The Shadows of Knight’s original pressings of “Gloria” without Atco

September 23, 2020 Chris Bishop 4 Comments

Shadows of Knight Dunwich 45 Gloria gold label, no Atco — Gold label, no Atco distribution, D-116 A

One of the most famous ‘garage’ singles has to be the Shadows of Knight’s version of “Gloria”. As a national hit distributed by Atlantic Records (Atco), the 45 rpm single exists in over 15 U.S. variations pressed at plants around the country.

My post today concerns two of those, the original pressings on Dunwich from January and February 1966, without any Atco credit on the labels.

General agreement is that the first release has a gold label with the outlined lettering, a box around “A Dunwich Production” and “D-116”.

Teen Beat Mayhem notes that total quantity pressed is only several hundred. This pressing quantity has been repeated in online sources, but I feel it is incorrect. A pressing of a few hundred would have quickly sold out, and been worn out, but I’ve found two VG+ copies without much effort or expense.

The liner notes to If You’re Ready! The Best Of Dunwich Records…Volume 2 state that Bill Traut put together that first gold label design and ordered 4000 copies. He also used the cheapest local pressing plant he could find. Thank you to Jeff Jarema for looking that up for me. I suspect that the initial order may have been for less, and that 4,000 was the total pressed at that small plant over the first couple weeks of release. The Dunwich lettering is similar to other Chicago releases.

Shadows of Knight Dunwich 45 Gloria yellow label, no Atco — Yellow label, no Atco credit, DX-116 A

The first yellow label without Atco has the same credits as the gold, but a different label design, and has the release code DX-116, a number which would be used on most of the subsequent national releases. Since the small unknown Chicago plant couldn’t do the quantity needed, Traut ordered from Plastic Products in Nashville.

I asked people on the Chicago Rock Bands 1960s and 1970s Facebook group which label they had first, and by far most remembered the yellow label version. Later gold and yellow label versions exist that include Atco distribution credit, so this survey is not definitive.

I constructed this early 1966 timeline for “Gloria”:

February 18: 1st appearance on the WLS “Silver Dollar Survey. Chicago’s Official Radio Record Survey” at #18, having been played for three weeks on the station, which would put its first WLS airplay in very late January or early February.

February 25: reaches #7 on WLS

March 4: reaches #6 on WLS

March 5: Billboard reviews it and lists it as a breakout single. Enters Billboard’s Chicago singles chart at #15

March 12: rises to #8 in Billboard’s Chicago singles chart. Billboard notes 40,000 sold in Chicago and additional sales in other cities. “Kent Beauchamp acted as a kind of co-ordinator in getting the first record out and has been handling local distribution.” [ Kent Beauchamp owned Big Town Distributors and, along with Ed Yalowitz, Royal Disc Distributing.] Cash Box reports that it is “a recent master purchase” by Atlantic”. Dunwich co-owner George Badonsky had been working for Atlantic and Atco as a Midwest sales and promotion rep since February, 1965, which may explain the connection with Atlantic.

March 19: rises to #4 in Billboard’s Chicago singles chart and enters Billboard’s Hot 100 national chart at #78. In a detailed article, Billboard reported:

… the single has sold 60,000 legitimately in Chicago to date …
Local distribution by Royal Disc Distributing …
The group is managed by suburban record store and teen nightclub owner Paul Sampson, who found the quintet singing in a Veterans of Foreign Wars Club. He installed the group in his own spot, The Cellar, where they were heard by Royal Disc’s Kent Beauchamp, who recommended them to Dunwich Records.
The group is comprised of Joe Kelley, lead guitar; Gerald McGeorge, rhythm guitar; Warren Rogers, bass guitar; Tom Schiffour, drums, and lead singer Jim Sohns.
“Gloria” is getting played and starting to sell in Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Atlanta …
“They are a super-tight group,” said Sampson. “They have everything live they have on record and they are competent musicians.”

March 26: rises to #2 in Billboard’s Chicago singles chart and #10 in Detroit. Full page ad (shared with George Edwards) in Billboard on page 7.

April 1: reaches #1 on WLS
 
May 7: “Gloria” reaches its peak Billboard national chart position at #10. It would remain at 10 the following week before dropping off.

High-quality scans of WLS surveys can be found  here.

Shadows of Knight Gloria Billboard March 26, 1966 — Full page ad in Billboard March 26, 1966

Categories: Uncategorized

Vinyl records wanted – Greene County, Ulster County, Columbia County, NY

September 21, 2020 Chris Bishop 1 Comment

Life-long collector wants to buy your collection of vinyl records – LPs and 45 rpm singles.

Greene, Ulster, Columbia, Dutchess and Albany Counties in New York, and will travel further for large collections.

High prices paid in cash. Honest dealer.

Looking for rock, jazz, blues, soul, country, folk and international, and more, LP albums, 7″ singles, vinyl records of all types.

Email for more info at RChrisBishop@gmail.com

Greene County towns of Athens, Cairo, Catskill, Coxsackie, Durham, Greenville, Hunter, New Baltimore etc

Columbia County city of Hudson, towns Austerlitz, Canaan, Claverack, Clermont, Germantown, Ghent, Greenport, Hillsdale, Kinderhook, Livingston, Stuyvesant, Valatie, and more

Albany County towns of Berne, Bethlehem, Coeymans, Colonie, Guilderland, Knox, New Scotland, Voorheesville, Ravena, Rensselaerville, Westerlo, etc.

Ulster County towns of Esopus, Hurley, Kingston, Lloyd, Marbletown, New Paltz, Olive, Plattekill, Rochester, Rosendale, Saugerties, Shandaken, Woodstock, etc

Dutchess County towns of Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Milan, Clinton, Hyde Park, etc

Categories: B&4 Records, Columbus, Ohio

Dennie Mosley “Love Me, Love Me, Love Me” out of Columbus Ohio

September 19, 2020 Chris Bishop Leave a comment

Dennie Mosley seems to have only cut this one single, the cool rockabilly “Love Me, Love Me, Love Me” backed with the pleading lament, “I Tried”. It’s not really a garage style record, but the late recording date and crude quality of the production gives it something of a garage feel. The guitar break on “Love Me” is excellent.

The RCA custom pressing code, U4KM-9220/1 indicates an early 1967 pressing.

Released on B & 4 Records out of Columbus, Ohio. Bill Caito wrote “Love Me, Love Me, Love Me” and arranged that side, while Dennie Mosley wrote and arranged “I Tried”.

Other names on the label include M. South, G. Kirk, L. Newsome and F. Smith who must be the backing musicians. B&4 Records typically list the singer of the group as the artist, so it is possible they had a group name not listed on these labels. Any further info would be appreciated.

Publishing by E.C. Baugess Publishing Co.

Chad Baugess ran a home studio and owned the B & 4 Records label. Buckeye Beat has a list of other records on the label, but not this one.

Categories: Andover, Eastern Sound Studios, Lawrence, Massachusetts, Methuen, Salem

The Fabulous Frauleins on Onyx “Practice of Evil” / “Days Gone By”

September 18, 2020 Chris Bishop 6 Comments

The Frauleins on stage, from left: Ann Duquette, Michelle Fereira, Lynda MacLeish, Linda Murphy and Linda Duquette

Fabulous Frauleins Onyx 45 Practice of Evil

The Fabulous Frauleins only recorded this one single in 1967, “Practice of Evil” / “Days Gone By”. Both are original songs by Duquette and Duquette, two sisters who were members of the group.

Members were:

Michelle Fereira – lead vocals
Linda Duquette – guitar
Linda Murphy – guitar
Ann Duquette – bass
Lynda MacLeish – drums

“Practice of Evil” concerns the Salem witch trials. Bill Borelli from WCCM 800 radio did the voice of the judge in the middle part of the song. “Days Gone By” is slower but also a very good original.

Lynda MacLeish was from Andover, MA where she attended Andover High School. I’m not sure where the other members of the group came from, but Andover or the Lawrence / Methuen / Salem area are likely.

The Frauleins recorded at Eastern Sound Studios in Metheun, Massachusetts. Onyx Studios at the time was located in the basement of the label owner’s home at 33 Taylor St.

Guy Sammartano arranged both sides, with production by Pague Prods. Other staff at Onyx at this time included Pat Costa, Rom Messina, Jim Manganno, Sally Giaquinta, Angela Blatti and Jim Minchello.

Publishing through Atsoc Pub. Co., but I can’t find any record of copyright registration or a listing in BMI’s database for the company or the songs. Someone named Lon Duquette copyrighted a song called “Back Bay Blue” in 1969, but I have no idea if he was connected to the Frauleins.

In 1968, “Practice of Evil” was chosen to be on a Pepsi flexi giveaway, with the band called simply “The Frauleins”. A live recording of the group may exist.

The Frauleins broke up after a final show in Derry, New Hampshire around 1968. Though they kept in contact through the years, the band never reunited on stage.

Michelle Fereira married and became Michelle Barrow.

Lynda MacLeish married and became Lynda Murphy, not to be confused with Fraulein guitarist Linda Murphy! Lynda was a huge Beatles fan, having attended one of their US shows as a teen. She became a chapter president of the Rascals fan club, and long-time friend of Felix Cavaliere. Lynda never joined another group, but sat with other musicians including Pete Best, who was also a friend of hers. Lynda passed away on July 28, 2017.

Thank you to John Van Horn for the photos and information seen in this article. John and his wife were friends of Lynda Murphy (MacLeish).

Categories: Canada, Ontario, Sudbury

Debbie Lori Kaye at Cambrian College

September 16, 2020 Chris Bishop 3 Comments

Debbie Lori Kaye on stage at Cambrian College. Photo courtesy of Joe Spina.

Debbie Lori Kaye had about a dozen singles, mostly on Columbia Records, starting in 1965 until about 1972.

Joe Spina was promoter for Cambrian College, Sudbury, Ontario, in 1966-7 and sent these photos of Debbie. Some feature the Rogues, who had a great single “Girl” / “Wish I Could See You Again” on Algoma as (Those) Rogues.

See the article on the Sound Sett for more photos from Joe Spina.

Debbie Lori Kaye on stage with the Rogues at Cambrian College. Photo courtesy of Joe Spina.

Debbie Lori Kaye with her father Dave Carter, and Joe Spina, Cambrian College — Debbie Lori Kaye with her father Dave Carter, and Joe Spina in the control room at Cambrian College

Categories: Canada, Ontario, Sudbury

The Sound Sett at Cambrian College

September 16, 2020 Chris Bishop 10 Comments

Sound Sett on stage at Cambrian College, Bruce MacGregor, Bob Coulombe, Ken Cartmill, Chuck Wesley, Jim Bagshaw, and Jerry Siegfried (not sure if the order of these IDs is correct)

Joe Spina, program director at Cambrian College in 1966 and 1967, sent in these photos of the Sound Sett. Members of the Sound Sett were:

Ken Cartmill – lead singer
Bob Coulombe – lead guitar
Bruce MacGregor – rhythm and lead guitar
Church Wesley – rhythm guitar
Jerry Siegried – bass guitar
Jim Bagshaw – drums

The article below describes the band and their ambitions:

Joe Spina on CJIC FM, 1969. All photos from the collection of Joe.
Three months ago, six Cambrian College students got together and formed the Sound Sett …Jerry Siegried, an electronics student, and bass guitar player, spent some time playing professionally for a group in British Columbia.
Bob Coulombe, a machine shop technologist student, is the Sound Sett’s lead guitar man. Bob is one of the top lead guitarists north of Toronto. He is an avid fan of jazz and good “rock” music.
Bruce MacGregor, a senior electronics student, plays rhythm and lead guitar, as well as being the leader of the group…
Bruce, Bob and Jerry played together in the Lakehead area as The Strangers before coming to the Sault …
Chuck Wesley, another electronics student, plays rhythm guitar. Before coming here, Chuck played for the Bee-Jays in his home town of Marathon…
Jim Bagshaw, drummer for the band, has had considerable experience in his home town of Sudbury, playing for The Talismen, The Inferno 5 plus a number of other groups.
Marlen Baker on stage with the Sound Sett
Included in the band’s repertoire are a number of selections written by Bruce and Ken…
Joe Spina manages the group. He is another senior electronics student.
The Sound Sett will be travelling north in mid-April for a weekend which includes Marathon and Manitouwadge. A tour of Western Canada beginning in June, will take the group to Vancouver and back.
Manager Joe Spina will be travelling to Detroit later this month with audition tapes of the band.

I am not sure if the group ever recorded. There was another group called the Sound Set who came from South Burnaby, outside of Vancouver.

Thank you to Joe for contributing the photos and article. Other groups he booked include the Rogues and Debbie Lori Kaye.

Categories: England, London

Owen Gray’s soul years

September 9, 2020 Nick Warburton 5 Comments

Born in Kingston, Jamaica on 5 July 1939, Owen Gray (aka Grey) is one of the true reggae and ska greats but was also the author of a handful of superb soul/mod 45s, recorded in the UK and France between 1965-1969.

Very little is known about this period and so we’d welcome any additional information that readers can provide in the comments section below, particularly around the recording of these individual singles, any unreleased recordings and the personnel on the tracks.

Owen arrived in England in May 1962 and was a prolific recording artist. Like Jimmy Cliff, he’s best known for his reggae recordings but he was an exceptionally gifted soul performer and worked with some top British musicians during the mid-to-late 1960s. His backing bands included The Sound System, The Krew, Tony Knight’s Chessmen and Maximum Breed.

His first venture into soul appears to have been with two singles on the small Aladdin label (see below).

Released on 12 March 1965, Owen Gray’s “Gonna Work Out Fine” c/w “Dolly Baby”, was the first of two 45s on the label, the first produced by Denny Cordell.

His second release “Lindy Lu” was backed by a great version of “Can I Get a Witness”, which has since become a Northern Soul favourite.

In mid-to-late 1965, he moved labels and to Island Records for three singles. The first coupled “Shook, Shimmy & Shake” with “I’m Going Back” and was followed by “Paradise” c/w “Bye Bye Love”. Little is known about the background to both of these releases and the personnel on the recordings.

Initially, the singer worked with The Soul Sets, including a gig at the Cue Club in early January 1966.

However, in January/February 1966, Chris Blackwell linked Owen with west London Mod outfit, The Sound System.

The band had morphed out of The All-Nite Workers and featured guitarist Tony St Clair; bass player Ron Thomas; keyboard player Mick Fletcher; sax players Mel Wayne and Dave Mahoney; and drummer Phil Wainman, who later went on to produce The Sweet among others.

Together, they backed Owen on a lone 45, a rousing version of “You Don’t Know Like I Know” backed by “Take Me Serious”, which appears to have been penned by Ron Thomas, who later went on to work with The Heavy Metal Kids, among others.

Owen Gray & The Sound System also gigged around the London club circuit in the first few months of 1966 before Blackwell linked them up with Jimmy Cliff and renamed them The New Generation. Later that year, the group became singer Gary Hamilton’s second version of The Hamilton Movement.

Left without a band, Owen joined forces with The Krew who’d just lost their two lead singers Beryl Marsden and Steve Aldo.

Led by scouser and future Wings sideman Howie Casey on sax, the group also featured fellow Liverpudlian Tommy Murray on lead guitar (who was later replaced by Ted Tunnicliffe); Glaswegian Archie Legget; Yorkshireman Eddie Sparrow on drums; and Londoner Alan Reeves on keyboards.

Photo: Alan Reeves. Left to right (back), Eddie Sparrow, Archie Legget, Howie Casey, Alan Reeves. Front, left to right: Owen Gray and Tommy Murray

Owen Gray and The Krew moved to France in April 1966 and played several clubs in the ski resorts, notably the Bus Palladium in Courcheval, before landing a residency at exclusive Paris nightclub Le Bilboquet.

While playing in Paris in July that year, the musicians recorded an EP for Barclay Records’ subsidiary label, Riviera, comprising popular soul covers and strong Owen Gray originals, “Everything’s Alright” and “Somebody Stole My Girl”.

However, by the end of 1966, Owen Gray was back in London and back on the soul circuit, playing the clubs that were popular with the burgeoning Caribbean community such as Paddington’s Cue Club.

Back on Island Records, he recorded one of his finest soul outings, the stupendous “Help Me” coupled with “Incense”, which were produced by Chris Blackwell and Jimmy Miller respectively.

Issued in January 1967, the single should have been a massive hit but inexplicably it failed to chart and is now a much sought-after collectors’ item.

A few months later, Owen was back with another London band, this time Tony Knight’s Chessmen, led by drummer Tony Brown. The singer remained with the group until about September 1967.

During Owen’s time with The Chessmen, the musicians passing through included noted sax players Dave Coxhill and Stan Sulzmann and future John Mayall’s Bluesbreaker Keith Tillman.

Photo: Fred D’Albert. Left to right: Terry Ede, Dave Coxhill (hidden), Owen Gray, Tony Brown (hidden), Keith Tillman and Fred D’Albert in Italy.

In July 1967, the band travelled out to Italy to play the Piper Club in Viareggio.

Little is known about his soul projects from this point on, although he did work with singers Ruby and Youth backed by The Shell Shock Show during late 1967 and early 1968.

However, during 1968, he started to do studio work on the Old Kent Road with producer David Hadfield.

For the recordings, he was backed by Freddy Mack’s former band, The Mack Sound, who were going by the name Maximum Breed.

Future Butts Band and Gonzalez keyboard player Roy Davies was among the musicians in this talented band.

Several singles were issued during this period, including “Sitting in the Park” and “Dream Lover” but by now, Owen was starting to focus his efforts on the reggae audience.

I have tried to ensure the accuracy of this article but I appreciate that there are likely to be errors and omissions. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who can provide any additions or corrections. Email: Warchive@aol.com

Categories: Alabama, Florence, Huntsville, Sonic Recording Service (Memphis), Sonny

The Bobbies “(She) Put Me Down” and the In on Sonny Records

September 5, 2020 Chris Bishop 1 Comment

The Bobbies came from Florence, Alabama, cutting this one fine single, “(She) Put Me Down” parts 1 and 2 in June, 1966. Members included:

Bobby Heathcoat – lead vocals (Bobby Heathcote ?)
Richard Hahn – organ
Glenn Hall – bass

– but I don’t know the other names of the group. Scans of an autographed 45 include these names:

Duck Hempil or Henpil?
Randy Wills
“Angel”

Sonny Limbo (real name Robert Limbaugh, I believe) was a DJ at WAAY in Huntsville, Alabama, about 72 miles east of Florence. I am not sure how he found the Bobbies, but Sonny had been hipped to local Huntsville group the In. The In recorded a demo of “Just Give Me Time” at Bobby Land’s studio in Huntsville and asked Sonny to produce a finished version. Sonny brought both groups, the In and the Bobbies to Sonic Recording in Memphis to share a four hour session.

Autographed copy of the Bobbies 45, courtesy of Brandi Garrison.

The bands, who did not know each other before, became friendly and helped out on each other’s session. The Bobbies and their friends contributed to the crowd noise on the In’s version of “Midnight Hour”, plus Bobby Heathcoat contributed backing howls and Richard Hahn played organ on the song. Eddie Burton of the In added some lead guitar to the Bobbies recording.

The In’s session would lead to a national release on Hickory of “Just Give Me Time” / “In the Midnight Hour”. In an interesting twist on the usual sequence of local-to-national release, Hickory dropped the group (supposedly because their session was non-union), and Limbo released the songs locally on his own label, pairing “‘Live’ in the Midnight Hour” with “You’re So Fine” for Sonny 45-1002, and “Just Give Me Time” with Eddie Burton’s original “You’re Not Gonna Live Forever” for Sonny 45-1004.

Limbo released the Bobbies single on Sonny Records 45-1001. I’m not sure what songs the Bobbies planned on recording when they went into the session, but Sonic Recording owner Roland Janes gets writing credit for “(She) Put Me Down”.

I expect there is a Sonny 45-1003 out there but if so, I haven’t seen it.

The A-side of the Bobbies received a B+ in the July 30, 1966 issue of Cash Box.

Richard Hahn would go on to join the In.

In Wessex Combo Decatur Daily April 28, 1965 — The Wessex Combo (before the “In”), from the Decatur Daily April 28, 1965

I couldn’t find any news clippings for the Bobbies, but did turn up this interesting mention of an early version of the In, calling themselves the Wessex Combo for the 14th birthday party of Miss Jeannie Sharpe, the band featuring Bill Peck, George Vail, Chet Nolette, Eddie Burton and Fred Sanders. It was published in the Decatur Daily (Decatur Alabama that is), on April 28, 1965.

By the time of their Memphis recordings, Chet Nolette was out of the group and the In consisted of Bobbie Land – lead and backing vocals and organ, Eddie Burton – lead and backing vocals and lead guitar, Bill Peck – lead and backing vocals and rhythm guitar, Fred Sanders – lead and backing vocals and bass, and George Vail – drums. Later on Jackie Tiller of the Rocks would play bass for the group.

Anyone have a good photo of either group?

Info for this article comes from Jeff Jarema’s interviews with Eddie Burton of the In on the Sundazed and 60sgaragebands.com sites, both now defunct.

Categories: JCP, North Carolina, Not garage, Raleigh

The Dominoes “My Love for You” on JCP Records

September 3, 2020 Chris Bishop Leave a comment

This is an early, relatively unknown single on Jimmy Capps’ JCP Records label 1016. There’s nothing ‘garage’ about it.

“My Love for You” is a latin-styled pop song with male harmony vocals, and a female recitation in Spanish. Tonie Krakora wrote the song, published by Aimee Music Co. which handled many JCP releases, so I believe this was an original song, not a cover.

“Ram-Bunk-Shush” is a good instrumental, probably learned from Bill Doggett’s version.

Distributed by Sound of Nashville, SoN 17061/2.

I haven’t been able to find anything about the group or Tonie Krakora.

Categories: Newport News, Virginia

The Warlords and Hunger from Newport News, VA

September 2, 2020 Chris Bishop 18 Comments

Warlords Newport News original band photo — The Warlords, original band, from left: Sam Harrell, Terry Stead, Randy Hill, Roger Smith and Jack Ellis

Keyboard player Jack Ellis wrote to me about his three bands: the Warlords, who didn’t record; Hunger, who cut a rare 45 “Freedom Today” / “Buy Me” and an unreleased album; and the Spores who released an EP and have the lead-off track “Don’t You Worry” on Varulven’s 1983 compilation, Boston Rock-N-Roll Anthology.

The Warlords
Terry Stead – lead vocals
Roger Smith – guitar
Jack Ellis – keyboards
Sam Harrell – bass
Randy Hill – drums
Manager – Wilson Harrell
When I was 14 years old I got a Acetone organ for Christmas. It was a suitcase organ that you store the legs in the back and screw them in and set it up. When I told my friends at school (Denbigh High School in Newport News, Virginia), that was the beginning of the band. We all used Sears Silvertone amps (they were cheap and you could get them at the Sears store). We practiced at bass player Sam Harrell’s house.
His father Wilson Harrell heard the band and wanted to be the manager. He quit his paint salesman job and became our manager and booking agent full time. Wilson soon became the biggest talent booking agency in the area (Check Productions), covering the VA. Beach, Norfolk, Newport News, Williamsburg, Richmond area and was booking hundreds of bands every week. Having a built in booking agency gave us an advantage over all the competition and the Warlords were booked solid.
Wilson brought in a singer named Pete to sing the soul and Motown songs for the fraternity parties, and Terry would sing the rock songs. Our first gigs were frat parties at Fraternity Row at William and Mary College.
There was a road with 10 to 20 frat houses where bands like Bill Deal and the Rondells and Danny & the Delnotes would be playing next door to us. During our breaks we would go down the Row and check out the bands who came from different cities and places and there would be all new bands the next week. All the other bands’ trailers, trucks and buses would be parked on that street. The Warlords had a white trailer painted like our business card so we would get gigs from people walking by and hearing the band. Soon we were playing college gigs from Norfolk to Richmond.
One night after a fraternity party gig someone crashed into our white trailer that was parked in front of Wilson’s house with all the equipment in it and destroyed the trailer and everything in it. The insurance company paid to fix the trailer and equipment. The band went to Chuck Levin’s Music outside of Washington D.C. and we bought 3 Vox Buckingham amps as a package deal. The drummer had Ludwig drums. My organ survived the crash so I still had that. We started with some kind of horn type p.a. and then upgraded to Vocal Master p.a. columns.
Warlords at the Hullabaloo in Newport News
Wilson became one of the biggest talent booking agency (Check Productions) in the area, covering from Nags Head, Va. Beach, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg to Richmond. The Warlords played all the clubs including the military base clubs in Norfolk and Ft. Eustis. Wilson Harrell taught me the music business, without Wilson I wouldn’t be who I am. Wilson is the man who fueled the Tidewater Music scene and promoted hundreds of bands and gave them jobs in the music industry. Wilson and Sam are no longer with us.
The Hullabaloo picture is with a guest guitarist from The Wild Kingdom who played the gig with us.
Unfortunately the drummer Randy’s father pulled him out of the band. He was replaced by Bobby Pinner.
The Warlords with statue of Lief Erickson at The Mariners Museum, taken January 28, 1968, from left: Bobby Pinner – drummer, Sam Harrell – bass, Jack Ellis – keyboards, Roger Smith – guitar, Terry Stead – singer
Hunger
Terry Stead – lead vocals
Robbie Robertson – guitar
Mike Hanson – guitar
Jack Ellis – keyboards
Scott Tribue – bass
Stan Eury – drums
After the Warlords I started a new band called Hunger (1970) based out of Newport News. Our biggest competitors The Swinging Machines and The Wild Kingdom were gone and I ended up with Robbie Robertson from The Wild Kingdom as one of Hunger’s guitar players.
Hunger’s rare 45 “Freedom Today”, recorded at Richmond Sound Stages for winning the WTVR Radio 1970 Battle of the Bands
We were playing in Washington D.C. when we got a record deal with Paul Simon’s studio in Nashville. After Nashville, Hunger went back to Newport News where we did the Va. Beach, Nags Head club circuit, plus outdoor concerts with Grand Funk, Poco, and any festival that needed a band. The 45 is rare. There were only 200 pressed that went to the band family members and friends (gone instantly).
We were still booking gigs with Wilson Harrell. Wilson got us a deal with the USO Show circuit for the military to fly to Cuba and Puerto Rico to do clubs and concerts at Gitmo and Roosevelt Rds. These gigs would be for a week at a time (a vacation in paradise). Playing gigs was my job and paid very well. I also played with the Norfolk Aliens for a short while.
Hunger, from left: Scott Tribue, Mike Hansen, Terry Stead, Robbie Robertson, Stan Eury and Jack Ellis
The Hunger band equipment was massive. Wilson taught me if you look big you are big.
Keyboards:
Hammond C5 (CV) with 122 leslie speaker cabinet
Baldwin Electric Harpsichord
Hohner D6 Clavinet
Wurlitzer Electric Piano
Mini Moog Model D
Keys amp system: 4-Fender Showman cabinets which I bought used and replaced the speakers with Electrolux SRO (4-15”s) and JBL (4-15”s). I would stack 2 each on their sides making a wall behind me.
On top of that were two Marshall amps (1-100 watt and 1-50 watt). Yamaha board to mix instruments and send them to the amps, 2 mics on the leslie.
Mike Hanson – two Fender twin reverb amps with 2 Fender Bandmaster extension cabinets (8-12” speakers all together), cherry sunburst Gibson Les Paul guitar.
Robbie Robertson – two Fender Band Master amps (4-12”speakers), brown Gibson Les Paul with Fender neck he built himself (not sure if strat or telecaster neck, had a small headstock).
Scott Tribue: Ampeg bass amp with extension cab.
Band PA: Two Voice of The theatre bass cabinets with JBL 15” speakers, JBL horn with 2440 compression driver on top on each side/, 2-Crown power amps on each side. Don’t remember the board (some kind of English board had a British flag emblem on it).
We had a bread truck with the sliding front doors that could carry all the equipment and two roadies to drive it and set up the equipment. All equipment was paid for from gig money since none of us worked. We later bought a school bus that we painted dark green and gutted, turning it into a camper. We left two bus seats up front on each side, built a wall to block off the sleeping section (3 bunks on one side and 2 on the other) another wall to section off the equipment in the rear.
Every time we went through the Norfolk tunnel we had to pay for a bus toll which was very expensive. The toll guy told us if we put in a stove and propane tank we would classify as a camper, so we went to the junk yard and bought a gas stove and an empty propane tank and hooked it up. It was all for looks and didn’t work. Our tolls were now $1.75 and the toll guy would get on the bus with his flashlight every time and check it out.
We would take turns driving from Washington D.C. to Georgia so you could sleep if you wanted or if we were playing more than one night we could crash for the night or party in the bus. When the equipment was in the club the back of the bus was huge. While on the road we would run into the Allman Brothers, Cactus and other bands doing the same circuit. All the bands would stop at The Jolly Roger right before the Norfolk tunnel for a beer and we would always stop to see who was in. Someone always had to stay with the bus so it wouldn’t be stolen with all the gear in it. It was usually someone who was sleeping.

The Spores, from left: Mike Debellis, Paul Mudarri, Jack Ellis, Donny Prevost, Ken MacDonald, and John Cristoferi

The Spores
Donny Prevost – lead vocals
Paul Mudarri – lead guitar
Ken MacDonald – rhythm guitar
Jack Ellis – keyboards
Mike Debellis – bass, replaced by Joe Evans
John Cristoferi – drums, replaced by Dennis DuBre
The whole time I was playing I was still training as a classical pianist (since age of 6). While in Hunger I came in 2nd place at the Va. State Classical Competitions and in 1978 decided to move to Boston to further my studies at Berkeley College of Music where I got my diploma after four years.
While I was in school I joined the Spores, a rock band in Boston and I’ve been busy ever since. When I joined they were already playing steady so I just walked in ready to go. Their business organization was top notch. They had a red moving truck and an unbelievable rehearsal situation. One of the guys lived in the studio, it was huge. It use to be a gym that went out of business that the band picked up the rent. It was two stories with office rooms, showers, a huge changing room with lockers, a lounge and a full kitchen.
The manager was Jim Higgins who was in charge of a concert sound system company and the PA system was twice the size of Hunger’s. The PA was so massive the road crew would build a ramp system from the truck to the stage and wheel everything in. The sound man Jeff Karlson knew his stuff and worked concerts for the rock star bands.
One thing the Spores did that my old bands didn’t was record every show from the house mix. We would listen to each show the next day after the gig in the office of the studio as a band and improve on the show. I have two big bins full of cassette tapes. Also whatever big bands were using our PA we would record them too. I have tapes of Robin Lane and the Chart Busters, Orchestra Luna (great band, very novel), The Dead End Kids, The Verdict, maybe The Stompers and The Fools. These bands don’t know these tapes exist, we just threw them in the bins and moved on.
We were getting recording deals and working for Don Law Productions. We would get the albums recorded but couldn’t close the deal with the record company. We had a deal with Hirsh Gardner from the band New England who produced our album. They toured with Kiss and the deal was with their management company in New York. Alda Nova got the deal and I don’t blame them, that was a great song for the radio. I got the album done for free and pressed it myself in New York. Same thing with the Hunger album. I signed the deal but it never got off the shelf, so I got the album for free and pressed it myself.
The Spores only lasted til 1983 with over 100 originals recorded and thousands of hours of live tape, the quality is excellent.
After that I played in other bands, some really big, some not, sometimes three bands at a time. Lots of studio gigs (worked with Stones producer Jimmy Miller on an album project). In 2000 I did another album with the Spores in my home studio which came out pretty good and another in 2005 which was never finished. The singer and songwriter Donny got cancer and died and we never finished it.
I’ve had two more recording deals while in Boston and during Covid I’m working on another album in the studio.
Jack Ellis

Garage Hangover