Sarah Minney, who does military research at the National Archives, got in touch as she had come across some photos of an unknown British band(s), dating from the 1958-1961 period.
Dated 13/4/1958
She very kindly passed on the photos, which I have included here. We would very much like to hear from anyone who might be able to identify the musicians and the band(s).
There are no details, although one photo is dated 13/4/58 and another is June 1961, which I have listed above.
The photos were bought at an auction and came with a photo of west London band Jeep Rongle but it’s not clear if any of these musicians were in this unknown band. Another photo has a Wrexham address on the back.
The Beau Havens had one record, the fantastic “Elizabeth” / “Feel So Good” on Gama Records 45-705 from September, 1966. The photos seen here were taken about a year earlier, in 1965.
I’m trying to decipher the hand-writing on this card, so members’ names may not be spelled correctly. Any help would be appreciated:
John Colgan – drums, vocals on “Feel So Good” Kerry Miller – lead guitar Jim Whelan – lead vocal on “Elizabeth” Allan Hurdle (or is it Allen Hurdle?) – guitar Tom Whelan – piano
Kevin Miller – manager
The group were all young teenagers in ’65.
Belle Haven, VA has been listed as their town of origin, though that is nearly four hours drive from the Springfield, VA American Legion Hall where these photos were taken. Belle Haven may be confirmed from a neighborhood newsletter that featured the group, the Belle Haven Tribune, from May 7, 1965. The newsletter spells the brothers names as Tom Whealen and Jim Whealen.
A Pi Alpha Gamma banner appears behind the group, and it’s likely the Beau Havens shared the bill with the Londoners and the Roaches.
This should be Johnny Colgan on drumsPhoto of the Beau Havens – the drummer lacks his cravat
Jim Whelan wrote and, I think, sang lead on “Elizabeth”.
Rick Fulton wrote “Feel So Good”. I’m not sure if Rick was a later member of the band or simply a friend. Johnny Colgan appears to have sang lead on this side.
Both songs likely were cut at Edgewood Recording Studio at 1627 K Street, N.W. in Washington D.C. A couple of Edgewood acetates of the single exist. On one the song has the title “She Makes Me Feel So Good”, corrected in pen to “She Makes Me Feel Right”.
Doesn’t sound like the Beau Havens had a keyboard player on the record. Claiborne Music published both songs.
I believe this is Kerry Miller of the Beau Havens
More info on the Beau Havens would be appreciated.
Update May, 2022:
Danny G purchased a guitar in the D.C. area and the name on the case helped him trace it to this post, where it is clearly the guitar in the last photo above. Below are some interesting photos of this custom-made guitar provided by Danny along with his description:
Kerry Miller’s custom-made guitar
Likely a neck taken from an unbranded Kay guitar and put onto a solid chunk of mahogany (?). The white paint was to emulate the pickguard on a Höfner bass.
The guitar uses two Lafayette pickups, a 99-4536 in the neck which is a screw on pickup made for jazz arch top guitars and a PA-297 acoustic soundhole pickup in the bridge. The guitar has a really unique sound because of the odd choice of pickups, and that’s part of the reason I bought it.
The bridge pickup came with an RCA input and he simply repurposed it as the main input.
Kerry’s guitar – one hook to keep the pickup selector in place, and an eye for the guitar strapGretsch Tone-Twister palm vibratoLafayette pickups
Receipt from Clifford Herring Sound Equipment for the Motovators session
Clifford Herring and Sound City were two separate recording studios at the same address, 1705 W. 7th St. at the corner of Fournier St. in Fort Worth.
Clifford Herring opened his studio in the 1930s or early ’40s, a large room that could fit an orchestra or big band. Herring recorded many country, rockabilly and pop records, most famously Bruce Channel’s “Hey! Baby” and Paul and Paula’s “Hey Paula”, both produced by Major Bill Smith.
Besides the recording studio, Clifford Herring Sound Equipment Co. sold, rented and installed film, dictating and sound equipment, and also had a Muzak business.
The Motovators recorded a demo there on March 4, 1965, one of the last artists to use Herring’s studio.
On April 2, 1965, the Star-Telegram reported:
Radio station KXOL has purchased Clifford Herring Sound Equipment Co. for more than $200,000, The purchase includes the Herring firm’s recording studio and sound equipment operation said Wendel Mayes Sr. of Brownwood, president of the broadcasting station.
Earle Fletcher, the station’s vice president and general manager announced Thursday. Extensive remodeling of the Herring building at 1705 W. 7th will begin immediately with occupancy expected about June 1. The building will house the station’s AM and FM broadcasting studios, news facilities, sales offices and other departments.
Fletcher said remodeling of the Herring building will give the station more than double its present space at 3004 W. Lancaster.
KXOL renamed the Herring business Sound City, Inc. I believe Herring’s large recording room was converted into KXOL’s studios or office. The new Sound City Recording Studios opened in the basement below KXOL’s studios.
KXOL sold off the equipment and rental parts of the business to Thomas Electronics at the end of 1965. I’m not sure when KXOL sold the basement studio, but I’ve read the owners were Jim Rutledge and, apparently, T-Bone Burnett (Joseph Henry Burnett III) though he was only 17 in 1965.
Phil York became a house engineer at Sound City. York had worked with Dewey Groom at Echo Sound in Mesquite and would go on to work at Autumn Sound in Garland. While at Sound City he cut his own demo as Philip & the Yorkshires, “Once Again” / “Someone To Love You”, that was not released to my knowledge. York’s name appears in many classified ads run in 1966 and 1967 trying to drum up business for the studio.
A November 27, 1968 article notes that the studio was “recently sold to Don Schafer Promotions of Dallas”. Frank Henderson was another engineer at the studio about this time.
Perhaps the biggest hits recorded at Sound City were by the Van Dykes, such as “Never Let Me Go”, “No Man Is an Island”, “I’ve Got to Go On Without You”, and “You Need Confidence”, all produced by Charles Stewart and released on Mala.
T-Bone Burnett was usually referred to as Jon T. Bone on record labels during his Sound City time.
The Loose Ends included Burnett, Don McGilvray and David Graves, their singles “Free Soul” / “He’s a Nobody” (produced by Stan Rieck) and “Dead End Kid” / “Verses” were released on Mala, with co-producer credits to Burnett and Charles Stewart.
It would be interesting to assemble a discography of releases made at Sound City, but it’s an impossible task without documentation. Besides the ones mentioned above, it would include:
Brownfield BF-33 – The Rondels – “I Lost My Love” / “Crying Over You” Brownfield BF-1034 – Arthur Noiel - “It’ll Make You Holler” / “She Don’t Love Me” Brownfield BF-1035 – The Barons – “Don’t Burn It” / “I Hope I Please You” Brownfield BF-1037 – The Rondels – “You Made Me Cry” / “I Cry Cause I Care” Brownfield BF-1038 – Bruce Channel - “Don’t Go” / “The Actor” Brownfield BF-1040 – Jerry Williams & the Epics – “Whatever You Do” / “Tell Me What You See”
Cee Three – The Mods – “Days Mind the Time” / “It’s for You”
Cherry 101 – Charles Christy and the Crystals – “Cherry Pie” / “Will I Find Her”
Emcee Records - E-014 – The Gnats – “That’s All Right” / “The Girl”
Fat 12966 – Little Joe and the Gentlemen - “This Land” / “Stagger Lee”
Hue 375 – The Musical Training School – “Don’t You Fret” / “I’ll Go” (arranged by Jon T. Bone, produced by Charles Stewart) Hue 377 – James Mays – “Nothing’s Bad as Being Lonely” / “Gotta Make A Move”
Jan-Gi T-91 – The Trycerz – “Almost There” / “Taxman”
Psycho-Suave’ - PS-1033 – The Legendary Stardust Cowboy – “Paralyzed” / “Who’s Knocking at My Door” (picked up by Mercury)
Soft S-1008 – Roman Chariot - “Five Sensations” (arranged by John T-Bone) / “Cool” Soft S-1033 – Johnny Nitzinger – “Plastic Window” / “Life of John Doe” (produced by John Burnett and Charles Carey)
Unknown group the “Souls”
Sound City acetates or tapes:
Charles Christy & the Crystals – various titles (info to come)
The Cynics – “I’ll Go” / “Don’t You Fret”
Jackie Layne (with the Pathfinders) – “Give a Little, Take a Little” / The Galaxies – “Someone To Love You”
Larry & the Blue Notes – “In and Out” (early version) Larry & the Blue Notes – “Train Kept a Rollin'”
The Mods – “Evil Hearted You”
Rising Suns – “I’m Blue” / “Little Latin Lupe Lu” + two other cuts
Some tracks on the Galaxies CD collection Think About The Good Times were cut at Sound City, but I don’t have that release on hand.
LPs:
The Abstracts on Pompeii
The Yellow Payees cut one song from their Volume 1 album, “Never Put Away My Love For You” at Sound City.
Whistler, Chaucer, Detroit, and Greenhill – The Unwritten Works of Geoffrey, etc. , a Sound City studio group of two former members of the Mods, Scott Fraser and Edd Lively, with Phil White, David Bullock and John Carrick. Produced by Burnett.
Thank you to George Gimarc for help with this article.
Sources included: Frank Gutch, Jr., “Lost in Space: The Epic Saga of Fort Worth’s Space Opera” from the No Depression site is an excellent read with detailed information about later Sound City sessions.
David Campbell and Larry Harrison – notes to Fort Worth Teen Scene! volumes 1-3 on Norton Records.
Topaz were a vocal harmony group formed in 1969 after Robert Valentine left The Button Hole Band.
The band comprised (left to right): Ian Edlin (vocals), Roy Burchell (drums), Jan Edlin (vocals), Keith Richard (lead guitar) and Robert Valentine (bass/vocals).
The Stardusters went professional in 1963 when they changed name to Unit 4 (no relation to the Ealing band nor the better known Unit 4 Plus 2) to back HMV recording artist Ricky Bowden.
The band comprised (as shown in the above photo, left to right):
Robert Valentine (rhythm guitar)
Brian Ranger (bass)
Graham Willeard (drums)
Richard Miles (lead guitar)
In 1964, Valentine went on to form The Clockwork Oranges.
Photo: Robert ValentinePhoto: Robert ValentinePhoto: Robert ValentinePhoto: Robert Valentine
Formed by Valentine and Parish in early 1968 when The Clockwork Oranges broke up, Brian Brockie had previously played with The Honey Band. The group played at the Witchdoctor in Catford and on one occasion (most likely 17 February), they supported Marmalade.
Thanks to Robert Valentine for the photo and history
Roger Cotton (lead guitar/keyboards/vocals), Robert Valentine (rhythm guitar/vocals), John Parish (drums) and Harry Blakey (bass/vocals). Thanks to Robert for the photo.
Robert Valentine (rhythm guitar/vocals)
Roger Cotton (lead guitar/keyboards/vocals)
Harry Blakey (bass/vocals)
John Parish (drums)
The Clockwork Oranges were formed in early 1964 and were based in southeast England, playing various ballrooms, clubs and dances. When the band split up in 1967, Roger Cotton went on to join Johnny Johnson’s Bandwagon, Brothers Grimm, Peter Green’s Splinter Group, and Buddy Whittington, playing keyboards. Robert Valentine and John Parish formed The Button Hole Band. Cotton passed away in 2016 but the remaining three are still around and Valentine continues to perform.
Late 1967 gig in Hastings, East Sussex. Thanks to Robert Valentine
Many thanks to Robert for providing information about the band
The Trophies released one single in October, 1965, “With a Love” backed with the uptempo “C’mon Little Lady”.
If the members were also the song writers, then the band included:
George Jevicky Andy Martin Daniel Nasimento
Geo. Jevicky, Andy Martin wrote the moody “With a Love” published by Blue Coast Music, administered by SESAC. Daniel Mascimento wrote “C’mon Little Lady” published by Duval BMI.
This is the only release on the Golden Sound label that I know of, GS 1011.
Teen Beat Mayhem lists the band’s location as San Francisco, California, but the label credits read “produced by Suwanee Songs, Lenoir City, Tennessee”.
I’d like to know how a San Francisco band wound up on a label out of Lenoir City, a small metropolis southwest of Knoxville.
Little Richard Morton cut this one single on his own Morton Records in June of 1964, backed by “His Musical Four”. Richard Morton wrote both songs, the rocker “Sad, Sad Song” and the slow “A Love I Once Enjoyed Is Now a Dream”.
The crude recording quality, prominent organ and r&b backing help push “Sad, Sad Song” into what could be called ‘garage’. His intonation is very country, so it’s no surprise the same month he made this single, he played a western dance at Womack Hall in Clifton, TX as Little Richard Morton and His Rainbow Valley Tophands.
The dead wax etchings “Manco-Morton #1 6-10-64” show this was recorded and released through Manco Recording, a Fort Worth company that released over forty singles, including “She’s A Doll” / “Kiwi Boogie” by Jim Jones & the Chaunteys.
The address of N. Pendell Ave, Cleburne was probably Morton’s home address at the time. Cleburne, TX is 30 miles south of Fort Worth.
According to copyright records, his full name was Richard Lowell Morton. Bluebonnet Pub Co. published both songs.
Richard Morton has other copyright registrations for religious songs.
The Templars, from left: Skip Pawson, Chris Rez, Tom Larson, John Hall and Bob Ellis
The Templars came from the Del Mar area of San Diego County. They cut one single, “Chafungie” / “Get Out of My Life” on Paragon Records k-57.
Members were:
Bob Rez – guitar (bass?) Tom Larson – guitar Bob Ellis – guitar Skip Pawson – keyboards John Hall – drums
Both songs on the single were originals by the group. “Chafungie” is an organ and fuzz guitar instrumental by Robert Ellis and Robert Rez (though the article above gives his name as Chris Rez). “Get Out of My Life” is a half-spoken vocal, written by Skip Pawson and Robert Ellis.
Robert Ault produced the single and signed the copy pictured here, along with the band.
The San Bernardino County Sun ran a feature on the group on April 14, 1967 about their upcoming appearance in the Jerry Lewis movie, The Big Mouth:
Teen Band Gets Break by Karen Rhiner
Tom Larson was so excited about appearing with Jerry Lewis in a movie that he couldn’t talk straight …
Tom is the leader of the Templars, a Del Mar area band which will go to Hollywood soon to film a sequence for Jerry Lewis’ new movie, “Big Mouth.”
It’s a big break for this five-man, clean-cut combo. They’ll appear on screen – alone – for almost three minutes playing their “Chafungie,” a song written by Templars Bob Ellis and Chris Rez. They’ll also provide background music during a scene taking place in a teen nightclub.
And, after the film is released, they’re scheduled for a 25-day, 51-city personal appearance tour to promote the movie.
Other members of the band are John Hall and Skip Pawson. All-are either juniors or seniors at San Dieguito High School or San Diego Military Academy near here.
What’s the secret of their success?
“We have an original sound and an original appearance,” Tom said. “We don’t have long hair, and our clothes are neat. We decided we wanted to look like boys and like ourselves. We’d be copying if we’d go with long hair. We wanted to bend the trend.
“Our sound is a driving one. We have one of the best drummers in the county (John Hall), and he comes through to pace a driving beat. Yet we can play the smoothies, too like “Georgia On My Mind” as well as polkas and Roaring 20s tunes.
“Our morale is pretty high, too. That helps. There’s nothing that can tear a band down more than dissension. If you don’t get along with each other, playing is a job. With us, it’s a pleasure and a hobby.”
The band leader thinks originality is important. “Bands shouldn’t try to copy,” Tom said. “Record companies don’t want copies of big groups. You’ve got to play around until you find a sound of your own.
“In the beginning, as with the Templars, you conform to other groups. But along the way somebody in the group does something terrific and you stick with it. It took us about six months before we found out what our sound is.
Although the group is only a year and a half old, it already has a record, “Chafungie” – the tune they’ll play in the movie in release.
I’ve only seen a few clips from The Big Mouth, so I’m not sure if the band actually appeared in the film.
At least a couple members of the Templars became a group called the Magical Mist, who had an excellent single, “When We Use Our Minds” / “Time Out to Fly”, both songs by Robert P. Ellis, George Pawson and Alan Decotes (Alan Decoates according to BMI’s records). Robert Ellis produced the single, released on Cross-Winds CW 105 out of Wildomar, CA in June of 1968, publishing by Rolling Wheels Music.
Thank you to Jonas Carlsson for his help with the article.
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
