Say Renco 116 – Don’t Bother / Together To Stay Swan 4265 – Hard Times / Endless Search BB 4002 – And I Cried / Catch Me Fast
The Clichés of Canton, Ohio were led by two brothers, Jim and Pinky Jenkins.
Earlier records by them on the Maarc and Pama labels are in a ’50s style. The Pama record, “Got Something For You Baby”, is credited to Pinky and Jim Jenkins with Orchestration by the Cliches, and suffers from a poor vocal, in my opinion. I haven’t heard the Maarc 45, “Little Egypt” / “What’s Your Name”, released under the Cliches name.
“Why, Why, Why” rocks nicely, even with Beatles-ish ‘woo’ s on the backing vocals. The designated a-side, “Save It For Me” is a romantic ballad, not a bad performance, but it won’t appeal to most garage fans.
The Jenkins brothers also ran the Cleveland club, LaCave, known these days as the location of some of the best live recordings of the Velvet Underground.
“Why, Why, Why” was written by Rader – Del, “Save It For Me” by Gintert and Onoratto. Prodcution by Joy Mills, and released on the Wes Mar label.
The Athens group Cinquetti were together from 1967 until about 1969. Here are two excellent versions of ’60s hits. On one side is a fuzz version of Jackie Lomax’s “You Better Get Going”, sung in greek as “Panta Konta Mou” (Always Near To Me).
The A-side is actually a cover of Brazilian Roberto Carlos’ “Namoradinha de um amico meu” (rendered in italian on the label “L’innamorada de un amico mio”). The original had been a big hit in Greece, and this version is just as good.
Not garage, but there is some electric guitar and I couldn’t pass up posting a sleeve like this one.
This EP is from a 1974 Pakistani movie, Miss Hippy, about a teenage girl who indulges in alcohol and hashish and gets into all kinds of trouble (extensive review here).
The review mentions ‘unimpressive songs’, but I think this one, “Rita Main Nashe Men Hoon” credited to Rubina Badar, Jamil Kishwar & Others, is worth a listen. The other two songs are more conventional. Music is by Robin Ghosh, lyrics are by Khwaja Pervaiz.
I knew little about the Trademarks until drummer Jerry Warren’s son Zack commented below.
Members were:
Alan Nathanson – lead guitar and vocals Neil Faigenbaum – bass guitar and vocals Dave Levitt – organ, replaced by Eric Jerry Warren – drums
According to Teen Beat Mayhem, the band was from Oak Park, Michigan.
“If I Was Gone” is superb performance, featuring a catchy guitar riff, good harmonies, fine drum and bass playing and a sharp solo. It was written by Alan Nathanson and Neil Feigenbaum, arranged and produced by Ed Nelson, and released on the great Palmer label out of Detroit in 1967.
The flip, “I Need You (By My Side)”, light pop with strings and horns, is labeled the “Action Side”, which couldn’t be further from the truth. If Palmer promoted “If I Was Gone”, the Trademarks would have had a better chance of a hit.
Producer Ed Kaplan’s name shows up on a number of Detroit rock and soul records, including the Chomps “Lookout World” on Kool Kat.
Other bands on Palmer include the Grifs, the Canadian Rogues, and the Moriticians.
The band played on Robin Seymour’s Swinging Time show, so there’s an outside chance video footage still exists. The Trademarks broke up in 1968, and Zack says his father Jerry passed away in 2012.
The Sons of Adam, from left: Al Wilson, Henry LaLiberte, Leonard Saidman, Doug Policha and John Ede. The picture was taken on the south side of the Capilano Mall shopping centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
The New Wing was a singer by the name of Davy Peters backed by members of a group from Edmonton, Alberta, called the Sons of Adam.
This Sons of Adam was not the L.A. group who cut “Feathered Fish” and two singles on Decca. John Ede was a member of the Sons of Adam but was not in the group by the time producer Gary Paxton changed their name to the New Wing.
Members were:
Davy Peters – lead vocal Henry La Liberte – guitar and vocals Al Wilson – keyboards and vocals Doug Policha – bass and vocals Leonard Saidman – drums and vocals
Their first 45 on Pentacle was “The Thinking Animal” / “My Petite”, both very pop-oriented and not sounding much like their second release.
Pentacle or the band’s rep, Pete Manuele took out an ad in KRLA Beat to promote this release.
“I Need Love” is a solid number from 1968, featuring good ‘mosquito’ guitar work, and vocal interjections reminiscent of Steve Marriott of the Small Faces. It was written by Wilson/La Liberte; production credited to the Social Climbers. The flip is a scuzzy hard rocking tune, “Brown Eyed Woman”, written by Wilson, La Liberte and Policha, which I’m not as much a fan of.
Pentacle was one of the many labels run by Gary Paxton out of his Bakersfield International studio. The New Wing were the only band on Pentacle that can be called garage to my knowledge, but Paxton recorded other garage acts, like the Churchill Downs on Amazing 3.
“The Thinking Animal” was written by Ken Johnson, Jerry Ritchey and Bob Hopps. This team also wrote the Chocolate Tunnel’s “The Highly Successful Young Rupert White”, while Johnson and Hopps co-wrote the Chocolate Tunnel’s “Ostrich People”.
Ken Johnson wrote many songs for area bands, including his son’s group Ken & the Fourth Dimension’s “See If I Care”, the Avengers’ “I Told You So” and “You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore”, and “Love Can’t Be a One Way Deal” which was cut by both the Rev-Lons and Limey and the Yanks. Ken also owned the Starburst label which released most of these, usually with Gary Paxton’s production.
Garpax and Maverick were Paxton publishing companies. The production credit The Social Climbers is also Paxton’s; it also appears on “Please Mr. Johnson (I Don’t Wanna Go)” by the Put On Company featuring Doug Salma (Doug Salamanca) on the Jest label.
Ad clipping from the great KRLA Beat newspaper site!
Thank you to Marc Coulavin for the photos of the Sons of Adam.
Pentacle discography:
Pentacle P-1635 – The Captivations – “Red Hot Scramblers – Go” / same (by Buddy Biglow for Maverick Music, BMI, different numbering system but the publishing matches later releases. More commonly found on Garpax 45 44179V with “Speedshift” on flip.)
Pentacle P-101 – The New Wing – “The Thinking Animal” / “My Petite” Pentacle P-102 – The Greater Covina Interplanetary Childrens Space Program – “Rudolph vs. The Little” / “Hobo” (Janice Paxton) – kid Xmas vocal with pop instrumental Pentacle P-103 – Art Fields – “To All The World I Sing” / “Girls From Equador” (ballad and pop with a bossa feel) Pentacle P-104 – The New Wing – “Brown Eyed Woman” / “I Need Love” Pentacle P-105 – Bob Jackson – “It’s Hard To Say” / “Who Is My Supposed To Be” (country, there are two variations in the label design)
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
Here’s an obscurity from the Tumblers, a quartet from Mt. Pocono, Stroudsburg and Bangor, towns in the eastern part of the Pennsylvania. They had one release on the Pocono label from July, 1965.
I knew little about the Trademarks until drummer Jerry Warren’s son Zack commented below.
The New Wing was a singer by the name of Davy Peters backed by members of a group from Edmonton, Alberta, called the Sons of Adam.
