The Soul of Atlanta: The Night Shadows, Little Phil, The Soul-jers …

The Soul of Atlanta: The Night Shadows, Little Phil, The Soul-jers …


Hi Greg,

Love your site and blog. Ricky Bear emailed me about the blog. Brought back lots of memories. I was never a musician, other than bass clarinet in high school & college, but I lived with John Ivey and met Ricky and Wayne Logiudice in the 60's. Most of my stories are probably better left untold... I didn't see any mention of The Night Shadows and/or Little Phil, course I'm sure I just scratched the surface of your web site. If you need info on the Night Shadows try this: http://www.hottrax.com/nightshadows/linernotes1.htm Call or email, if you choose. I'm a better talker than typist.

Bill Howell AKA "Schroeder"


Hi Greg,


Just a quick note to let you know that my husband, Tony Wilcher, with an I not an E, was bass player for the soul-jers, they were featured in the Atlanta Magazine, I believe, in 1967, we have a copy of the magazine, my husband will be contacting you shortly with more info and pictures. Ray Brannon is now in Brazil involved in missionary work and comes home to GA every year or so, we get emails from him. Chuck is still in GA. and still plays.
Keep on the lookout for more from my husband soon.


--
live, love, laugh, dream, life's
too short for anything less!

Denise (wife of an old soul-jer)


If you read this and you have memories of the Night Shadows, Little Phil or the Soul-Jers, leave us a comment by clicking on the comment tab below. If there are other 60s soulful bands and groups based in the Atlanta area that you want to discuss or remember, please do so. In the words of the late great Major Lance, “If you want to dance, this is your chance.”

The New Tams' Medley

The New Tams Medley


Virtually every Southern Beach band of the 60s paid tribute to the Tams by playing one of these songs: “What Kind of Fool ( Do You Think I Am) ”, “ I’ve Been Hurt” , “Laugh It Off” , “Untie Me” “Hey, Girl , Don’t Bother Me”, “Silly Little Girl”, “You Lied To Your Daddy” and of course “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy.” Many of the bands from the Hey Baby Days even did a medley featuring the songs above… But what if the band happened to be a 60s/70s band from Jamaica ? Their medley of Tams’ hits might surprise you because their medley would most likely include “Dancing Mood”, “ Concrete Jungle”, “Riding For A Fall” along with the better known “Hey, Girl, Don’t Bother Me.”

Check out these covers of Tams’ originals. ( you will need to copy the link and paste it into your browser)

Delroy Wilson’s cover of “Dancing Mood” ( Ray Whitley)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYi2xl-7brQ


Delroy Wilson's “Riding For A Fall” (Mac Davis)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRx1e5uYLeU


Then there’s “Hey Girl, Don’t Bother Me” by Johnny Clark (Ray Whitley)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8nWlCKkSEs

but if you like the frat party sound of the Tams, try this horn version of “Dancing Mood” by Police Woman

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXD24qvOh0A


If you are still in the "Dancing Mood", then here are a couple more from Police Woman… many other versions from other artists on the net


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5xY_ST5ZaA&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjUG0jcQkpk&feature=related

UGA frat boys ham it up with their version of "Dancing Mood"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsvgUgCq3vI&feature=related


But we are just scratching the surface, covers of the Tams abound. We’ll post others soon.

Conversation and Interview with Wayne Logiudice Part One

Our First Conversation with Wayne Logiudice

Our first conversation with Wayne Logiudice took place on Tuesday December 23. It was briefer that I would have liked but I had company and although I sensed that there was genuine interest from those in the room, I kept it brief. But I got a promise from Wayne that we would pick up after he got the book at looked over the contents. It was easy to like Wayne. He immediately declared that all those that said he was the real White James Brown, and better than Wayne Cochran knew what they were talking about. Does he have some great stories from the greatest days of R&B? Yes he does. ! His voice reminded me a lot of Wilbur Walton’s, a southern sultry soulful tone that could control an audience. Wayne said he had a good ten-year run as a performer and did not seem to have any regrets after it ended in the early 70s. I had been confused somewhat about his connection with the Winstons but it came a lot clearer after understanding a bit more about the Otis Redding connection. Three members of the band that backed Otis prior to the Bar – Keys formed the nucleus of the Wayne’s new backing band after the Kommotions had disbanded primarily as a result of members being drafted. Among those band members was saxophonist Richard Spencer who wrote “Color Him Father.’ Prior to the song, which put the Winstons in the national spotlight, they were the backing band for the Impressions and Wayne Logiudice Wayne traveled with the Impressions show for a period of time. Four gigs at the Apollo were among his favorite memories. Over the next few weeks, we hope to share stories from Wayne Logiudice about his memories from The Hey Baby Days.

Here’s one:

One night in 1966 at the fame Apollo Theatre, Wayne was singing the Chuck Jackson classic “Any Day Now” to a packed 100% black audience. When he got to the line… “Then the blue shadows will fall”… a blue light appeared from the lighting area in the upper balcony and it came and rested squarely on Wayne's face… then came a shout from the man shining the light, “Go Home Honkie.” With this, the place became silent… the music stopped as well as Wayne’s vocals…

Wayne recalled how he was incensed more by the intrusion, than he was by the words. He was a professional and this was totally uncalled for… Great anxiety seemed to reign over the stilled and silent crowd as they waited to see what would happen next. Eyes and ears were glued on Wayne. After a short pause, which seemed perhaps like an eternity, he calmly and clearly spoke the following words into his microphone, “I am home… sucker.” With this, the crowd erupted with admiring approval and an ovation for Wayne, a white R&B singer from Georgia. The blue light shone no mo and the sho that must go on, did.

Wayne Logiudice made his final appearance at the Apollo in 1969. By that time, he had appeared at virtually all the major black nightclubs and venues in the country with the exception of the Uptown Theatre in Philadelphia. Many times, the billing on the club’s marquee read like it did at the Royal Peacock in Atlanta, Wayne Logiudice “The Blue-eyed Soul Brother.”

Wayne Logiudice & The Kommotions may have been the first white band to appear at the famed Royal Peacock in Atlanta.

Soul-Jers, Sweet Young 'ens, Kommotion, Billy Joe Royal, Allman Brothers, Jackie Wilson etc. etc.

Images above courtesy of Rick Bear

The poster advertises the 1969 Piedmont Music Festivale with Billy joe Royal receiving the top billing. What an incredible and diversified lineup. Also on the bill were : The recently formed Allman Brothers Band, Jackie Wilson who could take any crowd "higher and higher", Joe South who wrote so much great music including "Untie Me" which another group on the bill, Sweet Young 'Uns covered two years before for the umpteeth time, Radar and the the Hampton Grease band both emerging rock and roll bands. Boz Scaggs was there and In case of rain, they had you covered with Dee Clarke. No matter what kind of music you liked this event had something for you.

The photo captioned Grady High School 1960 The Cruisers was the genesis of Kommotion which featured an all star cast.

Hey Greg,

I received your book yesterday. Thanks very much for the copy. I have not reached Wayne yet, but I'm still trying. The book is very well done and very professional. If possible, I am sure that Wayne would like one.

I have no pics from that time, but I think that I have a business card if I can find it. I'll let you know.

You asked about the Souljers. It took me a while and I asked John Ivey, but now I remember. It was comprised of Ray and Chuck Brannon (vocals and drums) Will Boulware (keyboards) and maybe Ted Trombetta(guitar). It was a really good band but short lived. Will and Ted later formed a 3 piece group called The Booger Band. It was very innovative and played all original music. The last that I heard, Will was playing in NYC. He did a couple of albums under his name with the band members of Stuff. That was the original Saturday Night Live Band with R Tee The Brecker Bro and Steve Gadd. The last recording was released only a year or two ago.
Will and I and John Ivey played a lot together.
Now that I think of it, he played some with BJ Royal. I know for sure that he played Tahoe with BJ and maybe Las Vegas too.
Merry Christmas, Rick Bear


Rick,

Thanks… and hopefully I’ll be able to catch up with Wayne soon. I really appreciate the information about the Soul-Jers. They apparently had a good following because their name comes up when we try to relocate the Atlanta based soul bands of the 60s. About a year ago, a plumber was over at the house trying to unclog something and saw the book sitting on a table and ask me what it was all about. When I told him , he said, “Well
I hope you have the Soul-jers in there.” I was proud to say that they were listed and we had them in a band directory but had little other than that. Talk about someone who liked a band, he ended up making a few calls while he was there and ended up talking with a former Soul-Jers band member before he left. Fortunately, he got the pipe unclogged. Unfortunately, I did not get the number of the band member he was talking to. However, we do know they were written up in an Atlanta publication so maybe we’ll find it and will be able to publish it on the blog.

Regards,


Greg

Rick,

If you don’t mind, add yourself as a follower to the blog and feel free to make comments on subjects of interest. We have a good number of musicians who follow the blog and it’s especially good to get ones from the period of time that we are covering. There are many many who cover the Southern Rock scene and there is an explosion of information in that area but the mid 60s is a little more challenging… because as my friend Marvin Taylor put it, “If you remember the 60s, you weren’t there.” Hopefully Marvin is partially incorrect. As you go through the book, you’ll get a better feeling of exactly what we were trying to capture: The notes on the end flaps sums it up fairly succinctly. My wife wrote in a few paragraphs what it took me 13 pounds to accomplish. I would love to send Wayne a book . If I could call him get his address and just talk with him briefly about what is said in the book about him, that would be great. I could even email him . I do respect anyone’s right to privacy; of the many many personalities that are covered in the book, he seems to one that is shrouded in a greater cloak of mystery .

Regards,

Greg

Thanks again. I will talk to Wayne and then get back to you.
Tell Marvin T that I said hello. He and I were in the James Gang together. I haven't seen him in a long time.
Rick


Rick,

Are you serious about being in the James Gang ? When ? I need to add you to their band directory. Were you before or after Greg Creech? James Gang played a job for me that I write about in the book. Marvin still plays with a great band called Java Monkey that consists of former members of Mose Jones and Wilbur Walton has recently come out with a new CD. The world keeps getting smaller.

Regards,


Greg

Greg

Yes, I played with them prior to joining BJ's band. I suppose it would have been very late '68 or early '69. I remember playing in Ft Wayne, Ind and the snow was ass deep. From there we drove nonstop to Jacksonville, NC for our next gig. I think that Marvin was living in a Winebago bus. I played with them for about 3 tours. I don't remember Greg Creech. I do remember Johnny playing keyboards. We played all over south GA and Ala, the real chitterlin' circuit as well as the NC and SC beach clubs. At that time Wilbur shared an apartment with the drummer for the Classics IV (I can't remember his name, maybe Lanny) and I think Bobby Langford (a recording engineer friend of mine who engneered a number of great sides).
I just spoke to Wayne and he said he would like to have a copy of the book and it was OK for you to call him.

Rick,


Rick,


This is great stuff. Could the drummer have been Kim Venable ? He had played with Marvin in the K-Otics and came in as drummer with the Classics IV when Dennis decided to just do the vocals. The only Lanny that jumps out is Lanny Langford who was with the Roemans ( from Tampa who was Tommy Roeman’s backing band that at one time included Bertie Higgins and Barry Oakley) I know the name Bobby Langford as well. I’ll call Wayne this afternoon when I get home from the office.

Regards,


Greg



Greg

Yes, It was Kim. I'm not sure if it Bobby lived there too. He was a good engineer. I think that he did the original tracks of Sweet Home Alabama, not the one that was released. I did shows with the Roeman's. I knew Berry Oakley pretty well. I used to sit in some with the Bro. before Berry and Duane died.
I'm sending a copy of a poster that was from a unique event. I sat in and played with the Allman Bro on this concert (I think!). I do remember that BJ Royal's band rehearsed for the show at my house that I shared with John Ivey, and John Fristoe. We had a little group called The River People. Wayne sang with us some and another singer named Dana Douglas from the Charleston, SC area also sang. I am also enclosing a picture of John Ivey and Jimmy Calloway (original Atlanta Kommotions guitarist) taken when they were attending Grady HS.
ciao, Rick


Richard G Bear








Greg,

It was raining here yesterday……..so I spent more time looking thru the book. Wonderful work and great interviews….man, you have spent a lot of time on this.

A couple of questions:


Early-mid 60’s I was just starting to play and a guitar player from either Nashville or Memphis would sit in for me….wonderful player, said he played in the Midnighters….and had a management company headed by a DJ named Buzz….at least that is my memory. Was this Clifford Curry’s first band?......seems I remember Clifford and the Midnighters….any memory of this?

Where would I get more of your CD’s….there are two in the book, but I’d like to have more, especially one w/Willie Tee doing Thank you John.

Thanks Greg,

Pat

Pat,


Unbelievable that you got the book already; I mailed it Media Mail Saturday night from a post office near my house. I did not figure it would even go out until Monday. . Actually, if it were up to me, I would have inducted all the guys that came to the book debut into the Hall of Fame. It was one heck of an evening… you would have loved it… I may have been the youngest there (56 at the time) One of the sad things is that the only real Beach Music Hall of Fame is in Myrtle Beach and it is oriented to the Carolina and Virginia bands… and it’s not really their fault because they simply were not as many of the Beach type bands coming out of other states. With so much more info available, I think there will be more and more bands getting into the Hall of Fame.(Sleepless Knights would be a prime candidate and Clifford Curry might be able to help in that regard) By the way, I have a posting called “Covering The Tams” It is just getting started. I maintain that at least 300 cover versions of the songs have been recorded. I just discovered the other day that the Sleepless Knights covered “I’ve Been Hurt.”

Thanks for following the blog… I finally saw your comment and answered it… I am just learning the blog phenomena.

Regards,


Greg








Pat, Following up:

The only Midnighters I know of are Hank Ballard & The Midnighters ( Work with Me Annie) . Clifford had several bands but not sure if he had a connection. I’ll call him and ask him


I’ll send you the collection.

Regards,


Greg


Greg,

Thanks for the note…..

I have played golf w/Mac Davis a number of times……haven’t seen him in several years, but he told me once that he wrote a song for the Tams also….since he was from Atlanta. You ever heard of that?

Pat



He wrote “Riding For A Fall.” It’s one of the songs that has been re recorded by Reggae performers multiple times. "Dancing Mood" is another. You have to wonder why the Tams are not included in the same breaths as the Temptations and Four Tops.

Regards,

Greg






Greg,

Lot of similarities between Tops, Temps, Impressions and Tams. As a musician, the Tams, as well as some other groups (Rascals, Major Lance, Intruders, others….) had a portion in a lot of their songs where they used minor chords during the songs that created a different mood feel than the predominantly major chord work by the Motown groups. Examples are: Monkey Time, I Dig you baby, Ain’t no Big Thing……and a host of others.

Many of the minor key ballads were great love songs…..seemed to touch the nerves….and beach music had a lot of this…as well as the robust songs like Double Shot, etc.

At least this is my view……..as to why some of the great songs like I’ve mentioned have just been timeless…..think Groovin, Cowboys to Girls, La La means I love you, The Entertainer, on and on…….

You agree?

Pat

Pat,

Since I am not a musician, I would not have picked up the different feels between the minor and major chords. However, there was a definite distinction between the “Motown” sound and the others that you mentioned. The Funk Brothers who created most of the great sound at Motown had a uniqueness that was very much identifiable. If you want to view a great documentary movie, get a copy of “Standing In The Shadows.” There was also something unique about some of the studios that gave songs a certain sound that was identifiable with the studio. Liner notes for the Stax 50th anniversary CD said that some of the uniqueness of the sound in recordings made there came from the fact that the floors were still sloped as the building has originally been a movie theatre.

Regards,

Greg

Wilbur Walton Jr. Mr. Redbud CD

In the words of the 60s poet laureate Arthur Conley, "Do You Like Good Music ?", then click on the link or copy and paste in the browser and get yourself a copy of the first recordings by Wilbur Walton Jr. in thirty five years:

http://playgroundrecordingstudio.com/_wsn/page2.html

Many of Wilbur Walton & the James Gang's hits from the era are included on one of the disks that comprise the compilation series to the Heeey Baby Days. (available from Ripete Records www.ripete.com) The new recording, Mr. Redbud, which is getting great reviews also features David Atkins, brother of the late, John Rainey Atkins, a revered musician and a member of the Webs, Candymen and Beaverteeth.David played with many of these bands as well.

The heroes of the Hey Baby Days ride again. Many of the bands and artists from the era have new CDs. The Swingin' Medallions are about to release a new CD as well as the In-Men Ltd. and Don Rolader emailed and says the Jesters may as well . You can also go to the Beach Music top forty and see the names of half the bands in the book as they are still playing and recording. Buying their music keeps alive the spirit and spirits of the HBDBM.

Wayne Logiudice and the Kommotions

Thanks to Jeff Lemlich for sending the images above. Of particular interest is the notes made by Jere Real on the record sleeve. Our research on Wayne Logiudice continues. A former band member with Wayne, Rick Bear, has furnished a great deal of information as noted below. For the latest posting , scroll to the bottom of this posting. Rick provided us the lineup of the musicians backing Wayne Logiudice at Atlantic City in 1966. It would be one of the last times the Kommotions would play together as a band. Those on stage that night sounds like an all star band, read more below:



Note: We have been very interested in finding out about an Atlanta based band of the 60s called Wayne Logiudice and Kommotion . Initially our interest started when someone in South Carolina suggested that we seek out a Georgia band called Wayne Lacadece and Commotion. That led nowhere mostly because of the spelling. If we had used the spelling that we found in conjunction with a Emory Gordy bio (Wayne Lochadisi and the Kommotions ) we would not have gotten any closer. It was only after the glowing comments we got from musicians of that era did we see the need to keep trying. We did at least find the correct spelling (WAYNE LOGIUDICE and Kommotions ) but the only thing we could find was information about the recording session that produced (Ow Bugaloo)

But just recently we hit pay dirt, we found a blog that included the name of not only a member of his band, Kommotions, but one of the band founders..

Our email/blog interview with Rick Bear



Rick,

Found your name and email address in a blog and you reference being in a band with WAYNE LOGIUDICE. I have been trying to locate him or at least find a little more about his 60s band , same band in which Barry Bailey was the guitar player. Can you help me with this ?

Thanks,


Greg Haynes

www.heybabydays.com


Yes, I can. Wayne is living in Tenn near Nashville. He is remarried and has 2 boys.

I started the band "The Kommotions" in 1962 with Emory Gordy Jr and Jimmy Calloway. Wayne joined us in about 1963 when we were playing at a place called "Ray Lee's White Dot" on Ponce De Leon Ave.

Jimmy left the band and John Ivey (who is still playing in Atlanta) began playing with us. In mid to late 1964, Barry Bailey started with the band. Emory and Barry swapped back and forth between guitar and bass. Tenor saxophonist Ray Jarrell played with us and was later replaced by Al Shepperd. Harry Hagan played trombone (one of the best 'bone players that I have ever heard) in the band.
I could go on and on, but I suppose what you wanted to know was how to reach Wayne.

I will call him and see if it is OK with him to give his number out.
If you are interested in more about the Kommotions, let me know.

Rick Bear


Rick,

We published a book in 2006 called “The Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music” and we tried to make contact with Wayne at that time. We came up empty on all our tries. Until I saw something that you wrote in a blog that gave me your email address, I would be no closer than I was four years ago. You’ll get more insight into the book’s theme by going to www.heybabydays.com. Wayne is mentioned by several people in the book as being as much “the White James Brown” as Wayne Cochran. We quoted three different people who saw Wayne Logiudice perform back in the day and they said he was quite a show and that he was as good or better than Wayne C. They include: Benny Deer, drummer for the Billy Stewart band and later the Johnnie Taylor band, Johnny Bee, promoter and producer, and Rufus Cromer who played trumpet with the Tams’ band, the Metros and later Liberation. Those are solid opinions. Since we recently started a blog, we thought that we might be able to obtain more information about Wayne and perhaps obtain some photos from the era. We are sold out of the book except for musician copies. If you’ll respond with your address as well as Wayne’s , I ll be pleased to send you a copy.

Regards,


Greg Haynes

Greg

I remember Johnny Bee (I am pretty sure). We played often with the Tams and I knew Joseph "Bit" Pope well. We did a lot of shows at the Royal Peacock on Auburn Ave. in Atlanta. I had many friends in the black entertainment community.
Wayne was a much better performer that W Cochran, but he never made it as big. Wayne L was the first one that I ever heard referred to as "The Blue Eyed Soul Brother". James Brown came to the Apollo Theatre to see us perform. Wayne had the whole theatre on its feet. A lot to say for a little white boy from GA in 1965. We did a vidoe at the Apollo in 1965. I have no idea what happened to it.
Technically, we probably predated the Beach Music scene. We played a lot of black clubs and theatres. Although we did appear with The Beach Boys, Lovin Spoonful, Young Rascals, Paul Revere, Gentrys and many other white groups. We were on the tour with the Yardbirds on their first American tour where we recorded with them at American Studios (Chips Moman) in Memphis.
In early 1966, Al Shepperd and me were both drafted, Barry and Emory started touring with Roy Orbison and Billy Joe Royal. Emory began producing and writing and moved to LA by the end of the 60's.

Wayne toured with Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions until around 1970. He had a band called the Winston's. They had a hit named "Color Him Father". Emory produced this record at Bill Lowery's Studio (where the Tams recorded).
my address is: R G Bear
PO Box 81
Sinks Grove, WV 24976
I have many stories that I could tell of music in the south through the 60's. Let me know if you are interested. I have thought of documenting much of it, but I did not know how to proceed. Rick,

Rick,

I am very much interested in continuing this discussion because it is very apparent you have excellent insight for the time period I am most interested (1962-1969). I think the reason that Johnny Bee pops into your head is that he actually was the producer of “Color Him Father” which he did about the time he was with the Hugh Rogers agency. He talks about the time Richard Spencer came into the office looking for someone to record his song, “Color Him Father.” Was Wayne L. in a bill with Curtis Mayfield ? Benny Deer , drummer for the Billy Stewart band talks about the time he first saw Wayne at the Winter Garden in Atlantic City, New Jersey, “He was the blued eyed James Brown. He came closer to James Brown than anybody… black or white… he was dangerous on his feet…he could hold an audience…he wasn’t no joke. UPDATE: You were absolutely right about Emory Gordy Jr. producing "Color Him Father," It was engineered by Rodney Mills who was in a band that we have in the book, the Bushmen, a very popular South Georgia band in the 60s that Johnny Bee managed. Looking back at Bee's quotes in the book, he apparently had publishing rights to "Color Him Father" while Gordy did the production work which is outstanding. Mills went on to do incredible work with ARS and others. I may have misunderstood your comment about Wayne L. and the Winstons; was he involved with them ? It looks like the core of the Kommotions got drafted or otherwise left in 1966. There is reference on the internet regarding Wayne's recording of "Ow, Bugaloo" but not much more. I ordered the 45 from some place in the U.K. The Brits came over here in the late 60s and early 70s and cleaned out all the old 45 soul records. Now we have to buy them back at huge prices.

Do you have any photos of the Kommotions ?

Regards,


Greg






Greg,

I just read this, I was giving a long winded reply to your last letter and my computer crashed. Emory and I went to high school and college together. He is an old friend. I played with a band in the 80's with Sonny Pekrol who was the co leader of the Winstons and I remember him specifically saying that Emory produced Color Him Father. There were a number of hits (minor, I suppose) that came from Lowery's (and Studio One) that the real producer/composer did not get credit for. I am pretty sure that Emory wrote and produced Stormy that the Classics Four recorded. I believe Buddy Buie got credit for that.

I played on the show in Atlantic City. I had forgotten that Billy Stewart was on the bill. Another great band that was there was the Jimmy Castor Bunch out of NYC. They were very popular at the time. That was about the last job that the Kommotions played together. Emory, Barry, Charlie Dechant (who has been with Hall & Oates for about 25 years now), Fielder Floyd and Marcus Belgrave (from the old Ray Charles band) and me.

The Winstons became Wayne's band after the Atlantic City gig. He toured with them and Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions for about the next 2 years.

As far as I know, the Kommotions was one of the first white bands to play in the Peacock. This was in 1963, before I had met Wayne. The band was Emory, Jimmy Calloway, and a tenor player named Nylas Foster. Nylas was a local black sax player, so I suppose we were technically not a "white band".We played there opposite a group from Ashvellie, NC whom I had never heard of, it was Ronnie Milsap. At that time he was singing R&B and sounded just like Ray Charles. I think that that was his first gig in Atlanta. He and I became friends and Emory and I did a few shows with him over the years.

I remember The Bushmen, I played with a group called the James Gang with Wilbur Walton Jr in the late 60's. They had a local hit called Georgia Pines. It was a good band. We played A LOT in South GA.

I worked with a lot of the Lowery entertainers, Joe South Billy Joe Royal, The Tams etc. That was the only game in town outside of the black community then.

Rick

Rick,

You were right on about "Color Him Father." It is clearly listed as produced by Emory Gordy Jr. One of the many great photos that we have in the book includes one made in the Master Sound studio of the Classics IV ( minus Dennis Yost) with Mike Clark, Buddy Buie, J.R. Cobb and Emory Gordy Jr. I knew that Emory Gordy was very involved with the Classics IV playing on most sessions and according to Buddy Buie co wrote “Traces.” It may be “Traces” that you mean instead of “Stormy.” One of the most unusual stories in the book is the one about my single one off promotion with the Classics IV. Rather than recant it here, read it and you’ll understand why.

The Winstons is certainly a new twist in the evolving story of Wayne Logiudice. Half of the spellings we see has the i before the u and vice versa.

Do you remember the date of the show in Atlantic City. Sounds like around 1965-66 ?

Regarding Nylas Foster, he is still around playing with the Tams’ band. At least I am pretty sure it’s Nylas Foster. I only call him Nylas; never heard his last name. There have been some good musicians that have played in the bands that have backed the Tams’ over the years including Archie Jordan who wrote some songs for them but hit it big writing for Ronnie Milsap. Milsap is legendary for his R&B roots.

Regards,

Greg

Greg

The Atlantic City date was probably May, 1966 (maybe early June)
Wayne spelled his name Logiudice. The first time that we went to NYC, he looked in the phone book and there was about a page of them. He had never met any in the south. He's originally from the Chattonooga area.

You're correct, I do believe that I was thinking of Traces.
The last time that I was in Atlanta, I heard that Nylas was still around.

I remember Mike Clark well, I replaced him as the drummer in B J Royal's band. He wanted to be an agent and quit the road.
When Mike was playing with BJ, Emory also played in the band. When I started, the band was Wayne Sudderth (bass), Ricky Littlefield (guitar), Ray Jarrell (reeds), Ted Stovall (trombone), John Watson (trumpet),Wayne McNatt (aka Wayne Famous, B3 organ), and me. That was one of the best bands that I ever worked with. The band was called The Royal Blues and recorded one instrumental album.

Richard G Bear

Rick,

The band you metioned above must have really been something.I would love to hear that album you reference. Regarding the band members you reference as backing Wayne L. at Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1966, it appears to have also been a band of all-stars. All appear to have had great careers. Information about each is readily available on the internet. I had a little more trouble finding information related to Fielder Floyd except for his session work in Memphis.

Otherwise, the members of the band that night other than you, Wayne and Fielder Floyd:

Saxophone: Charlie DeChants ( has been with Hall & Oates for a long time ... still performing and has a great web site)

Trumpet: Marcus Belgrave ( Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder etc...also still performing... great reviews from S. Wonder)

Bass: Emory Gordy Jr. ( long distinguished career as performer, writer, producer )

Guitar: Barry Bailey ( long time and highly touted guitarist for the Atlanta Rhythmn Section)

Sounds like the draft had a major effect on the Kommotions as it did with many great bands of the era.














To be continued …….

Willie Hobbs, Pic & Bill, Clifford Curry, Sleepless Knights

Re: Willie Hobbs

Greg,

Yep…….same guy and I think the summary page did a good job on depicting his success……excellent singer, just didn’t get the recognition that he deserved.

In reading thru this, I saw the name “Dave Smith” and I am pretty sure he was the guy that brought Willie to East Tennessee….and met w/C Vaughn in probably 68-69. Dave Smith is on the record label of the song that I played w/the Sleepless Knights…..”Till the end of Time” that we cut in Muscle Shoals (at least I think that’s where we were) on Charay Records.

I just looked at some of my old 45’s and Dave Smith did produce the record for the Knights…and also for a group called Pic and Bill.

Thanks for the info…..

Pat



Pat,

This is great stuff; thanks again I am going to float Dave Smith out there and see what I can find out. Pic and Bill have a cut on Volume 14 titled “All I Want Is You.” They are another one of the groups that should have had more coverage in the book.

Also, sorry about continuing to spell Sleepless Knights with an “n” instead of a “K.” I do the very same thing in reverse for Augusta’s Oxford Nights which I sometimes spell with a “K.” (They are featured on two cuts in the book one of which sells as a collectible in the U.K. for enough to have hired the band for a job back in the day)

It seems that one of the band members told me that the Sleepless Knights got their name because the parents of one of the band endured a lot of “Sleepless Nights” as they practiced. I bet that’s a common story.

P.S.

Check out the link below. It’s obviously the same Dave Smith. I’ll email them and confirm. It has really gotten me interested in Willie Hobbs enough to buy the CD.

http://www.japres.com/artists.asp

P.S. Dave Smith obviously had a large hand in Beach Music as you can see from the listing of artists and cuts at the site. Also available is music from Clifford Curry and well as Pic and Bill. The site allows you to listen to some of the cuts including the Pic & Bill’s selection that is included on the HBDBM compilation series “All I Want Is You.” That one is what I call very serious “drive-in music.”

http://www.japres.com/artists.asp?ID=5

Thanks for bringing all this up, maybe it will help sell a few CDs for those great artists.