Southern California Spotlight: The Grains Of Sand - That's When Happiness Began/She Needs Me

Day three of our SoCal Region of The Battle of the Garage Bands takes us back to Los Angeles. Today's entrant shows that you don't have to record for a tiny label in a small town like in Delaware or Corpus Christie, Texas to go virtually unnoticed. Musical anonymity can happen right in the heart of one of the music meccas of the world.

The band in question is The Grains Of Sand, featuring David Hodgkins on guitar and harmonica, Douglas Mark on lead guitar, Rich Brand on bass and Willie Shider on drums (Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine plays drums on the plug side and I'm not sure who is on vocals). The band has the rare distinction of putting out two of the all time greatest garage singles. Today we feature their first release.

The song is the superbly crafted That's When Happiness Began released on Valiant records in February, 1966 and written by the songwriting brothers and Valiant recording artists, Don and Dick Addrisi.  The brothers would soon score a mega hit with their penning of the saccharin Never My Love, as recorded by fellow Valiant artists The Association.

Attesting to the hit potential of today's song, That's When Happiness Began has the unique distinction of being recorded in three different continents by four different acts, all in 1966 (in addition to the GoS, this was recorded by The Montanas in the UK, Mike Furber and the Bowery Boys in Australia and Gwynn Owen in New Zealand in that order). How this little non-hit wonder so efficiently made its way around the world boggles this Flip-Sider's mind; in any case, it was The Grains Of Sand who released it first and frankly did it best. Regardless, the song didn't go anywhere, partly, I am sure, because Valiant records, as part of the label's stated intent to the band, did not put a valiant effort behind it at all. Instead, after its all-too-brief heyday, this single gathered dust until the excellent What A Way To Die garage compilation surfaced it around 1983. Even among the stiff competition on that comp, Happiness stands out with its great melodic hook, harmonica solo and stomping beat, and was among the first songs in the genre to etch an indelible groove in this listener's ear.

It's just a great song. Yet what takes this single to the upper stratospheric reaches of garagedom, commonly known as Mount Garagemore, is the Flip-Side, She Needs Me.  After a few beats, the song hits us with an ear-bending, reverb-soaked, era-defining guitar motif with few parallels. Just brilliant in all respects. The lyrics then deliver a lonesome, urgent sense of yearning that is coupled with an economical use of words calling to mind By My Side by Australia's The Elois. Words and music are by band members David Hodgkins and Willie Shider:

She needs me!
Wants love!
Then why can't she accept me? 

She wants me, she loves me, she needs me, she says she do!
Well, she wants me, she loves me, she needs me, say you do! 

Can she see?
My heart will never be free! 

Well she wants me, she loves me, she needs me, she says she do!
Well she wants me, she loves me, she needs me, says she do! 

I'll take her!
God knows I won't forsake her!

Flip-side talks about the band's second single here. Photograph of band and certain information are from the interview of Rich Brand on the excellent 60sgaragebands.com site.

Enjoy and until next time, we'll see you on the Flip-Side.

The Plymouth Rockers - Don't Say Why

There were a number of bands in the mid-60s who went by the British Invasion-ish name, The Plymouth Rockers. I first came to this Don't Say Why on Valiant Records by a New England Garage comp. But it turns out that this band was not from any of the original colonies. These cats were apparently from Phoenix, Arizona. I don't know a whole lot more than that. I do know that it is one fine rocker with strong fuzz, great vocals (both lead and back-up) and a really nice melody that ends in a big crescendo. I love the way the lead singer starts off in a whispered hush. It plays to the tentative nature of the rather sexually suggestive lyrics (which tend to repeat and repeat and repeat).

Don't say "why?"
Don't say "when?"
Don't say anything
Just let it end. 

Then we move to a full group vocal repeating nearly the same exact line. It's not until about the :58 mark that we hear the Bob Seeger-like booming voice of one of the band members bellow out "I'm through with you, that's for sure." It's just a deep guttural growl of a voice that sticks out from the sweet harmonies like an intriguing mole on Marilyn Monroe's cheek. 

The song was written by Moore and Moore. Two brothers in the band? Could explain the taut harmonies. This was their second and last release on Valiant Records. They may also be the same Plymouth Rockers who released two tepid Chuck Berry covers on Warner Brothers in 1964. Surprising that not much more is known about them. If anyone has info on these guys, please leave us a comment below.

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