Would you believe there are “More Tempests in the Teapot?”
Why not? There were eleven dozen bands from South Carolina in the 60s called the Villagers, bands of Nomads on virtually every corner and forget trying to identify the various bands of Checkmates.
And their was another band called the Tempests and the were from Sumter, South Carolina and they played “soul music” according to Warren Moise. Moise, a musician, producer songwriter is associated with some of Beach Music's most well known songs such as "Ocean Boulevard", "Super Summer", "On the Beach", "Carolina Girls" and others. He has promised us a narrative about the band. Additionally we discovered that Warren is now a practicing attorney in Charleston. He is in excellent company of other musicians of the Hey Baby Days who gave up the stage for the courtroom ( which is another type of stage) Here are a few of the musicians from back in the day that have a shingle hanging:
Warren Moise ( Tempests )
http://www.grimcab.com/attorneys.php?id=4
Brent Fortson (Swingin’ Medallions)
http://www.lawyers.com/South-Carolina/Greenville/Law-Office-of-H.-Brent-Fortson,-LLC-2006301-f.html
Carl Ellsworth (Counts)
http://localdirectory.wistv.com/Ellsworth+Carl+A+Atty.9.9160778p.home.html
Sylvan Wells (Nightcrawlers)
Tommy Ratchford (Soul-7/Laymen)
Jim Roark Laymen (aka Suzy Storm & The Laymen) is a Judge
Know others ? we’ll add.
The other Tempests bands from the South “that we know about” are also bands of great renown. The Tempests from Charlotte, North Carolina dangled on the edge of national breakout in the late 60s with their entry, “Would You Believe”. Two Tempests’ cuts can be found on the Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music series. “Love Have Mercy” is on Disk Two that comes with the book and “ A Place Where We Can Go” can be found on Disk Eight.
The Tempests from Augusta had performers who went on to play with other well know Beach Music bands. A tie in with Ronnie Milsap is possible but not confirmed.
No! Joe Walsh was not the lead singer for the James Gang; it was Wilbur Walton Jr. Check the directory of Wilbur Walton & The James Gang above. Now it’s very possible that there was another band called the James Gang with a lead singer by the name of Joe Walsh but I can guarantee you that it was not the same band that recorded the classic, “Georgia Pines.” (Please remember that that at the Hey Baby Days blog, we believe in levity)
As you can see, we need help with our band directories. In some cases these directories serve as a certain 60s band’s bands only legacy. If a band performed “My Girl”, “Midnight Hour”, or any of the greatest hits from The Hey Baby Days, we want to know about them, want them listed among the bands on the Bands page at the site. To the extent that we can get all of the names and instruments etc, we want that as well. (Look at the directory form for the type of information that we are seeking) By reviewing the directories included in this posting, you will notice varying degrees of completeness.
We will be updating and adding directories to the Bands page soon… we have been working on it for some time but we still have a ways to go. For instance, we’ll be adding Wilbur Walton’s latest effort, “Mr. Rosebud” to his listing of releases. We’ll be adding another band of Tempests and hopefully filling in blanks for the two Tempest bands listed above.
If you reading this and know someone who might help in filling in some blanks, please forward this posting along. We also revise, and correct existing directories.
5 comments:
Sylvan Wells of the Nightcrawlers, and Tommy Ratchford of the Soul-7/Laymen are also attorneys. Jim Roark from the Laymen (aka Suzy Storm & The Laymen) is a judge in Pensacola.
Jeff, Thanks, I'll add those and try to find links for them.
Regards,
Greg
Greg, the Tempests of Sumter were formed in the 1960s and played straight R&B and soul music. We had no connection to the Charlotte Tempests. Ironically, Mike Branch (keyboards for the Charlotte Tempests) and I (keyboards for the Sumter Tempests) met in the 1970s. Mike called me to ask if I'd play for the Chairmen of the Board, which I did then recorded with them for many years. Mike also asked me if I'd write for and produce the Band of Oz, which I did too. I never knew he played for the other Tempests 'til after he died. Roger Branch and I never met but we did both record tracks on the Chairmen's Success album.
The Sumter Tempests broke up in about 1968 when several of us went to college, began playing high school sports, etc. Soul music was being superceded by rock. I continued to write and produce, including songs with Clifford Curry, Shagtime, Second Nature, Bill Pinckney and the Drifters (e.g., Just Driftin' Along) and others. I finally went to USC Law School in 1985 and have been a trial lawyer and law professor since then.
The Sumter Tempests reunited a few years ago and have a CD out now called The Best Is Yet to Come. The Tempests are Gantt Williams (vocals and drums); Jim Jones (drums); Jimmy Brown (guitar and vocals); Bill Brown (bass and vocals); Bryan Hatfield (trumpet and vocals); Kurt Weatherly (trumpet and vocals); and me on vocals and keyboards. Keep up all the good work you've done.
Warren Moise
Greg, I hope you're doing well. I wanted to tell you that I've released my first CD called Class of 71. It's comprised of rock 'n soul music. It's the best thing I've ever done. I played and sang everything, and wrote most of the songs; however, the opening tune is Would You Believe, the old Tempests number. If anyone would like a copy, send $12.00 to Class of 71, POB 816, Charleston SC 29402-0816 or go to www.cdbaby.com/cd/warrenmoise/ Thanks guys!
The Tempests from Augusta do indeed have a tie in with Ronnie Milsap. My father, Robert B. Bowen MD, was their guitarist. He has told me many stories of how they played with Ronnie. We even have some old reel to reel tapes of them singing together.
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