The Beech Resorts give us two sides of teen anguish, pining for a girlfriend left behind in the maudlin “Springtime” while wondering why he’s in a relationship in the crude rocker “Distortion Don’t Know”. Why is “Distortion” part of the title? I don’t know.
According to Teen Beat Mayhem, the Beech Resorts came from Jackson, Michigan, a town 36 miles west of Ann Arbor and 66 miles east of Kalamazoo.
I can’t find any publishing info, but D. Williams wrote “Distortion Don’t Know” while “Springtime” is credited to T. Resor (anagram of Resort – a band composition)?
1609 Miles Ave, Kalamazoo was the home of Key Records. Key Records had at least 15 releases during the ’60s, mainly religious or country in nature, but with one other rock single, the Counts “All Night” / “Sittin Here Wonderin'” released in 1965 with a picture sleeve.
This is a Rite pressing from March 1967, 18829/30. Like other Key releases it lists “Raebet’s Productions” on the label.
The Beech Resorts name was to be reminiscent of The Beach Boys and good times at the beach. Dave Williams nickname was Beech (when smiling his top teeth looked like a row of Beech Nut gum!) and the T from Tom put behind Resor to complete the joke; both were the band’s co-founders. The name was suggested by Tom’s mom in a late night meeting after the recording when the band heard their manager had registered the group’s previous name (Something Else!) and claimed ownership of it; said manager was fired! Thanks for your efforts!
Hey, these guys are great!