Hellfest & Devil Dick Asbury Park 45 Session Live Mix

Hello People! Here is where i will be for the weekend! In France @ Hellfest heavy Music Festival!!! Me and my band Solace will be Playing Sunday morning in the Terrorizer tent!!! And while i play in a Metal band you can see by this music blog my musical taste is pretty wide. One of the styles of muisc that i have really become a big fan of over the years is Funk & Soul. My man DJ Prestige over at Flea Market Funk Blog puts on a great DJ night here in NJ called the Sbury Park 45 Sessions where he and his group of great DJ's spin nothing but the best funk and soul and on nothing but 45's. They are a great bunch of guys and they asked me to participate in the last one and all the live sets were recorded. So if you want to check out what i spun and actually hear the tunes head over to Flea Market Funk and check out the The Asbury Park 45 Sessions Live: Devil Dick Mix
It is presented to you live and raw! Audio glitches included! Make sure you check out the other live mixes already posted by Funky 16 Corners Larry Grogan and DJ Prestige himeself and stay tuned for the rest of the DJ mixes coming soon!!!

I'll see you all when i get back from France!!!

I'm hoping i get to meet Alice Cooper!!!

The Carpenters - Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft

Wow! Just Wow!

Lectric Woods - Time Of The Season

Strange & obscure instrumental cover of this well known Zombies tune on APT from 1969. Anyone who follows this blog will know i really dig odd cover songs. Apt Records was an ABC-Paramount subsidiary label launched in 1958. In the first 8 years of their 12 year run, they released nearly 100 singles. After a 3 year hiatus, the label was revived by (the newly named) ABC Records, who used the imprint to release 14 singles and one known LP before closing the label 1970. AS FOR LECTRIC WOODS....??? YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE....???

Lectric Woods - Time Of The Season

Bobby Williams And The Mystics - Runnin' And Hidin'

... all i know of this is that it is from 1967.... and that its a really really good one.

Soulful blues rocker.... Nice!

Bobby Williams And The Mystics - Runnin' And Hidin'

The Myddle Class - Don't let Me Sleep Too Long - I Happen To Love You

(from left) Danny Mansolino, Dave Palmer, Rick Philp, Charlie Larkey, Myke Rosa

In the great NJ tradition of all things being great in NJ (except summer shore traffic) here is some really great New Jersey garage rock from The Myddle Class...

You can read a great write up on the band at the fantastic Garage Hangover site.


The Myddle Class - Don't let Me Sleep Too Long

The Myddle Class - I Happen To Love You

Bobby Peterson Quintet - The Hunch - Love You Pretty Baby

Re-post since divshare screwed up the files for this post the 1st time. So here it is again and this time w/ a file that works for Love You Pretty Baby!

Bobby Peterson was a pianist / vocalist from Chester, Pennsylvania, who started out imitating Ray Charles in smoky little bars on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Further musical apprenticeship was served as piano player for a vocal outfit known as the Apollos. In 1958 Bobby teamed up with sax player Joe Pyatt, who needed a singer and key- board player for his new combo and the Bobby Peterson Quintet was born. The other members were David Butler (drums), Chico Green (bass) and Jamo Thomas (congas and bongo). They made six remarkable singles for Buddy Caldwell's Philly-based V-Tone label between 1959 and 1961, before disbanding permanently in 1962.

The band started to play in clubs with a mixed repertoire of current R&B hits, Ray Charles favourites and a few originals, when Lawrence Kerrin, a local talent scout and promoter, heard them at the Skyway Inn in southwest Philadelphia. Kerrin and Joe Pyatt collaborated writing the Quintet's first single, a simple sax/piano instrumental called "The Hunch". Kerrin introduced the combo to Buddy Caldwell, who operated his new V-Tone and Len labels out of the back of his upholstery store on Ridge Avenue. "The Hunch" (c/w the vocal "Love You Pretty Baby") managed to climb to # 71 on Billboard's national pop charts, but a note-for-note cover by Paul Gayten on the Gordy family's embryonic Anna imprint did slightly better, peaking at # 68 in November 1959.

The quintet followed this up with a powerful two-part instrumental, "Rockin' Charlie", which was used as a theme by ace deejay Jocko Henderson. They began doing one-nighters up and down the eastern seaboard, and were brought to Chicago by Buddy Caldwell to record their third single, the great "Irresistible You" (written by Luther Dixon), coupled with a wild instrumental, "Piano Rock". "Irresistible You" went to # 15 R&B and # 96 pop in the autumn of 1960 ; Bobby Darin would record the song a year later and take it to # 15 pop. The group was now touring all over the country, with stars like Jackie Wilson, Jerry Butler and Smokey Robinson.

"Been Saving My Love For You"/"Three Street" was the fourth V-Tone single for the Bobby Peterson Quintet. Released in early 1961, it was not as strong as the first three, but still sold quite well. "One Day"/ "Mama Get Your Hammer" probably got the least airplay of all six singles. The wild "Mama Get Your Hammer" should have been the A-side IMHO. This was followed by another great instrumental, "Smooth Sailin', Parts 1 & 2", which sold a fair amount. But the young musicians were already tiring of the hard road life and drummer David Butler chose to settle down and get steady work. Joe Pyatt, the real leader of the group, joined Dave "Baby" Cortez's combo as sax man in 1962, while Chico Green went on to work with Hank Ballard and the Midnighters. Jamo Thomas joined several combos and scored a # 98 pop hit in 1966 with "I Spy For the FBI". Bobby Peterson himself recorded two further singles under his own name for Atlantic and Centaur, and returned to the rounds of Chester's clubs. In the 1980s he was playing in a funky aggregation called Self-Destruct.

The above lifted from, http://www.rockabilly.nl/references/messages/bobby_peterson.htm: who intern lifted it from someone else.... either way, you get 2 cool cuts today and some info i didn't know until i swiped it....

Bobby Peterson Quintet - The Hunch
Bobby Peterson Quintet - Love You Pretty Baby

Sir Henry And His Butlers - High Heel Sneakers - Let's Go

Re-posting this one since divshare screwed up my files per below. So here is is with corrected files!!! Enjoy!

Sir Henry and his Butlers was a Danish rock/popgroup which was formed during the summer of 1964 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The group is mostly known for its two front figures Ole "Sir Henry" Bredahl and especially Tommy Seebach and also the song Let's Go. Characteristic for the group has been Ole Bredahl as organiser, whereas the rest of the ensemble of Sir Henry and his Butlers have been changed many times since the creation of the group.
The band is a continuation of another band called Five Danes which was desolved in the spring of 1964. In the beginning, this new band consisted of Ole "Sir Henry" Bredahl (vocals, bass), Carsten Elgstrøm (guitar) together with Leif Davidsen (drums). As a trio they participated in a The Danish Beatles competition in Holte Hallen in April of 1964. Shortly thereafter the band was expanded with Poul Petersen (guitar) and Leif Davidsen was replaced with Jens Bøgvad, former the Flintones. The group became popular around the Copenhagen music venues, in particular at Bakkens Place Pigalle where they played as house orchestra. This was a result of their single debut Hi-Heel Sneakers/Sick and Tired from 1964. During the autumn of the same year the band got there breakthrough with the release of their second single Let's Go. The single became a hit, not only in Denmark, but also in Sweden and Norway and the sale of the single exceeded 50,000 copies.

Also: i just got this notice below from divshare
:
Dear Tom,

We experienced a server failure which has resulted in the loss of a
small number of files. Currently our recommendation is that affected
users re-upload any files which are missing. Please accept our
apologies for the interruption of service. We are continually working
to improve the DivShare service and have already taken steps to ensure
this does not happen again.

Thank you,
DivShare Support
www.divshare.com

so if you see any links not working let me know and i will try my best to re-upload the affected files.

Thanks,
DD


Sir Henry And His Butlers - High Heel Sneakers
Sir Henry And His Butlers - Let's Go

Archie Campbell - The Drunk

*HICK-UP*

Archie Campbell - The Drunk

The Gentrys - Cinnamon Girl

Another cool cover tune here @ the devil's music w/ The Gentrys doing some Neil Young.... The Gentrys were an American band of the 1960s and early 1970s best known for their 1965 hit "Keep on Dancing" (in 1971 also a #9 hit for the Bay City Rollers). Follow-up singles charted outside of the top 40: "Every Day I Have To Cry" (1966), "Spread It On Thick" (1966), "Cinnamon Girl" (1970), "Why Should I Cry" (1970), "Wild World" (1971), and a 'Bubbling Under' Billboard chart entry "Brown Paper Sack" (#101, 1966).

here is the The Gentrys Wiki if you so desire.....

Kind of an odd choice of a cover since it is right around the time the original came out and it does not veer of the beaten patch, but an oddity on the Sun label you don't see too often.


The Gentrys - Cinnamon Girl

Lance - Working Overtime

Most of us know that sound of the clock ticking away... Be it at school or work sometimes the damn thing moves so slow... Not in this case. I'm not sure who exactly "Lance" is (Mike Guidici?) but he is working overtime for the love of his babe and he pretty excited about it by the tempo and groove of this tune. I know nothing about this guy but the label and song title was enough for me to take a chance and only at a few bucks this is a little nice score. A real nice red hot rocker that really moves and has a great guitar break. Who knew that Iowa rocked this hard? As this Sonic Record label is out of Milford Iowa & The Iowa Great lakes Recording Company. It is the only time I have ever seen this label but it look like they put out a bunch of stuff. Check the discog. HERE: IGL Records. I'd ask you all to drop any knowledge you could on this record and the record label for that matter but i know that is a futile request... To any one else paying attention dig this uptempo rocker will ya? My guess is 67 on the year but that could swing a few years in either direction...

Lance - Working Overtime

Junior And The Classics - Birmingham

Ok peeps, tonight is the night! The latest 45 session is at hand. If you are anywhere near Asbury Park head down the The Asbury Lanes Bowling Alley for some Fun, Funk, Soul, Beers & Bowling! Doors are ar 9PM, admission is $5, and it’s 18 to get in, 21 to party with ID.

Here is a 45 that i love. It's a real uptempo stomper with a killer sax break. I put the flip of this, a cover of The Dog by Rufus Thomas on the very 1st Mix DJ Prestige and i did a way way back but this tune smokes just as hard. So if you dig this and are close c'mon on down to the sessions where this just might get spun live!

Junior And The Classics - Birmingham

Howard Tate - Look AT Granny Run

Happy Monday. going to stay funky leading up to the 45 sessions this Friday and here is a really great and funky tune to get your week started. Man, this thing is just great great great! This a real funky number that is miles ahead of the funk game as this thing came out in 1966 long before most were anywhere near as funky. So dig in and Look at Granny Run Run!

As for Mr. Tate here is the 411:

Howard Tate (born August 14, 1939, near Macon, Georgia) is an American soul music singer and songwriter.
He moved with his family to Philadelphia in the early 1940s. In his teens, he joined a gospel music group that included Garnet Mimms and, as the Gainors, recorded rhythm and blues sides for Mercury Records and Cameo Records in the early 1960s. Tate performed with organist Bill Doggett and returned to Philadelphia.
Mimms, leading a group called the Enchanters, introduced Tate to record-producer Jerry Ragovoy, who began recording Tate for Verve Records. Utilizing top New York City session musicians such as Paul Griffin, Richard Tee, Eric Gale, Chuck Rainey and Herb Lovell, Tate and Ragovoy produced, from 1966 to 1968, a series of bluesy soul-music recordings that are regarded as some of the most sophisticated of the era. "Ain't Nobody Home" (1966), "Look at Granny Run Run" (1966), "Baby I Love You" (1967), and "Stop" (1968) all written or co-written by Ragovoy, were well received by record buyers. "Ain't Nobody Home", "Look At Granny" and "Stop" charted pop and top 20 R&B.
Janis Joplin performed another single, the title track from his first album, "Get It While You Can", during this time. The album was regarded as a classic by aficionados, but it failed to sell in large quantities. However, Tate's reputation among critics was high. As Robert Christgau writes in his review of Tate's Verve material, "Tate is a blues-drenched Macon native who had the desire to head north and sounds it every time he gooses a lament with one of the trademark keens that signify the escape he never achieved. He brought out the best in soul pro Jerry Ragovoy, who made Tate's records jump instead of arranging them into submission, and gave him lyrics with some wit to them besides."
Tate, working apart from Ragovoy, made an album called Howard Tate's Reaction that was released in 1970 on Turntable Records. Produced by Lloyd Price and Johnny Nash, it was distributed in minute quantities, and critics felt it lacked the flair of his Verve material. Still, as Christgau writes, "Tate's voice is potent enough to activate more inert material." The record was reissued, as Reaction, in 2003. Ragovoy and Tate reunited for the 1972 Atlantic Records Howard Tate, which included more songs by Ragovoy along with Tate's versions of Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country" and Robbie Robertson's and Levon Helm's "Jemima Surrender." Again, the album was acclaimed by critics and virtually ignored by listeners.
After recording a single for Epic Records and a few songs for his own label, Tate retired from the record business in the late 1970s. He sold securities in the New Jersey and Philadelphia area, and in the 1980s developed a dependence on drugs, ending up living in a homeless shelter. In the mid-1990s Howard Tate began counselling drug abusers and the mentally ill, and worked as a preacher. A Jersey City disc jockey discovered Tate's whereabouts early in 2001, and in spring 2001 Tate played his first date in many years, in New Orleans. He then began working with Ragovoy on an album that was released, as Rediscovered, in 2003. It was regarded as a return to form and included covers of songs by Elvis Costello and Prince as well as a new version of "Get It While You Can."

Howard Tate - Look AT Granny Run

The Chakachas - Jungle Fever

I'm still feeling a little funky over here so In the great tradition of Chaino i give you The Chakachas & Jungle Fever...

The Chakachas were a Belgian based group of Latin soul studio musicians. Also known as 'Les Chakachas' or 'Los Chakachas', they were formed by band leader Gaston Bogaert, ex-Los Juano Boengs and The Continentals, percussion (conga and tumba); Tito Puente's singer wife Kari Kenton, vocals and maracas; Vic Ingeveldt (a Dutchman from Liege), saxophone; Charlie Lots, trumpet; Christian Marc, piano; Henri Breyre, guitar and backing vocals; and Bill Raymond, bass guitar. All were native to Schaarbeek (a district of Brussels), or nearby Charleroi, Willebroek and Liege.

They started out in the late 1950s, and had a Belgian #1 in 1958 with "Eso es el amor", which was sung in Spanish. In 1959 they recorded "Rebecca" (a.k.a. "Rebekka") which featured in the film The Battle of Algiers. In 1962, they crept into the UK Singles Chart for the first time with "Twist Twist", which reached #48. Although they issued numerous recordings, they are best remembered as a one-hit wonder for their hit disco single "Jungle Fever" from 1972, which sold over one million copies in the United States, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in March 1972. It also reached #8 in the US Billboard Hot 100. In the UK it fared less well: despite some airplay soon after release it was later banned by the BBC, which took exception to the song's moaning and heavy breathing. It peaked at #29.

The Chakachas - Jungle Fever

Chuck Jackson - Candy

Not much to say today, (do i ever?) but i am gearing up for this Friday's 45 session down in good old Asbury Park NJ. If anyone reads the BS i push over here they should be well versed in the sessions put on by my man DJ Prestige over @ Flea Market Funk. So I am going through some 45's trying to get an idea of what i might want to spin and i pulled this little bitch out and put it on the turntable and man is it a good one. Kinda funky, kinda rockin', kinda rolling, with a bit of a strut and stroll w/ some superb vox by Mr. Jackson. But the real reason i pulled this out and posted it was because as Mr. jackson is eluding too i myself had a girl named Candy once. In fact she was teh devil's 1st.... TMI i'm sure, but there you go. And although it was a full on kind of thing, and man was it a LOOONG time ago, i still remember little ol' Candy.... anyway, enjoy the tune, and if you had a girl named Candy chime in.... or maybe one that just tasted like Candy....???

As for Mr. jackson..... You can read about him here: Chuck Jackson Bio

Chuck Jackson - Candy

Hearts and Flowers - Ode To A Tin Angel - Extra Extra/Rock & Roll Gypsies/Extra Extra

Wow, what can i say. Still sorta bumming about Mr. Ronnie James Dio passing away...
But life goes on and so does the music... But a voice like his is just about impossible to replace. anyway, were going to keep things going over here at the devil's music w/ a couple of great late 60's pop psych tunes from Hearts & Flowers and their 1968 album Of Horses ~ Kids ~ And Forgotten Women on Capitol records.

I'm sending these 2 out to my man Larry over at Iron Leg because this shit is right up his alley. 2 really groovy psychedelic tunes from 1968 that kinda alternate between Beatles/early Bee Gees/early Bowie and a slew of others of the era... I really dig the turn around switch up in R & R Gypsies but both songs are gems IMHO...

Hearts & Flowers were a Los Angeles folk-rock club band, perhaps most significant as one of the groups that launched the career of Eagles' founding member and guitarist-songwriter, Bernie Leadon. The lineup included Larry Murray (vocals, guitar), Dave Dawson (vocals, guitar, autoharp) and Rick Cunha (vocals, guitar). Leadon replaced Cunha on their second album in 1968. Among venues they played during the mid-1960s, were Los Angeles clubs Ledbetter's, Doug Weston's Troubadour, and the Ashgrove. After recording two albums without major success, the group disbanded in 1968.

Read a really great write up about the band HERE: for a very full story on and about the band.

Hearts and Flowers - Ode To A Tin Angel
Hearts and Flowers - Extra Extra/Rock & Roll Gypsies/Extra Extra

R.I.P - Ronnie Dio and the Prophets - Love Potion No. 9

Looks like the rumors are true and my man Ronnie Dio didn't beat the big C that i wrote about back in November 2009....

RIP Dio... Bummer.... I'm a lot more shaken up here than i thought....

if you missed it the 1st time here is a re-post from 11/30/09 with a little story of my encounter with Mr. Dio...

I thought i was going to take some time off but in light of some information i was recently told i though this was pretty appropriate. Taken from the official Ronnie James Dio website:

Ronnie has been diagnosed with the early stages of stomach cancer. We are starting treatment immediately at the Mayo Clinic. After he kills this dragon, Ronnie will be back on stage, where he belongs, doing what he loves best, performing for his fans.

Thanks to all the friends and fans around the world that have sent well wishes. This has really helped to keep his spirit up.

Long Live Rock and Roll, Long Live Ronnie James Dio"




Most folks know the metal elf God as singer in the the hard rock and metals bands of Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio, but I'm sure there are a good many that never knew he was cutting records as far back as the 50's & 60's. This here one is from 1964. here is the whole story if you need it: Ronnie Dio Wiki

I was lucky enough to have actually toured w/ Mr. Dio back in the 90's when my little shit band Godspeed opened up for the tiny man with the big vox. And although we didn't "hang out" much when we did have some interactions he was always super cool. He bought us a few drinks from time to time, let us drink his leftover Guinness from his dressing room and even gave us some advice of the music biz... Which obviously we didn't heed. We broke up soon after this tour.

Anyway, i just found this record a few weeks back. I was out and about one Saturday morning with my son digging for stuff at the flea market around town. We were just about to leave when we rolled up on a small stack of 45's. I started thumbing through and got about 1/2 way through of a very uneventful stack, best stuff in it was maybe some Tommy James 45's or Beach Boys; Pretty standard stuff, when the lady goes, Do you want the whole stack? I just want to get rid of them. At which point i say, there is not much i can use in here. Her reply was they are cheap. Oh yeah, how cheap? 2 bucks cheap. So i shell out the 2 beans without even looking at the last 1/2 of the stack. Not thinking much of it i put the records in the "I'll get to these later" section of the room. Well i finally did get around to checking them out this little gem reared its rare little head. So anyway, it's not the greatest 45 on the planet but hearing "little Ronnie" talking about being the loneliest boy in town and knowing what a metal God he turned into is a real hoot. And i guess these thing are kind of rare as well.

So Long Live Rock and Roll and Long Live Ronnie James Dio!!!


Ronnie Dio and the Prophets - Love Potion No. 9

Curtis Mayfield - (Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below We're All Going To Go

The Title and Lyrics to this bad ass song pretty much say all that needs to be said without any more jabberwockey from me....

edit: Sorry Curtis but you got bumped for Ronnie James Dio.... R.I.P RJD!!!

Curtis Mayfield - (Don't Worry) If There's A Hell Below We're All Going To Go

David Peel & the Lower East Side - Happy Mother's Day II

Happy Mother's Day all you Mutha's!!!

David Peel & the Lower East Side - Happy Mother's Day

Four Finks - Wiki Wiki Woo - Hello Sucker

Couple of garage novelty garage surf type rockers today by the Four Finks on the Antler label, Antler 4024, out of Las Vegas, Nevada. Kewl stuff Daddy-O!!!

Drinking love juice and getting kinda HIGH!!!

Four Finks - Wiki Wiki Woo
Four Finks - Hello Sucker

Billy Lee Riley - Family Portrait - Going Back To Memphis

A man most famous for his early Sun singles but obviously had a very long career, here are a couple of rockin' soul (yep, i said soul, check it) from the late 60', 1968 to be exact. Pretty cool stuff from a guy that is really known as a rockabilly cat. These tunes could almost pass for straight soul cuts...

Born in Pocahontas, Arkansas, the son of a sharecropper, Riley learned to play guitar from black farm workers. After 4 years in the Army, Riley first recorded in Memphis, Tennessee in 1955 before being lured to Sun Studios by Sam Phillips. He recorded "Trouble Bound" for Jack Clement and Slim Wallace. Sam Phillips obtained the rights and he released "Trouble Bound" b/w "Rock With Me Baby" on September 1, 1956 (Sun 245). His first hit was "Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll" b/w "I Want You Baby" released February 23, 1957 (Sun 260) with backing piano by Jerry Lee Lewis, after which he recorded "Red Hot" b/w "Pearly Lee" released September 30, 1957 (Sun 277).
"Red Hot" was showing a lot of promise as a big hit record, but Sam Phillips pulled the promotion and switched it to "Great Balls Of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis. The record was pulled without a lot of sales. He had other Sun recordings and they, likewise, did not have a lot of sales as his promotion had stopped.
Considered good looking and with wild stage moves, Riley had a brief solo career with his backing band "The Little Green Men". Riley and his Little Green Men were the main Sun studio band. They were Riley, Roland Janes, J.M. Van Eaton, Marvin Pepper, and Jimmy Wilson, later joined by Martin Willis.
In 1960, he left Sun, and started Rita Record label with Roland Janes. They produced the national hit record "Mountain Of Love" by Harold Dorman. He later started two other labels Nita and Mojo.
In 1962, he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a session musician with Dean Martin, the Beach Boys, Herb Alpert, Sammy Davis Jr. and others, as well as recording under various aliases.
In the early seventies, Riley quit music to return to Arkansas to begin his own construction business. In 1978 "Red Hot" and "Flyin' Saucers Rock 'n' Roll" were covered by Robert Gordon and Link Wray, which led to a one-off performance in Memphis in 1979, the success of which led to further recording at Sun Studio and a full-time return to performing.
Rediscovered by Bob Dylan in 1992, who had been a fan since 1956, Riley played rock and roll, blues and country-blues.
His album Hot Damn! (Capricorn, 1997) was nominated for the Grammy.
He was injured falling on a slippery department store floor in 2005, requiring two surgeries as a result. In 2006, he released a country CD, Hillbilly Rockin' Man.
The Rockabilly Hall of Fame reported in summer 2009 that Riley was in poor health, battling stage 4 colon cancer, which caused his death on August 2, 2009 in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Billy Lee Riley - Family Portrait
Billy Lee Riley - Going Back To Memphis

Eyes Of Blue - Yesterday

Today we get a cool and crazy jazzy progy take on the Beatles Yesterday by Eyes of Blue. Here is the straight dope...

The Eyes Of Blue evolved during the mid-sixties from covers and R&B band The Mustangs, based in Neath. The early line-up consisted of Wyndham Rees (Vocals), Ray Williams (Guitar), Ritchie Francis (Bass), Melvyn Davies (Guitar) and David Thomas (Drums). Thomas had replaced Byron Phillips in October 1964 a month before the change of name, and before too long Melvyn Davies also decided to leave, reducing the Eyes to a four-piece. Starting out as a soul-based R&B band the Eyes quickly established a strong reputation in the South Wales music scene. They played the same circuit as many other familar groups, The Bystanders, The Jets, and took in gigs in Llanelli, Swansea, Skewen, Cardiff and Neath, winning a few local talent competitions on the way. Early in 1966 drummer Thomas was off and away, and John Weathers was drafted in as a temporary replacement. From another Neath based band - the Smokestacks - came keyboard player Phil Ryan, and vocalist Gary Pickford-Hopkins.

By May that year the band were ready to turn professional. During the late spring and summer of '66 Eyes Of Blue entered and won the national Melody Maker 'Beat Contest', which offered the chance of a one year Decca recording contract. This turned out to be something of a poisoned chalice as none of the tracks recorded for Decca were representative.

Once the Decca contract had expired the band signed with the Mercury label, and during March to July 1968 recorded their first album across a number of sessions in Chappell Studios, London. Later that year the Eyes backed american singer-songwriter Buzzy Linhart on his album 'Buzzy' released on the Phillips label. When some critics suggested that this could be a more productive route an angry Ritchie Francis responded; "We will not be called a backing group for anyone"

The Eyes debut album 'Crossroads Of Time' was eventually released early in 1969. It included two Graham Bond R&B songs (Bond also wrote the sleevenotes) 'Love Is The Law' and 'Crossroads Of Time' which was especially written for the band. It also included an interesting version of Love's '7 + 7 Is' while The Beatles' 'Yesterday' is given a treatment suggesting something of a jazz hymn.
http://www.manband-archive.com/evolution/history-roots-eyes-of-blue.php

Eyes Of Blue - Yesterday