Did The Seros, Mouse, Willie Tee or some other great band play at your frat's parties in the 60s?

L-R: Eddie Middleton, Joe Pope, and Bobby Joyner

Listen to a clip of a recent recording by Eddie Middleton with The In-Men Ltd. on the book page at www.heybabydays.com (Look for the CD Cover)


Mike Mclaughlin in CBRE’s Chicago office loaned out his copy of the book to a friend and got the email below:


Mike - This book is terrific. I am having so much fun seeing the names of some of the old groups. The Embers played at my homecoming dance when I was a sophomore in HS. I especially enjoyed seeing Eddie Middleton featured so prominently. Eddie was a lead singer for the Seros and later for King David and the Slaves. We attended Albany High School and played BBall together. I remember him singing in the back of the bus on road trips and trying to harmonize with some of us who could not sing quite so well.
Some of the groups I remember hearing in high school or at Univ of Ga ATO frat parties included: Mouse and Boys with Brass (multiple times), Pieces of Eight, The Jesters, The Ga Prophets, The Catalinas, Willie T, Maurice Williams, Clifford Curry, Doug Clark and the Hot Nuts, The Righteous Bros, The Candymen (High School Jr./Sr Prom), The Platters, Jerry Butler (college concert), James Brown (my first concert...Macon Colliseum.-1968..I was the only white boy in the group of 8,000), Bill Deal and the Rhondels, The Castaways, The Epics, The Bushman (another HS Prom) , The Rubber Band, Ray Whitley (we used to drive 2 hours from Athens, Ga to Atlanta on a school night to hear him play at a small bar in Buckhead. He wrote many of the songs made famous by the Tams..."I Been Hurt", "What Kind of Fool", "Hey Girl Don't Bother Me" and others) ...and the two most famous bands in my day...the Tams and the Swing Medallions!

I am about only about 20% thru the book and having a ball! Thanks so much for sharing it. I will take good care of it.

Walt



Note: The email to Mike is a good resume of some of the bands playing the ATO house at UGA during the Hey Baby Days… but there were over 20 other party-active fraternities so maybe we’ll get a few more fraternity lists from UGA and the other party schools. Throughout the South, there had to be a good 1000 parties going on every Friday and Saturday night in the 60s featuring some of the great R&B bands, many that are in the book and some that should have been. If you are reading this posting and want to recall some of the bands playing for your parties in the 60s, drop us a note. Not restricted to frats ! If you have a story, so much the better.

Georgia Prophets' Billy Walker, Ray Whitley's "Yessiree, Yessiree", and the Soul-Jers' cover, Northern Soul and Beach Music,

Above Images:

(Top) L-R :Billy and Barbara Scott and Billy Walker

(Middle) record label : "Yessiree, Yessiree" recorded in 1962 by prolific song composer for the Tams, Ray Whitley, with Wayne Logiudice on drums

(Bottom) At Last ! The magazine cover of Atlanta Magazine in January 1967 featuring the Soul-Jers - Thank you JT

Hi Greg,

I've been having the grandest time the past few nights reading the
info on your site, listening to the downloads of the bands, reading the
blog, etc. My husband has a sinus infection and has been sleeping in
the guest suite in the back end of the house so I've been able to
stay up until the wee hours of the morning without disturbing him. Then
when he leaves in the morning driving to work in Honolulu, I get up,
turn on the computer, and start reading again. There's so much I'll
probably never catch up. My latest "find" is discovering the band,
Larry and the Loafers's recording of "Panama City Blues" (recorded in
1960.). What a treat to find that it was available for download.
Somehow I got a lead reading some of the information on your site. I
got an idea to download the Heeey Baby Days Beach music to my iPod so
I could listen to it on my jog every day. I had been purchasing
downloads and they started declining my charges. When I called
American Express they said they were worried that someone else might
have been using my card because there were 42 downloads @ 99 cents
each. I laughed and said it really was me and that they usually check
on charges in the hundreds of $$. Go figure. But I guess I should be
glad that they are on top of things. I can't wait until I get the
book. Now that I will have two copies I won't be so concerned
for other people to look at it, worrying that they might "bend the
pages". Hey, that might be a good "sales gimmick". Tell everybody they need two
copies - one to read and one to save.

About the blog when you went to Liverpool - I recently within the
last year discovered what Northern Soul is. All this time I thought it was
soul music by Northern artists in the US. I discovered it when I was
doing research on Barbara Lewis, my favorite female singer from the
60's. I found a fairly recent recording of Ms. Lewis singing "The
Stars" on YouTube and contacted Ian Levine, who had posted it. Come
to find out, he is a record producer in England and had done a
documentary on Northern Soul, which took years to complete. Through him and his
site, I learned all about Northern Soul and that a lot of the artists from the US went to Europe to perform when the Heeey Baby Beach Days music was over, taken over by hard rock and heavy metal. (Artists like Ms. Lewis and Percy Sledge). I thought it was very interesting how it all evolved. (And I know that there is a difference in Northern Soul
and HBDB music, but when you think about the lines are kind of
blurred there because Barbara Lewis' "Hello Stranger", "Baby, I'm Yours" and
even "Think A Little Sugar" (the flip side of "Hello Stranger") was
always playing on the juke box at the Hang Out at Panama City Beach.

I can remember it like it was yesterday. Perhaps you could write a
chapter in your next book about both NS and HBDB music. I know your
book is dedicated to the "garage bands" but music like Barbara Lewis'
was and still is played at various beaches in the South (especially
the Carolinas) and considered to be "beach music". Did you know that she
was inducted into the Carolina Beach Music Hall Of Fame in 2003?

About mine and my friends memories of the Hang Out and Panama City
Beach, I've recently discovered that J. D. Weeks is writing a book,
"Memories About Panama City Beach" and submitted my story.
(http://www.jdweeks.com/) I got an email from him today saying he hopes to
get it to the publisher sometime this summer. He said you used some of
his post cards in the HBDB book. So look for my story about the Hang Out
and Panama City Beach.

When you have time, check out my MySpace dedicated to Barbara Lewis -
www.myspace.com/barbaralewisfan and let me know what you think. I
talk about the Hang Out and Panama City Beach there too. Hey, I'm a huge
HBDB music fan and only listen to the "oldies" radio stations. But I
do love Melinda Doolittle's music. She finished third on American
Idol, Season 6. I never watched AI but stopped in my tracks when I
heard her for the first time. Not since Barbara Lewis has any female
singer "knocked my socks off". I actually flew to Franklin, TN (a
suburb of Nashville) to see her first solo performance. I am a member
of her support group, Melinda's Backups. (She used to be a backup
singer.) She attended the afterparty at our hotel, spending the
entire evening with us. So I know her personally. She has received four
flower leis from the Backups (which I took care of) at various
performances. Melinda's debut CD/album, "Coming Back to You" will be
released Feb. 3. Amazon.com made a snafu and accidentally made the
entire album available for download when they were only supposed to
release the single, "It's Your Love". I was one of a very few who was
able to download it before they realized their snafu. It's absolutely
incredible. Didn't mean to get off on that, but as I said, she is the
first female since Barbara Lewis to "blow me away".

Well, my husband just got home so I'd better go and fix dinner. Feel
free to post any of my emails on your blog. I've got to figure out
to register.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Fond Aloha,
Ann Adams






Ann,

Thanks for your email... lots of good discussion points. Downloading the Music of The Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music to an ipod and listening to any of those 44 cuts you bought is a great way to enjoy a jog. When you get the entire collection you ordered, you are going to have several marathons of enjoyment.

Responding to some of the items you brought up:

Larry & The Loafers: Other than a mention in the book, that is all we were able to do before book’s publication; hopefully a lot more is now available on the Internet and others will respond. Their name came up several times but at the time we did not have a contact. Maybe we'll be able to post some photos and do a bio on the band at the blog.

Northern Soul: As the soulful 60s were taking a back seat to the 70s new rock sound, much of it promoted by former soulies, there was an area of England and a particular group that refused to let the sound die, and thanks to them, much of the "below the radar screen" music is still available. "Below The Radar Screen" in this connotation means that songs that got to be very big Northern Soul songs but never made the American Top Forty. The British “record collectors" have done much to popularize and keep that sound alive. A tip of the hat to them! As to why it’s called Northern Soul…
Here’s two answers from two different sources:



http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/888139


Northern soul is a type of mid-tempo and uptempo heavy-beat soul music (of mainly African American origin) that was popularized in Northern England from the mid 1960s onwards. The term also refers to the associated dance styles and fashions that emanated from the Twisted Wheel club in Manchester and spread to other dancehalls and nightclubs, such as the Golden Torch (in Stoke-upon-Trent), the Highland Rooms at the Blackpool Mecca and the Wigan Casino. Northern soul dancing was usually athletic, resembling the later dance styles of disco and break dancing. Featuring spins, flips, and backdrops, the northern soul dancing style was inspired by the stage performances of visiting American soul acts such as Little Anthony & The Imperials and Jackie Wilson

http://www.the-soulsurvivor.co.uk/history.htm

Northern soul to me is mostly up tempo soul music with a continuous backbeat that is not unlike Motown. I did and still do like 99% of the records played in the mid seventies Northern soul venues but there was a few records I did not really class as "Northern Soul" although they were popular (Mal -Martin Stevens is one of them) I Do think these records were really a part of the Northern soul scene at the time, even though I didn't like them as I think most people had their own ideas as to what northern Soul really was.

When I was in the U.K. for the book tour, I asked a few of those attending the event “What is the significance of “Northern” in soul ?” and I got the same type of varying responses you get when you ask someone, ”What is Beach Music.?”

The consensus answer is that early on, they associated American Soul Music with Motown and Detroit which is in the “Northern” part of the U.S. This was primarily a result of the fact that for the most part, Soul music that made the big charts and heard around the world had a blue Motown label. In time, I think they learned that the style of soul music they liked was also being made in other areas of the U.S.

I have compared the listing in the book of the Greatest 100 songs of the Heeey Baby Days with a list I found of The 100 greatest songs of Northern Soul and surprisingly there were only 4 or 5 that were common. (BTW: Both "Hello Stranger" and "Think A Little Sugar" are on my list) I too really like Barbara Lewis and she is mentioned several times in the book and there is a photo of her with one of the beach bands. I rarely use the term "garage bands" to describe the R&B bands (Hey Baby Days bands) of the 60s because many many of them made it well beyond their garage.

As to the list of North Soul Songs and Beach Music Songs, the sounds in each list are very similar and include many of the same artists but generally are not the most well known by the particular artist. I have always thought that Northern soulie are the champions of the "b" sides. The Hey Baby Days list was confined to records made in the 60s which made for some of the differences in the two lists.

I enjoyed my trip to the U.K. and especially enjoyed the enthusiasm these people have for American Soul Music aka R&B, Beach Music, Motown, Philly, etc. Many of the big Northern Soul songs are up-tempo, which I like. Also, The Northern Soulies are dancers or "twirlers" as my wife Nora puts it...

There are other distinctions Northern Soul and Beach Music that are worth noting: Beach Music, especially as it relates to The Hey Baby Days is more focused to band performances of the same or similar music that the Northern soulies insist on playing on the original 45s. Beach band parties of the 60s hardly left room to dance while the All-nighters of the 70s in the U.K were all night dance marathons conducted by a succession of popular dee jays. That’s not to say that many of the R&B performers were not successful performing live in the U.K. e.g. Percy Sledge, Barbara Lewis, Major Lance… In fact the resurrection of the Tams’ song, “Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me” in 1971 (7 years after its US release) and the Tams’ subsequent tour of the U.K. is a great example of how strong the Northern Soul movement was at the time... is something that sounds like a script for Frank Capra. In many cases the Northern Soul clubs were playing the then current music of the American R&B greats who had decided that they would go to where their music was playing.

I understand now why they were not that interested in playing one of the two CD that are in the book when I was over there. It is part of their preservation culture that I certainly admire.

Here's something that happened last week that puts into perspective the psychological differences of Northern Soul versus Beach Music: I decided to try to find Frank Bray, the lead singer for the Metros and Liberation in the late 60s through the mid 70s.I located Frank and we started talking about the old days. I always thought that when the Metros left the Tams and started Liberation, the name change was somewhat symbolic. Frank confirmed that I was right about that.


The thing I was most interested in was any possibility that Liberation would have a reunion performance. He said that they got together and talked about it about a year ago. Most of the guys are still around; the main missing ingredient would be Bobby McCrary who died of throat cancer a few years back. It's hard to forget Bobby as he was certainly a great entertainer as was the entire band. Liberation had several releases in the 70s and there was excellent but never really made the charts that were then dominated by a different sound. When you get the complete set of the music from the Heeey Baby Days , listen to "Love Looks Good On You."
F
rank said he was contacted by a fellow from the U.K. not too long ago looking for an original copy of "Love Looks Good On You" on the 123 Redbird label. Frank had one but said his son persuaded him not to sell the record. I am not sure what Frank was offered for his copy but I noticed that a copy is available on the Internet for $800.00. Frank learned for the first time that Liberation was popular in the Northern Soul movement and could have been successful on tour over there even at the time the band broke up. I have heard that same or similar story several times now as it relates to many of those southern bands of the late 60s and early 70s.

The gentleman from the U.K. was primarily interested in obtaining the record while my interest would have been in seeing Liberation perform again. However, I will now be on the lookout at Atlanta Antique malls for the record..


Your email brought up a lot of things for discussion and I tried to touch on as many as possible and by the way, I did check out Melinda. Wow!

Thanks,


Greg

Greg,

It was such a treat to stumble unto your site. I was married to Billy Walker of the Georgia Prophets for 17 years. He died in 1988 in an automobile accident at the age of 48. It was such a sad shame for us. Billy & I had a son and a daughter. His son, Joshua, is a percussion teacher for several high schools in Charlotte, North Carolina where he lives. He also plays with the Charlotte Symphony occasionally. He performs around Charlotte with different bands and really enjoys music....just like his father.

I used to have pictures and even a promotional pic of Billy with The Golden Era group he formed after he left Georgia's Best. However, I have no clue to where it is now. If I ever find it, I will share it with you. It has really been many, many years but sometimes it seems like only yesterday. I am sure you understand just what I mean.

Thanks,

Billie Walker Narron

p.s. Yes, We were Billy and Billie Walker back when we were together....lol

Billie,

Thank you for contacting us. I love the story that Jerry McElveen told about the time Billy was cured of stage fright prior to his first appearance at the Beach Club in Myrtle Beach. It was updated and republished in the book. His cover version (with Georgia's Best) of Jerry Butler's, "Never Give You Up" is included on Disk 10 of the Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music series. He really had a great voice and is well remembered by those who saw him perform from back in the day.

Regards,

Greg Haynes

More from The Perrin Gleaton Medallion Scrapbook

Perrin Gleaton joined the Swingin' Medallions in 1964 replacing Cubby Cubertson the guitar player who had heard Dick Holler and The Holidays perform "Double Shot" at the Army Navy club in Columbia and thought that the band should put it in their repertoire and so they did. Gleaton joined the band as they headed for a gig in Panama City at the Old Hickory . It was in the Summer of 1964 that the band accidentally expanded to a five man horn section, which was highly unusual for a total eight piece band but with John McElrath covering the bass from the keyboards, it was possible. Trumpeter Carroll Bledsoe and Saxophone player Brent Fortson had to return to Greenwood for school obligations and Rick Godwin and Fred Pugh were there to replace them. However, before Bledsoe and Fortson left, Godwin and Pugh were there to observe the routines so that the transition would be smooth. But when all five horn players were on the Old Hickory stage at one time, the crowds would go wild. Therapists were brought in to deal with the crowd hysteria but it was to no avail. The sound of five horns on many of the band's core songs was a huge crowd favorite and from the Summer of 1964 on... the Medallions employed a five man horn section on many of their songs which pleased the crowds.
Today's band also has the five man horn capability which occasionally swells to 8 or 9 when some of the old guys show up for reunions. Perrin Gleaton remained with the Medallions for most of 1965 and played lead guitar on"I Want To Be Your Guy," a song written by Bob Meyer (of Rivieras fame) and Harry Karras (producer for Double Shot). Gleaton returned to school and was replaced by Jim Doares. During Gleaton's tenure as guitarist, he saved photos and newspaper clippings and other memorabilia that he graciously shared for the book. Some of the photos also appear in "The Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music" but many of the ones that are included in this post are being published for the first time.



The black and white photos below were taken in November 1964 shortly after the newspaper article above appeared. Per the newspaper article the band was already popular throughout the Southeast and was playing "Double Shot" numerous plus times at its gigs although they did not record the song until a year later.

Photos Below:

(1.) We think this is Steve Caldwell but could be most any of the horn players

(2.) Freddie Pugh tries a new technique

(3.) The November 1964 horn section sans Carroll Bledsoe (l-r) Caldwell, Godwin, Fortson, Pugh

(4.) Perrin Gleaton

(5.) John McElrath

(6.) Joe Morris

(7) Stage Photo

(8.) stage photo

The next group of photos are from 1965 , and many were taken at the Old Hickory in Panama City, Florida

Live from The Old Hickory in P.C. Along Came Jones

Illustration by Perrin Gleaton

And then... and then... and then... along came Jones ... slow talking Jones

Steve Caldwell holds Perrin Gleaton...Freddy Pugh with sax

a packed chockablock Old Hickory crowd looks on

Hi Greg,

While surfing the Internet for beach music I discovered your book, which I ordered
along with all the additional CD's. I just love what I've read about your book so far and loved the downloads of the music and radio ads. I'm one of those "beach
babies" and remember going to the Old Hickory in PC Beach for a
Swingin' Medallions jam session. My high school sorority hired the
James Gang and Wilbur Walton and the Webs for our dances, and I think
we might have hired the Rockin' Gibraltas also. The Debonaires always
had house parties for spring and summer break , and we "hung out" at
the hang out in Panama City Beach.


Aloha,
Ann


Dear Ann,

When you get the book, go immediately to Chapter 14, “The Party at P.C.” For you and all those that remember the band parties at the Old Hickory and the Old Dutch, that’s a great starting place. Chapter 9 has quite a bit about Wilbur Walton, the James Gang and the Webs.

The Swingin’ Medallion jam sessions at P.C. are very famous. Drummer Joe Morris talks about them in the book. Do you remember the “Along Came Jones” skit the Medallions did at many of their shows? That’s probably one of the funniest things I remember from back in the day.

We have some artwork and photos from the Old Hickory (courtesy of the Medallion Guitarist in 1964-1965, Perrin Gleaton) that we are going to post to the blog over the next few days. If any of your friends from high school or college have memories or photos of the P.C. scene of the mid 60s, ask them to share them with us at the blog. There were many great bands that played the P.C. strip and I am sure there are some great tales to be told. The book has many in chapter 14 but I am sure there are plenty more.

Also, was one of those Beach Babes you ran around with named Charlena?

Regards,


Greg Haynes

Ray Whitley, Bill Lowery, Wayne Logiudice, Curtis Mayfield

It was like a five minute conversation, but it lasted slightly over an hour and it was full of rich stories from the Hey Baby Days of Beach Music. If I had connected with Wayne Logiudice prior to the publication of the book, the book would not yet be out. And if I had not connected with Rick Bear, I would have never connected with Wayne. Well maybe I would have but it might have taken a few more years.

Wayne told me stories of his musical past in such an entertaining manner that I had to focus on taking notes which is not among my greatest talents. He had just gotten the book but had already read quite a bit. He said I had gotten everything about him right and he really enjoyed reading about Ray Whitley who he fondly remembers from his early days in the business in Atlanta. In fact, Wayne played the drums on the session that produced “Yessiree, Yessiree” a single released on the Vee-Jay label by Ray Whitley in 1962. Those were two new factoids that came out in less than 10 seconds. It was such a conversation that if the phone had not started acting up, we’d still probably be talking. I did tell Wayne as we were coming unconnected that I would compile my notes and get back with him in a couple of days.

As to Ray Whitley, Wayne referred to him as a genius, a person that was always writing or thinking a song. I was with him one day and he just came out with, ”Say Wayne, what about these lyrics for a song, ‘I Feel A Hitchhike Coming On…’” Not sure if that line is any of Ray’s compositions but we are learning more everyday.

Wayne was especially complimentary of the late Bill Lowery, a person he deemed responsible for getting a lot of musical careers started in Atlanta. He also repeated what I had heard so many times over the years … how nice of people Mary Talent and Cotton Carrier were. Both were mainstays at Master Sound and Bill Lowery Talent. Wayne referred to Master Sound as “the little old school house.” It’s now buried somewhere below the Brookhaven Marta station.

Wayne said he had a lot of help getting started in the business especially as it related to playing the drums. He credits several drummers who helped him along the way: Tommy South ( Brother of Joe South), Mike Clarke (a drummer for Tommy Roe as well as the main cog at Southern Tracks ), Johnny Duncan of Randy & The Holidays and Charlie Spinks of the Nights Shadows. He also had great things to say about the Kommotions own drummer, Rick Bear. It sounded to me like Wayne Logiudice never met a drummer he didn’t like.

Note: Refer above to the comment about my note taking acumen; names and spellings subject to change)

Over the next few days, we’ll add to this posting more revelations from our second call with Wayne Logiudice. If you have memories of seeing Wayne and The Kommotions perform back in day, post a comment below.

Here is a preview of anecdotal material coming soon to this post:

(1.) More information on the session that produced “Little Black Egg.”


(2.) Curtis Mayfield invites Wayne to record a song that subsequently becomes a hit for the Impressions.


(3) Charles Brook Atkins, former Chicago Bear, and personal manager for Hank Ballard, Tommy Hunt and Wayne Logiudice (C.B. was also the husband of Sarah Vaughn)

(4.) Cured by a fox in Small’s Paradise

and much more


January 6, 2007

I had another great conversation with Wayne Logiudice tonight. The quality of his memories from the great days of R&B abound. I hope that I will be able to relate them with as much emotion as there were related to me. He is flattered to be referred to by some as the true
" white James Brown." He admired the Godfather, but he says that honor belongs solely to Wayne Cochran.

more to come ...

January 7, 2007

It would be easy to draw the inference that much of the '"stagemanship" employed by Logiudice resulted from hours of observing the Godfather because that was the case for a legion of young white male men in the early 60s. Even Jere Real's liner notes on the sleeve of "Ow ! Boogaloo" mention Wayne observing J.B. from backstage at the Apollo Theatre.

It would be virtually impossible for any inspiring young entertainer not to be affected by the main man of soul. However, before Wayne Logidice became a serious entertainer at the beginning of the 60s, he had already garnered his share of dancing awards winning multiple contests growing up in the Chattanooga area. James Brown did not have to tell Wayne that if he wanted to be on his show (like he did the Tams) he would have to learn to dance.

It would have been even easier to think that Wayne picked up the art of rocking the microphone between his feet from Brown but again, he did not. Wayne chuckles when recalling seeing an entertainer perform the "feet" for the first time. If you're curious, it was George, Curious George; that is who inspired Wayne to incorporate the rocking, moving, sliding and other manipulations of the microphone into his act. "Curious George would miss from time to time but the audience didn't care because he was such an entertainer." Update: I should learn to read my scribble better... IT WAS NOT "Curious George" but it was "Gorgeous George" aka George Odell who a record on the Stax label. He is still around Atlanta so we hope to get more info soon. Wayne took what he learned by Gorgeous George and added some tricks he learned watching Joe Tex perform.

It was the combination of vocals and swift feet that drew the audiences into Wayne Logiudice. He would render a medley of as many as twenty difference songs ( mostly ones from the top 100 of the Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music ) and he did it in a spinning jiving manner that held the attention of a crowd.

Wayne likes to credit many for inspiring him on stage, but none more than the great Jackie Wilson.

The Little Black Egg with the Little White Speck by Wayne Logiudice & The Kommotions; The Nightcrawlers; Eva; and others

APB: Searching for “The Little Black Egg with the Little White Speck" by the Kommotions ( Wayne Logiudice, Emory Gordy, Jr., Rick Al Sheppard, Barry Bailey, Rick Bear and Harry H. ) The song was apparently written by Chuck Conlon one of the Daytona Beach based Nightcrawlers … another band that should have been included in the book. We assume that they covered, “Midnight Hour”, “My, Girl”, etc, etc.) which are prerequisites .

The song was a regional hit for the Nightcrawlers of Daytona Beach , Florida 10/65 through 4/67, but it never hit in enough areas at the same time to get any higher than #85 in Billboard.


The Little Black Egg
(Chuck Conlon)

I don't care what they say
I'm gonna keep it anyway
I won't let them stretch their necks
To see my little black egg with the little white specks
I found it in a tree
Just the other day
And now it's mine, all mine
They won't take it away


Here comes Mary, here comes Lee
I'll bet what they want to see
I won't let them stretch their necks
To see my little black egg with the little white specks

Oh, goldurn, what can I do?
The little black egg's gonna tell on you
I won't let them stretch their necks
To see my little black egg with the little white specks


Help us find a copy of the record by Wayne Logiudice & The Kommotions, recorded in Atlanta in 1965 at Lefevre Studios.

Soul-Jer ing on!

Hi Greg,


My name is Tony Wilcher, I, along with Chuck and Ray Brannon, started the Soul-Jers. Ray and I had played together in high school and when Chuck got out of the Navy we three moved to Atlanta to try to start a band. We were joined by Phil Harris (guitar) and Jim Cole (keyboard). We shortly moved to the Auburn Alabama area playing nights anywhere we could and practicing days. Chuck, Ray and I were like brothers and during that summer in Alabama we all worked very hard and also had some experiences that would fill a book.

After three months we returned to Atlanta with Ray as the front man and Chuck on drums and vocal harmony. We quickly became successful playing for WQXI radio, school proms and dances, Bikini a Go Go and other clubs. Our non stop 45 minute James Brown Show was always a big hit with Ray's voice and footwork. I saw girls pull him off stage and tear off his shirt during "Please Please Please". I probably hadn't been playing bass six months before we appeared on the cover of Atlanta Magazine.
Pat Hughes, a DJ at WQXI, became our manager and we played at his club the Stingray Club. We also played at Hugh Jarrett's teen club, Hugh Baby's Hoparooni. I didn't know at the time but Mr. Jarrett sang bass for Elvis Presley. He was then a DJ in Marietta. I don't remember him ever mentioning Elvis!

We also played some shows with Joe South and Billy Joe Royal. I remember Billy Joe's comment "Everywhere I go, that's all I hear is Soul-Jers, Soul-Jers, Soul-Jers."
We worked for Bill Lowery Agency, as most of Atlanta acts did and The Arnold Agency.
One time we had to play for a guy who had a one hit song called "She Shot a Hole in My Soul" when he showed up without a band at the Hoparooni.I'm sure a lot of bass players with a lot more experience would have loved to had my job. Jim and Phil were still going to Cross Keys High School and would tell us at practice how they were continuously being asked for autographs.

These were the original Soul-Jers who dreamed the dream and did all the work going to gigs in a 1953 Cadillac hearse, before having a van. We had some guitarist that worked with us worth mentioning: Steve Cook and John Fristo. Some time later Chuck and Ray decided to join forces with Ted Trombetta and Will Beaulware, both incredible musicians but unfortunately had personal aspirations quite different from the Soul-Jers. Although it doesn't seem possible in such a short period of time when I recollect I have as many tales of "On the Road" as Jack Kerouac.As they say "You had to be there".

Feel free to post this, if you like and if you could send me an address, I have several photographs and two business cards I would send you copies of.

Tony Wilcher of the Soul-Jers


Tony,

Thank you for taking the time to talk about the Soul-Jers and some of your experiences from back in the day. It's too bad we could not have connected several years ago before the book was published as the experiences that you relate above are the essence of the Hey Baby Days. More than one of the bands in the book backed the singer you refer to who had the hit, "She Shot A Hole In My Soul." The great Clifford Curry almost always used the main band playing at a club or concert. Still does ! Clifford also had a regional hit with his cover of "We're Gonna Hate Ourselves in The Morning", an old Arthur Alexander song. It is very obvious that the Soul-Jers had a large following back in the era I call the Hey Baby Days. Did the band cover the song ? It sort of fits in well with a band that had a 45 minute James Brown show.

I would very much appreciate posting the photos that you reference. It would be a nice way of continuing to advance the rediscovery of the Soul-Jers. Thanks for mentioning the Atlanta clubs of the day. In a phone conversation recently with Wayne Logiudice, he mentioned a photo of him dancing with a young female at the Bikini-A-Go-Go Club. He plans to send it as well. It took me five years to find a real member of the Soul-Jers and five years to learn how to spell Wayne's last name. I am truly making progress.

I am sorry I couldn't use the nice background your wife used in sending your note as there is a limit to my technological expertise at this time. The note opened some other great areas for discussion as it relates to the Atlanta Soul of the 60s. First, The great Billy Joe Royal. He was not just a great singer but someone that everyone liked. Plus, he sang that catchy little high note at the start of "Be Young Be Foolish Be Happy" He should have gotten a Grammy just for that.

Hugh Jarrett's Hugh Baby's Hoparooni would be another great point of interest for many as most of the great bands and stars played there. Hugh probably has several pounds of material that he could add in remembering the Atlanta Soul of the 60s; the entire South in fact as he did travel with the King. He probably also knew the Godfather on a first name basis.

Please feel free to relate any of your "On The Road" with the Soul-Jers stories. We especially enjoying publishing those on the blog.

Regards,

Greg