The Smacks had two primary members, Lloyd Semler from Hagerstown, Maryland, and Bill McCauley from Winchester, Virginia. Both towns are along the I-81 corridor, about 45 minutes drive apart. Other members include John Glosser on bass and David Hall on drums.

They had two singles, “I’ve Been Fooling Around” / “Say You’ll Be Mine” on Alear 109 from October ’65, and “Reckless Ways” / “There’ll Come a Day”, released in May of ’66 on Alear 116. All songs written by Lloyd Semler and William McCauley, with publishing by Alear Music and Sand-Wayne Music BMI.

The first release is somewhat basic, but the second single really shines for both songwriting and production.

According to the liner notes to the excellent CD Aliens, Psychos & Wild Things, vol. 2, “Their first 45 was recorded at Accent Sound in Baltimore. The second was done in Harrisonburg at Weaver Sound in Spring ’66. The organist on ‘Nobody Else Is Gonna Do’ may be Front Royal’s soon-to-be-semi-famous, Roger Powell. The unreleased ‘There’ll Come a Day’ is the Smacks backing up two sisters from Winchester whose names are not recalled. Both Smacks discs came out on Alear, a Winchester label run by Jean Alford.” Front Royal is just south of Winchester.

The only live appearance notices I can find for the group are all from October and November 1965, billed as “Lloyd Semler and the Smacks” at New Beck’s Gourmet House at 38 North Jonathan St., Hagerstown, MD. I searched the Hagerstown Daily Mail throughout 1965 and 1966 and found no listings for “the Smacks” outside these “Lloyd Semler and the Smacks” gig notices. Also I found no clippings for any of the band members’ names included with “Smacks” in my newspaper searches, so there doesn’t seem to have been any profile of the band published in that paper.

Photo of the band from Aliens, Psychos & Wild Things, vol. 2. Sorry but I don’t remember where I found the promo sheet for their first single – please write to me if it was yours!