Mac Davis & The Zots at Misty Waters

Is the above photo that of the famous Misty Waters, the venue that gave Mac Davis and the Zots their start ?

No, the photo above is of the venue where an 11-year old named Gram Connor walked backstage to the dressing room to talk with the singer who was performing that night. It was 1957 and the singer, Elvis Presley was just beginning to make his mark. Some time later Gram Connor became Gram Parsons .

However, we would love to have a photo of Misty Waters which was located on Candler Road in Atlanta, Georgia. If you read this and know someone who might have one, forward it on.



Greg


Pat Hughes made all of the arrangements for recording "The Little Black Egg". He also made the arrangements for the Yardbird gigs and recording at American studios. He acted as our manager and producer, even though we had no formal arrangement (I don't think) with him. He chose the song, The Little Black Egg. It was way out of sync with the types of stuff that we were playing, but he thought that it would be a good idea. He booked us on shows with many popular acts during that time period. Beach Boys, Paul Revere, Bo Diddley, The Byrds, Jan and Dean, Willie Tee, Jackie Wilson and more.
You know, I have seen no mention of bands at Misty Waters on the blog or in the book. It was one of the most prominent venues for R&R in Atlanta in the 50's and early 60's. We played there often appearing with Lovin' Spoonful (their first tour), John Lee Hooker, Joe South and many more. I remember seeing Mac Davis and the Zots, Bobby "Harmonica" Jones, Felton Jarvis(of RCA A&R fame, an Atlanta boy), Tommy Roe, Ray Stephens etc. there. I am surprised that more people have not mentioned it.
An aside, our band was "The Kommotions", plural with an "s".
Another place that we played often was Fun Town on Stewart Ave.
Thanks, Rick




Rick,

Thanks for your continued input. We list Misty Waters in the book on page 483 as one of the Atlanta venues that featured bands of the era that played “the Music.” Our first reference to the place came from Roxy, a band that played there on occasion.


Your email adds to the richness that we have sought from the very beginning. Prior to the book’s publication and the happenstance discovery of your email address, we did not have a go to person that could give us the detailed information that you just did above. We were aware of remotes from Misty Waters by WQXI but much of the other information that is now on the Internet was not there until well after the book was published. However I did read Zell Miller’s outstanding book, “They Heard Georgia Singing “ but missed the reference to the place in reference to Mac Davis. Most of the newer information about Misty Waters is references in blogs from people who considered it one of their favorite places for music. Most of the references are about Mac Davis, certainly one of the greats from Georgia. However, it’s the lesser known that we have been most interested in like the Swinging Apolloes who played there as well as opened for the Rolling Stones in Statesboro in 1965. We did not overlook that in the book but have never been able to find much about them until recently in conjunction with of all things, “Misty Waters” I found a site on the Internet which includes some very interesting tidbits. Also another site has a blurb about Misty Waters. The site is also a great name for a band: The Soul Purpose Band.

One of the more interesting items that we came across even before the book was published was an eBay item which included a WQXI radio ad for a concert at Misty Waters. That is an ad I would like to hear. Maybe it was an ad for the Kommotions. Would that be a hoot?

Actual Broadcast Recording (Aircheck)
Station: WQXI - Atlanta, Georgia
DJ: Tony "The Tiger" Taylor
Date: April 1,1965



24. Concert Promotion: Be at Misty Waters for the show tomorrow night--Friday night!

Other Internet Blurb;
WQXI Played country music in very early '60s. It was a great rock station in the '60s, complete with background reverb. Did live remotes from Misty Waters Roller Rink with appearances by local stars like Ray Stevens, Mac Davis, and Brenda Lee. Quixie was home to Tony "The Tiger" Taylor, Patrick Aloyisius Hughes, Tom & Paul, The Tiger Twins, Mike Shannon, Paul Drew (submarine races at Piedmont Park) and many more.

Here is an interesting factoid from a high school web site:
We did lose a cornerstone of that community where some now famous personalities, Mac Davis for one, got their start - that being Misty Waters. One member of our class does have possession of the ol' Misty Waters Juke Box though.


Finally, I was not aware that it was a skating rink or that it was on Candler Road, I knew it was in that area but did not know the specific location. We call it a country club when we list in as one of the 20 Atlanta party location of the 60s. That’s a stretch. Now, if Wayne L. would only send that photo of him teaching a young lady to dance at the Bikini-A-Go-Go club in Atlanta, we’d be set.

Regards,

Greg

Your Directions to the Bands of The Hey Baby Days

CLICK ON IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE



The Kommotions Directory has been removed to make some revisions; will repost soon !

Click on the images above to enlarge. The top image is that of the inside back cover of "The Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music." The numbered CDs are audio CDs and they contain 46 different cuts by bands featured in the book. Go to www.heybabydays BAND PAGE to see the titles and the listing of bands. The CD in the middle is a band directory CD which list names of bands by state with a file for each listing the members of the band, their instruments , favorite venues of the bands and a listing of their releases. If you bought the book and have been trying to play the band directory CD thinking you would hear some great music , you'll be disappointed. However, it you load it on your computer, you should be able to open the various PDF files of bands included in the state by state folders. By clicking on the name of the band you should be able to see a file similar to the one above. This is currently the same file as you see at the site. That will changing soon as we update and add band directories.


We have been updating the band directories and will be adding revisions, additions as well as new band directories. If your band is in the system and there are any mistakes, let us know so we can make the changes. As mentioned, we'll be adding new directories such as Wayne Logiudice and Kommotion which is listed under Georgia but there is presently not a directory. We will be adding the Wayne Logiudice directory that you see above but probably with some changes after members of the band have seen the directory that is shown above.

Divots, Jokers Seven & Night Shadows

Wow! The cup indeed runneth over as Atlanta musician John Ivey opened some doors and in came some great information about the referenced bands, coming all from musicians who played with the Divots, The Jokers Seven and The Night Shadows.

I was very lucky to find Rick Bear on the Internet. He led me to Wayne Logiudice and to John Ivey. All three played together in Wayne Logidice and Kommotion. We still have not finished our conversations with Wayne, so stay tuned. As for John Ivey, if you want information on bands and musicians in Atlanta (probably for all decades) he’s the go to person. If he doesn’t have the answers, he can probably direct you to the person who does.


Thanks to John, we received some input from Aleck Janoulis about the legendary Atlanta band, the Night Shadows. Additionally, we learned that we missed another "band of Jokers" having previously apologized for missing The Jokers Wild of Richmond, Virginia. John showed his copy of the book to Jim Woodford and as a result, we got an email from Jim with the photo of The Jokers Seven of Greenville, North Carolina. Then another email came from Mike Webber who was referred by Jim. Mike is a former Divot of Roanoke Virginia who went on to play bass for the Judds and other big time names. We did not however miss the Divots in the book. They were a long running band that amassed quite an outstanding reputation through the years.
The photo above of the Divots above is used in a great story written by John Pugh which appears in "The Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music" courtesy of The Roanoker Magazine.

Mike’s email sums up the feeling of many musicians from back in that era. Also, Jim Woodford has furnished us a contact for the Royal Kings of Roanoke, another glaring omission from the book.



The Divots


Dear Greg

My name is Mike Webber and I was the bass player in the Divots from, oh gosh let me think. I would say somewhere from 1964 to around 1966, maybe even in 1963 or so. However, I do have a photo of the band. The organist was my brother Bobby Webber, who, unfortunately died 2 years ago in Va. Beach from lung and brain cancer. I am the oldest of our siblings and at the age of 63 in March. There were a few different band members as time went by, but for the most part a few regulars. Jimmy Lowe, was one of the sax players. Wayne Johnson was a great vocalist. Orlando Smith was a wonderful organist, but that was somewhat before my time there. Perry Calligan was the guitarist from the get go I would say, followed later by his brother Larry. My brother Bobby was the organist after Orlando. Sonny Womack was a bass player and singer at different times as was Don East, who I believe was the original bassist. It was a wonderful time and I've probably not had as much fun in my entire life as I did in those days. Gee, we were all so young, talented, interested in what we were doing and willing to give up anything in order to pursue that endeavor, and we did! The singer in the photo I'm sending you is Bugs Hughes.. I always love that guy, and haven't seen him in maybe 40 years or more. Good grief. Anyway, that band was very good and went to back up some major artists, such as...Dionne Warwick, The Four Tops, Rufus Thomas, The Shirelles, Tom Jones, The Tams, and more than this old mind cannot recall. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to write me back, as I really love talking about those days. The beginning of rhythm and blues, soul, and all that good stuff.

Thanks,

Mike Webber




Mike,

Thanks for your email. The Divots was a highly regarded band by those who count most, other musicians. During my research for the book beginning in 2000, I kept hearing from members of various bands that the Divots were an absolute must for the book. I write about the difficulty in finding a source in the book. After calling every Richard or Dick Hodges in Roanoke and mostly leaving voice mails, , I finally got a return call from a message I finally was able to hook up with Dick Hodges, the long time manager of the Divots and he provided me with a lot of information, most of which had already been published in the Roanoker Magazine. (I am afraid that Dick may be deceased as I tried to mail him a book and it came back)

I was able to secure permission to reprint the story written by John Pugh in the book. John's story about the band is excellent. I supplemented it with additional information I was able to obtain from Dick and Greg Slusher. I did not fare as well with the Royal Kings although I tried several sources. I think I have one now thanks to contacts obtained through John Ivey. I was not able to obtain photos that I could use as I only had a copy of the article. If you have other photos we could post, that would be great.
It is very sad that the Divots never recorded as they no doubt had the talent. Thanks for sharing the above with me and please respond with anything else you would like to share about those incredible times and that incredible band, the Divots.

Regards,

Greg Haynes





The Jokers Seven

Greg,

I saw your book over at John's house and was fully amazed; many of my old friends are in it. It's a wonderful book.

Attached is pic of The Jokers Seven of Greenville, NC -- 60s band. Most of us went to East Carolina University. We played R&B, worked mainly in NC, college parties and beach parties. Backed up major acts like The Dixie Cups, The Drifters, etc. I'm the one on bottom left-hand side of (guitar player) of the pic attached

"Hit Attractions" also booked The Divots out of Roanoke, VA. Hit Attractions made a promo pic of The Divots in the exact same style as the J7 pic attached. You can get a copy of The Divots' pic from my close friend/musician Mike Webber, originally from Roanoke, VA; bass player for the Divots. He moved to Nashville and became a star with the Judds and other hit groups, as you point out in your book. Mike's email is bossa2@aol.com

Ed Watkins is a wealth of info about the Jokers Seven. He was our band leader; in the middle of the three people on the right-hand side of the attached. Although Baron Hignite (front and center in the attached pic) referred to the J7 as his band . I saw in your book another Greenville NC group, with a musician named "Hignite"; don't know if they're related.

Contact Ed ewatkins@wj-inc.com get the details about the J7; then you can me what he says and I'll be glad to fill in any additional information I know.

Peter Harholdt, my good friend/musician from Roanoke, VA and in the 60s bands can help you out regarding the Royal Kings. I spoke with him by phone few days ago; told him about your book. He can provide the info you're seeking about the Kings. His email is harholdt@mindspring.com

I'm Cc'ing this e-mail to Mike, Ed, and Peter, and to John Ivey too.

best regards,

Jim Woodford, Ph.D.
(423) 821-1146







The Night Shadows

Aleck:

John Ivey gave me your information and I thought I had tried to contact you but maybe not. I am interested in knowing more about the Night Shadows (with Little Phil etc) especially the early days when the band was playing more R&B, i.e. “Money etc.” The band is very well known from those days and sorry we did not get more info before we published The Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music but we are constantly adding and may append the first volume.

Regards,


Greg Haynes

Greg

The Night Shadows started out primarily as an R&B group in the late 1950s, 7 years before Little Phil joined the group. We were originally called The Kavaliers in 1957 and eventually changed the name to the Night Shadows in 1959. Since the band started in my basement garage and I started writing original tunes, we are considered the first "garage band" by most collectors. We preempted other garage bands by 6 years (pre - Beatles), so a record company in Spain released an album and CD titled "The Patriarchs of Garage Rock" in 2007. (Attachment) (see above)
You can read more about the band and view some old pics by clicking on:
http://myspace.com/thenightshadows
Also, click on the CDs for additionally info.

Aleck


Aleck,

Thank you and I hope that others reading this will click on the link above and learn more about an Atlanta band that achieved a great amount of popularity in the day. Maybe they’ll also buy the CDs.

Regards,

Greg

More Bits & Pieces from the writer for the Athens Rogues

Above: Bits & Pieces (circa 1970) did a great cover of Motherlode's "When I Die". Bits & Pieces had previously been the Pieces of Eight. Many of the players above are now performing as ...The Pieces of Eight. Confusing ? The mystery in unravelled in "The Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music." While they were the Bits & Pieces, they had a great run, and were never in the boondocks, except when they backed Billy Joe Royal which was frequent. It has been said that the "high notes" that you hear on the recording of "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy" by the Tams are those of Billy Joe.

Copy the link below and paste in your window above and hear the song written by Gerry Fleming keyboardist for the Athens Rogues. The song was recorded by the Athens Rogues in Nashville and includes one of Elvis’ back up singers . We’ll let you know when we find out . Hugh Jarrett ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aitBPRwRrf4&feature=related



Greg

So, thanks for responding to my Email. I'm amazed at the interest in the Athens Rogues. I'm only sad that Pete (Drake) isn't around to see the long-overdue attention. He believed in the group and the music from the first time he heard the opening bars of the horn-lick all the way to the time when we all decided that our effort for the "mainstream" was at an end. I remember as though it was yesterday when John, Jimmy, Dennis and I sat down with him in his office at Window Music, on Music Row in Nashville on that miserably cold night. Pete leaned back in his chair, propped his feet up on his desk and punched the button on his reel-to-reel to start the tape we had brought from Project 70 Sound in Athens (the rehearsal and demo place we had been provided by Jerry Connel and John Harrold). "So you boys are Georgia Bulldogs," was his comment as the reels began to spin.

About that time, the horn line began, along with the back-up vocals. He made it through only the opening fill-line and stopped the machine. We collectively thought, "Uh-oh," expecting the same response we'd gotten from everybody else on the row that day. Instead, he said, "This material belong to you?" Then he started the machine again and not another word was said until about ten or fifteen long seconds after the song ended. Then he said, "You boys want to make a record?"

If Pete was alive today to see the love that many people have shown
for the work we mutually put in, he would say, "What'd I tell you?"
He was a great, great guy. He and his wife, Tina, opened their doors
to us as though we were family. Which brings me to a couple of
points.

First, I should mention that one of Elvis's back-up singers at the
time appears with our back-ups on the record. For the life of me, I
cannot recall his name. I'll do what I can to check on that. The guy
was at the sessions we did at Starday Studios in Nashville. He was
close to Pete and intrigued by our band. At a moment for decision,
Pete was balking at the prospect of having to ping-pong a track to add a third voice to the harmonies (which we had done on the demos from P-70) and had said he hated to lose the quality inherent in the process of bouncing the tracks (this was all four-track work in those days). I was in the booth as the decision was being made and the guy turned to me and said, "I can sing a part." To which Pete laughed and said, "I can't afford you!" So the guy smiled and said, "So, don't pay me. I like these guys." So, he's on the tracks, and I'll do what I can to find out which of Elvis's singers he was.

Regarding the availability of our 45 vinyls, there actually MAY be
hope. You know, when the records were being pressed, Neil Merritt,
STOP's promotions man, sent all of us a bundle of the the first ones
out the door at the same time he submitted the radio copies to
selected DJs. Honestly, I had about two hundred or more just myself!
We more-or-less gave them away like candy, but there is a possibility that around a hundred of them still exist and I'll search hard to find if this is indeed true. So...keep faith.

As far as other Athens Rogues recordings, there were quite a few on 1" or 2" tape that were never mastered, including one that came out of the Nashville sessions called "Extra Soul Perception", which was an instrumental and, frankly, a step forward in our developing sound. Additionally, there are (or were) a stack of tapes we did at P-70 as well as a session we did at (of all places) the studio at the journalism school at UGA and at least one live performance that the journalism students did of us of a date at Memorial Hall on the UGA
campus in '68. So, with the right detective work...who knows? One
thing about academic facilities like UGA: They tend to archive better
than most of us.

Another point I find of interest to a lot of people out there. The
organ I used on the cuts was not a Hammond. At the time of the
records, I was using a Panther organ (remember those? The ones with the black and white keys reversed.) But the trick was that I played it through a Leslie 122, using a controller called a "Combo Compact Preamp Footswitch". It was actually a very cool sound for the time. I got the trick from Pete, who I had heard jamming through a Leslie with his steel guitar (you may remember that Pete Drake was one of the legends of the steel, with hits like "Forever" that he played through the very first "talk-box"...WAY before Frampton). Pete sounded like Jimmy Smith's organ when he played the steel through the Leslie. I did it with the Panther. Now, in the latest photos, I'm playing my Farfisa. I took that cue from my old friend Donny Galucci (Louie Louie), but I liked the Panther better.

As far as those photos go...you've got me. I think one of them is at
a frat on fraternity row. I seem to recall something that looked like
a dart board. The other...I haven't a clue, although I dearly love
the picture of Glenn! That's him at his best! I haven't seen those
guys in YEARS, and I hope that all this is a catalyst to reunite us in
some way. Those guys are really very special people. Thanks, Greg, for keeping their work and their faces alive in the history books!

As for me, I went from the Rogues to "Nickles and Dimes", with Ed
Seay, Jim McKillip and friends and then on to "Bits and Pieces", with
Pat Andrews, Ace Bouie, Charlie Hughes and the rest of the guys. That was a short one though. On to "Rare Vintage" and then to one of the "syndicated" versions of the "Classics IV". Most of these were pretty short trips as a matter-of-fact. Those were the days when a lot of the groups I was with were really in transition...like the
"Classics"...going from original members to hired guns and back again. It was interesting, but pretty confusing. I settled down into a
steady diet of studio work and became one of the regulars at Bill
Lowery's "School House" with a host of the Atlanta artists like Billy
Joe Royal, Tommy Rowe, Joe South, Beaver Teeth, Coyote McCloud and whoever else came through the doors. Then I hit the road with
"Thunder" for a few years and got to play with a ton of touring stars.

I ended up in Hawaii...(sad isn't it?) and am now back on the
mainland putting together my own projects that I hope to share with you as time goes by. Anyway, that's my update...which really has very little to do with how this missive started, so I appreciate your ear.

If you want my snail-mail address, let me know and I'll Email it to
you. Thanks for what you've done for our roots. I really look
forward to reading the book!

Your friend,

Gerry Fleming

PS

Incidentally, I tried to answer on your blog and couldn't get the darn
thing to work...hence this Email. However, you're welcome to share
this letter on your space if you like. And I'm not certain about the
YouTube spot. I'll check with my BMI guys. Ciao.






Gerry,

Thank you for being so detailed. It is our hope that the blog will attract not only attract those who enjoyed the sounds that bands like the Athens Rogues brought forward but also those musicians that made the music during those incredibly creative days. Your mention of "Extra Soul Perception" reminded of another lost tape, an instrumental by King David & The Slaves called "African Queen" that members of that band have a fondness for but it was also lost in the shuffle. Maybe BOTH will surface and we'll include them on a new CD titled "The Lost Soul of Memorial Hall." I was the social chairman of Reed Hall for the school year 1968-1969 and King David & the Slaves played an event for us at Memorial Hall in December of 1968. Harold Williams from Athens who had previously been an original Jester was with them. Harold , now a CPA plays saxophone these days with the Jesters. I appreciate your sharing the type of equipment you used as other keyboardist reading will quickly identify. Regarding your travels after the Athens Rogues, that too sounds familiar. Certainly there was transition in the 60s but compared to the 70s, the bands of the 60s were big happy families. The book more or less focuses on the edge of the eras.

A great band of the 70s was Bits & Pieces, which was was formed of the guys you mentioned who I had known when they were the Pieces of Eight. One of the tunes the Bits & Pieces /Pieces of Eight did was "When I Die" a cover of Motherlodes' top twenty song of 1969. That was Canada's greatest contribution to Beach Music. In your brief stay with the Bits & Pieces, had they started doing that song? I think that you'd enjoy seeing those guys perform even today as they are pretty much intact and will be performing in May at Chateau Elan in Braselton.

Regarding the backup singer for Elvis who played on "She Could Love Me" that would be great to find out. Hopefully there will be someone who remembers. That's pretty cool. During your tenure with the Classics IV, was that when Billy Gilmore and Dean Daughtry came from the Candymen? Was Mike Hughey the drummer?
Many great musicians can through that band. We tried to develop as many band directories as we could for the book and we included the Classics IV since we write about them in the book. Details are difficult to confirm so if you can fill in any blanks , that would be great.



Regards,

Greg



Greg

I didn't remember it being one of The Jordanaires that did the background vocal with us, but I did remember it being one of the vocalists in the studio. We had a three part harmony background on She Could Love Me and we only had two guys, Jim Cleveland and me, because Gerald Fleming was doing the lead vocal. Pete Drake was going to dub over the third part when some guy milling around in the studio, who had never heard the song before, said "I can do it-let me hear it ". He heard it one time and nailed it on the record. I'll defer to Gerald's memory as being one of the Jordanaires, but that would make sense because they were already in the RCA studio when we arrived there, as was Presley's drummer, D. J. Fontana.They were doing some studio backup for an artist who was recording before we got started.

I did get an e mail from Gerald (Gerry now) last night and have responded. Good to hear from him.

Thanks,

Glenn

Glenn:

That sounds very plausible that it could have been one of the Jordanaires... since they were already at the studio. It's doubtful that just anybody (a non-professional ) would have been able to step to provide the vocals in such a short time. I was thinking it could have been Hugh Jarrett but Hugh was in the Jordanaires from 1954-1958 so it wasn't him. Here are the Jordanaires during that time period: Gordon Stoker, Ray Walker, Neal Matthews, and Hoyt Hawkins. Incredibly Stoker and Walker are still with the Jordanaires while Matthews is deceased and Hawkins left in 1982. I guess we could email them and see if either one remembers...otherwise it could be one of the other two or by another vocalist who happened to be there. It's worth trying to find out in any event.

Regards,


Greg

Athens Rogues' "She Could Love Me" big on the Northern Soul Scene

Hi, Greg

I'm Gerry Fleming. I was the singer/songwriter for the Athens Rogues. Is there anything I can do for you? I'm more than just a little stunned that there's even a vague memory of the old group. Drop me a
line.

Gerry


Gerry,

Yes, send me a lot of the original 45 RPM “She Could Love Me” on the Stop Label. The only available one I can find on the Internet sells for $425.00. Of course, I’m kidding ( about sending any copies) but I am not kidding about it’s price (check Musicstack.com). I can understand why it’s a big song with the Northern Soul crowd. You are probably aware that Ripete licensed it and it can be found on Disk Number 9 of The Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music series. I think Ripete sells the entire Number 9 Disk with 19 great other songs for less than $425.00 but I will double check. Lol It’s all about authenticity with the Northern Soul scene and unless it’s on a 7” (in diameter) disk, they are not interested in playing it at one of their events. You have to love their passion. I am sure that when a few of them see this posting and discover that the Athens Rogues are white, they’ll be very surprised. Of course, since the book came out, they probably are already aware.

What about the other recordings made in Nashville, are any of them available ?


I guess you realize that “She Could Love Me” is on Youtube. I would like to link the Youtube posting to this blog but my guess is that the Internet Youtube posting is being done without permission. Am I right ? It’s a great tune and very much should get more recognition. Also attached is a photo that Glenn Brown provided for the book that we didn’t use. Maybe you can reply and give the history of the photo. By the way, I noticed that the Athens Rogues’ photo that we have in the book has you in the book crease. Sorry about that. We’ll shift for a second printing. Reply back with any thing you want to add about the songs you wrote or the band etc. The site and blog is all about preserving an important period of time, music and musician.

Regards,


Greg

Hey Baby Days blog spreading globally but Columbia, South Carolina is the centroid

The above map is a snapshot of where visitors to the blog have come from over the last twenty four hours. The increasing number of visitors is encouraging so we plan to keep on reliving the Hey Baby Days. This past Sunday was the biggest day to date with 120 unique visitors to the blog. The increasing activity indicates that there are more than a few out there who love Southern Soul Music and Beach Music of the 60s and the bands that made it the greatest party era.

While the Southeast is the area most interested in the subject, a full 10% of the visitors have been international visitors. Columbia, South Carolina is by far the location of the most visitors to the site followed by cities and towns throughout the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama and Florida. The United Kingdom has generated the second largest number of visitors from a country other than the U.S.

From time to time, we’ll keep you updated on the progress of the blog. We would love to have you officially join the blog by clicking on “Follow This Blog” on the main screen.

shoo-bop, shoo-bop, my baby, ooh It seems like a mighty long time

since we had a posting. Ann Adams, our friend in Hawaii inspired today's posting. She is an avid Barbara Lewis fan as you'll see below. In addition, we keep connecting the dots between Bill Haney's Atlanta Soul Brotherhood and The Heeey Baby Days.






"Working On Love" by the Mark Seven (Hawkinsville, Georgia ) as shown above is the same as "Working On A New Love" by Milton Marlin which is cut number 16 on "Bill Haney's Atlanta Soul Brotherhood." We're not sure which was was first recorded. Composer Herb Ryals is still blowing it out (Saxophone) in Albany, Georgia.



shoo-bop, shoo-bop, my baby)
(shoo-bop, shoo-bop)

Hello, stranger

(ooh) It seems so good to see you back again
How long has it been?
(ooh, seems like a mighty long time)
(shoo-bop, shoo-bop, my baby, ooh)
It seems like a mighty long time …



Hi Greg,

I still haven't figured out how to start an original thread on the blog
so I am emailing you. I will start listening to the 17 CD's all over
again beginning when I go on my jog this morning so I can determine
which songs I haven't ever heard before so I can let you know. I
remember that there are a lot and I don't understand why they weren't
"hits". There is not a song that I do not at least "like", and I "love"
most. I suppose they were regional hits. I of course knew about Wilbur
Walton's "Georgia Pines" because he and his band , The James Gang,
played at our high school dances. (I still haven't started reading the
book. Maybe I can this week.)

Warning: Chapter 7 is a little steamy

My husband and I just returned from our Valentine's (our 45th.
Valentine's together) weekend in Los Angeles to see Barbara Lewis in
concert. My quest to see her turned into a journey in "The Twilight
Zone". Over the last 5 years I have done extensive research on her
(which, by the way, led me to your "Heeey Baby Days" web site.) I found
an Internet contact, Marc Taylor (out of New York), editor and
publisher of "A Touch of Classic Soul", a wonderful publication on
"soul" artists. He interviewed Barbara Lewis and wrote a wonderful
article on her in one of his issues. He knew I have been trying to see
her in concert for years. I recently received an email from him
informing me that she was performing in the Art Laboe's Valentine's
Super Love Jam on the West coast. So I went online and did a search and
found a "Valentine's Super Love Jam" concert in San Jose Feb. 6,
ordered the tickets through Ticketmaster, bought the airline tickets,
and reserved a hotel room and car. We have a friend with "Hollywood"
connections and asked him to try to get us backstage passes so we could
meet her. Our friend is very good friends with Tom Moffatt, an icon in
rock and roll music, who lives here in Hawaii. He's a famous DJ and a
promoter and is responsible for bringing Elvis to Hawaii. You may have
heard about his recent book, "Showman of the Pacific". Our friend
called Tom, and Tom called Art Laboe and found out that Art was not
booked for San Jose Feb. 6 but was booked for Los Angeles Feb. 14. Tom
then called Barbara Lewis' manager and he told him that Barbara was not
booked for San Jose Feb. 6 but was booked for Los Angeles Feb. 14. Our
friend called my husband to tell him the news and my husband called me.
I just knew I had ordered tickets to the right concert so I went back
online and did a search. I found two Valentine's concerts with the same
name - "Art Laboe's Valentine's Super Love Jam" and "The Valentine's
Super Love Jam". I felt like an idiot because I had bought the wrong
tickets. We were able to pay a change fee with the airline and get our
tickets changed to Los Angeles and I was able to cancel our hotel and
car reservations without a fee, but we were stuck with the tickets. As
it turned out, Barbara Lewis' manager got us comp tickets. We flew out
Friday for the concert this past Sat. I took her beautiful orchid lei
and was able to meet her manager before the concert and have him take
it to her. She wore it during her performance and told the audience of
7,000-10,000 that there was a couple (Ann & Larry Adams), who had flown
all the way from Hawaii to see her and take her a lei. She asked the
spot light to find us, which it did. (She performed second.) Her
manager had agreed to take us backstage to meet her (per Tom Moffat)
after she went on. So we walked down and were escorted to meet her. She
was very gracious and very appreciative that we came so far to see her
perform. We had our picture made with her and she autographed the album
cover of our "Baby, I'm Yours", which my husband bought me shortly
after we began going steady. She also autographed one of her publicity
photos I had found on eBay. She told us she was nineteen when the
picture was taken. She signed the photo "Ann & Larry, thanks for loving
me for so long. Best Wishes, Barb Lewis". We stayed backstage maybe 10
minutes because we didn't want to "wear out our welcome". Before we
left I told her I wished she would record an album of classic love
songs. She said, "Well, I'm not dead yet". I told her if Etta James
could do it, she could. Barbara Lewis has the most incredible voice -
one in a million. She still sounds fantastic, and my husband and I
think she sounds even better "live".

Our friend is going to make arrangements for us to meet Tom Moffatt. He
has invited him to dinner with all of us this coming Sunday night but > I'm not sure if Tom can make it. I hope he does because I plan to ask
him if he knew what was going on in the South during the "Hey Baby Days
of Beach Music" when he was the "showman of the Pacific" bringing Elvis
and other big acts to Hawaii. I plan to ask him if he knows about your
book. If not - I plan to give him my "extra" copy. Remember, I ordered
a used copy from Amazon.com when I found out that they were all sold
out. It was OK that I got a new one when I ordered the other 15 CD's
because the band listing CD was missing from the used copy and there
was a personal note from the person who gave the book as a gift. I
wanted my own copy without a personal message. I will give Tom my
"used" copy if he doesn't have one. I'm sure he'll find it interesting
because he knows all the famous bands, and some of the bands in your
book went on to become famous. But I can't afford to purchase the 15
CD's for him, which I am sure he would love - especially the "live"
recording of James Brown and the one of Ike and Tina Turner. If you
would be interested in having Tom have the 15 CD's, hopefully, you can
take care of it. I think it could help promote your book. Of course I
don't know how many copies are still available for purchase from the
site that sells the CD's or if there are others who still have copies
to sell - like the bands mentioned in the book. You might not even be
interested, but I wanted to let you know if you are. I just have this
feeling that you’re going to do a follow up book or a revised edition
with additional bands. Am I right?

I look forward to hearing back from you soon. Maybe you can tell me how
to post an original thread on the blog instead of adding a comment
after a post.

Fond Aloha,
Ann Adams

Ann,

Great stuff as usual. Give me Tom’s address and I’ll see what I can do regarding the Heeey Baby CDs. Hopefully, he’ll plug the CDs and Ripete will get a few orders from way across the sea. I am still interested in your giving me your top ten from the Hey Baby Days 17 CD collection. That is your top ten of cuts you never heard before. Were you familiar with Wilbur Walton’s “Twenty Four Hours of Loneliness.” Everyone down South knows “Georgia Pines” but in the U.K., the former title was the big one.

Sounds like you had a grand time… glad you got to meet Barbara… did you get any photos? As it relates to an additional book, that is a possibility and the blog is one of the chief tools I am using to obtain additional band information. We are now updating the directories which we hope to replace online very soon.

The Magnificent Willie T at UGA

HELLO!


I stumbled on your site and I love the music, but can I join? Are you
a music club ? I loved the music. I dreamt about laying on the stand
at the beach.


Adriane

P.S. I especially love Willie T_Magnificents


Adriane,

All you got to do is click on the link "Follow This Blog" on the right side on the main blog page and add your email address. You can also add an image if you desire. Regarding whether the blog is a music club, that's an interesting thought. Since there are no dues and we don't have formal meetings, I think we are more of a collective body interested in preserving and archiving information about 60s bands that had a dominant R&B format. Willie T & The Magnificents from Burlington, N.C. is a great example of that type of band. We have a story in the book about the band and their travels back in what we refer to as the Hey Baby Days of Beach Music. The band was a party favorite and I continue to hear various stories about them from back in the day, some of the stories are probably true. I got to see them a couple of times at the Lambda Chi house at UGA and I can certainly echo what many have said about their great show. Recently, I learned that on occasion the band stayed at the frat house following a party. A business associate of mine remembers seeing Willie T asleep on a couch in the frat house following a party. That's what I call Bulldog hospitality. Surprisingly, most folks were not aware that Willie T & the Magnificents had no relation to the Willie Tee of "Thank You John", "Walking up a One Way Street" and "Teasing You" fame. I don't think they cared because they liked the band. The Burlington band helped create a great awareness for the New Orleans based Willie Tee...

Finally, the band is still performing with some of the original members. There is a band web site.


Regards,


Greg

From St. Louis to Burlington, the Inmen = Beach Music

Two sets of outstanding Inmen

Images from "The Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music"

Top Image: Bob Kuban & The Inmen who had a top ten hit in 1966 with "The Cheater" and on the right side of the page is their lead singer, Walter Scott

Bottom Image: Don't Know why they dropped "Sensational" from the drum head because The In-Men Ltd. from Burlington , NC were sensational


Hi Greg

Re: http://www.heybabydays.com/More_Stories_03.pdf

I'm from St. Louis and was wondering if there could have been TWO In-Men that were considered beach music. Bob Kuban's was also known for a great horn section and the Cheater appears on a Beach Music comp:

GOOD VIBRATIONS-15 CAROLINA BEACH MUSIC CLASSICS DISC 1

but maybe that was a compiler's goof?

I went to Vandy in the early 80s and got to like Beach Music...

R. Emmett McAuliffe


Emmett,

Forgive my long reply but your question sparked a blog posting.

No goof, “The Cheater” is listed in the top 100 records of the Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music.” "Triple Shot of Rhythm and Blues” is another great one but was released well after the prime time of the Hey Baby Days.

One of the historic North Carolina beach bands was the Castaways (mentioned in Alabama’s “Dancing On The Boulevard”) J.D. Cash was lead vocalist for one of the derivations of that band, the Castaways Ltd. Well after the strange disappearance (murder) of Walter Scott, lead singer for Bob Kuban and the Inmen and the vocals in “the Cheater," J.D. joined what was then and now called Bob Kuban’s Brass. One day, J.D. told Bob that a lot of the music that Bob's band was playing at the time was "Beach Music." Bob did not know what J.D. was talking about, because he knew he wasn't playing Beach Boys or Jan & Dean music. After J.D. explained what Southerns considered Beach Music, Bob replied, "Oh, you mean Imperial Music" In Missouri, we might have titled the book" The Heeey Baby Days of Imperial Music.”

My understanding from one of my colleagues in St Louis is there is a dance called the Imperial, which looks like a relative of the shag.

Although, it says that it did not make the book, we were able to get More_Stories_No_3 in the book. We posted a few stories on the site known as More Stories that we had intended for the book but because of timing issues, most of the “More Stories” did not make the book. The part that relates to the In-Men in More-Stories_No_3 is as follows:

Greg

Just an aside. I remember playing a fraternity house on Milledge Avenue in the fairly
early stages of the band- we didn't even have a good P. A. system at that point.
Next door, a band was setting up to play, and we quickly learned they were Bob Kuban
and the In Men.We were intimidated (they had just released The Cheater) because they had
all the expensive instrumentality that we were yet to get, and they were already well known.
It was an eye opener that brought to light how good the bands were then, and what we would
haveto do to compete with all that talent.

The South was LOADED with young musical talent in the 60s. (Who needs Neil Young
anyhow?).

Glenn (Brown )


A follow up question for Glenn:

Glenn, in the paragraph above you reference Bob Kuban &The In-Men. Is there any possibility that the gig you reference was at the Chi Omegahouse on Milledge on Friday February 4,1966?
If so, the remarkable band you heard was notBob Kuban and The In-Men Ltd. from St. Louis but
the In-Men Ltd. of Burlington , NorthCarolina. They were an incredible show band.

Greg-

It's been too long ago for me to remember which sorority or fraternity it was but it was
basically across the street from the Theta house on Milledge. We were told it was Bob
Kuban, but maybe not. Whoever it was, they were good enough to intimidate the hell out of
us- I think I was still sixteen at the time. They were already everything we were trying to
become.

Glenn: The Chi Omega house is right across from The Kappa Alpha Theta house on
Milledge (same side of Milledge) Now, Could it have been February 1966 ?

Greg: I think you’re right.

As it turns out, the In-Men Ltd. of Burlington Carolina were contracted to play for Chi Omega at UGA on Friday night February 4, 1966. This was the night that the Athens Rogues were playing next door at the Theta house.

As to whether there was another band called the In-Men (other than Bob Kuban) that played Beach Music, the answer is a resounding yes, the In-Men Ltd. Of course, if the In-Men Ltd. were playing a gig in St Louis back then, they may have been accused of playing Imperial Music,

We met Bob Kuban prior to the publication of “The Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music”. He was very gracious in allowing us to use a few paragraphs from his great book, â"œ My Side of The Bandstand,” in the Hey Baby Days. Bob’s background and interests were so similar to many of the musicians that were in the Southeastern Beach Bands that his band’s inclusion in the book was a necessity.

Finally, there are 17 CDs in the Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music Series. Cuts from both Bob Kuban’s In-Men ( Brass) and Burlington, North Carolina’s In-Men Ltd. are included. There is a listing of all the music included in the series listed at www.heybabydays.com.

Thanks for contacting us.

Regards,

Greg Haynes

The Spontaneous Joe Ray Dowell

1965 Spontanes Joe Ray Dowell kneeling 3rd from left






Joe Ray & Spontanes Jay Ray Dowell "framed"

We have been listening more intently to “Bill Haney’s “Atlanta Hot Soul” CD as released by Kent in 1998 and found the first of what we think will be several connections to the Hey Baby Days. For anyone who likes the up-tempo sounds of R&B, the party music that many call Beach Music, the CD has some gems. ‘Stepping Stone (I Use Love)” by Joe Graham is a catchy number that would have been perfect for the parties of the 60s. Another song that caught our ear was “So Much Love” by the Five Jays with vocals by Joe Dowell.

One of the better party bands of the late 60s was the Spontanes of Gastonia, North Carolina. You could find them often on the UGA campus back then with their very talented lead singer Joe Dowell. The late Ron Gittens writes about those years when he was a member of The Spontanes in the book.

For a brief period of time, the band was called Joe Ray and the Spontanes. Several years ago, a relative of Joe Ray Dowell contacted us about any recordings that might be available with Joe Dowell. I referred them to Ripete Records. Three of their cuts licensed by Ripete are included in the Hey Baby Days of Beach Music Series:

1. Share My Name (Disk Two) The Spontanes
2. Don’t You Care About Love (Disk Seven) Joe Ray & Spontanes
3. 123/Uptight (Disk Eight) Joe Ray & Spontanes

It understandable why several of the early recordings of the Spontanes such as “Share My Name” are popular with Northern Soul enthusiasts. Written by band guitarist, James Bates, it was recorded in 1965 by the band and we note in the band directory for the Spontanes that James Bates sang lead on this effort. The flip side “Please Don’t Break My Heart,” was also written by Bates but with Dowell providing the lead vocals.

The earliest photo of the band that included Joe Ray Dowell was identified as circa 1963. The band started around 1960. He is also shown in the 1965 photo above. He apparently left the band sometime after that photo was taken but returned around 1968. His first stint in the band was omitted from the directory of the band but we will soon correct that omission.

Where was Joe Ray Dowell during those two or three years that he was not with the Spontanes? The Military? After all, this was near the height of the Vietnam era. Then again, he may have been on a musical sabbatical in 1966 and 1967, maybe even doing gigs under another name, such as the Five Jays. It is very hard to be certain but after listening to the voice of Joe Ray Dowell on several of the Spontanes records that compose the Hey Baby Days of Beach Music series listed above and then listening to “So Much Love” by The Five Jays with vocals by Joe Dowell, we have concluded that the voices are one in the same. Liner notes that are included with “Bill Haney’s Atlanta Soul Brotherhood” are excellent but a bit vague as it relates to the Joe Dowell and the Five Jays.

The following is a short excerpt from an interview conducted by Rod Dearlove (RD) with Bill Haney (BH) that appears in “Voices of the Shadows” Magazine.”

BH: “ The Five Jays were just a traveling band and until this day, I don’t know where they’re at.”

RD: “I’m glad you touched on that, ‘cause the Five Jays… it’s not mock-Motown, but quite up-tempo. How did that come about? Did they just come to town?”

BH They came to town and somebody told me how good they were and you should go see them. So I went to listen to ‘em and that afternoon, sat in the hotel room where they were staying. I had just written a song… it had a very commercial sound at that time and we did that all with studio musicians. Joe Dowell was the lead singer and he had a brother in it too. Can’t think of his name. As a stage act, they were very good.”

The guess from this vantage point is that Bill Haney went to the club in Atlanta and saw a blue-eyed soul band from the Hey Baby Days that were traveling out of the Carolinas. He just happens to have a song that fit the very good stage act, which ironically was a hallmark of the Spontanes traveling the circuit in the late 60s. As a teaser, when the recording begins, you may think that Bill Haney had intended the song for Willie Tee.

There is still not much known about The Five Jays who recorded for Bill Haney in Atlanta in 1967 but I am sure that fans of the Spontanes may be able to add something since shortly thereafter, Joe Ray Dowell was back on stage with the Spontanes.

Update: we assumed that the Five Jays made their recording at the studio in Atlanta referenced in the CD booklet, "the Feathers." I did not remember a studio in Atlanta in the 60s called "The Feathers." If it were a studio where soul music was being recorded , we should have known about it and investigated in greater detail. We have come to the conclusion that the studio was actually Lefevres which was located in the Chattahoochee Industrial District of NW Atlanta about six miles where I am sitting right now.
Lefevres = The Feathers The may be a case of the Queen's English versus Southern

Soul-Jers and More Kommotion

sitting L-R Jim Cole , Ray Brannon and Tony Wilcher
top L-R Chuck Brannon and Steve Cook


“These are the Soul-Jers, five troubadours with a sound called “soul music.” They’ll play anywhere, anytime if it moves them near fame fortune and star billing on the Ed Sullivan Show. They’re after the Whole Bag.”

Anne Rivers Siddons Atlanta Journal Magazine 1967

Was the bag, James Brown's brand-new bag because in 1967 , the Soul-Jers had a 45 minute James Brown show ?






News article showing the Soul-jers live… perhaps in the midst of the aforementioned 45 minute James Brown show… but where are the capes?





The Soul-Jers of Atlanta, not the Bushmen of Douglas

Far left (Original Guitarist) -Phil Thomas
On Ladder, Tony Wilcher holding Ray Brannon's head Bottom of Ladder l-r Jim Cole and Chuck Brannon









Thanks to Tony Wilcher (above) for providing the Soul-jer images










A little more Kommotion






Hey Greg,


I just read your latest blog entry. I know that it is not a big deal, but I wanted to make a few further corrections.

1.) When the band , The Kommotion was first organized in Georgia. Wayne was not singing with us (members were Jimmy Calloway, Emory Gordy, and Rick Bear). We were using a singer named Lynn Westbrook, a local black musician. Occasionally Arthur Conley and the Corvettes sang with us. Wayne started to come around and sit in with us and eventually became our regular singer.

2.) Chips Moman had nothing to do with our recording of “The Little Black Egg.” It was all done locally in Atlanta (approx late 1964). Pat Hughes set the recording date up and was the producer. We did record with Chip in 1965 when we were in Memphis on tour with the Yardbirds. It was their first American tour and Jeff Beck was on guitar at the time. We and The Yardbirds went into American Studios and basically did jam sets together with the two bands. I have no idea what became of the recordings. If I am not mistaken, The Swinging Medallions had their first hit out and were also on that tour (not the recording).

3.) Sarah Vaughn's ex husband manager's name was C. B. Atkin's. He was one of two husband/managers that she had and they both cheated her.

Once when The Kommotion were doing a stint at The Royal Peacock with Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, C. B. who was a friend of Curtis's came to some of the shows. C. B. was a gambler and hustler as well as a personal manager and he saw the good reception that we received at the Peacock. That is when he asked Wayne to go to NYC with him. Wayne wanted to take the whole band, but C. B. wouldn't do it. Finally C. B. agreed to take me and Emory. The first place that I ever went in NYC was to Joe Glaser's office and then straight to the Apollo Theatre. Joe Glaser owned Associated Booking Corp. who at that time booked about 90% of the acts on Ed Sullivan. He was Louis Armstrong's personal manager for many years. He booked everybody from Count Basie to Sonny and Cher. We haven't even gotten a room yet. We were booked onto a guest set with Wilson Pickett based only on C. B.'s and Joe Glaser's word.
C. B. later became one of Muhammed Ali's managers. From there ........blah blah blah

Rick





Rick,


Thanks for the updates. I can certainly see how some of the information got confused. The third name I got on that recording of “Little Black Egg” was Larry Utah… at least I thought it was Utah but after further research, I found that it was actually Larry Uttal who owned Bell Records at the time. Since many of the songs on the Bell label were recorded at American Studios, it is easy to see how the Chips Moman tie in came about. Wayne must have gotten the sessions at American Studios mixed up with the one at Lefevre where the Kommotions recorded, “Little Black Egg.” Regarding the sessions at American, has anyone asked Chips Moman about the existence of any of the tape? Maybe we can talk sometime this week. I want to develop a band directory like you see at the site. I will try to get a preliminary one to you for review in the next day or two.

Regards,


Greg

P.S. A recording of a jam session of the Yardbirds and the Konmotion at American Studios in 1965 would certainly be interesting.