local bands in the 60's

[Rhetticent]

Of course! He's in Harrison's "Concert for Bangladesh" video. Kendall's restaurant in Noble has a display about him. Legend has it that Duanne Allman took up playing slide guitar after hearing Jesse play "Statesboro Blues" when he was with Taj Mahal's band. He's one of Oklahoma's great untold stories, I believe. Another is Gus Hardin. Garth Brooks' sister played bass in her band before joining Garth. IMHO, Gus should have been another of Oklahoma's great country artists who are known by first name alone...Vince, Garth, Reba, Toby... But, like Jesse Ed Davis, she burned out when she got too close to the sun. She died in a car wreck in 1996. I heard that it was big news in Tulsa, but it was only a couple of paragraphs in the back of the Oklahoman here in OKC.

Jessie Ed did alot of great stuff with Leon Russell... what a great musician. And you're right about Gus Hardin. I was fortunate enough to hear her on some informal studio recordings, and her voice was absolutely unique and incredible.

[Irish]

Does anyone remember a band called the Catalinas?

[boscorama]

Some groups I remember from Battles of the Bands: The Noblemen, Captain Hook & the Pirates, Glass Drum, The Extremes, Fair Weather Forecast, Fat Sow, Psychos, Lincoln-Harvey Market/Lienke Brothers, Johnny Hughes & the Fenderbenders, True Love.

One local band even dressed like Paul Revere and the Raiders (Nightwalkers, or some such?)

[Prunepicker]

The Sound Pounders were popular in the 60's, too.

[Prunepicker]

Lincoln-Harvey Market/Lienke Brothers...

They were always getting in some kind of trouble. Tom, bass,
Roger, guitar, and Tupper, keys, were quite popular. I knew them
via a friend. If I remember correctly, they had their own house
to rehearse in. At least their parents weren't there. Their father
was a doctor.

[boscorama]

That's right, the brothers lived in their house while the parents lived not far away.

There was some sort of pot bust at the Will Rogers Park love-in in, Aug 4 1968. It might have been trumped up. They were soon pictured on the front page of the paper with a story gushing about how good and upstanding they were, knowing wind instruments as well as guitars.

[Prunepicker]

That's right, the brothers lived in their house while the parents
lived not far away.

There was some sort of pot bust at the Will Rogers Park love-in in
Aug 4 1968. It might have been trumped up. They were soon
pictured on the front page of the paper with a story gushing about
how good and upstanding they were, knowing wind instruments as
well as guitars.

I remember that!

[happyday]

Does anyone remember The HoDads from the 60's? They had members from Harding High School, John Marshall High School, and Cassidy. I went with them to Purcell once. So they had about a fifty mile range of influence.

Aside from that, once you got north of the Kansas border, you were in a different world of music. Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, for whatever reason they specialized in horns, and just a bit less on guitars. Those groups billed themselves as "show bands", as they had steps, and bows, and stage techniques. I loved their sounds. Sort of MoTown.

[boscorama]

I remember the HoDads; can still visualize the drummer.

[SoonerGirl26]

I just heard that Steve Cassidy who was with the 60's local band, The Continentals, passed away today. Some of you have mentioned him on this thread.

[soonergeezer]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Al Good's band. My brother-in-law, Wes Stevens played trumpet for him. He also played the bass fiddle for his own trio, the Wes Stevens' trio. Wes' trio played weekly at the Copa Habana for several years.
C. T.

I was friends with Als son Ron. He was the manager of a place called Read and Rock at Penn Square(books and records).

[soonergeezer]

I remember the Noblemen, at least a couple of their members were from John Marshall when I was there. Their names were Mike Mathis and Mike Tzinski(not sure on the spelling). Their claim to fame was a song they did that made it onto a national ranking, not very high, but was played on local radio a little while. it was called Bend It.

[soonergeezer]

Does anyone remember The HoDads from the 60's? They had members from Harding High School, John Marshall High School, and Cassidy. I went with them to Purcell once. So they had about a fifty mile range of influence.

Aside from that, once you got north of the Kansas border, you were in a different world of music. Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, for whatever reason they specialized in horns, and just a bit less on guitars. Those groups billed themselves as "show bands", as they had steps, and bows, and stage techniques. I loved their sounds. Sort of MoTown.

I think I knew someone that played with the Ho-Dads, his name was Ronnie, can't remember the rest. or maybe it was the Roadrunners , not sure.

[RealJimbo]

I remember the HoDads; can still visualize the drummer.

Drummer was Steve...somebody from Harding H.S. The Hodads sometimes put together a complete show band with horns. Sam Hankins was the vocalist and did a great James Brown tribute show. One of my friends from the John Marshall Band days played trumpet in the show band. George Trammell.

[Eldestof4]

I've been over this thread repeatedly over the last couple of years. Even though I'm two time zones and 37 years removed from OKC as a resident, I guess it falls to me to mention the book of OKC bands authored by Rhett ____?___, owner of Rhett's Meats at Britton & May Ave. It's an amazing labor of love covering '60s bands from OKC and a little beyond. I don't have it in front of me at the moment, but I seem to remember it hinting that there would be a second volume covering Tulsa and other areas? Everybody who remembers enough to post to this thread ought to have it. As I recall, it's a little over $30 and well worth it...even for me, whose knowledge of the era's bands extended only as far as Junior and Senior Assembly dances.

Edited to add: Just after posting the previous paragraph, noticed a "Rhetticent" post-er prior to me. Are you the author of whom I speak, sir? If so, tell the folks all about the book.

[Joe Kimball]

Does anyone remember The HoDads from the 60's? They had members from Harding High School, John Marshall High School, and Cassidy. I went with them to Purcell once. So they had about a fifty mile range of influence.

I met a few. All good dudes, successful in their own rights. I understand they really made a splash back in the day.

[OKCexpat]

And how about the Midnite Rebels? And the Knightmares?

am having a dickens posting here as a newbie, so here I try again.

[/I]

Here I am again finding a "necrothread" after I signed on here recently. I went to PCHS with the Midnight Rebels guys back in the day. Guitarist Bruce Eagle died several years ago, but the rest are still "vertical". They released several 45's which were in rotation on WKY back in the 60's:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9U95UFLsjk

sorry that is a crappy scratchy copy someone posted, but the flipside was:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BI7b5nLs2A

Those were recorded at Robinhood Bryan's studio in Tyler, TX,,,the best in the region at the time.

I found one other side they cut later at Benson Sound in OKC. It's another VERY odd sounding transfer...the original didn't sound thin and "hollow" like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcOuF30dPrY

[OKCexpat]

am having a dickens posting here as a newbie, so here I try again.

[/I]

Here I am again finding a "necrothread" after I signed on here recently. I went to PCHS with the Midnight Rebels guys back in the day. Guitarist Bruce Eagle died several years ago, but the rest are still "vertical". They released several 45's which were in rotation on WKY back in the 60's:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9U95UFLsjk

sorry that is a crappy scratchy copy someone posted, but the flipside was:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BI7b5nLs2A

Those were recorded at Robinhood Bryan's studio in Tyler, TX,,,the best in the region at the time.

I found one other side they cut later at Benson Sound in OKC. It's another VERY odd sounding transfer...the original didn't sound thin and "hollow" like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcOuF30dPrY

As I recall, The "Viking Singers Trio" listed on the label were three black girls from Douglass (???). The Rebels often worked with other kids including a horn section from black OKC schools, which was totally !!!!!! in those days. PCHS was "lily white".

[OKCexpat]

I'm frustrated posting here and may give up in the future, but try try again

Mark Keller is a long time friend dating back to those PCHS days. Ever wondered who sang:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM2OK_JaJ9I

Yep, Mark who also did much of the design and direction of those series of ads after he moved to Cali.

Here is a much newer Keller song with OKC's underrated guitarist Donny Juntunen playing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFoAyJ6JGT8

You've heard Mark and Donny all over the place on ads and songs for many years.

[ctchandler]

I haven't seen this thread before, but let throw in a group from the 60's to 70's. The Wes Steven's Trio. Wes played the base fiddle. He also played the trumpet for Al Good's band. Wes is my brother-in-law.
C. T.

[Urbanized]

I haven't seen this thread before, but let throw in a group from the 60's to 70's. The Wes Steven's Trio. Wes played the base fiddle. He also played the trumpet for Al Good's band. Wes is my brother-in-law.
C. T.

C.T. I may have just put two and two together on where your oldest got his given name...his mom's maiden name..? I've always known him by his middle name but know his first is actually Steven.

[Ward]

I don't know if they played in the 60 's, maybe someone can tell me, but I remember a band in the early to mid 's 70's, I think their name was Maya.

Does that sound familiar to anyone?

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^^
They played in the mid-late seventies and throughout the eighties and even into the very early nineties. They lost their bandleader/drummer to a car wreck in '89, but they soldiered on for a few more years. Definitely a cover band ethos for most of their existence, but VERY tight and polished. Speedy West, Jr. (R.I.P.) was a member. I recall being dragged out to their home base at Cajun's Wharf a time or two by older friends in the late 80s and being surprised by how much fun I had, despite being 21 or 22 and having a pretty different musical preference at the time.

They came pretty close to being a major label success of sorts. Near miss. Here is an Oklahoman article from 1983: https://www.oklahoman.com/article/20...-door-its-maya

[Martin]

i've seen maya mentioned on okctalk before but was curious what they sounded like... i searched youtube and they have some recordings. while doing that, i found this collection of 80's bands from okc, which might be interesting to some of you: link

[Pete]

Maya played several high school dances when I was at Putnam City in the '70s.

And then we hired them for our 10-year class reunion in 1988.

They were awesome; great sound and good presence on stage.


There was another popular local band from that era called Osage. They were more a straight-rock act.