Mid-Atlantic Spotlight: Richard and The Young Lions - Open Up Your Door/Once Upon Your Smile

We move our regional Battle of the Garage Bands Battle a little further south. We started with New England where The Squires ran away with the not-so-friendly competition with their double sided gem, Going All The Way/Go Ahead. Then we dealt with New York and the winner of that region was The Blues Magoos with We Ain't Got Nothing Yet/Gotta Get Away. Today we turn our attention to the Mid-Atlantic region of these United States. For our purposes, that will incorporate the Mason-Dixon line states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and The District of Columbia. 

We start in Newark, New Jersey where we have the mighty cool looking Richard and The Young Lions. We've written about the band's third single and even included a bunch of cool photos. We turn our attention today to their debut single: Open Up Your Door b/w Once Upon Your Smile. The record was released on Phillips Records in July of 1966 and even got a rice-paper thin picture sleeve. Both sides were written by the songwriting team of Brown, Nader and Bloodworth who also get production credit. Those cats were associated with Detroit's Bob Crewe who was working with Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels about the same time. That association meant the Young Lions record actually did okay in the Detroit and Buffalo markets, but not so much in New Jersey. Curious. 

Open Up Your Door is a great raver with Richard Tepp's gravely, snot-nosed voice leading the stomper of a song. I'm particularly fond of the balance between jangly guitar and fuzz guitar as well as the odd African drum sound that runs throughout (see the scan of the Flip-Side of the single).

The Flip-Side of Once Upon Your Smile doesn't get a lot of attention from garage fans but I love this song. Slow and brooding, Richard Tepp's vocals are in top form. The lyrics are clever and the horns are perfectly utilized. And then you get that really groovy bridge where the horns really shine. 

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

Richard and the Young Lions - You Can Make It

Richard and The Young Lions had attitude, dude. The Young Lions hailed from the lovely town of Newark, New Jersey and collectively were Richard Tepp, Bob Freedman, Marc Lees, Norm Cohen, Ricky Rackin, and Jerry Raff. Richard had some seriously long hair and the requisite snarl on his face to make a great front man. It didn't hurt that he could sing, too!

The Young Lions released three singles in their brief career, all on Philips Records. Today's song is, in our humble opinion, the best of their releases. The number is their swan song, You Can Make It, and it was released in March of 1967. This is the A-Side. In a rare public announcement that runs counter to the concept of this site, we warn you...do NOT Flip this record over. Ouch!

You Can Make It was comped on the legendary What A Way To Die record and is one of the standouts on that record. They even graced the cover of the record. That's how we learned of this band.

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

Kit and The Outlaws - Don't Tread On Me

Brilliant! Some songs so crystalize the sound of 60s garage punk in America that you just take them for granted. Kit and The Outlaws of Dallas Fort Worth, Texas created one of those perfect songs. Perfect riff. Perfect anti-establishment lyrics. Perfect delivery. 

As usual we are talking about the Flip-Side of a single. In this case, their 1966 release, Don't Tread On Me. The snotty number was the Flip-Side of a very pedestrian cover of In The Midnight Hour. Originally released on local label BlacKnight Records in the Summer of '66, we feature here the Phillips Records release as unleashed on the public in December of that same fine year. 

Kit and the Outlaws were (from L-R in the photo below) Kit Massengill on guitar and vocals, Joe Jesmer on drums, Jerry Colwell on organ and back up vocals and Alan Rafkin on bass. Kit wrote Don't Tread On Me and it feels autobiographical. Kit looks like he may have had a chance to have pissed off a few people in conservative Dallas in 1966. Way too cool for that town in that day. So cool we have to share Kit's lyrics to Don't Tread On Me. 

People walking around on me
Trying to stomp my name in the ground
They use and bruise and try to confuse me
But I just don't make a sound

I'm used to having an overload
Yeah, carrying more than my share
But you sigh and cry and try to lie
And babe, you just get in my hair 

Don't tread on me (don't tread on me)
Don't you tread on me (don't tread on me)
I just want to be free (don't tread on me)
Don't you tread on me
No, no, no 

Child there are things that make me cry
Things I don't quite understand
Like you go out with other guys
But say I'm your only man 

Don't tread on me (don't tread on me)
Don't you tread on me (don't tread on me)
I just want to be free (don't tread on me)
Don't you tread on me
No, no, no 

Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it
Don't walk on me
I need yah!
I need your loving
But don't you try to walk on me 

Oh, don't tread on me (don't tread on me)
Don't, don't you tread on me baby (don't tread on me)
I, How I want things to be (don't tread on me)
Just, just like I was free (don't tread on me)
Please, don't you tread on me (don't tread on me)
No, no, no don't do it, don't do it
No, no, no, no, no, Nooooo

Photo lifted from the cool cats at Garage Hangover. You can read more about The Outlaws on that site by clicking this link.

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!