Not much info here, the Catalinas “rock and roll band” at the Oasis Club at 1300 S. Barnes in Pampa, Texas in March of 1964. I’ve covered three other Catalinas from Texas, one from San Antonio and the others from the Dallas area, but I bet this was a different group.
Also seems to be a few years too late to be the Catalinas out of Dallas who had a 1958 single on Back Beat, “Speechless” / “Flying Formation With You”, that band included C.B. Oliver, Happy Bond, Mickey Jones, Vince Murphy, and Jack Schell.
Sam the Sham’s entire backing band quit towards the end of 1965, supposedly over financial disagreements. David Martin, Jerry Patterson, Ray Stinnett and Paul Gibson could not keep the Pharaohs name, and Sam recruited an entirely new Pharaohs lineup.
The remaining group cut one single as the Violations on Dot 45-16866, with Sam the Sham’s producer Stan Kesler, released in April, 1966.
Paul Gibson wrote the fast-moving r&b top side, “You Sure Have Changed” and collaborated with Ray Stinnett on “The Hanging”. The drumming is especially noticeable on both sides. I’ve read that “The Hanging” is a comment on the breakup with Samudio, but the lyrics are either oblique, like “People offer many persuasions/ Some offer gold as a prize / But they lie …”, or simply hard to comprehend over the slamming drums!
Cash Box reviewed the single in early May, 1966, giving it positive B+/B reviews, but the single faded without making any charts that I’m aware of.
Paul Gibson copyrighted two other songs in 1966, “A Long, Long Way” which was the B-side to Sam the Sham’s January 1966 single “Red Hot”, and “Like You Use To” which I’m not sure if anyone recorded.
I read Paul “Butch” Gibson left the music business after this single.
Ray Stinnett formed the 1st Century and released one 445 on Capitol produced by Don Nix featuring two of his original songs, “Looking Down” / “Dancing Girl”. He would work with Booker T. Jones and in 1971 cut his own album that would wait 40 years to be released with the title A Fire Somewhere.
I hadn’t heard the Innocence single “Quit Buggin’ Me” on Zap Records 2331, but I bought a copy because the titles were promising and it shares a label with a favorite garage 45, the Starlites‘ “Wait For Me”.
“Quit Buggin’ Me” turns out to be a fairly hilarious song-poem type vocal over a rock backing track (with flute, why not).
Quit buggin’ me, I don’t want to be bothered, Can’t you see, You’re wasting your time.
Besides the singer’s off-time interjections of “Quit buggin’ me”, I like lyrics such as “keep fishin’ round, you got the bait”! plus the chorus chanting “You’ve had your way” and “I’m off the hook”.
“Jungle of Love” is more countrified and the lyrics a bit hackneyed.
Rozella Staples and Joan Hager wrote both songs, published through Top Talent Music BMI. They registered the songs with the Library of Congress in September 1970, but from the pressing code ZAFX-6805217, I believe this was actually recorded and released in 1968.
Zap Records was part of Belle Meade Records in Nashville, also known for song-poem releases.
The Magnums had one release of R&B sounds dense with echo, both originals by Charles Collins. “One of These Days” is the uptempo side, while “Two People Against the World” is the slow ballad. Can’t tell you anything more about the band at this time.
Released as Centennial 45-1863-2, the King pressing dates it to 1964. Panhandle Pub. Co. handled the publishing, as it did for the New Mason Dixons’ single “Back Up” / “Totaled” (both by Sam Follo) on Centennial 45-1863-1. Centennial’s address was 217 Blackwell St., Bridgeport, West Virginia.
There’s also a Centennial 45-1863-3, Pee Wee & the Prophets “Let’s Work” / “Tell Me”, with the address changed to Clarksburg.
Photo taken by Dave Peirce, reproduced with his permission
Andy Mark came from St. Davids, Pennsylvania, a small community close to Wayne, about 15 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
A promotional sleeve created at the time of his first single reproduces a number of news articles, programs and letters. Andy was part of a folk group referred to variously as the Suburan Three or the Suburban Four.
These St. Davids lads are: Andy Mark, 13, guitarist; Jim Schnaars, 13, second guitarist and lead vocalist; Dan Gladish 14, Irish bass player; all students at Radnor Junior High, and Bob Schnaars, 15, blue-grass banjoist, who attends Mercersburg Academy.
Another Hootenany program omits Bob Schnaars and lists Jaccy Schnaars instead of Jim. Debbie DuPont managed his bookings, and Ed Cotlar produced his first single. Ed Cotlar had worked for Cameo-Parkway and Goodway Records, and in 1968 would join Diamond.
front of promotional package that accompanied “Partime Hippie”Billboard, April 27, 1968
Billboard published two mentions about this release in the April 20 and 27, 1968 issues.
Ed Cotlar is reactivating his free-lance record promotion service, E-jay Enterprises – House of Ideas. His first accounts are “Girl Watcher,” by the O’Kaysions on North State Records and “Part Time Hippie,” by Andy Mark on Hilaire Records.
The second news item is about Deborah Eldredge duPont forming Hilaire Records headquartered in St. Davids, PA. Unfortunately the item spells the A-side as “Oartime Hippie”.
Hilaire H-100 has two originals by Andy Mark, “Partime Hippie” and “Take a Good Look”. Both songs’ lyrics seem to question fads of the time.
“Partime Hippie”
Not all of us can make it (?), So we’ll just have to fake it, Unless we want to stand up to the world.
?? But in some peoples’ eyes, You can’t be a man till you grow a beard.
It’s a new generation, Of a new revelation, It’s a turn-on, tune-in and drop out.
[music freaks out]
I know what you’re thinking That I’m supervising (?) But you don’t know how wrong that you are.
Not all of us can make it, So we’ll just have to fake it, Unless we want to stand up to the world.
“Take a Good Look”
The time has come when I must run and leave you to your games, It’s been a year, the time is here to forget our names.
Take a good look and tell me what you see, Take a good look and tell me what you’ll be.
You say that truth is meaningless and you live for today I say that truth is valuable, who’s to say?
I regret I must disagree, That in this world, one cannot be entirely free.
Take a good look and tell me what you see, Take a good look and tell me what you’ll be.
I regret I must disagree, That in this world, one cannot be entirely free.
Until you see my reasoning I must be sure of just one thing, That when you change and come back home, you’ll know that I am here (?)
Take a good look and tell me what you see Take a good look and tell me what you’ll be.
Bissel Music is listed as publisher, but I can find no copyright record for these songs.
Interestingly, the promotional packet that accompanied the “Partime Hippie” single does not mention either song from that single or provide the lyrics.
The Philadelphia Inquirer had a full article on Andy on June 9, 1968, with a photo and the headline “‘Rich Fairy Godmother’ Aids Young Rock Star”. Unfortunately I do not currently have an online newspaper archive subscription so I can’t access the photo or full text but I did glimpse some excerpts:
“Dave Hardt on bass guitar and John Fuchs on drums. Andy and Dave were just graduated from Radnor Senior High School, while John is entering his senior year.”
Andy “picked up pointers on the instrument from his older brother. Andy cannot read music and must tape all his original songs and have a friend transcribe them. Andy and his friends have appeared on several television shows …”
There is also a mention of Andy’s music being conservative in political outlook, and that he would be studying law in the future.
Andy Mark’s statement from the promo kit
A second single saw release as Andy’s Tool Box, also on Hilaire but with a different label design and numbering (527 this time).
“Well of Your Love” is a swift-moving rocker with organ and bass in the fore of the mix, backed with the piano-led ballad “Breadcrumbs” that livens up with harmonies in the chorus. This time the lyrics are concerned with relationships and unrequited love. Andy Mark wrote “Well of Your Love” and co-wrote “Breadcrumbs” with J. Peirce.
This single came with a picture sleeve that shows Andy with photos of an unnamed drummer and bassist.
H. Kaplan produced, with distribution by Melrose Records, and publishing by Hera BMI (though once again I find no registration with the Library of Congress).
According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, in 1972, Andy Mark went into commercial jingles for radio and TV, starting several companies including Philadelphia Music Works, Broadcast Results Group, and the Canary Collection. He passed away in February, 2009 at the age of 58.
Thank you to John Pitts for research help with this article, and to Dave Peirce for the high quality scans of the photos he took of Andy.
Inside of the promotional folder that came with my copy of “Partime Hippie”
Evolution, a band from Reno, Nevada featuring two young women in white go-go boots and three men with ruffled shirts. The photo comes from Bob Dee and Associates who booked many groups around Reno, Lake Tahoe and California.
My friend Derek sent me this photo. Sure, they’re probably a show band covering soft pop, but the look is worth a few laughs. Maybe a couple of members were in cool groups a few years earlier who recorded some great unreleased music we haven’t heard yet. Maybe.
Karen and the Starliners came from Plainfield, Connecticut, but recorded at Planet Studios in Providence, Rhode Island. “I Can Count the Times” has a good garage backing, the flip “Storm in My Heart” is a more typical ballad.
Fred Richards wrote both songs, published by Planet’s in-house company Ranford Music Co., and registered with the Library of Congress in October, 1966.
This seems to be their only release. I don’t have any other band members’ names.
Revolver made one single circa 1973, with the A-side being the Kinks-like “Roll-a-Coaster Man”, and the flip the Beatles-esque “Caught In a Day”. Both sides have harmonies and a sixties sensibility but the lead guitar especially is definitely ’70s in sound.
Ken Brophy wrote “Roll-a-Coaster Man”, and Brophy and Jim Rosler wrote “Caught In a Day”, which is the song I most like. Carl Siracuse and Revolver produced the single.
I don’t know where the band was from, but Roxan studios was located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and owned by Mike Stahl. A small batch of the 45s was found in New Jersey.
Roxan also released singles by the Innkeepers “Bittersweet” (written adn produced by John Paris) / “Someday”, Staneless Steele (“Down at the Y” / “Never Tell a Lie” (both written by Joe Scovish), B.B.K’s Expedition ”Change The American Dream” / “Sole Confusion” and TNT, plus an album by Frankie & The Corvettes.
On April 29, 1965, the Duncanville Suburban published a profile and photo (unfortunately blacked out by the microfilm process): “A new band —’The Catalinas” – has been organized in Duncanville, headed by Ricky Rose. The band consists of Gerald Marable, drummer; Mike Mayhew, rhythm guitar; Ronny Teames, bass guitar; and Ricky Rose, pianist. Rose also serves as vocalist.”
In March of 1967 the Duncanville paper published a notice that the Catalinas would be playing, “a local combo that is well-known around the Southwest Dallas County area.”
As far as I know, these Catalinas never recorded.
There was a Catalinas group from the Garland area of Dallas playing at the same time as these Catalinas. I believe they are different groups though, because that one featured two guitars and no pianist.
I very much doubt this is the same group listed on a couple San Antonio ads at Teen Town in 1966.
If you have any photos or info on any local Texas bands of the ’60s, please comment below or contact me.
The Catalinas, including Gary Nicholson front center and Rodney Wall at right
The Garland Daily News ran two announcements for the Catalinas at the Karavan Klub at the Community Center Annex, first with the Cherries IV on February 26, 1965.
On April 6, 1965 the Daily News ran a photo of the group, noting “Catalinas to play at Karavan Teen Klub and DECA Club Dance at Community House … with the Fiestas who won the Karavan Battle of the Bands contest, and a new group composed of South Garland High School students known as the Sceptors.”
There was a Catalinas group from Duncanville playing at the same time as these Catalinas. I believe they are different groups though, because that one featured a pianist and only one guitarist.
As far as I know, these Catalinas never recorded.
If you have any photos or info on any local Texas bands of the ’60s, please comment below or contact me.
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
