The Sunday Funnies “Sunny Covington Avenue” / “It Won’t Happen to You” on Skoop

Photo card included with some copies of the Sunday Funnies 45 on Skoop. From left: John Rice, Luke Pride, Gary MacShara and Tom Sheffer.

The Sunday Funnies 45 on Skoop 1070 has two excellent original songs, “Sunny Covington Avenue” an uptempo rocker, and “It Won’t Happen to You”. The labels list Gary McShara (actually Gary MacShara) as the song writer on the labels, with publishing by Buna Music. I don’t own a copy of the 45, unfortunately.

A photo card included with some copies of the record has a photo that predates Pat Berry joining the group, and has the name of manager Wayne Watters crossed out.

Sunday Funnies profiled in the Evansville Press, March 30, 1967

I came across this profile of the group from March, 30, 1967, which would date the single to about April, 1967:

The group … has become known through various appearances at such Evansville places as the Community Center at the Coliseum and on local television.

The Messenger of Madisonville KY, Friday, Oct. 14, 1966
The Sunday Funnies combo also has performed throughout the Tri-State area, but is hoping to become still better known through its recording of ” soon to be released

The group’s drummer, Gary MacShara, an 18-year-old employee of Our Lady of Mercy Hospital at Morganfield, Ky., wrote both of the tunes. The recording, which will be the Sunday Funnies’ first, is expected to be released soon on the Skoop label from the Santa Claus, Ind. studios.

Also in the combo are John Rice, 17-year-old Union County High School senior from Morganfield, on lead guitar; Luke Pride, 14-year-old Pride, Ky., resident who is a freshman at Sturgis Junior High, the organist; and Tom Shaeffler [Tom Sheffer], 16-year-old junior at St. Vincent Academy near Waverly, Ky., on bass guitar.

Newest member of the group is the singer, Pat Berry, 21, of Morganfield. Richard Young, a disc jockey for a Morganfield radio station, is the group’s business manager.

The group has been together since last September performing “mostly as a hobby and something to do,” Rice explained.

None of the group’s members are now planning to make music a career, he said.

In their appearances, the group strives for a different sound. “We don’t try to get real loud because we don’t especially care for that, but at the same time we try to move away from the old surfing sound,” Rice said.

“Our’s is a straight, no beat, but melodious sound lacking the tangy guitar sound. We’re trying to develop the Utah sound Gary played with a musical group before moving from the western state to the Tri-State,” Rice explained.

The instrumentalists each previously played with other combos, he noted.

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