60s rock scenes in the SOUTH

[Jeffers66]

And what's that second song in the clip? What a great tune, really. Would love to have that.

That second song is "Screamin' Shoutin' Beggin' Pleadin'", issued on Monument 926. It's the same song that the Fabulettes recorded as "Screamin' and Shoutin'". Charlie made some good records, before pretty much going straight countryin late '68. My favorite is "The Boy From England", which I included on "Jeff's Florida Flashbacks" (Charlie grew up in Miami, before heading for Nashville.)

 

[axel]

Thank you! I just got myself a copy on ebay. On a second listen I liked it even more. It reminds me a lot of early 70s Van Morrison. But more uplifting. Great!
Did Charlie & the Escorts also dip into more garage-y waters?

By the way, you seem to be quite the expert here, any thoughts on Southern garage rock?
Any good and informative sites?
And what would you say are the top Southern garage bands? It's not that I think that a band with 3 great singles is better than a band with one top-notch 45.
It's more like, if I talk to somebody I would like to be able to name a few bands from that area, to give a first picture. I thought maybe some of the more commonly known garage bands might come from the South, and I wouldn't even know. I didn't know where the Nightshadows are from, for instance.
Any suggestions?

 

[Jeffers66]

Thank you! I just got myself a copy on ebay. On a second listen I liked it even more. It reminds me a lot of early 70s Van Morrison. But more uplifting. Great!
Did Charlie & the Escorts also dip into more garage-y waters?

Charlie was a rock 'n roller going back to the '50s with his group, the Agendas, back in Miami. When his Florida pal Mel Tillis left for Nashville, and had success as a songwriter (Mel wrote three top 10 pop hits in the '60s), he encouraged Charlie to make the move as well. Charlie's first sessions included "Candy Man" by Roy Orbison (he played the harmonica) and the fuzzy "I Just Don't Understand" by Ann-Margret. His first solo single was "Cherry Berry Wine", considered a popcorn record these days, but that's another story. With the Escorts, his records ranged from rock 'n roll to R&B. My favorite was "The Boy From England" because of its jangle, which I love. After recording "Nashville Skyline" with Dylan he made the move to straight country, though he'd dabble in other styles from time to time.

 

[Jeffers66]

The true kings of the South generally weren't what most of us would call garage bands. They were groups like the Swingin' Medallions, Uniques, and the Tams -- huge regional acts that made occasionally national breakthroughs, but were as big as the English superstars in the South. I can tell you that the top band in Florida in '65-'66 was the Roemans. Today we wouldn't put them on the same pedestal as We The People or the Tropics, but thanks to their management and ties to Tommy Roe, they were THEE headliner.

It's hard to anoint a kingpin. Surely Little Phil & The Nightshadows were around long enough to be legends (and at 45+ members through the years, including Mac Davis, there are sure some stories to be told). The Gants are a great choice, but they were lucky to have a label that believed in them, and kept putting out albums, not just singles, despite each one selling worse than the one before. The Newbeats, Gentrys, Ronny & The Daytonas, and a few others also got the chance to keep putting out releases, with all of them moving into different musical waters by 1967. But the biggest kings of the South were able to rule the beach areas, from Panama City up to Virginia. It may seem hard to believe, but if I had to choose the most popular regional act of the '60s, it would be the Swingin' Medallions. They were thee kings of the beach dives, piers, and boardwalks of the South.

 

[Perkeo]

The true kings of the South generally weren't what most of us would call garage bands. They were groups like the Swingin' Medallions, Uniques, and the Tams -- huge regional acts that made occasionally national breakthroughs, but were as big as the English superstars in the South. I can tell you that the top band in Florida in '65-'66 was the Roemans. Today we wouldn't put them on the same pedestal as We The People or the Tropics, but thanks to their management and ties to Tommy Roe, they were THEE headliner.

It's hard to anoint a kingpin. Surely Little Phil & The Nightshadows were around long enough to be legends (and at 45+ members through the years, including Mac Davis, there are sure some stories to be told). The Gants are a great choice, but they were lucky to have a label that believed in them, and kept putting out albums, not just singles, despite each one selling worse than the one before. The Newbeats, Gentrys, Ronny & The Daytonas, and a few others also got the chance to keep putting out releases, with all of them moving into different musical waters by 1967. But the biggest kings of the South were able to rule the beach areas, from Panama City up to Virginia. It may seem hard to believe, but if I had to choose the most popular regional act of the '60s, it would be the Swingin' Medallions. They were thee kings of the beach dives, piers, and boardwalks of the South.

This might be a dumb question Jeff, but were Larry and the Loafers of "Panama City Blues" fame actually popular? and is it the same group on "Let's go to the Beach"?

 

[Jeffers66]

This might be a dumb question Jeff, but were Larry and the Loafers of "Panama City Blues" fame actually popular? and is it the same group on "Let's go to the Beach"?

Yes they were, but in a limited area. They were really big from Birmingham, Alabama down to the beaches of the Florida Panhandle, but didn't have the reach of groups like the Tikis, Candymen, or James Gang, who were draws everywhere in the region. Larry Parker was the main guy on both records.

 

[M.T. Wallet]

The true kings of the South generally weren't what most of us would call garage bands. They were groups like the Swingin' Medallions, Uniques, and the Tams

Joe -well named- South wrote a lotta songs for them which he re-recorded during his late sixties career
(he had a short rockabilly career too, available here as an interesting CD-R
http://www.narecorp.com/nrclabel.htm)

And he's the one who wrote the amazing "Leaning On You" for his mate Billy Joe Royal, awesomely covered by the Swingin' Yoyos

one of my faves of the sixties along with the Ones' You Haven't Seen my Love

 

[Jeffers66]

Joe -well named- South wrote a lotta songs for them which he re-recorded during his late sixties career
(he had a short rockabilly career too, available here as an interesting CD-R
http://www.narecorp.com/nrclabel.htm)

And he's the one who wrote the amazing "Leaning On You" for his mate Billy Joe Royal, awesomely covered by the Swingin' Yoyos

one of my faves of the sixties along with the Ones' You Haven't Seen my Love

Joe South is awesome. Certainly among the 10-20 best songwriters of the '60s -- rockabilly, soul, psychedelia, Spectorish pop -- how can the same guy have written "Hush", "Yo Yo", "Leaning On You", "I'm Snowed", "Rose Garden" (love Dobie Gray's funky soul version of this), "Birds Of A Feather"...

 

[M.T. Wallet]

I agree!
too bad he used that sitar effect on guitar in his own re-recordings because his vocals are always better than the "original" version (Hush, Shelter, etc...) + the bass sound and female backing vocals are awesome
...oh, and Billy Joe Royal's voice sucks...

white southern soul at his best

 

[axel]

The true kings of the South generally weren't what most of us would call garage bands. They were groups like the Swingin' Medallions, Uniques, and the Tams...

Thank you very much for giving this overview on the Southern scene. Interesting.
So it can be said to a certain degree that the British Invasion didn't really "conquer" the South? Was the South generally part of the schedule of British bands touring the States?

 

[pfft]

Perhaps not suitable for this forum, but I just bought these two 2LP sets on Soul Jazz Records:

http://www.souljazzrecords.co.uk/releases/?id=22999

A weird line-up with lots of household names, but the selections are surprisingly good - great, even.
Plus you get an excellent and informative LP-sized booklet.

 

[axel]

They were really big from Birmingham, Alabama down to the beaches of the Florida Panhandle, but didn't have the reach of groups like the Tikis...

The Tikis playing "Somebody's Son"? They had some reach? Wow! Do you know more about that band?
I think "Somebody's Son" should be a garage classic.
By the way here are two different clips of the song on youtube with considerably varying tempos. Which one has the tempo of the original 45?

 

[axel]

Perhaps not suitable for this forum, but I just bought these two 2LP sets on Soul Jazz Records.

This looks pretty cool. On the "suitability": I think sometimes it should be allowed to not draw the lines between the unknown "garage" bands and the better known bands too sharply (although I don't want to undermine the concept of "zoomin´in"). I guess the "smaller" bands would take pride in being mentioned alongside the big names. And the latter don't get hurt either.
Some early fuzz sounds by Southern big names:

 

[mansson66]

It sounds like the same version - one heavily pitched, and one not. What time does it say on the label? (I couldn't open the link in youtube so I couldn't check closer...)
Pretty cool song, but I can't stand those growling "manly" vocals... I didn't even get as long as to see if there's a break or not...

 

[axel]

They seem to have some problem at youtube right now. But the time on the label can't be deciphered anyway.
The vocals sound much better on the second, the faster version, so hopefully that one has the right tempo.

 

[axel]

Here's a clip by Mal Thursday who used to post on the old forum sometimes. It's pretty neat.
Music by the Beach Bums, Larry & the Loafers, and the Coronados. Produced by JM Dobies a/k/a Mal Thursday and Jeff Lemlich (oh, can it be that...?):

 

[Jeffers66]

The Tikis playing "Somebody's Son"? They had some reach? Wow! Do you know more about that band?
I think "Somebody's Son" should be a garage classic.
By the way here are two different clips of the song on youtube with considerably varying tempos. Which one has the tempo of the original 45?

The first clip runs too slow and sounds like shit. I couldn't get the second one to play.

I love "Somebody's Son", by far my favorite Tikis song. Yes, those are the guys I was talking about. They started out in the early 60s on Minaret, and lasted into the 70s, still issuing records.

Three states claim them as their own. They were from both Birmingham, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle (which is where they first got together with singer Len Wade). Wade then moved to Louisville, where he's now considered a local. They're also the backing band (minus the drummer) on the first Berkeley Kites 45.

 

[Jeffers66]

Thank you very much for giving this overview on the Southern scene. Interesting.
So it can be said to a certain degree that the British Invasion didn't really "conquer" the South? Was the South generally part of the schedule of British bands touring the States?

The British Invasion had a tremendous impact on the South. But so did Stax and soul music. You had your Beatles bands, your Stones bands, your Booker T bands, and your shagging in the sand bands (heh heh, he said shagging). That's what makes a well-rounded music scene.

Yes to the second question. Even the Beatles played the South.

 

[MopTopMike]

I think it should be duly noted that kids / teens in the '60s did not pigeonhole and categorize the variety of musical styles they listened to , emulated, and enjoyed. They wanted "Satisfaction", "Midnight Hour" and lotsa slow dance ballads from the same group. But you know that already...

 

[depravedskippy66]

Perhaps not suitable for this forum, but I just bought these two 2LP sets on Soul Jazz Records:

http://www.souljazzrecords.co.uk/releases/?id=22999

A weird line-up with lots of household names, but the selections are surprisingly good - great, even.
Plus you get an excellent and informative LP-sized booklet.

Interesting lineup of artists, to be sure. Compilations like these can provide an excellent opportunity for reassessment, not to mention appreciation, of an artist by placing their work into a different context than that in which you would normally associate them.