The RONDEAUS - Anymore / Day tripper - MAGNA

[Hicksville Hogwash]

I met with Fred Crowson, Drummer with 1965 Mullens, WV band The Rondeaus yesterday and here he is with a copy of their only 45.​

ANYMORE / DAY TRIPPER on MAGNA the band name is spelled Rondeus on 45.​

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The guys were big Beatles fans and covered a lot of their material along with some Kinks and Stones.​

Photo from their first show at Mark Twain High School​

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They played Teen Towns, local High Schools and Parties around the Beckley, Sophia and Mullens area of West Virginia. Mostly for the fun. They were playing a Teen Town when they were heard next door by record company owner and asked to record a 45 for him.

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Anymore was put together just before the recording as Dick McVey, Guitar, insisted we needed an original song. The record was not what they thought they sounded like! Fred said he thought 200 had been pressed they sold them at their shows and a few local stores carried them too.

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Dick McVey with the "Bass Guitar" a 6 string with the high strings missing. "We were poor so we made do."

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[Hicksville Hogwash]

Here is MTM youtube of a noisy 45.

 

[13th Floor Garage]

Sounds like you had a great experience. Quite often, I read about band members that tend to be dismissive about their early musical efforts. This was great and thanks for sharing!

 

[bosshoss]

I love that 45. None of the players are technically any "good", the singer is kinda flat, the production is crude, energy level is pretty low, the lyrics are artless (in the best possible way, meaning direct and heartfelt). But the end result is exciting for some reason. Whatever that reason may be, is the reason I love it!

Thanks for shedding some light on this one, Hicksville!

 

[Hicksville Hogwash]

Fred gave some details about the recording. One mic positioned on his drums pointing at the hi-hat n' snare. He had a picture, I'm trying to get a copy of, in the drum booth, he was surrounded by foam or egg box walls.

I got confused he said all the other instruments - guitars - all went straight into the mixing desk, now bass I understand but guitars??? has it that sound!!

He kind of smiled at the amateurism and wrong chords and notes, he knew it had something special. Dick McVey guitar is now a studio owner and producer in Nashville and he too has enough sense to know what they had back then, youth and charm.

I started the band in 1964 and after a few members came and went the four original members were:
Dean Morgan on bass guitar from Pierpoint, WV
Brian Wilcox on lead guitar and vocals from Allen Junction, WV
Fred Crowson on drums from Coal City, WV
Dick McVey on lead guitar and vocals from Amigo, WV
Fred went to Stoco High School in Coal City, WV and the rest of us went to Mullens High School in Mullens, WV
Brian Wilcox passed away two years ago and resided in Princeton, WV
Fred lives near Washington DC and is retired from government a job.
Dean is a retired school teacher and lives in Princeton, WV
I have remained in the music business and live in Nashville, TN.
We played local teen towns in the Mullens, Sophia and Beckley areas and a lot of school dances at just about every school in a four county area around Beckley.
At the Teen Town in Sophia we met a man named Tony Milano who ran a local grocery store and he wanted to pay for us to record. The studio was located in Beckley, WV and the record label was Magna Records and the studio carried the Magna name as well.

We were all very "green" and after being in Nashville for 33 years now, I hear every mistake we made. My guitar strings were dead and the intonation on our instruments was not very good. The signature lick we played on "Day Tripper" is incorrect. Typical of young and ignorant musicians at the time. We just didn't know any better, but that is part of the charm of the recording and the time.
I do have more photos I will share with you later, and I have forwarded your emails to Dean and Fred, so you may hear from them as well.
I will certainly make an effort to find the 45s you have requested. I know there are still some around here somewhere.
The Rondeaus still stay in touch and even did a couple of reunion jam sessions in the 2000s before Brian died.
If there is any other information I can help you with, please let me know.

 

[Hicksville Hogwash]

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This is a blurry photo from 1965 of The Rondeaus. It shows Dean Morgan in the foreground. I am in the background facing away from the camera and in the background with the glasses is Kenny Watkins a singer we hired for a short time. The picture shows Dean playing a normal six string electric guitar but it was actually used as a bass and strung with only four bass strings. Dean owns an original 60s Hofner bass. As for me, the vest I am wearing was bright red and had lots of sequins on it - handmade by my mom. I think it was indicative of the economy in Appalachia and the inventiveness and how to get around not having money to buy the things we needed.

 

[Hicksville Hogwash]

Fred, sent me a few more pictures that are too cool not too share.


Brian - guitar

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Fred in the drum booth at Magna studio recording the 45. "They pushed another wall in front of me and I couldn't see the rest of the band."

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[Hicksville Hogwash]

The Rondeaus Play List 1965-1967

Act Naturally (Beatles)
A Little Bit of Soul (The Music Explosion)
And I Love Her (Beatles)
Anymore (R. McVey and the Rondeaus)
Barbara Ann (Beach Boys)
Beer Barrel Polka (Jimmy Sturr/Myron Floren)
Blue Suede Shoes (Elvis)
Catch Us If You Can (Dave Clark Five)
C.C. Rider (Mitch Ryder) (Elvis)
Day Tripper (Beatles)
Detroit City (Bobby Bare)
Devil with a Blue Dress (Mitch Ryder)
Dirty Water (Standells)
Don't Let me Down (Beatles)
Double Shot of My Baby's Love (Swinging Medallions)
Do You Love Me (Dave Clark Five)
Eight Days A Week (Beatles)
Game of Love (Wayne Fontana & the Mind Benders)
Get Off My Cloud (Rolling Stones)
Give Me Some Lovin’ (Spencer Davis)
Good Lovin' (Rascals)
Green Onions (Booker T and the MGs)
Hang On Sloopy (McCoys)
Hanky Panky (Tommy James & Shondells)
Henry The VIII (Herman's Hermits)
House of the Rising Sun (Animals)
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (BJ Thomas)
I Saw Her Standing There (Beatles)
Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry)
Keep on Dancing (The Gentrys)
Land of 1000 Dances (Cannibal and the Headhunters) (Wilson Pickett)
Last Time (Rolling Stones)
Last Train to Clarksville (Monkees)
Let's Go (The Routers)
Lil Red Riding Hood (Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs)
Little Bit O' Soul (Music Explosion)
Little Latin Lupe Lu (Mitch Ryder)
Long Tall Texan (Kingsmen)
Louie Louie (Kingsmen)
Love Potion # 9 (Searchers)
Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf)
Maybelline (Chuck Berry)
Matchbox (Beatles)
Memphis (Johnny Rivers)
Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett)
Money (Kingsmen)
Mountain of Love (Johnny Rivers)
Mustang Sally (Wilson Pickett)
96 Tears (? & Mysterians)
Over and Over (Dave Clark Five)
Paperback Writer (Beatles)
Pipeline (Chantays)
Rain (Beatles)
Roll Over Beethoven (Chuck Berry)
Satisfaction (Rolling Stones)
Secret Agent Man (Johnny Rivers)
Seventeen (?)
She's A Woman (Beatles)
Shout (Joey Dee and the Starliters)
Stand By Me (Ben E. King)
Steppin' Stone (Monkees)
The Twist (Chubby Checkers)
Ticket to Ride (Beatles)
Till There Was You (Beatles)
Treat Her Right (Roy Head)
Twilight Zone Theme (?)
Twist and Shout (Beatles)
Walk Don't Run (Ventures)
We Gotta Get Out of This Place (Animals)
Wild Thing (The Troggs)
Wipe Out (The Safaris)
Wooly Bully (Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs)
You Really Got Me (Kinks)
You Turn Me On (Ian Witcomb)

 

[Hicksville Hogwash]

I made this for Y'all, thanks for everything.

I was a youtube virgin uploader

 

[analolaygwani]

Wow!! He has a bobkat guitar! I have 2 like those!! how cool!!

 

[Hicksville Hogwash]

Analolaygwani

The solo shot with the Bobkat look closely, it has only 4 strings on it! It was used as the bass guitar. The guys were pretty poor and had to make do.

 

[paul messis]

one mic in front of drums is the only way to record drums in my opinion.

these are brilliant photographs.