The Gentle Soul - Flying Thing (1968)

If you haven’t seen our previous post featuring The Gentle Soul, you may want to check that out first. There’s a good, little biography about the group, including the famous names they worked with and why they had to split up. The best part, though, is that it features an interview conducted with half of The Gentle Soul, Pamela Polland.

You’ll notice near the beginning of that post that there was a song The Gentle Soul recorded, which had been written by a fourteen year old Jackson Browne. The song heard below in this post is that song. “Flying Thing” was one of the three songs Jackson Browne had written by the age of fourteen. He wrote the music and lyrics, but the arrangements were done by The Gentle Soul (Pamela Polland and Rick Stanley). It wasn’t released on The Gentle Soul’s only album (probably because it wasn’t written by them, as claimed by Pamela Polland herself), but it was released on one of the two singles the band put out. Unfortunately, like with their rest of their music, the single wasn’t promoted and it made little impact on the charts.

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A Special Edition post with Rick Stanley of The Gentle Soul!
After a little over a year of correspondence, I’m proud to announce that The Gentle Soul’s Rick Stanley has supplied numerous stories to share with A Bit Like You And Me. Rick was kind enough to share a bunch of excerpts from an upcoming autobiography he’s writing, titled My Song of Life. There was a very large quantity of material, so I’ve taken the liberty of chopping it down to the very best parts.

Excerpts from My Song of Life by Rick Stanley
[...]Not long after my audition with Stephen [Stills, to try out for Buffalo Springfield], Terry [Melcher] contacted Pamela [Polland] and was raving about the two of us. He wanted to get us in the studio as soon as possible to make a demo for the Columbia Record exec.’s who make the decisions about signing new acts.

What happened next is a bit hazy in my fading memory-pictures, but I think some time passed before Terry had time to get us into the studio. Pamela had already started to recruit other musicians to back us up; and, I somehow ended up in the Valley, staying in a rented house with two of the potential band members: Riley “Wyldflower” Cummings and a drummer from Riley’s sort of Beatle-esque group. They had toured the southwest and one of the groupies latched on to them in Tulsa, by offering the money she received from an insurance claim for her broken leg, so that the drummer could buy a new set of drums. Riley wrote his own songs in the vein of the early Beatles- like “Love Me Do” and “Twist and Shout”- which didn’t interest me at all. It had been done and couldn’t possibly attract a record company or get us on the radio.

Riley was six-foot five-inches tall with wild, light-brown, curly hair and almost always stoned. He was a likable Irish-American, son of a car dealership owner in the valley, and played decent rhythm guitar in the typical pop band genre. But Pam and I were really acoustic folk musicians and I couldn’t understand why she wanted a pop guitar player who couldn’t really sing well enough to add a harmony. I think she just liked him. And so, she would come over and we would practice her songs and a few others in preparation for the Columbia demo with Terry. Meanwhile, we were trying to come up with a name for our group, which is probably more fun than practicing.

The original group with Riley “Wyldflower” Cummings and Sandy Konikoff [before The Gentle Soul was finalized as a duo]

One night, Riley had “scored” a kilo of grass with the groupie’s money and proceeded to lie back on his bed and blow pot smoke into the face of his cat, who just lay there on his chest, looking up at him and throwing cat-kisses with his eyes. Riley said, “He’s such a gentle soul,” and, I jumped on this and said, “That’s the name for our group! ‘The Gentle Soul’!” And so it was! I felt like Riley must have thought that marijuana was a universal balm for all creatures great and small, and that it couldn’t possibly do any harm. The next day, the cat was acting like he’d eaten fifty pounds of cat nip- running, flipping, and jumping in a spastic frenzy- seeing something in la la land and lunging for it, only to flop upside down on his back. He got up and bashed headlong into the patio window and lay there unconscious for a while. I guess the poor thing managed to get out of the house and we never saw it again.

Soon, we all moved in to an old house on Venice Beach that Pam and the groupie managed to lease. Each of us had our own room and I rigged up some bamboo curtains on the walls all around my little abode, and slept on an old mattress with a new cotton cover that I found in a thrift store. Pam still had her own place, but would come over to practice. The groupie and the drummer had the choice room downstairs, and Riley and I had our little rooms upstairs. I was beginning to feel like this wasn’t going anywhere. The drummer didn’t know how to drum and Riley’s main focus was getting high. Anyway, nature doesn’t allow a vacuum to persist, and thus brought a stranger to the house. He arrived when the drummer was away for some reason and proceeded to seduce the groupie without much effort. After four days of being serviced by the stranger, her previous lover returned: the inadequate drummer. The groupie pretended that nothing had happened with the stranger, and offered the attic as her new lover’s bedroom.

The attic was where we practiced, and this didn’t suit lover-boy at all. He never spoke a word to any of us; only the groupie was privy to his profound thoughts. He would just sit and stew when we were up there, making all kinds of bored and inconvenienced expressions, with his little poet’s pad in full view and his pencil sticking out from behind one ear. I didn’t like this asshole’s attitude at all. He didn’t contribute anything for rent, expected to be fed, and all for the price of having sex with the groupie when the drummer wasn’t around. You may be a bit surprised to know who this guy was. It was Jim Morrison- you know, The Doors.

The whole thing finally came to a head when the drummer discovered Jim and his true love going at it in his own bed. He flew into a rage, but ended up begging the groupie to stay with him. It was clear that she finally understood why he wanted her: the bloody drums and the rest of her insurance money to live on, of course! So, that day, he packed up his drums and left the house. Jim didn’t hang around much longer either[...]

Thanks,
Rick Stanley

There is a lot more to tell about Rick's unusual life; check out My Song of Life by Rick Stanley when it comes out. If you want to know when it’s released, just send your email to nr.stan[at]gmail[dot]com.

How hilarious is that? Even though Rick didn't seem to appreciate Jim Morrison's antics, I have to say it sounds pretty amusing all these years later! And it's definitely fun to know that The Gentle Soul's name was helpfully inspired by a cat. A big 'thank you' to Rick Stanley for sharing such interesting excerpts from his forthcoming book, My Song of Life! Be sure to check out the book when it's released, as it contains other stories involving Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Levon Helm, and many, many more!

And now that you've enjoyed this exclusive story, why not check out what other exclusive stories we've received?

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The Gentle Soul - Flying Thing (1968)

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Lyrics:

She’s a flying thing that sings
With her eyes like smoky rings
And the sun can feel her presence in the sky

And I think I’m gonna stay
‘cause there’s nothin’ in our way
And she says that she can teach me how to fly
(Teach me how to fly)

If I could love her more than I have ever loved before
Then tomorrow I’ll be standing at her door

And when I hear her voice
I have no other choice
But to bend back my head and search the sky

Her hair is spun so fine
Roses fell like laughing wine
And she says that she can teach me how to fly
(Teach me how to fly)

If I could give her all the things she’s never had before
Then tomorrow I’ll be standing at her door

To see her walking by is to see a windy sky
And the clouds reflecting in her eyes

And the softness of her skin
Makes me wonder where I’ve been
And she says that she can teach me how to fly
(Teach me how to fly)

If she could love me more than she has ever loved before
Then tomorrow I’ll be standing at her door

She’s a flying thing that sings
With her eyes like smoky rings
And she says that she can teach me how to fly
(Teach me how to fly)
And she says that she can teach me how to fly
(Teach me how to fly)
And she says that she can teach me how to fly
(Teach me how to fly…)

The Standells - Try It (1967)

Formed in 1962, The Standells are often cold-heartedly labeled as a one-hit wonder. Although it’s true that their only majorly successful song was 1966’s “Dirty Water,” the band and its members still had quite an impact on the pop culture of the 1960s.

Band member Larry Tamblyn was and is the brother of Hollywood actor Russ Tamblyn (and thus the uncle of actress Amber Tamblyn). He was also a classmate and acquaintance of Ritchie Valens. The band's drummer Dick Dodd was an ex-Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club. He was also an ex-member of the surf bands The Bel-Airs (previously featured) and Eddie & The Showmen.

At one point, the band featured backing vocals by Cher while being produced by Sonny Bono. They also appeared in the movie Get Yourself a College Girl, as well as the television shows The Munsters, That Regis Philbin Show, American Bandstand, and Shindig!. And all of this was prior to “Dirty Water” in 1966. After “Dirty Water,” the band continued their success with “Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White” and “Why Pick On Me” before hitting a brick wall in early 1967. The name of the brick wall was Gordon McLendon.

After the major success of “Dirty Water” and minor success of “Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White” (which you can hear on our site) and “Why Pick On Me” in late 1966, the band had released “Try It,” and watched it grow in popularity. Unfortunately for the group, a radio mogul named Gordon McLendon had chosen this song, written by Marc Bellack and J. Levine, as his prime target in a national campaign to rid the music industry of “filth” and “dirty lyrics.” Our featured story below extrapolates more on the story, straight from the mouth of The Standells’ Larry Tamblyn himself. After reading what Larry had to say, you can listen to “Try It” below and come to your own conclusions.

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A Special Edition post with Larry Tamblyn of The Standells!
Today's exclusive story comes from Larry Tamblyn, the organist of the garage rock legends, The Standells. Larry chose to share an interesting history regarding his band's song "Try It" from 1967.

A Bit Like You And Me and readers,

The song “Try It” was The Standells’ third single after “Dirty Water.” It was also featured on the album Try It – The Standells. We thought it would be our next hit. Billboard magazine agreed; they deemed the song as our next number one hit for The Standells, and I feel it would have been had it not been for Gordon McLendon.

McLendon was a very powerful man back then- the owner of the radio station KLIF in Dallas, TX. He also had many ties to right-wing politicians and was known to have been a friend of Jack Ruby, the man who killed Lee Harvey Oswald. Many people were frightened of McLendon. He had formed a committee for decency in record lyrics and felt the lyrics to “Try It” encouraged young girls to try sex. Conversely, the song actually had some of the tamest lyrics of many rock songs in those days, like "Let's Spend the Night Together" by The Rolling Stones.

But, McLendon decided to pick on The Standells (because we weren't as big as The Stones). He embarked on a national campaign, visiting major television news stations, and showing our record as an example of filthy record lyrics. Even though the record was the number one seller in many markets, including Los Angeles, most of the radio stations actually listened to McLendon and refused to play it. We investigated McLendon and, of course, discovered he was a major hypocrite. We even debated him on Art Linkletter's House Party, by most accounts defeating him handily; but, to no avail. The song died - and so did the group's popularity and hopes of another hit record.

You can find more details about McLendon on The Standells’ Facebook page. If you visit the photo library “Standells 1962-1969,” you’ll find an L.A. Free Press interview done with me.

Best,
Larry Tamblyn

As I told Larry, it's a real shame that guys like McLendon were out to make a name for themselves at the expense of bands like The Standells. Who knows what could have success could have sprung from the popularity of "Try It"? In my own personal research, I've read that the debate between The Standells and Gordon McLendon on Art Linkletter's Let's Talk segment of his show House Party was severely edited. The band supposedly defeated McLendon so badly in the debate, that the producers of the show heavily edited it to prevent the argument from being too one-sided when it aired.

To visit The Standells' webpage, click here.
To visit The Standells' Facebook page, click here.
To visit The Standells' Twitter page, click here.

And now that you've enjoyed this exclusive story, why not check out what other exclusive stories we've received?

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The Standells - Try It (1967)

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Lyrics:

Alright, baby
It’s alright
I’m gonna tell you somethin’ and you better listen

By the way you look I can tell that you want some action
“Action” is my middle name
Come over here, pretty girl
I’ll give you satisfaction
But two are needed for this game
I’ll give you sweet love you never had before, yeah
You think you’ve seen it all
But you don’t know what’s in store

Come on, try it (Yeah)
Try it (Yeah)
Try it (Yeah)
Try it (Yeah)

You look excited and you figure that it’s just a bluff
Don’t you dare walk away
I’ll get you, tough little chick, before you fall in love
Come here, girl, what do you say?
Just give the word and my good lovin’ will start
I’ll serve a feverish pitch that’s headed straight for your heart, yeah

Come on, try it (Yeah)
Try it (Yeah)
Try it (Yeah)
Try it, baby (Yeah)

Alright
You got me
Aw, you got me
Aw, come on

Girl, once you’ve made up your mind
You’re gonna see that I’m not lyin’

Come on, try it (Yeah)
Try it (Yeah)
Try it (Yeah)
Try it, baby (Yeah)
Try it (Yeah)
Aw, come on, try it (Yeah)
Oh, try it (Yeah)
Oh, try it (Yeah)
Come on, come on, come on (Yeah)
Come on, come on, come on

The Surfmen - Ghost Hop (1962)

California native Ray Hunt and his friends formed a surf rock band in 1960 called The Expressos. After a short period, the band renamed themselves The Surfmen and signed to a local label, Titan Records, which primarily dealt with instrumental and surf rock acts. The band featured Ray Hunt on lead guitar, Nick Drury on rhythm guitar, Randall Anglin on bass, Tim Fitzpatrick on drums, and Armon Frank on saxophone. As “The Surfmen,” the band’s most popular song was probably “Paradise Cove,” released in 1962. The same year of that song’s release saw Ray Hunt part ways with the group, which abruptly had a domino-effect on the remaining members. Hunt was replaced with Jim Masoner; Nick Drury left the band and was replaced with Ed Chiaverini; Randall Anglin was replaced with Ron Griffith; and finally Armon Frank, who left to join Dick Dale & The Del-Tones, was replaced with Joel Willenbring. Since the band’s drummer Tim Fitzpatrick was the only remaining original member of the band, he and his newest bandmates decided to rename themselves to The Lively Ones.

Heard below the featured story is the flip side to The Surfmen’s “Paradise Cove.” Released in the first half of 1962, the record featured the original lineup of The Surfmen: Hunt, Drury, Anglin, Fitzpatrick, and Frank. The song was written by Ray Hunt and released on Titan Records.

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A Special Edition post with Jerry LaFavor of The Expressos!
Today's exclusive story comes from Jerry LaFavor, the drummer of the surf band The Expressos. Jerry was kind enough to submit a bit of backstory about his band, which would eventually evolve into The Surfmen and The Lively Ones.

A Bit Like You And Me and readers,

Here is how I remember it when I was there. We started with a band called The Emeralds, pictured below on a business card. The musicians in that group and pictured there are: Jerry LaFavor (me), drums; Ray Hunt, lead guitar; Nick Drewry, rhythm guitar; and John Blankenship, keyboard. As an aside, Ray Hunt was the best man at my first wedding.

We added a bass player, Del Ward, later on, changed our name to The Expressos, and released a record called "Teenage Express," which you can still hear if you Google the band/song. Our name was changed by our Manager, Aki Aleong, who arranged to get our song pressed and also got us on TV shows like The Wink Martindale Saturday Night Rock & Roll Party. Below is a picture from the Wink Martindale show we did from the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium. My friend took this picture off his TV the evening we were performing. Frankie Avalon and Della Reese were also on this same show. You can Google Aki Aleong and see his long list of musical/acting credentials.

Jerry LaFavor, drums; Del Ward, base; John Blankenship, piano; Nick Drewry, rythum guitar; and Ray Hunt, lead guitar
Note: Wink is hiding behind the piano thinking he is out of the camera’s view…
I left The Expressos to work with an R&R group named Tommy Winters and The Del Reys. I knew Ray went to The Surfmen, but I [mistakenly] thought he moved on to The Lively Ones (which I thought of only as a name change). I played with Eddie Day Chiaverini in those days and I know he was with The Lively Ones. In fact, I have tried to get a hold of him in recent weeks, but to no avail.

Seen above is our sax player, Lewayne; Jerry LaFavor (me) on drums; Larry Carlton on lead (who, today, October 30, 2013, is one of the top ten jazz guitarists in the world); and Tommy Winters. I did not see or hear from Ray Hunt after this [point in time].

Below is an article from the October 2013 Issue of Vegas Voice about me and my band, Age Restricted. Think about this: I started playing drums in my high school band at fourteen and today, at seventy-four, I am still doing the same thing. And you know, someday I might even get it right.

Click to enlarge.

A big 'thank you' to Jerry for taking the time to share his memories with us. Thank you very much, Jerry!

To listen to Jerry's group, The Expressos, check out this video on YouTube.
To listen to Jerry's current group, Age Restricted, check out Jerry's YouTube page.

And now that you've enjoyed this exclusive story, why not check out what other exclusive stories we've received?

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The Surfmen - Ghost Hop (1962)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Peanut Butter Conspiracy - Why Did I Get So High (1967)

John Merrill, Barbara “Sandi” Robison, Alan Brackett, Spencer Dryden, and Jim Cherniss first got together as a band in the mid-‘60s calling themselves The Young Swingers. Although they changed their name to The Ashes and released a few singles, the band was short-lived, disbanding when Dryden joined Jefferson Airplane and Robison took a leave of absence to give birth. In the meantime, Alan Brackett began playing with Lance Baker Fent and Jim Voigt, calling themselves The Crossing Guards. In mid-1966, Robison and Merill reunited with Brackett’s new outfit, and the new five-piece band called themselves The Peanut Butter Controversy. Drummer Jim Voigt had been the one to come up with the name, but according to Alan Brackett, the band “changed it to Conspiracy right away.”

The band’s first album, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy is Spreading, which this song appeared on, was recorded with Gary Usher at the forefront. With ties to The Beach Boys, it’s no wonder that Usher borrowed the talents of Glen Campbell (and James Burton) to improve the PBC’s album. The band, on the other hand, wasn’t pleased with the unwanted personnel additions, and would later disavow the album because of their contributions.

The song heard below, written by John Merrill and Alan Brackett*, appeared as the sixth track on the album. It never charted, but the album itself squeezed itself into the bottom of Billboard’s Top 200. It was never released as a single, most likely because the drug-related lyrics would have surely been banned instantaneously.

*[Update 05/21/2014: Alan Brackett was kind enough to stop by and clear up some of the details about this song. You can read them in the comments below. He also included a link to check out a new album of rare and unreleased material from The Peanut Butter Conspiracy. Definitely check it out in the comments below!]

[Update 01/08/2015: A submission from Alan Brackett has been added to the end of this article.]

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A Special Edition post with Alan Brackett of The Peanut Butter Conspiracy!

These are exerpts from the new book I’m writing and cover a couple of songs I wrote that had drug overtones lyrically and, I guess musically, too.

“Why Did I Get So High” was inspired by The Fugs’ song “I Couldn’t Get High” that Frank Zappa played for us at our Frenchy’s gig in Hayward. I think they were very honest about what they said in their song, but they also didn’t seem to care about being commercial at all or getting airplay. We didn’t care that much, but we were signed to Columbia and I did know that they would not be ready for lyrics like that; so when I wrote “Why Did I Get So High,” I did it about love, with a double meaning. It was fun singing about getting high at gigs. And the audiences loved to sing along with that one; and I’m sure they knew the double meaning. It was all about having great- high- expectations and getting totally carried away, only to ultimately crash and burn. The very last word, “stoned,” instead of “high” is the give-away that the song is not just a cute little love song; and I thought we were lucky to get away with even saying that. Of course, the song didn’t get much airplay because the radio waves weren’t ready yet, either. Boy, have things changed. You can say pretty much anything these days it seems.

Musically, I based the song on classical structure with a different chord for almost every word, instead of the melody, and words floating over chords that are holding for a bar or more. John’s song, “You Took Too Much,” was filled with lines like “you tripped out on the trees” and “you’re trippin’ all the time.” So, I was not alone; that’s for sure.

The opening song from Great Conspiracy was “Turn On A Friend” to which Columbia added the next line in the song to the title in parenthesis (To The Good Life). I knew something like that would happen, and that’s why I wrote the song with that line after “turn on a friend” in the lyrics. Like “Why Did I Get So High” in the first album, I wanted to use double-meaning because I saw it as a way of getting away with saying what I wanted to say. The lyrics were all positive, about helping a friend to have a good trip through their life.

Musically, I wrote the song around some big open chords on the guitar and bass. The half step up from the A in the third chord gives an Eastern sound along with blues chords in the rest of the song. On the double-time instrumental break, Mikael Kollandar played some fast-fingered raga style runs that added to the Eastern flavor. This song was released as a single prior to the album in October of 1967.

Paranoid about the lyric content of the song, Columbia made Billy send out postcards to the DJs and promotion people.

A huge thanks to Alan Brackett for sharing excerpts from his book. It was very kind.

And now that you've enjoyed this exclusive story, why not check out what other exclusive stories we've received?

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The Peanut Butter Conspiracy - Why Did I Get So High (1967)

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Lyrics:

Why did I get so high
Just to fall from the sky?
Why did I get so high
Just to see our love die?
Oh, why did I get so high?

There was a time
I thought you were mine
And the world was new
Filled with thoughts of you

In this state of mind
My love was blind
And the world closed in
On my heart, on my mind
And my love, oh no

Why did I get so high
Just to fall from the sky?
Why did I get so high
Just to see our love die?

Now I'm gone, I can't go on
'cause my heart is dead
And so is my head
But I live on to spite the world
'cause there was a time
I thought you were mine
And the world was new
Filled with thoughts of you

Why did I get so high
Just to fall from the sky?
Why did I get so high
Just to see our love die?
Oh, why did I get so high?

Why did I get so stoned?

Sons of Adam - Saturday's Son (1966)

Originally known as The Fender IV (previously featured), this band first came together in Baltimore, Maryland in 1962. When the band relocated their surf sound to Southern California, they built up their audience with frequent performances on Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip. At this time, the group consisted of Randy Holden, Joe Kooken, Mike Port, and Michael Stuart. When Beatlemania and the British Invasion diminished the surf genre in late ’63 and early ’64, the band renamed themselves to that which is seen above and changed their style to R&B and rock. In 1965, the band released their first single, “Take My Hand” / “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day,” which led to them appearing in the movie The Slender Thread. In 1966, after the release of their second single, lead singer and guitarist Randy Holden left the band to join The Other Half (previously featured), while the band relocated to San Francisco and replaced Holden with Craig Tarwater. They released one more single, “Feathered Fish” / “Baby Show the World” before splitting up. Michael Stuart would go on to join Love from 1966 until 1968, playing drums on their highly acclaimed Forever Changes album. After The Other Half, Randy Holden would also join Blue Cheer, playing on their third album, New! Improved! Blue Cheer.

Written by Lou Josie, this song featured Holden on lead vocals/lead guitar and appeared as the B-Side on the band’s second single, featuring the A-Side “Mr. You’re a Better Man Than I”. It was produced by Gary Usher, the same guy who created Sagittarius, and released on July 15, 1966.

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A Special Edition post with Randy Holden
of The Fender IV, Sons of Adam, The Other Half, and Blue Cheer!
I'm starting to lose count of how many exclusive stories we've received. We've been very lucky with the generosity of these artists. Today's story comes from Randy Holden, the guitarist and vocalist of bands such as The Fender IV, Sons of Adam, The Other Half, and Blue Cheer. Randy was kind enough to submit a very funny story, which you can read below. After the story, be sure to listen to the Sons of Adam's "Saturday's Son".

A Bit Like You And Me and readers,

The measures young guys have to effect to carve the path to their dreams are often the roads not trod upon, especially when money is not an inherited oil to smooth the ways, as was an occasion in 1963 when my dream of taking my band to California was an impossible dream for a poor kid. However, never let a small thing like money deter you, as a small thing, such as a bee, has powerful potential.

I finally had most of the pieces in place to make the move to the West Coast in pursuit of my dream to be in the biggest band in the world (it’s important to know that this was before The Beatles, as no one ever heard of the British Invasion at this time in history). The plan was: the bass player, Mike, had a 1953 Mercury and I had a 1957 Ford. We were going to trade both of these in for a 1959 VW Beetle bus. That bus would carry us and our gear anywhere we needed to go. My ‘57 Ford had a blown engine, but the dealer still wanted it. The very day the trade was to take place and provide our freedom-ticket to California the next day, a bee flew in the window of my ‘57 Ford, as the rhythm guitarist, Jo-Jac, was on his way to trade it in to the dealer.

Joe changed his name to Jac later, which took a while getting used to, so he became Jo-Jac during the transition. So we'll call him Jac for now.

Jac was a pretty decent sort. I liked him because he actually had the courage to drop everything the future held and go ripping off to California on what most conservative-minded folks in Baltimore deemed “a dizzy daydream.” None of the others I asked were willing to take on my flight of fantasy, but Joe- or, Jac and Mike.

Joe had really poor eyesight. He wore glasses that looked like they were a half inch thick and, even with them, he didn't see particularly well. Given such circumstances... Not only did the bee fly in the window of the car while Jac was behind the wheel, it flew underneath his eyeglasses and into his eye! How such things happen are impossible to know!

As fate would have it, with Jac flailing wildly, trying to knock his glasses off his face, the only thing clear was that Jac could see nothing as he careened my ‘57 Ford into a parked car, stripping the passenger side of its mirror and every strip of chrome down the side (along with the paint) and re-shaping the whole side of that old Ford!

I knew none of this while I sat [at Jac's] waiting for Jac to come back from a visit to his doctor to get some Asthma medication for his trip to California, borrowing my car to do it. Next thing I know is Jac walking through the door saying, “I have some bad news…”

“A bee flew in the window, into my eye as I was driving, and stung me.” “Well, gee, that's bad luck,” I offered, asking if he was okay. Jac said, “Yeah, I’m okay, but that's not the bad news! The bad news is I wrecked your car!”

WTF ... “Are you crazy, out of your mind, or what!?” I screamed.

I ran out to see the damage, and sure ‘nuff, the whole side was stripped down to metal. I saw my one and only chance of getting out of Baltimore going up in a billowing, hopeless smoke.

I blew my top and took off madder than a hive full of hornets. If I stayed, God knows what I might have done to Jac. I slammed his front door so hard, the panes of glass shattered and I heard his mom say, “He's crazy! I don't want you going to California with him!” I remember thinking, “What 'California'? We're not going anywhere now.” But Jac came running out, yelling, “It’s okay, man, it’s okay. I'll still trade it in for the bus.”

About that time, Mike came walking up and asked, “What happened to Randy's car?” Jac tried to explain. Jac told Mike the story and how he and Mike were still going to pull off the trade deal! Jac said, “It’s simple! There’s a hill above the car dealer. All we do is start the cars rolling from the top of the hill, drift them into the dealership, and hide the damaged side of the Ford by stopping it beside one of the cars in the lot, close enough so no one can get between them.”

As I listened intently and with some amazement, Jac told me, “Don't worry! We're going to California!”

Next morning, the cars were pushed in train-like fashion by me in Jac’s mom’s car, Jac in my car, and Mike in the front with his car. Once I pushed them over the top, I was to wait there until they came back.

Twenty minutes later, Jac comes pulling up beside me in the red VW van, saying, “Let’s go to California!”

They said it went off without a hitch. They drifted the cars in, one following the other, and parked so the damaged side wasn't visible. And the dealer came out holding the keys to the VW van, handed them to Jac, and he and Mike got out of there and never looked back! I was in disbelief they actually pulled it off.

Next morning we were on the road to California! We made it all the way to Tennessee before pulling over for the night. Then, the next morning, we drove all day into Georgia. We were looking for a place to pull off the road to sleep as Jac was driving. I was sitting shotgun, while Mike sat on one of the amps. Jac saw a break on the roadside that looked good to pull off. I saw a sign and- ever the one to never miss a good opportunity for some fun, I said “What's that sign say?,” knowing it was a bit distant to make out. Just as Jac pulled off onto some soft grass that took a steep bumpy drop, I said, “Oh my God! It says, ‘Danger, Quicksand’!”

I sold it hook, line, and sinker.

You never saw bodies grow wings so fast in your life, while I chuckled my tail off! Hahaha! I've never forgotten what an expression of sheer panic looks like since. It was a small payback. :-)

That was the beginning of a few years of insanity with my band The Fender IV becoming Sons of Adam.

Best to you all,

Randy Holden

That was great! It's a shame there was no way to follow-up with the guy who purchased the scratched vehicle. I'd have really enjoyed to see his face when he realized what happened! A huge thank you goes to Randy for taking the time to share this hilarious story with us. I think it's definitely one of the funniest we've received!

To visit Randy's personal website, click here.
If you'd like to purchase any of Randy's work, please visit here.
To see the other posts on A Bit Like You And Me that have featured Randy's playing, click here.

And now that you've enjoyed this exclusive story, why not check out what other exclusive stories we've received?

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Sons of Adam - Saturday's Son (1966)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Thirteenth child of a thirteenth child
Born in the back streets and growing up wild
Thirteenth son of a thirteenth son
What was my sin or what have I done?

Why am I cursed to walk alone?
Where is the love that I’ve never known?
No hand is open, there is no one
For the thirteenth child, Saturday’s son

Thirteen letters spell my name
Born with a shriek and a scream of pain
Thirteenth hour of the thirteenth day
Left with a mark that will stay and stay

Why am I cursed to walk this land?
Searching for one friendly hand
There’s no pleasure, not one bit of fun
For the thirteenth child, Saturday’s son

Somebody, somewhere, help me please
And say just one kind word for me
And let the spell become undone
For the thirteenth child, Saturday’s son

Woah, Saturday’s son
Yeah, Saturday’s son

Kaleidoscope - (Love Song) For Annie (1969)

Kaleidoscope is no stranger to this website, as they’ve been recognized for their great music here more than once before. Be sure to read up on the previous posts if you’re unfamiliar with this band and their phenomenal body of work.

After the hype died down from the release of the band’s debut album, Tangerine Dream, in 1967, the band followed up with the 1968 release of their single “Jenny Artichoke”/“Just How Much You Are.” In the same year, they took to touring heavily around Europe in an effort to boost their record sales, which unfortunately hadn’t met expectations. While in the Netherlands, they opened for Country Joe and the Fish. In August of 1968, the band began recording the tracks for their second album, Faintly Blowing, which featured a much harder approach to their usually dreamy psychedelic style. Unfortunately, despite this new, harder image, the album failed to chart. Having frustrated Fontana Records, the band was next forced to record two songs written by Fontana’s staff writers, taking the writing privilege away from band member Peter Daltrey. Distraught with being forced in a direction they didn’t like, the band called it quits. Their last appearance under the Kaleidoscope name was August 21st, 1968. Luckily, the band continued on under the name Fairfield Parlour.

The song heard below the story, released on the Faintly Blowing album, was released in April 1969 and never charted. As with all of the band’s songs, the lyrics were written by lead vocalist Peter Daltrey, and the music was arranged by lead guitarist Eddy Pumer.

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A Special Edition post with Peter Daltrey of Kaleidoscope & Fairfield Parlour!
When you think of Kaleidoscope, the first thing that comes to mind is the amazing imagery in the lyrics. Those lyrics were Peter Daltrey's. Peter was the lead vocalist and lyrics for both Kaleidoscope and its reincarnated Fairfield Parlour. If you'd like a colorful window into Peter's early years, check out the story he was kind enough to share with us. When you're done, check out "(Love Song) For Annie" below.

A Bit Like You And Me and readers,

I was asked just the other day what my earliest formative musical influences were.

Let’s go back to 1962; I think that’s early enough!

My mate Les and I used to go to see the rock shows that toured Britain, appearing at the cinema chains. You’d see five or six acts on the same bill. Each would do their hit and a couple of other songs and then scuttle off stage to make way for the next, latest sensation. Again, my memory fails me. I would love to recall the acts I saw, but they’ve vanished into some dingy corner of my soggy cerebellum. I know we did see people like Chuck Berry, Del Shannon, Dion, and I can never forget two acts in particular: Gene Vincent and Billy Fury.

An electric, palpable hum of expectation preceded Vincent’s appearance. He was announced to a blacked-out theatre; we all cheered and then we heard this scraping sound. Then the spots came on and there was Gene with his trademark, crooked-man pose, hanging onto the mike stand. “Beebop a lula, she’s ah my baby..." What a cool guy. Greasy quiff; chiselled, craggy, white face; baby blue, satin shirt; tight black pants -- and a shimmering metal brace holding his leg together. Vincent had been in the car the night Eddie Cochran got mashed. Old Gene, he busted his leg good ‘n’ proper. So now he had to drag it around like some death trophy, a constant reminder of the night the Grim Reaper took the great Cochran up the three steps to heaven.

A few years later, I was walking down a West End street when a black taxi pulled up beside me. The door opened and out stepped an oldish guy in a long, coffee-coloured raincoat. But it was the metal leg I saw first. I looked up and there was sweet Gene – older but no less handsome. Tired eyes just glimpsed behind prerequisite shades, that firm jaw, that liquorice slick hair. He hobbled into an office doorway, his coat tails flashing, and was gone – leaving me gaping and speechless in his rock-legend wake. I wanted to shake his hand, thank him for, well, everything I guess: the music, the excitement, the day dreams of emulating the broken rock ‘n’ roll iconography that he created. But the door swung closed and I never saw him again.

The night we saw Billy Fury is engraved in gold lame on my brain. Again, a rumbling hush of anticipation, the announcement, the plush red curtains pull back, the band kicks in -- and there is this glimmering, dazzling, blindingly handsome creature: Billy Fury. He’s wearing a bronze, silk Italian suit that ripples like holy water. He’s better looking than Jesus. He sneers like an angel. The girls are dying. The boys are open-mouthed not believing what they’re seeing. His perfectly unkempt golden quiff. The devil glint of his eyes. His genuine rock voice: cool, broken, aching. And his very tight trousers! My God! What’s that!? The management pulled the curtain on him. After what must have been a heated discussion in the wings, the show started again with Fury slightly less furious in the pants department. What a night.

Turns out, Billy was a quiet, shy, reticent guy who would rather spend his days petting his horses than being mauled by packs of panting schoolgirls. And then along came guitar bands and wrecked the careers of so many handsome crooners with dodgy, made-up names. And then Billy died.

Like a million teenage boys, I’d dreamt of being in a band- no, that’s not true. I’d dreamt of being center stage, blinded by the spotlight, writhing against the silver mast of a microphone stand with a thousand girls screaming, mine for the taking. Nancy boy dreamer.

In many ways, I have achieved that dream that engulfed me when I was eighteen: I’m a singer, albeit mostly unheard by the masses. That’s okay. I still have ambitions. I want to write just one song that is half as good as anything that Buddy Holly recorded. He is my musical hero. A brilliant artist cut down literally in his prime. You can listen to any Holly track today and it still sounds as fresh as on the day poor Buddy stood up in the studio and sang his heart out. (Listen to “Dreaming of Holly” on the album I recorded with sweet Damien Youth, Tattoo www.rocketgirl.co.uk )

And then just last month, I find myself one late afternoon standing in a deserted street in Lubbock, Texas, the falling sun at my back, dust on my boots, and the stars in my eyes. I’m banging on the door of The Buddy Holly Center. But Buddy ain’t home; no-one’s home. Closed.

I stand outside faintly amused by the giant, black spectacles- the fading mural of The Crickets on the grubby wall of a roadside cafe. But this is Buddy’s hometown. He would have ridden his motorbike down this street- taken a girl to that cinema. But was probably too young to have sunk a beer in that bar.

His oversized statue towers over me. I feel small and humbled in his shadow. But as I walk away, “Raining In My Heart” is echoing through my brain, electrifying as always. The music is timeless.

“You could have lived for a thousand years in your own clear light,” I sang on “Dreaming of Holly.” Now I truly believe it.

Peter Daltrey

A huge 'thank you' to Peter Daltrey for taking the time to share this story with us. It's always nice to hear about the people who inspired our favorite artists. Peter's vivid accounts of his youth painted quite the picture!

To see Peter's site, click here.
To see the site for Kaleidoscope/Fairfield Parlour, click here.
To like Kaleidoscope on Facebook and be kept up with the latest news, click here.

And now that you've enjoyed this exclusive story, why not check out what other exclusive stories we've received?

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Kaleidoscope - (Love Song) For Annie (1969)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Come, all ye non-believers, feel the creases in her brow
Look once and then you'll know she was not very loud
Touch her eyes and feel the shadows growing on her face
Take seconds to catch your breath before you slow the pace

Come, all ye non-believers, but leave your books behind
Your knowledge is wasted here, for love there's always time
Reach out for emptiness as she crowds you from the room
Let falling tears paint your face but don't do it too soon

Take time for Annie
She would love to see your face
Be kind for Annie
Spread out a little place

Come, all ye non-believers, break the bread and drink the wine
Give her your baited breath, for love there's always time
Fall down around her feet, let her walk upon your hands
Let your tears be like a sea, do everything you can

Take time for Annie
She would love to see your face
Be kind for Annie
Spread out a little place
Listen
But forever is a time you'll never know

Come, all ye non-believers, break the bread and drink the wine
Give her your baited breath, for love there's always time
Fall down around her feet, let her walk upon your hands
Let your tears be like a sea, do everything you can

The Nightcrawlers - Sally in Our Alley (1966)

Having previously written about this band, you may want to check out our previous post, The Nightcrawlers - The Little Black Egg (1965), which featured the band’s most famous song, “The Little Black Egg.” It’s also a topic in the story given to us by Sylvan Wells below, so you may want to visit that page and give the song a listen if you’re unfamiliar with it.

Today’s song, as heard below Sylvan’s story, was released on the band’s compilation album, titled The Little Black Egg after their hit song, and released in the year 2000. The compilation is largely made up of songs from the band's only full-length album, The Little Black Egg (1967), and the singles released by the band. I'm not certain, but I don't believe this song was ever released as a single or on their sole album. I believe it was first released to the public on the 2000 compilation album, despite having been presumably recorded in 1966.

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A Special Edition post with Sylvan Wells of The Nightcrawlers!
I was fortunate enough to recently make contact with Sylvan Wells, one of the original members of The Nightcrawlers. Sylvan was kind enough to take the time away from his latest endeavor, making guitars, to share a very interesting story from his time with his band.

A Bit Like You And Me and readers,

I thought I would share with you a story that I fondly remember most of all in my days with The Nightcrawlers. All of us went to high school in Daytona Beach, Florida. At the time we started, we had no idea that Daytona Beach was becoming a hotbed for musical talent. We were all just high school friends who decided to start a band in late 1964 while we all went to the local Junior College. The original Nightcrawlers were Rob Rouse, Pete Thomason, Tom Ruger, Chuck Conlon, and Sylvan Wells; and our manager was Mike Stone. All the members are still great friends to this day. That, in itself, is pretty amazing!

There was only one other band in the town then and they became our friendly, but serious competition. They were much better musicians than we were, but we were writing our own material, largely because we were not good enough to learn to play most of the material on the radio. We were friends, but rivals. I learned a lot (and needed it) from their very sharing, lead guitar player.

But, we got lucky first and secured a regular Saturday night job from September of that year, 1964, until just past Easter of 1965. Playing every week at a guaranteed place and with a huge crowd forced us to keep writing better material and performing better and better. We had fun, but we also got good.

At the same time, on the other side of town, the other band played sporadically at another recreation center. Often, when we finished our job, we would go see them play. But the entire crowd was always at our place. The other band just couldn’t get anyone (but other musicians) to come see them.

In any event, our two bands were invited to open for The Beach Boys at our local ball park the Saturday night before Easter (1965). This was a big deal to us; our first chance to play with a major act. That Saturday afternoon, both Daytona Beach bands set up their equipment on opposite sides of the main stage. We laughed and nervously joked around most of the afternoon. We ultimately decided, together, that we would end our respective openings with both bands taking their respective stages and alternating verses to Ray Charles’ “What I Say.” It was going to be fun!

In the meantime, we had written a catchy guitar lick for a song that our lyricist and singer, Chuck Conlon, was told to make about Easter. We would introduce it that night as being written specially for the Easter concert. He came up with lyrics for “The Little Black Egg.” The lyrics had absolutely nothing to do with Easter (or anything else for that matter). Collectively, the band did not think much of the song; rather, we figured it would be a throwaway just for The Beach Boys' Easter concert.

That night we were introduced and played for the first time “The Little Black Egg.” The crowd loved it! To say we were shocked would have been an understatement! In spite of our ambivalence for the song, it became the band’s signature. We had other singles, but nothing approached [the success of] “The Little Black Egg.” And the song has had enormous staying power. There are countless YouTube videos of people performing it. As I write this almost forty-eight years later, “The Little Black Egg” has been covered by over thirty groups, including Tommy James, The Music Explosion, The Cars, and countless others (including one cover in Mandarin Chinese!). We certainly never expected it!

Oh, the other band that opened with us that night? Back then they were called The Escorts (Maynard Portwood, Van Harrison, and Gregg and Duane Allman). You know them today as The Allman Brothers Band.

Sylvan Wells

Please take a look at the guitars I make for musicians today! See www.WellsGuitars.com and www.BayStateGuitar.com for more information!

Wow! Did you see that coming? I was hoping that The Nightcrawlers' friendly local rivals were somebody famous, but I didn't expect to hear that it was Duane and Gregg Allman. How cool is that? Many, many thanks to Sylvan for his generosity and time sharing this great story.

There's a documentary about the band called Cracking the Egg: The Untold Story of The Nightcrawlers, but I can't seem to find a trustworthy website that sells it. If you're interested, you may want to search the web looking for it. In the meantime, I'll keep from posting any links until a reliable source can provide a trustworthy link toward purchasing the documentary.

To visit Sylvan Wells' websites about making guitars, be sure to visit www.WellsGuitars.com and www.BayStateGuitar.com.

And now that you've enjoyed this exclusive story, why not check out what other exclusive stories we've received?

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The Nightcrawlers - Sally in Our Alley (1966)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

Of all the girls that are so smart
There’s none like pretty Sally
She is the darling of my heart
And she lives in our alley

There’s ne’er a lady in the land
That’s half as sweet as Sally
She is the darling of my heart
And she lives in our alley

Why won’t she love me?
Please tell me why
Why won’t she give me
The chance to make her cry?

They’ve come today
Took her away
They took my pretty Sally

She is the darling of my heart
And she lives in our alley

Why won’t she love me?
Please tell me why
Why won’t she give me
The chance to make her cry?

They’ve come today
Took her away
They took my pretty Sally

She is the darling of my heart
And she lives in our alley

And she lives in our alley

The Other Half - The Girl with the Long Black Hair (1967)

Note: This is The Other Half from Chicago, Illinois.
For The Other Half based in Oneonta, New York, click here.
For The Other Half based in Greenville, Texas click here.
For The Other Half based in Los Angeles/San Francisco, click here.

Originally known as The U.F.O.’s (but not to be confused with the all-female U.F.O.’s previously featured), this Northwest Chicago-based band was formed in 1965. Initially composed of Steve Moroniak (lead guitar), Fred Langworthy (rhythm guitar), and George Hancock (drums), the band first started performing at a local pizza restaurant, Scaccios, where a friend of the band had been working delivering pizzas. Eventually the band came across a sign in Chicago by a bassist looking for a band. Greg Madsen was added to the lineup and the band became complete. The band could frequently be found playing at private parties, not having much interest in the spotlight, playing at clubs, or playing at school dances. They made two local television appearances; one on the Spanish-speaking Raul Cardona Show and the other on The CET Amateur Showcase, a local talent program where they won first place. Although the band never officially split up, some members parted ways after deciding to move out of town or because they were starting new families. New members have been added over the years, but the original members of the group remain in contact to this day. Sadly, the band’s rhythm guitarist Fred passed away.

With lyrics written by the group’s drummer George and recorded by the band in 1967, this song was a demo recording laid down by the band at Chicago’s Recordings Unlimited. It wasn’t a commercial release, but more of a promotional single. George sang the lead and the entire group added harmony vocals in unison after the music and lead vocals were recorded. The band had three-hundred copies pressed to mail out. Although big venues like The Tonight Show politely rejected them, the single was well received by family and close friends.

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A Special Edition post with Steve Moroniak,
George Hancock, and Greg Madsen of The Other Half!
The members of the Chicago-based band The Other Half were kind enough to recently submit exclusive stories from their times as musicians in the 1960s. After you've read their tales, be sure to listen to their song, "Girl with the Long Black Hair," below!

A Bit Like You And Me and readers,

Most bands have had their share of dealing with the "inebriated" types, especially at private parties, which we played more of; so here's two:

As recalled by Steve: The song we were playing was "Monday, Monday" by The Mamas & The Papas and if anyone's familiar with the song, there's a break towards the end with a pause, then they come back in singing, "Monday, Monday...". There was this guy who had way too much to drink, bugging me during most of the song, and he was very persistent trying to sing into my microphone. You get the picture. Nothing could ward him off. Finally, towards the end of the song, this break comes up with a long pause. I had enough and did something so unlike me: I straight-armed the guy. Nothing violent, but enough to push him away. The fellow was so far gone, he stumbled back a few steps, increasing his backward momentum, then fell on his butt in the middle of the dance-floor and slid a couple of feet. The room went silent, then suddenly erupted with applause. As if nothing happened, I came back in singing, "Monday, Monday...". The applause grew even louder. It was great!

As recalled by George: We were playing a private party in a hall above a bowling alley in Chicago and this guy who had a little too much to drink kept hitting my crash cymbal with a woman’s high-heeled shoe. I warned him twice to stop and the third time he hit it I jumped off the stage and chased him down the stairs onto the sidewalk, where he kept running, and could still be running today for all I know. When I got back upstairs, the guys were still playing so I got back behind the drums and finished the song with them.

We all love this one: A story about our very first public gig on July 13, 1966. At the time, we called ourselves "The UFO's". We changed our name to The Other Half prior to appearing on The C.E.T. Amateur Showcase in 1967.

Our drummer was delivering pizza's for Scaccio's on Fullerton Ave, in Chicago. They had a lounge downstairs and often had live entertainment. We put together a quick recording of some of our songs and presented it to the owner; and, you must remember we couldn't have been together for a year at this point. He liked what he heard, so a date was booked. We arrived and started loading in the front door. Our jaws dropped when someone noticed this huge sign in the front window: "In from Las Vegas, for one night only: The UFO's". This is the absolute ultimate "OMG". It's also the first time any of us sang in public, as most of our material was instrumental. "New Orleans" by Eddie Hodges was one that Steve attempted, but forgot a verse. Nice time to forget the words, huh? Those "pro's" from Vegas sure had short memories. Where's a drunk when you need one to sing into your microphone?

Sincerely,
The Other Half

I'd like to give a huge thanks to all members of The Other Half for taking the time to share their stories. They're a great example of it going to show that great music could be found in every city as long as you were willing to look for it.

To visit The Other Half's site, which features tons of information about the band, click here.
To watch The Other Half's television appearance on The CET Amateur Showcase, click here.
If you'd like to listen to the group's song "The Girl with the Long Black Hair," you can hear it below or watch their video on YouTube with accompanying pictures and narration.

And now that you've enjoyed this exclusive story, why not check out what other exclusive stories we've received?

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The Other Half - The Girl with the Long Black Hair (1967)

Loading the ABLYAM player...(Might not work on mobile devices)

Lyrics:

I loved a girl
The girl with the long black hair
She stands five-foot six
And her feet are bare

I’m going to take a trip
A trip across the sea
We’ll be together
Until eternity

I ain’t got no time
No time to lose
My shirt is pressed
And I just got done shinin’ my shoes

Yeah

I’m gonna take a trip
Far across the sea
And we’ll be together
Until eternity

I love the girl
The girl with the long black hair
She stands five-foot six
And her feet are bare

Now I ain’t got no time
No time to lose
My shirt is pressed
And I just got done shinin’ my shoes

Yeah

The long, long, long, long
Long, long, long black hair

The long, long, long, long
Long, long, long black hair

The long, long, long, long
Long, long, long black hair

The Barbarians - Moulty (1966)

Formed in Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1964, this band was originally composed of band members Victor “Moulty” Moulton (drums), Bruce Benson (rhythm guitar), Ronnie Enos (lead guitar), and Jerry Causi (bass). They had three relatively successful songs: “Hey Little Bird” which they played in the concert film The T.A.M.I. Show alongside numerous famous acts of the time (The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry etc.); “Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?” which reached number fifty-five in 1965; and the song featured below. The group decided to make their stage outfits resembles those of pirates/beach bums, as their drummer “Moulty” Moulton had a hook for a hand. The band worse baggy, long-sleeve blouses, had longer than usual hair, and wore leather sandals. In 1965, guitarist Geoffrey Morris replaced Ronnie Enos on lead guitar and brought the song “Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?” with him. After their third hit, heard below, began to take off, the band wanted to tour around in Boulder, Colorado. Moulty refused. Morris, Benson, and Causi went anyway with “B.B.” Fieldings (vocals), Oak O’Connor (drums), and Tom Mulcahy (guitar) as replacements. After their stint in Boulder, the new members took their act to San Francisco and renamed themselves Black Pearl.

Released as the A-Side of the group’s fourth single, this song was written by Doug Morris, Eliot Greenberg, Barbara Baer, and Robert Schwartz. Morris would later go on to be the head of Universal Music Group. The song is sung by band’s drummer, Moulty, and tells the autobiography of his life and how he overcame losing his hand when a homemade pipe bomb went off in his face in 1959 when he was fourteen. Quite interestingly, Moulty didn’t record the song with his usual bandmates and released it without their approval. He instead recorded the vocals while being backed by Levon & The Hawks, featuring Levon Helm: the band that was backing Bob Dylan at the time and would later go on to be known as The Band. The song reached number ninety on the Billboard charts, ninety-seven on the Cash Box charts, and was backed by the B-Side “I’ll Keep on Seeing You.”

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A Special Edition post with Victor "Moulty" Moulton of The Barbarians!
And here again is another great interview! This time we had the honor to talk with The Barbarian’s legendary drummer Moulty!

It was already running through my mind as I left a voicemail for Moulty that I’d need to leave a pretty convincing voicemail to get a call back. But just as I was a sentence or two in, a thick Bostonian accent interrupts me and says hello. It’s Moulty! Success! I make my pitch to him about scheduling an interview and I was lucky that he just so happened to have a few minutes at that very moment. He shuts his door for some privacy and I start peppering him with questions.

A Bit Like You And Me: How did The Barbarians start? What’s their origin?

Victor “Moulty” Moulton:Well it started at the end of the Cape [Cod] in Provincetown, Massachusetts, my hometown. I was a drummer with my new drums. I was working in Boston and I would come back to Ptown for the summer. Talkin’ to a cousin of mine who worked at this place called The Rumpus Room- at one time it was an old jazz club where people danced and they’d play music there and it was abandoned for many years. And it was just left with a long bar and the fishermen would sit in there and drink beers, ya know? In the front area, there was a bigger place called The Old Colony that was part of the same building. And that kept goin’ on for years- it’s still goin’ on. But, my cousin asked me to, uh- I told him I was a drummer. He said, “Hey, great. You gotta band?” I said, “Oh, sure,” lyin’, of course. I didn’t have a band. And he says, “Well okay, great. You oughta work- play- you ought’a come down here and play. “Set your drums up and just play over there,” ya know? I said, “Oh sure, no problem.” I mean, there was no money involved. It was just to play. I thought if I ever played in front of anyone- that would be my dream. “Oh, boy! I played for someone!” and that would be it. (laughter) I could show off in front of someone. So, lo and behold, a couple of days later, he called me and said, “Hey, Moulty.” I said, “What?!” He says, “Guess what! You’re playin’ here Saturday night!” (laughter) I said, (shocked) “You gotta be kiddin’ me!”

(laughter)

I didn’t even have a band, ya know? I said, “Oh, no! …okay.” Well of course there wasn’t any money involved. We just set out in the car and had fun playin’ in front of whoever walked in there, you know? Well, I got a few guys together and we showed up Saturday night and, all of a sudden, the place was (slight pause) jammed. It was summertime in Cod town; it was like a carnival, anyway! And it was crazy. It was jammed. People were walkin’ up the aisles in the streets and we were a big success, ya know? They all thought we were great, of course, but there wasn’t much to compare us to. I mean, The Beatles had just came out. The [Rolling] Stones had just came out. Nobody to compare anybody to in those days, ya know? They just saw a bunch of wild guys with long hair makin’ a bunch a’ noise; a guy [Moulty] on a set a’ drums, spittin’, and he had a hook instead of a hand playin’ the drums. And I must’a looked like I was from Mars, you know? So, hey, you know, all of a sudden the record companies came and, before the end of the summer, we were signin’ up with companies and goin’ off to New York. They took us away and started our career.

ABLYAM: And speaking of The Stones, you appeared with them on that concert film, The T.A.M.I. Show, right?

Moulty: Oh, yeah. (recalling) They were on The T.A.M.I. Show, yep. They were young guys, too.

ABLYAM: Unfortunately, I never saw it, but did you actually appear alongside them or right after them or was it a bunch of clips that they kind of just put together?

Moulty: It was- all the bands together were there for a week. It was one movie. We were all there, all the time. We hung around, played around, and then, the last three days of the movie production- it was just a rock ‘n’ roll show, it was an actual movie with a rock ‘n’ roll show. The last three days were three live shows. Because they had the camera crew, the whole movie crew- you know, they have to do all their stuff, plan all their stuff- and sound crews, recording crews. And this was 1964, of course.

So, the first show was a show without an audience, other than the movie crews and all the people involved in the show. The last two shows were full, live shows with full, live audiences. All jammed with crazy and wild kids, you know? And they picked the best of the last two and that was the movie.

ABLYAM: Did you guys get to spend any time, socially, with the other bands that were there?

Moulty: All the time. We were there for a whole week, yeah.

ABLYAM: You’ve got to have some type of stories or something interesting that happened in that week. I know something crazy must have happened.

Moulty: Oh, a lot of things happened every day. In the music scene, whether you’re makin’ a movie or doin’ a show or on tour, you know. But, yeah, that was a great film because it was like the starting point of a brand new era in the music industry. The old was goin’ and the new was coming through. The British Invasion was just coming through, so The Stones and Gerry & the Pacemakers were in the movie. Guys like us were in there probably to represent the United States. And they had The Supremes and James Brown and Chuck Berry and then Lesley Gore. That was the old generation. And what happened was, they took that movie, because of its influence and the complete change of the industry- it’s in the Library of Congress now.

ABLYAM: Oh, wow. I did not know that. That’s great.

Moulty: Yeah, yeah. I didn’t know that at first, either.

ABLYAM: I’m gonna have to find and watch that because that sounds really interesting.

Moulty: Oh, well, you’ll see The Supremes, ya know, they’re young girls there. Fantastic, ya know? They were great. Anybody that’s great was great no matter how old they were. You don’t get great, you’re born great, ya know? They were always great. The Stones were great. Young guys, ya know. And James Brown- that was the first time he ever played to a white audience. If it wasn’t for The T.A.M.I. Show, you wouldn’t know James Brown, really. And you may not have known The Rolling Stones too much, ‘cause that’s basically how they broke out and conquered the United States.. by startin’ out on The T.A.M.I. Show.

ABLYAM: Very interesting.

Moulty: Yes, just like The Beatles had to conquer the United States before they took over the world. So there were a lot of people there you might not know if it wasn’t for that show.

ABLYAM: And talkin’ about being the American representatives of that show, I was rea-

Moulty: I’m not sure if I was the American representative. I just assume I kinda was, ya know.

ABLYAM: Right, well, I was just going to take that in the direction of people calling you guys America’s Rolling Stones. Had you ever heard that before?

Moulty: Hmm, not in that way, no. I’ve heard, “an answer to The British Invasion” and whatever, but I wouldn’t put myself in that category. I couldn’t compete against anyone, really, ya know? I mean, they’re all so wonderful. I loved The Beatles and The Stones- I loved them all. Ya know, we’re all so different. And that’s what I would think, ya know? Whatever. Whatever people say, people say. I don’t mind.

ABLYAM: Yeah. (laughter) I’d say there’s nothing wrong with being compared to them, right?

Moulty: I don’t care what they say. (laughter)

ABLYAM: Well, I know towards the end of the first incarnation of The Barbarians, three of the guys split off and went into [the band] Black Pearl because of a trip to Boulder, Colorado. What was it about this trip to Boulder, Colorado? I read that you didn’t want to go.

Moulty: No, we were between hits at the time. We had left our record company. We didn’t like some of the things they were doing with us and so we, foolishly, left the company. So we were without a company, really, ya know? The only way to stay in the business was to get another hit. We only had two with “Boy/Girl” [Note: “Are You A Boy Or Are You A Girl?”] and “Moulty” and then we didn’t hit with another one. We tried. So we had to get another single out. And at the time, the guys wanted to change and do some “soul rock” kinda stuff. And I didn’t. I wanted to continue it The Barbarians’ way. So we had a split there in ideas of what we wanted to do. I didn’t wanna go to California and become an “acid” rock/blues/soul band, ya know? But they did. They wanted to do their thing they went their way and I stayed my way. So they went out there and they made a bunch’a noise out there. They never hit anything- never charted any songs. But they were good. I’m glad they were good, I mean Geoffrey Morris, who was my lead guitar player, no matter what he does or who he’s with, he’s gonna shine everyone, ya know? He’s just a tremendous guy, ya know. So that’s when they started The Black Pearl.

ABLYAM: You’ve probably told this story a bunch of times, but for anybody who doesn’t know, would you mind sharing what your fourteen-year-old self was doing with a homemade pipe bomb and how things went horribly wrong?

Moulty: Well, I was a fourteen year old kid, but I wasn’t the average fourteen year old kid. I grew up in Ptown [Note: Pronvincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts], one of the craziest places there is. And I was probably one of the craziest of the craziest. (laughter) And I grew up in the sand dunes and beaches of Ptown. I had long hair when I was a teenager; not because of the rock ‘n’ roll business- this was before that. It was because my idol was Johnny Weismuller, who played Tarzan.

ABLYAM: Yeah! Alright.

Moulty: He had that big, cool, long hair and I wanted to be cool under any condition, you know? So I grew my hair long, regardless of how I shamed my parents and everything; but, that’s why I grew my long hair. So when the music scene came along, I didn’t have to change my hairstyle. So that’s how I got long hair and, um- was that the question you asked?

ABLYAM: Oh, no. I mean, it’s only if you wanna talk about it, but I was curious- I mean, I read that you had accidentally lost your hand with an accident involving a pipebomb.

Moulty: Oh, yeah! Yeah! Well, I was wild. I used to make a lot of bombs in the backyard with my friends and blow ‘em off and, this time, I was makin’ a pretty good-sized one. And it blew me to smithereens. It went off when I was makin’ it. I lost my left hand, ya know- I was a guitarist, ya know. And I was a kick-ass little guitarist. I was, at a very young age, I was playin’ the guitar. My family were guitarist themselves. And then by the time I was fourteen I was pretty darn good, ya know? And then I, uh (laughter) I blew myself up! I couldn’t play the guitar anymore. So I got my prosthesis on my hook. I learned to play the drums with my hook.

ABLYAM: And it’s a good thing you did!

Moulty: Yeah! (laughter) Yeah, I know. Yeah, I couldn’t play the guitar anymore.

ABLYAM: Oh, yeah. And there’d be no Barbarians! And, The Barbarians- I mean I know you guys only had a couple hits, but they’re awesome songs. They’re great.

Moulty: Oh, thank you. Okay, alright. Well, anyway, yeah, I wouldn’t be a drummer- I may have been a guitarist, but I wouldn’t have been a drummer at all if I didn’t deal a way to play with my hook, ya know? But anyway, my drumsticks are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame now and I’m proud of that. It’s like an honor, you know?

ABLYAM: Of course! Definitely.

Moulty: You know, they don’t pay you for that. But you gotta fill out forms and stuff. I like that.

ABLYAM: You still fool around with the sticks today? Or did you put the drumsticks down?

Moulty: Oh, no! Those sticks don’t go down. When a musician is born- not someone who plays music, I’m talking about when a real musician is born and he dies that way, just like a golfer or somebody who loves golf, you ask ‘em, “When are you gonna quit?” “When I die.” I think someone asked Keith Richards, “Geez, you guys aged. What are you doin’ this for?” It’s really a stupid question because somethin’ you love so much- whaddya mean “Why are you doin’ it?” You were doin’ it for nothin’ when you started and you would have still done it for nothin’ even if you didn’t make the millions, ya know?

ABLYAM: Yeah, that’s a great point.

Moulty: And on top of all that, they make a million bucks every time they sing a note! So there’s enough reasons there to choke a horse, isn’t there?

(laughter)

Moulty: (laughter) I don’t know, did that answer the question?

ABLYAM: I would say so! Do you have any other hobbies? You doin’ anything else these days that you enjoy?

Moulty: Well I do a lot of playin’. We jam a lot. My son and I do a lot of recordin’s. Studios. I’m always playin’- doin’ somethin’, you know? I’ll probably bring a lot of stuff out on a future website: unreleased stuff from The Barbarians, new stuff that I do now. I have a lot of unreleased material: things partially recorded, live stuff that was really lousily done. You know, people like those things, you know?

ABLYAM: Definitely!

Moulty: Yeah, pictures of- very rare pictures of me playin’ the guitar with two hands. That’s very rare. That’s very rare.

ABLYAM: Speaking about unreleased stuff, the only thing I’ve come across that’s unreleased is the song called “Three Strange Men.” It was unreleased for “personal reasons”? Could you give us any hint as to the content of the song or maybe the reason-

Moulty: It’s about UFOs. (singing) ”Hey, three strange men in the sky…” with things flyin’, you know? And, you know, it was just not sensible at all or anything. Just the rage at the time.

ABLYAM: Like with The Byrds’ “Mr. Spaceman.”

Moulty: Oh, that’s right. They came out with that, too. When did they come out with that? A little later, I think. [Note: It was released September 6, 1966.] That was before I did this, yeah- a long time before, yeah.

And with that, our conversation began to wrap up. I asked Moulty to do a little audio promo for the site and he joked, “Well what if I can’t remember what to say?” He was incredibly pleasant and more than willing to share everything I asked about. We said our farewells and that was that. A real honor!

Naturally, I’d like to give a huge “thank you” for Moulty for taking some spontaneous time out of his day for a big fan. He couldn’t have been any nicer or willing to share his tales. I’m very thankful!

And now that you've enjoyed this exclusive story, why not check out what other exclusive stories we've received?

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The Barbarians - Moulty (1966)

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Lyrics:

I remember the days when things were real bad for me. It was right after my accident when I lost my hand. It seemed like I was all alone with nobody to help me. You know, I almost gave up all my hopes and dreams. But then- then- then something inside me kept telling me- way down inside me, over and over again, to keep going on- yeah, on.

Moulty!

(Don't turn away)
You're gonna make it, baby
(Don't turn away)
Ah, try to make it, baby
(Don't turn away)

Things are better for me now ‘cause I found that I love music. So I learned to play the drums and got myself a band and now we're starting to make it. And if you can make it at something you love, wow, you got it all.

So I'm saying this to all of you- all of you who think you'll never make it. All you guys and girls ‘cause you’re “so bad off.” Or maybe you think you're a little different or strange. So listen to me now ‘cause I've lived through it all.

Moulty!

(Don't turn away)
You gotta keep on trying
(Don't turn away)
Well, don't you give up, baby
(Don't turn away)

Now there's just one thing that I need. Not sympathy and I don't want no pity, but a girl- a real girl. One that really loves me. And then I'll be the complete man. So I'm gonna tell ya right now. Listen.

(Don't turn away)
You're gonna- come on, come on, baby
(Don't turn away)
You’ve gotta keep on trying
(Don't turn away)
(Don't turn away)