The Lively Ones - Night and Day (1962)

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, the band known as The Surfmen began to deteriorate around the departure of the band’s lead man, Ray Hunt. As subsequent members began to leave the band and get replaced by newer guys, it quickly became the case that the group’s drummer, Tim Fitzpatrick, was the last remaining original member of the band. Having no allegiance to the band’s “Surfmen” name, Fitzpatrick and his bandmates switched their group’s name to The Lively Ones. The group featured Tim Fitzpatrick on the drums, Jim Masoner on lead guitar, Ed Chiaverini on rhythm guitar, Ron Griffith on bass, and Joel Willenbring on drums. They signed with Del-Fi Records and hired a manager, Bob Keane (the famed manager and producer of Ritchie Valens). Although the group never reached much stardom, they most recently had a resurgence of interest when their 1963 song, “Surf Rider,” was used in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film, Pulp Fiction.

The song below is one of the many cover songs performed by The Lively Ones. Although they had a few original songs, it was songs such as the one heard below that the band was known for. Originally written and released in 1932 by Cole Porter, this song was introduced to the masses by Fred Astaire in his last Broadway performance, the musical play titled Gay Divorce from 1932. Porter claimed that the song was inspired by his trip to Morocco, where he heard Adhan, or, the Islamic call to worship. The song, which originally had lyrics to go along with it, was so popular and closely associated with Cole Porter that when a movie was made about his life in 1946, the film was titled Night and Day. Besides The Lively Ones surf instrumental cover, the song has been covered by Eartha Kitt, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Dionne Warwick, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, U2, and many, many more.



The Lively Ones - Night and Day (1962)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)

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)

Brian Hyland - Sealed with a Kiss (1962)

Born November 12, 1943, in Queens, New York, Brian Hyland’s first musical group, The Delfis, was started when it was fourteen. Although the band was never signed, Hyland managed to get signed as a solo artist for Kapp Records in the late ‘50s. He first came into the national spotlight by reaching number one on the charts with the 1960 novelty song “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.” Hyland next signed with ABC Records and had continuing success as a teen idol with the song heard below and numerous other charting pop songs. By the time of the British Invasion, Hyland has begun incorporating a country sound into his songs. Continuing to head in this direction ultimately cost Hyland any continued success, as his popularity dissipated over the course of the ‘60s. He was able to reach the charts a handful more of times, but never charted higher than number twenty. His last charting songs, “Gypsy Woman” and “Lonely Teardrops,” both cover songs, were released in 1971 and produced by fellow early-‘60s star, Del Shannon.

This song, written by Peter Udell and Gary Geld, was first recorded in 1960 by The Four Voices, but never charted. It was recorded by Brian Hyland in 1962 and reached number three in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The song would later be covered, to varying degrees of success, by Gary Lewis and the Playboys (1968), Bobby Vinton (1972), and Jason Donovan (1989), among many others.



Brian Hyland - Sealed with a Kiss (1962)

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Lyrics:

Though we got to say goodbye for the summer
Darling, I promise you this
I’ll send you all my love every day in a letter
Sealed with a kiss

Yes, it’s gonna be a cold, lonely summer
But I’ll fill the emptiness
I’ll send you all my dreams every day in a letter
Sealed with a kiss

I’ll see you in the sunlight
I’ll hear your voice everywhere
I’ll run to tenderly hold you
But darling, you won’t be there

I don’t want to say goodbye for the summer
Knowing the love we’ll miss
Oh, let us make a pledge to meet in September
And seal it with a kiss

Yes, it’s gonna be a cold, lonely summer
But I’ll fill the emptiness
I’ll send you all my love every day in a letter
Sealed with a kiss
Sealed with a kiss
Sealed with a kiss

The Sentinals - Latin'ia (1962)

Halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco in the city of San Luis Obispo, this group (sometimes misspelled as The Sentinels) was formed in 1961. Although not one of the original surfing groups (like Dick Dale & the Del-Tones or The Ventures), this band had one big hit which sent them on a nationwide tour. Although they never managed to achieve a second success, each of the band’s members went on to varying degrees of success in other musical outfits, the biggest of which was drummer Johny Barbata, who would play in The Turtles; Crosby, Stills & Nash; and Jefferson Starship. After they were through recording together for the last time, but before the band officially broke up in 1965, they had picked up keyboard player Michael Olsen. Olsen would later change his name to Lee Michaels and have the 1971 hit song “Do You Know What I Mean.”

Written by band members Tommy Nunes and Mark Hilder, this instrumental surf song was inspired after band members had heard “Walk, Don’t Run” by The Ventures. In those early years of the 1960s, “surf” music had not yet been labeled “surf.” It was referred to by many different names, one of them being “twist music for surfers” by the local Tribune newspaper. The release of this song, pronounced "La•teen•ya," was met with a very positive local feedback, enough of which to take the song to number one locally and lead the band on a nationwide tour with The Coasters and The Righteous Brothers. That tour took the band all the way to Buffalo, New York.



The Sentinals - Latin'ia (1962)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Rivingtons - Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow (1962)

Although the band name above was created in the very early 1960s, the men behind the name had been performing with one another for quite some time before that. Their lead singer, Al Frazier, had been in groups since high school. One group he was in, the Mello-Moods, is notable for containing a future member of The Platters, Paul Robi. That group fizzled when Frazier left to fight in The Korean War. When he came back, he quickly got back into the swing of things and picked up the other members of this group piece by piece with a new band name each time along the way. The Emanons (“no name” backward), The Lamplighters, The Tenderfoots, The Jacks, The Sharps, The Rebels, The Four After Fives, and The Crenshaws were all various attempts at stardom with little or no success. Finally, around early 1962, the band renamed themselves after a street in New York’s Lower East Side that two of the members had at one point lived on: Rivington Street. Finally, with their new name, The Rivingtons, the group broke out into the charts with the 1962 song heard below. They would follow it up with their 1963 hit “The Bird’s the Word,” but disappeared from the public’s eye soon after. Although they lost their record deal and had trouble getting resigned by 1967, the band continued to perform through the early ‘90s in various oldies circuits. Al Frazier passed away on November 13th, 2005.

As The Rivingtons’ first hit in their already lengthy career, this song came about when the group’s bass singer, Turner “Rocky” Wilson, began to sing the “papa-oom-mow-mow” hook while goofing off in the studio. Naturally the rest of the group loved it and they built a song around it. After being turned down for release by Capitol Records the song eventually went to Liberty Records who waited six months before releasing it because they “couldn’t figure out how to market such a nonsensical song.” Once released, however, the song was a hit and reached number forty-eight on the Billboard’s and thirty-five on the Cashbox charts. The song went on to inspire numerous artists to cover it and sample it, including The Trashmen, The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Kermit the Frog, and more recently Rob Zombie. The Trashmen merged the song with another Rivingtons' hit, “The Bird’s the Word,” renamed the two “Surfin’ Bird,” took the song to number four. But, heard below, is the original as created by The Rivingtons.



The Rivingtons - Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow (1962)

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Lyrics:

(Doot-doot-doot)
(Doot-doot-doot)

The funniest sound I ever heard
And I can't understand a single word
Now is he serious or is he playing?
“Oom-mow-mow” is all he's saying
Papa-oom
Papa-papa-papa-oom
(Doot-doot-doot)
(Doot-doot-doot)

I said, “Hey there partner, what's your name?”
Now don’t you dare tell me, “the same old thing”
The words you sing, I can’t figure out
But you’ve got a sound, make me stomp and shout
Papa-oom
Papa-papa-papa-oom
(Doot-doot-doot doot doot)
(Doot-doot-doot doot doot)
(Doot-doot-doot)
(Doot-doot-doot)
(Doot-doot-doot)

(Doot-doot-doot doot doot)
(Doot-doot-doot doot doot)
(Doot-doot-doot doot doot)
(Doot-doot-doot doot doot)

Now I hear this sound everywhere I go
On the records, TV, and the radio
And now it’s spread all over the land
I still can’t seem to understand
Papa-oom
Papa-papa-papa-oom
Papa-oom
(Doot doot doot)
(Doot-doot-doot)
Papa-oom
(Doot doot doot)
(Doot-doot-doot)
Papa-papa-papa-oom
(Doot doot doot)
Papa-papa-papa-oom
(Doot doot doot)
Papa-papa-papa-oom
(Doot doot doot)
Papa-papa-papa-oom
(Doot doot doot)…

Dick Dale & The Del-Tones - Misirlou (1962)

Born in 1937, this man is nicknamed The King of the Surf Guitar. An actual surfer in his youth, he wanted to try and harness the sound that he heard in his head while riding waves. His song “Let’s Go Trippin’” is regarded as the first-ever surf rock song, dated to May 31, 1958. His desire to create a unique use of reverberation, which is now synonymous with surf music, led to the Leo Fender creating the very first-ever amp/loud-speaker combination that jumped the volume up from the standard maximum of four, to ten. To this day, at the age of seventy-five, he still performs high-energy shows, touring the United States.

This song was originally performed by Michalis Patrinos in Greece, in 1927. It was rearranged as an American surf rock song by Dale in 1962 after a young fan challenged Dale to play a song using only one guitar string. Remembering his Lebanese-American uncle playing this song with only one string on an oud, Dale played this song. Soon after, it was introduced to a wider audience when he played it on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963, becoming the first rock guitarist to perform on the show.



Dick Dale & The Del-Tones - Misirlou (1962)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)

The Tornados - Telstar (1962)

Predominately known as a backing group for various artists being managed by Joe Meek, this English group was considered to be a rival of The Shadows (Britain’s hit group prior to The Beatles). They also spent time as the backing group for Billy Fury in 1962 and 1963. They had multiple songs that they performed on their own chart, with the most successful one being heard below.

This song, named after the AT&T satellite that launched five weeks earlier, was the first song by a British group to reach number one in the United States. It also reached the top spot in the UK, making it the only instrumental song in history to reach number one in both the US and UK. Taking advantage of the birth of the space age, it was said that to achieve its strange noises, the song had been transmitted to the Telstar satellite before being produced back here on Earth.



The Tornados - Telstar (1962)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)

Jay and the Americans - This Is It (1962)

Discovered at NYU in the late ‘50s, this group is remembered primarily for their amazing vocals. Having two different singers (John “Jay” Taynor and, later, David Blatt, who went by David Black or Jay Black), both going by the name of “Jay Black” while in the group, they were able to put out multiple hits throughout the 1960s. Their most well known song, “Come A Little Bit Closer,” reached #3 in 1964 and led to the group going on tour with The Beatles and The Righteous Brothers.

This song, from 1962, was sung by the original singer, Jay Taynor. After it failed to chart, Taynor decided to leave the group and pursue a solo career. Although slow, this song has great vocals and harmonies, making it worth remembering/hearing.



Jay and the Americans - This Is It (1962)

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Lyrics:

She doesn't love me anymore
She doesn't want my kisses
I know that this is it for me

She doesn't want me anymore
Somehow my touch just misses
I know that this is it for me

(So turn on the sun) I need the sunlight
Need its glow to make things bright
Without her, every day is black as night

(And bring out the moon) I need the moonlight
Brighter than it's ever shone
She is gone and I am so alone

(But she cried for me) When she cried for me
(Yes she cried for me) Yes she cried for me
(And she) woah woah wooah
(Could've laid down and died for me) woooah

She doesn't love me anymore
She doesn't want my kisses
I know that this is it for me

(This is it) Goodbye
(This is it) And so long, my little girl
(This is it) And I know, I know, I know
(This is it) That this is it for me

Booker T. & The M.G's - Green Onions (1962)

One of the first racially integrated rock groups, this band was influential in shaping Memphis soul music. They provided background music for Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding at the beginning of their career and had continued success through the early ‘70s.

This song, completely instrumental, has been a lasting classic making appearances in television shows and films for decades. You may remember it being played in Happy Gilmore, X-Men: First Class, or American Dad!, but for me, it’s always been connected with The Sandlot.



Booker T. & The M.G's - Green Onions (1962)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)