HELP - Hall of Fame Looking for Versa Tones and Impellas scans and sound files

Hicksville Hogwash

Hicksville Hogwash

Tennalaga Class
Joined
Apr 11, 2012
Location
Gauley Bridge, West Virginia.
4818569712_8ed1a3fc54_n.jpg​

can anyone help....

I'm curator :yikes: at WV Music Hall of Fame.

We are inducting Russ Hicks - steel guitar, dobro and guitar player from Beckley, WV. Played in Barefoot Jerry and on Hee Haw show and a big bunch of Nashville sessions.

Thought some of you guys may have stumbled into his early releases and have scans or sound files of these???

1959 - Teen Tones - Yes You May / Don't Call Me Baby, I'll Call You on Decca 30895

1959 - The Keenos - Catwalk / Keeno Boogie on Lark 4513e

1960/63 -
JP Hammond and the Versa Tones - Suicide / I'll Walk Away Slowly - MAGMA 101
Doris King and the Versa Tones - Take Me / A Kiss and a Rose - MAGNA 102
Taylor Family and The Versa Tones - Forgive Me Father / I Told Mamma Goodbye - MAGMA 104
Paul Young and the Versa-Tones - Three Idols / Make room for Love 1963 BECK RECORDS 111


The Impellas - This is a R n' B band he said he played in for a short time in Houston.

But not sure of his years on these

Hook "Em / Steel Guitar Rag - San 1959 (Houston, TX) *?
Continental Whip/ Never on Sunday - All Boy 1963 (Houston, TX) *
Sea of Love / No More Tears - The Wheelers Dealer / Constellation 1964 (Mobile AL) wrong locale
Fireplug / Sailing High -Paradise 1963 (Houston TX) *
Continental Whip 65 / Never on Sunday - Big Beat 1965
If I crossed it out I have sound file and good scans of it.

teen tones.jpg
 
Thanks Chas,

I thought it may be too early. But some of you guys delve into rockabilly and instrumental territory so thought I'd give you all a try.

Some of the stuff that I have heard is great rockin' dirt bag greaser R n' R (T.T Shaker) with a just a touch of hillbilly.

Yes Chas any help will do me. Thanks you.

 
Thanks Chas,;)

I have found these already. Staring at this stuff for weeks now:boggle: and I really discounted The Impellas - No More Tears 45 as not him... but you are right, same composers on flip.:yup:
Also, The Impellas and Continental Whip are mentioned in the FBI investigation of Jack Ruby's assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald. :biglaugh:. he had no idea...

Yes, quality has to be pretty good, as we are making a short introductory film and the clearer the better for projection.

45cat.com don't let me lift scans... some anti-theft lock ...if I join will they let me steal??

I'm being obsessive over Russ Hicks' early stuff. I think I have enough really just being a completest for my own personal love of this kind crude rockin' stuff.
 
I posted on the yahoo rockinrecords group, as those guys seem to be the most likely to have these. I'll let you know of any responses.

A quick search on newspapers.com came up with a large number of mentions of the Keenos, the Versatones and Russell Hicks, including these clippings below - you can probably find the actual issues in local libraries for better copies of the photos and articles.

Also found this full page ad for Doris King 45 in Billboard:

https://books.google.com/books?id=V...page&q=Doris King and the Versa Tones&f=false

KeenosBeckleyPostHeraldTheRaleighRegisterSunOct25_1959.jpg


VersaTonesBeckleyPostHeraldFridayAugust9_1963.jpg
 
Beckley Library has given us Micro filmed copies of some of his bands. But these are actually slightly better quality than I got.:rolleyes:

That Doris King ad I have here already,

Thanks Chas...:tiphat:

P.S. Chas....

How about John Ellison of Soul Brothers Six
or Harry Vann "Piano Man" Walls .
:yikes:
 
Newspaper searches online are strange, at least with the commercial site I use. Most of the major papers aren't represented, it's all small-town papers, local stuff. Which can be good for what we're looking for, but there are big gaps in areas and populations represented.

John Ellison is too common a name to be easily searchable - WVA alone gets 150 results in the '60s. Soul Brothers Six turns up in a few gig notices in other states, PA and NC.

Harry Van Walls gets nothing, but maybe that's not the right name to be looking for? Papers tend to be formal, so Harry could be listed under Harold, but papers also make many mistakes in spelling, so looking for variations on a name sometimes works.

If you have some specific searches you'd like me to do let me know and I'll run them - approximate year, state, and uncommon names or band names are best.
 
yes Harry Vann Walls is genius Atlantic R & B pioneer pianist. Went by different names at different times. Really not much out there. I have his niece donating a lot of stuff soon. And the movie made a few years back producer is helping us out too

And Ellison was gone from WV by age 15. Luckily, he recorded at Fine Studios Rochester NY and Mr Bosshoss brought that studio.... so I have a some cool things from him already.:)

The newspaper search is a big pain you find something that is all blurry then call the library with dates and page numbers then they send a scan that is all blurry and slightly miss aligned. i'm going there in person soon to go to microfilm heaven,,,,
 
Sorry to grave dig this post, but I think sufficient time has past to let my friends and helpers here see what I actually did with those pieces of information and photos you passed on.

Here is the full broadcast of the WV Music Hall of Fames 2015 induction ceremony broadcast on WV-PBS. http://wvpublic.org/post/watch-6th-west-virginia-music-hall-fame-induction-ceremony.

This is unedited, 4hrs of music and the awards being given out. :yikes:

I got together the vignettes: images, most of the music and some of the scripting.

I'll help you speed through,

15:19 start of the pre-show show.
39:54 start of live PBS Broadcast.
44:00 inductee Buddy Starcher Country singer songwriter TV show host. (ft. Charlie McCoy, Russ Hicks, Larry Groce, Tim O'Brien)
1:07 inductee Russ Hicks steel guitar (ft. Russ, Wayne Moss, Charlie McCoy) *rockabilly/garage bands pics clips:cool:
1:33 inductee Harry Vann "Piano Man" Walls Atlantic Records pianist (ft. Dr John, MRBQ) *unseen photos of R&B legend and The Niteriders.:love:
2:05 spirit award -
2:18 inductee Ed Haley Blind Old Time Fiddler. (ft Tim O'Brien)
2:38 inductee Bob Thompson jazz pianist - (sang bass in The Chanters, NYC Doo Wop band)
3:16:40 inductee John Ellison, Soul Brothers Six singer guitarist songwriter. :sneaky:(ft Mark Farner)

There are some annoying, to me, shots used and sound clips missed but I had my boss over me, ltapping at his watch, while doing the sound track.... and a final edit session with the videographer corrected a few annoyances then the older edit got broadcast (Ellison).:crap:

Anyway, overall I was told by all that these were the best Vignettes ever for the hall of fame :lol:

I'd like to especially thank Bosshoss for all the Fine Studio stuff. I tried so hard to get the unreleased Soul Brothers Six song into the film but this was one of the first we completed and my boss was not so trusting of my musical instincts, love of the raw early recordings and kept on plugging the covers of "Some Kind of Wonderful" and not the obscure but cooler to me recordings. He loosened the reins later and Harry Vann Walls' and Russ Hicks' films and research I'm pretty proud of because I actually learned something myself.

Also thanks to Chas Kit, Buckeyebeat for their special help.:tiphat:
 
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