The Madcaps (Unca)

The Madcaps recorded this very nice Rockabilly/Garage sounding 45 on the Unca label in 1965. It has a good beat to it. It would be nice to have more information about the group. Maybe somone can share the Madcaps history.

The Cutaways (Agogo)

The Cutaways recorded two 45's in the 1960's.  Both are outstanding. The Cutaways first record was released on the Sur-Speed label in 1965 and they followed that with this 1966 release on the Agogo label.

                                                    The Cutaways - You're Driving Me Out Of My Mind 

                                                                    The Cutaways - Now That You're Gone

The Muphets ( Sound Spectrum)

Today I am  featuring an outstanding 45 from the Muphets who were from Ohio. They started out as the Marauders in 1962. The band changed their name to the Muphets in 1964, just prior to their first release on the Sound Spectrum label. They had a great sound. More of the Muphets recordings can be heard on the Norton Records Unissued Sixties Garage Acetapes Series, which highlights how talented they were. Their complete history and photos of the band can be found at 60sgaragebands.com

The One (DeVille)

The One were from Los Angeles California . They recorded this British Invasion sounding 45 on the DeVille label in 1964. You'll notice that there is a sticker on one of the labels which tells the song title. The story is that DeVille records put the wrong label on one side of the 45 while manufacturing, so to correct the problem they simply put on a sticker with the correct song title. So the sticker is original, courtesy of  DeVille Records. I would like say a special thanks to the experts of G45 Central  for their vast knowledge and information about so many of the obscure or lesser known groups of the 1960's. The information about these groups is wonderful.

Hitch Hikers (Phalanx)

The Hitch Hikers were from Kalamazoo Michigan. They recorded two 45's. Today I feature the bands first 45 from 1965. The record is not in the best shape but it still gives you a taste of their killer Garage sound. The band members were Steve Van Den Burgh, Ralph Cole, Doug Nuyar and Ed Linenthal. They would later become The Thyme.

The Druids (Select)

1965 Select records gave us this nice two sider. I think I read somewhere that the Druids were from the New England area. There sound reminds me of the Troggs.

                                                                          The Druids - I can't leave you

                                                                      The Druids - Girl Can't Take A Joke

The Rogues (Action)

The Rogues were from Omaha Nebraska. In 1966 their Garage/British Invasion sound was released on the group's own record label, Action Records. Unfortunately this was The Rogues one and only record. The group would breakup in 1967. The 60sgaragebands.com has an outstanding history of The Rogues, and well worth your time to check out.

                                Ed Hoke, Jim Churchill, Joe DeRozza, Mike Hoke and Mike Chapman (kneeling)

                                                                       The Rogues - Anything You Say

The Pagans (Orchid)

Here is a nice 45 by The Pagans from 1966. The record label says that both songs were recorded live at the Rutherford High School gym. I recorded this in Mono. Its kind of lo-fi and the 45 is beat up a little, but I think its pretty cool.

The Castlegate 5 (Rich)

The Castlegate 5 were from Oklahoma City. In 1966 the group released there one and only record. Drummer Curtis Hayes went on to play with Moby Dick and the Whalers. "Only the good times" was recorded by both groups.

The Torkays (Coulee)

The Torkays were from Spirit Lake, Iowa. Band members included Ken Cunningham, Jerry Upson, Mark Gentry, Bob York, Jim York and Dean Aakhus. The group released this great rockabilly sounding record in 1965 on Coulee Records (La Crosse Wisconsin) .

The Naturals (Cle-O )

The Naturals were a Ohio group. In 1967 they recorded this Blue Eyed Soul/Bubblegum 45 on the Cle-O label.

The Scarlets (Maxwell 56)

Happy New Year everyone. I would like to start the year off with this wonderful folk 45 from 1965, The Scarlets were from Wheeling West Virginia. Band members were Mary Kay Fedorovich (Drums), John Hill ( Guitar, Vocals), Greg Nowak (Lead Guitar), Ron Plecha (Guitar, Vocals) and Don Teachout (Bass)

I found this interesting story from band member and song writer Ron Plecha . He gives details for the inspiration behind both of the songs on this 45. I would like to present his story for you today.

  Ron Plecha
  Growing up in central/south Wheeling in the1960's, and being influenced by local performers such as Pat Garrison, Barry Manso, Gil Crochard and Don Teachout (a.k.a. Troy Onteare), created the spark that that lit the musical fire in John Hill and myself. Don was the owner of the Maxwell 56 record label, on which we eventually released our first record. (Billy D. and If I had a Girl).
  "If I Had A Girl" took me about 10 minutes to write, one day after school in 1962. "Billy D." was inspired by John F. Kennedy's famous Cuban missile crisis speech, which filled me with patriotism. That inspiration, together with my close friendship with John Hill, formed the first three verses of the song, which I feel came straight from the heart. When I had put those opening verses to a melody, I went right over to John's house, and played for him what I had. He quickly collaborated on the second half, and the song was complete!
  At that time, The Scarlets were putting some polish on "If I Had A Girl", and was preparing an instrumental piece called "Andromeda" for the "B" side. I'm not sure why we were going to use an instrumental for the "B" side. I remember as a kid, my friend Joe Yordan and I always liked instrumentals..... Anyway, when we got into the studio and successfully recorded "If I Had A Girl" to tape, it was time to record the flip side, "Andromeda". After about 12 tries, our recording engineer, Brent Walton (God bless him, the man must have had the patience of a saint), couldn't take it anymore, and asked, "Don't you guys have ANYTHING else you can do?", and thus, as fate would have it, the sad saga of "Billy D" was born. Sadly, Don Teachout passed away in 1999. We were truly a close-knit, great bunch of friends who enjoyed our time together, and were, in fact, blessed to be able to do what we did.

                                                                         The Scarlets - If I had a girl

                                                                                 The Scarlets - Billy D

The Emperors (Wickwire)

The Emperors recorded two 45's on the Wickwire label in the early 1960's. This was their first release on the Wickwire Label. Of course the Emperor's sound changed after Wickwire 45's to garage. This 45 is more pop with a flute.

The Quinns (Capito)

From Michigan, the Quinns in 1966 released this cool 45 on the Capito label.

The Squires (CrestLine)

Here's a great Surf/ Garage record from 1965.  I think the Squires were from Missouri.

The Cords ( Hit )

Hit Records was a record company based in Nashville Tennessee which from 1962-1969 specialized in sound alike or cover versions of popular hit records. Hit Records were sold for less than half the price of the hit recordings they were covering. The Cords were a band that work for the record label and did covers of some Herman Hermits songs as well as one from the Animals.  The Cords did a fairly good version of The McCoys "Fever". I'm guessing that this 45 was released in late 1965 or early 1966. If you research the history of the bands who performed for Hit Records the Cords are listed as the Chords.

The Runaways (Cle Town)

The Runaways from Ohio released their only record in 1965 on the Cle Town label. I'm a Runaway was local hit for the band .

The Red Coats (Orchid)

In 1966 The Red Coats recorded this very nice moody garage song on the Orchid label. The flip side has more of a mellow pop sound with a decent organ . They would later change their name to the Sunday Funnies.

                                                                         The Red Coats - You Told A Lie

                                               The Red Coats - I'm Goning To Tell You About My Baby

The Gatormen (Camelot)

The Gatormen were from Juneau, Alaska. They were very popular locally. The group traveled to Seattle, Washington and recorded a couple 45's for Camelot Records.."Namu the Killer Whale" was the most remembered song from Gatormen. The record featured today is the lesser known 45 from the group. Band member Bill Johnson shares a nice history of Gatormen that is worth your time to read. He also provides some cool photo's as well.  

                                                                        The Gatormen - Hey Girl

                                                                           The Gatormen - Oh Honey

The Torques (Delta)

Here's a great record from 1965. The Torques from Farmington, New Mexico released  only one 45 but it was an outstanding effort from the band in every way. They had that cool British Invasion/Garage sound of the 1960's. I only wish they would have made another record.  Ramblehouse.com has some live recordings of The Torques.that is well worth checking out.

Skip Batchelor,         Bob Amerman,         Dwight Babcock,         Fender Tucker

                              

The Break Outs (Spider)

The Break Outs were from Greenup, Kentucky. Rockabilly pioneer Billy Adams was in this group.The Break Outs released two 45's on the Spider record label. The record featured on the blog is the second of the two. It was released in 1964.

The Fortels (Wam)

The Fortels were a teen garage combo from Ohio that played local dances and teen clubs. They recorded a nice moody garage 45 on the WAM record label in 1965. In 1966 they changed their name to the Men Of Eden and started to move in a soulish direction, adding horns. They broke up in 1967 as members began to move onto college and jobs. Special thanks to the Buckeye Beat website for all the information about the Fortels.

The Counts (Key)

In 1965 the Counts released this wonderful Surf/Garage record . The Counts were from Kalamazoo Michigan. This 45 also came with a nice picture sleeve .

The Flares (Landa)

The Flares were from Pennsylvania. They recorded this great garage two sider in 1965.