Great Lakes Spotlight: The Shadows of Knight - Bad Little Woman/Gospel Zone

You Bad Little Woman! Welcome back to day 5 of the Great Lakes-Region of the Battle of the Garage Bands. We've written extensively about The Shadows of Knight in the past. As any casual Flip-Side reader will know, this band is one of our favorites. 

The Shadows of Knight were formed in the hallways of an Arlington Heights, Illinois High School (the school nickname was...the Knights. Get it?). After a few early mutations and instrument swapping, the band settled into the line-up of Jim Sohns on vocals, Warren Rogers on Bass, Joe Kelly on lead guitar, Jerry McGeorge on rhythm guitar and Tom Schiffour on drums. In early 1966, The Shadows of Knight would release the first ever record for one of the all-time great garage labels, Dunwich Records. That record was their cleaned up cover of Them's Gloria. 

But today we feature the 2nd single from The Shadows of Knight. And, believe it or not, it is also a cover of a record from Northern Ireland, this time a record by an obscure group called The Wheels. The Wheels covered Gloria for their debut in September of 1965. That was released only in the UK. For that band's second release they did two originals: Bad Little Woman with a flip-side of Roadblock. But here is the kicker. That single was released on a local US label called Aurora Records one month before it was released in the UK. The band name was unceremoniously changed to The Wheel-A-Ways, the flip-side was changed to a different song and the version of Bad Little Woman is an early demo version, not the same pounding one released in the UK a month later. Both versions of The Wheels' release can be heard here. 

It was likely the languid demo version mistakingly shipped to and released on Aurora in January of '66 that was presented to The Shadows of Knight for consideration. Regardless, The Shadows of Knight version of the song is dramatically different than either version by The Wheels. 

According to Jerry McGeorge, who has recently been in touch with us at Flip-Side:

The Wheels' Bad Little Woman was presented to us in demo form as a potential single. We came off the road to do the sessions for the second album and recorded it at that time, early Summer '66. We weren't nuts about it the way it sounded and someone got the idea of having Hawk [aka David Wolinski] add keyboards to fill it out, which worked splendidly.

We concur with McGeorge. The floating organ over the song creates a lush bed for the band to soar over the song. Joe Kelly, one of the most talented and under-appreciated lead guitarists in the US garage scene, paints a beautiful picture with his deep bends. McGeorge also informs us that Kelly plays a Gibson ES 335 (see pics) on the recording and you can really feel the power of the guitar as the band kicks into the glorious lead break at 1:15. But his guitar work is never better than right after the break when he responds so delicately to singer Jim Sohns' restrained vocals. 

He brought you home last night
Smelled like gypsy rose
Now I don't know just where you been
He only knows
He says he loves you baby
Just like I love you
He says he loves you baby
Just like I love you
Oh no, it's not true!

The band had a pattern in their releases. A non-band composed number on the A-Side, a fabulous original relegated to the Flip-Side. In this case it is one of The Shadows of Knight's best recordings, the drummer composed Gospel Zone. It opens with a rip-roaring dead-switching effect by Kelly or McGeorge that then catches fire and propels the song into an infectious groove. The bass work by Warren Rogers really stands out on this number. It sounds to this listener like he is playing a hollow body bass. We're guessing the same Framus Star Bass in the pics below. Oddly, Gospel Zone was released by Dunwich as a one-sided promo in severely edited down form, clocking in at a full minute less than the normal take. We've only ever seen one copy of that record.

Credit where credit is deserved: I've nicked almost all of the photographs from a Joe Kelly fan site which can be found here.

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

Great Lakes Spotlight: The Banshees - Project Blue/Free

Great Lakes Spotlight resumes. Day 2! Today we feature perhaps the most crazed garage record ever put to wax! Man, that is saying a ton. Especially when we have songs like that by Australia's The Elois and Texas' The Outcasts. But I stand by it. Here we present Chicago's The Banshees doing their own composition, Project Blue. It was released in August of 1966. Any garage-O-file worth their salt has heard this song 1001 times (last week alone), but we can't let that stop us from giving them more love. This one is front and center on the Mt. Garagemore monument we have mythically built in our own depraved flippy heads. 

The Banshees were made up of singer Frank Bucaro, lead guitarist Ron Rouse, Rick Notolini on bass, John Smead on rhythm, and Tom Leetzow on drums. Lead guitarist, Ron Rouse gets writing credit for this. However, in the world's briefest interview over on 60sgaragebands.com, Frank Bucaro lays claim to co-writer credit. He wrote the Flip-Side of this single, the rather tame, Free. 

Musically speaking, this is -- and I use a technical musicologist term here -- fucking amazing. The lead guitar riff is a relentless, menacing, stabbing piece of testosterone that Angus Young could only dream of playing. You will never, ever, hear a better garage punk guitar riff. Ever. Ron Rouse, you are my hero for coming up with that and performing it so damn perfectly. Singer Frank Bucaro sounds nothing like he does on the rather tepid flip-side. (Yep, even us at Flip-Side HQ sometimes have to love the A-Side more.) On the rather cryptically named Project Blue, Bucaro screams so much and so loud you can damn near hear the blue veins popping out of his neck as he spits out "Come On Now!". There's not much to these lyrics, but man oh man, Bucaro delivers.

Oh Noooo!
I need your love baby, and I need it so bad, Yeah
'Cause your's is the only love that I ever had, babe 

I need your love baby, and only you know.
I need your love baby, and I need it more 

Your love, baby, I need your love, baby
Yeah love, oh! 

I need your love baby, and only you know. Yeah!
I need your love baby, and I need it more, love 

I need your love baby, and I need it so bad. Yeah
'Cause your's is the only love that I ever had, babe

Your love baby, I need your love, your love, baby
Come on Now!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh, come on

Let's be very clear. I would not let this man date my daughter.

Check out the picture of these cats. This is one of those things I love about 60s Garage Bands. They look so nice and clean cut. And then you get this out of them. Rouse is in the middle, Bucaro, second from left.

Like so many bands of their day, High School ended (yep, they were in high school when they did this number) and they disbanded. Some went to college, others to the military. The Banshees would scream their siren song no more. One depraved single is all we have of their existence.

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

Elektra Records Spotlight: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Mellow Down Easy and I Got My Mojo Working

Mellow Down Easy

I Got My Mojo Working

Day two at our look at Elektra Records. Yesterday we looked at the missed opportunity Elektra Records president, Jac Holzman, had in his hands when he released only one song by The Byrds...under the quizzically named The Beefeaters. Columbia Records came and stole the band away from his light grasp on what would become a hit machine and a hugely influential band. It took 11 months before Holzman would get back in the saddle with another release.

In October of 1965 Elektra released the first published recording of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. The Chicago band had been turning heads in Chicago for about a year and Holzman and staff producer, Paul Rotchild, were eager to not let another buzz creating band slip away. It also bears noting that the Paul Butterfield Blues Band was a band of three white guys and two black guys. May not seem like a big deal today, but it was in 1965. It was downright unusual and even a little risky for a little known label to market them. Paul Butterfield was the frontman and harmonica player, Elvin Bishop on rhythm guitar, Mike Bloomfield on lead guitar, Jerome Arnold on bass and Sam Lay on drums. The latter two had done time in Howlin' Wolf's house band and thus had some serious street creditionals.

That first Elektra single for The Paul Butterfield Blues Band were two blues covers of Chess Recordings songs. The A-Side was Mellow Down Easy, a number originally recorded by Little Walter in 1954. The Flip-Side is the Muddy Waters standard, I Got My Mojo Working, first laid down in 1957. Sam Lay takes the vocal duties on The Paul Butterfield Blues Band's recording.

[Of note, also on that first 1965 album, was the first recording of Born In Chicago, which we featured just last week by a band called The Blue Beats. Check that out here]

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

006 - Like What, Me Worry?

The cleverly named 006 hailed from the Chicago area and released one single on the local Harlequin Records label in April of 1966. That record, Like What, Me Worry?, was picked up for national distribution by the girl-group-centric Red Bird Records a month later. Their presence on Red Bird Records -- which released a lot of songs by professional composers in the Brill Building -- led to speculation that the band was a studio creation. But they weren't. They were a sextet made up of some Beach Boys looking lads. Doc Watson (not THAT Doc Watson) was on lead vocals, Ray Fowler on second vocals, John Kielnik on guitar and organ, Dennis Rezendes on lead guitar, Ted Byczek on drums and Jimmy Flowers on bass.

Like what, Me Worry? tells the tale of a proud loner who is down with being a lone wolf who has comfortably embraced his tough-guy persona. I have no idea who the composer is, other than the E. Wenzlaff credit. Doc Watson lays down some perfectly defiant and flippant vocals for the song. Let's let the lyrics to Like What, Me Worry? by 006 do the rest of the talking for us.

Like what me worry, ha ha ha

You never ever see me walkin' round

Crying over a broken heart

'Cause I made up my mind a long time ago

That I'm a loner from the start

You never see me gettin' all busted up

And worrying my pretty little head

Like man I know where I'm sleeping tonight

Cause I already done made my bed

Like what me worry, ha ha ha

Oh man, you just ain't a threat.

I ain't got no gal I ain't got no pal

That's ever going to cheat on me

I always maintain a very clear head

And nothing ever troubles me

Like man I got my very own cloud

And Im always flying high

But I'll tear that silver lining right out of you

If you mess around in my sky

Like what me worry, ha ha ha

like man you just ain't digging

Up a little baby, come on. yeah!

If I were you I'd march straight ahead

And tape up my big mouth

If you don't your eyes will be headin' north

And your nose will be headin' south

If you think of stirrin' up some action baby

Cause your life is gettin' sorta dull

Then I'll take a deep breath and I'll huff and I'll puff

And I'll blow you right outta your skull

Like what me worry, ha ha ha

oh man you going to be a hairy mess, yeah!

So if you gotta pray and you gotta sing

You better pray and get it sung

Cause there's gonna be an empty place

Where all your teeth once hung

I'm gonna sock your ribs

And stomp your toes

And give your neck a crack

And I'll break every bone individually

In your sacroiliac

Like what me worry, ha ha ha

oh man, you going to be a sorry sumpin'

If you say one more thing about me

When you open up your big mouth

I'll put my hand in there and grab your toes

And turn you inside out

I'm gonna tie you into a great big knot

And throw you onto the floor

Gonna stomp on and pulverize you

Till you ain't no more

Like what me worry, ha ha ha

oh man you ain't suckering nobody

I'm going to take you out to the back alley

and give you a couple of lessons on how to jam, 

man, you know, how to defend yourself against bad things

guns and knives and slashing all the hairy skin, and...

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

Songs The Yardbirds Taught Us (#4): Jimmy Reed - I Ain't Got You

The Yardbirds did a blistering version of I Ain't Got You with Eric Clapton at the helm. It appeared on The Yardbirds US debut album, For Your Love.

I Ain't Got You dates back to 1955 when both Billy Boy Arnold and Jimmy Reed recorded the number for the Chicago based Vee Jay Records. It is almost a certainty that The Yardbirds got their inspiration from this version which has a distinctive harmonica retort that is not in Billy Boy Arnold's version.

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

Songs The Yardbirds Taught Us (#2): Billy Boy Arnold - I Wish You Would

We're back after a whopping 27 hours off! We return to our look at songs The Yardbirds covered. Yesterday we did the Flip-Side of The Yardbirds' debut single. Today we look at the A-Side. The A-side of their 1964 release was a scorcher of a version of I Wish You Would, a song written and performed by Billy Boy Arnold. Billy Boy Arnold went to Chess Records to get some releases and was told to go packing. Down the road apiece was rival Vee Jay Records. They opened the studio and Billy Boy Arnold came out with this Bo Diddley influenced number. It was released in June of 1955. Probably early in the morning. You know, like maybe around the break of day. 

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

The Shadows of Knight - Bad Little Woman

Our last post focused on the rare 1965 single from Northern Ireland's The Wheels and their composition, Bad Little Woman. We return today with a recording of the same song from Chicago hipsters, The Shadows of Knight. We've written about the band extensively on this site so we won't rehash their history today. 

The Shadows of Knight, who first captured lightning in a bottle with a cover of Gloria by Northern Ireland's, Them, released Bad Little Woman in August of 1966 for our beloved Dunwich Records. They even got a picture sleeve for the release! They must have figured re-recording Northern Ireland based bands was the key to success. The Shadows of Knight's version is very different than either of The Wheels' versions. Gone is the harmonica and slide guitar opening/closing riffs and the random tempo changes. In it's place is some blistering guitar work by Jim Kelly and ethereal organ work. I'll let you decide which version works best. 

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

New Colony Six - At The River's Edge

We've posted about Chicago's New Colony Six before. It was a write-up on their debut single, I Confess/Dawn Is Breaking. You can read that here. Today we return with the Flip-Side of their second single, At The River's Edge. The single was released in April of 1966 on Centaur Records, a subsidiary of Cameo Parkway Records, and was composed by band member, Craig Wally Kemp. The band soon took a softer approach to their music, but this was a raver in the first order.

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