The Astronauts developed out of a group, The Stormtroopers, which was originally formed at Boulder High School, Boulder, Colorado in 1956 by Jon "Storm" Patterson (vocals, guitar), Robert Graham "Bob" Demmon February 1939 – 18 December 2010)[2] (guitar), and Brad Leach (drums). In 1961, they became The Astronauts after adding Richard Otis "Rich" Fifield (vocals, guitar) and Dick Sellars (guitar), the change of band name recognizing the fascist connotations of the previous name and to pay tribute to local hero, astronaut Scott Carpenter. Patterson switched to bass, Leech was replaced on drums by Jim Gallagher, and soon afterwards Sellars left to join the US Navy, being replaced by Dennis Lindsey. With a line-up of Demmon, Patterson, Fifield, Lindsey and Gallagher, the band gained a strong local reputation, toured as far as Chicago and Dallas, Texas, and released their first single, "Come Along Baby", in 1962, on the small Palladium label. They were signed to RCA Records after a record company executive was impressed by their performance at a local night club, the Tulagi.
Their first single on RCA was "Baja", an instrumental written by
Lee Hazlewood originally for his friend, guitarist Al Casey. Released by The Astronauts in
early 1963, the track was described as "a typical surf instrumental with a
reverberation-heavy twangy guitar and driving drumbeat", and reached # 94 on the
Billboard Hot 100 for just one week, the pinnacle of their US chart career. However, they
released a succession of further singles on RCA, in an attempt by the
record company to emulate the success of the Beach Boys and other surf music-related
groups in the charts at the time. According to reviewer Richie Unterberger, "the
group shone brightest on their instrumentals, which used mounds of Fender reverb and two
rhythm guitars; when they sang, the results were much less successful." Patterson and
Fifield shared lead vocals, and the band recorded songs by Roger Christian, Gary Usher,
Dick Dale and Henry Mancini, among others. Fifield, the lead guitarist, used a Fender
Jazzmaster on the recordings, with an early prototype reverb unit personally loaned to the
group by Leo Fender. Their 1965 song "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day was covered by
The Monkees in 1966.
As well as a succession of singles and EPs, the band released four LPs
over nine months, starting in May 1963: Surfin' with The Astronauts – which reached #
61 on the Billboard 200 album chart – Everything Is A-OK! (recorded live at the Club
Baja in Denver, Colorado), Competition Coupe, and The Astronauts Orbit Campus (recorded
live in Boulder).
They appeared several times on the Hullabaloo TV show, and have the distinction of
appearing in more beach party movies than any other surf band: Surf Party, Wild on the
Beach, Wild Wild Winter and Out of Sight. Regarding the band's performance in 1964's Surf
Party, the book Pop Surf Culture states “The Astronauts bang out a thick,
reverb-laden instrumental called ‘Firewater,’ and their theme song ‘Surf
Party’ happens to be one of the best surf instrumentals ever recorded.”
In 1964, their record company discovered that they had a growing fan base in Japan, where
they outsold The Beach Boys and toured with The Ventures. Five albums and three singles
made the top 10 there, with "Movin'" – re-titled as "Over The
Sun" – reaching number one in the country.
In all, they recorded nine albums. Gallagher and Lindsey were drafted for Vietnam before
the last album, Travelin' Men in 1967, and were replaced by Mark Bretz and Rod Jenkins
respectively. Demmon also left, being replaced by Robert Carl McLerran, before Fifield and
Patterson finally decided to end the band name after a tour of Asia in 1968.
The Bel-Airs were an early and influential surf rock band from South Bay,
Los Angeles, active in the early 1960s
They were best known for their 1961 hit "Mr. Moto", an instrumental surf rock
song that featured a flamenco-inspired intro and contained a melodic piano interlude. The
song's theme was used in the solo for the song "Seed" by Sublime.
Upon splitting up, guitarist Eddie Bertrand formed Eddie & the Showmen in 1964, while
guitarist Paul Johnson joined Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys in 1970. Original
Bel-Airs drummer Dick Dodd joined Bertrand in Eddie & the Showmen, and later joined
the Standells, playing drums and singing lead on their major 1966 hit, "Dirty
Water". Richard Delvy replaced Dick Dodd on drums and went on to found the surf group
the Challengers.
Johnson has continued in music, both in recording and as a performer. Among other music
associations, he has been a member of the "Jim Fuller version" of the Surfaris
since 1990. Bertrand also continued in music, touring as Eddie and the Soundwaves, among
other performance configurations. Dodd has participated in various reunions and later
recordings of the Standells.
Eddie Bertrand died of cancer in November 2012.
he Challengers were seen in a few of 1980s surf band reunion concerts.
Richard Delvy always kept in contact with his band mates. His surf band history was
extensive and he maintained his friendships with his former Bel-Airs guitarist Paul
Johnson (PJ and the Galaxies) and Eddie Bertrand (Eddie & the Showmen).In 1992 a local
surf company owned by Brad Jennings (The Early Sixties Company) signed a contract with
Delvy to reproduce the Challengers band LP covers and Rick Griffin artwork for tee shirts
and surf related products. That successful relationship lasted for almost 20 years.
In 1995, after 25 years of no new recordings, The Challengers reunited with some new
members to release the album "New Wave" produced by band leader and founder
Richard Delvy. Paul Johnson graciously joined the group to play guitar and composed. Art
Fisher played guitar on Mr.Moto, Ed Fournier contributed a new song he wrote and Richard
Delvy plays drums on the new tracks. It was released on compact disc on the independent
label Atmosphere, Miraleste Music. Richard Delvy died on February 6, 2010 ending his
lifelong influence on music in the Los Angeles area.
Although they were a pretty fair surf group, the Crossfire's' real claim
to fame is that the group somehow evolved into the pop/folk-group stars the Turtles in the
mid-'60s. Before that transformation, they managed to release two local singles, and a
fair amount of unreleased studio and live material surfaced many years
later. An average or slightly average surf combo with a high wackiness quotient, their
very best tunes ("Fiberglass Jungle" and "Out Of Control") have a
genuine driving menace, although the bulk of their repertoire was fairly standard-issue
surf-cum-frat rock. Their second single, "One Potato Two Potato," showed them
edging toward garage rock, and offered the only rough clue to the direction they would
take as the Turtles.
The group's rise literally started with a dream by its drummer Ron Wilson. One day he woke up with lyrics in his head about a surfer and his travails, based on a real life brother of one of the band members.
The Chantays were five high school students ranging age from 13 to 17 from Santa Ana, CA. Playing school dances and local clubs they were seen by agent Dale Smallins. had one of the biggest and best instrumental surf hits, "Pipeline." Competent players who went heavy on the rumbling bass, ghostly reverb, and electric keyboards, they were very much a one - shot act; their repertoire was crowded with rock & roll covers and "Pipeline" sound alikes, and none of their follow - up singles charted.
Eddie & the Showmen were an American surf rock band of the 1960s.
Formed in Southern California by Eddie Bertrand, formerly of The Bel-Airs, they released
several singles on Liberty Records. Their highest-charting single in Los Angeles was
"Mr. Rebel", which reached number four on the Wallichs Music City Hit List on
February 10, 1964.
The band originally formed because Bertrand wanted to move on from the Bel-Airs. While the
Bel-Airs focused more on guitar interplay, and a moderate sound, Eddie & the Showmen
played more in the style of Dick Dale with a prominent lead guitar and heavy sound. The
band's original drummer was former Mouseketeer Dick Dodd, who later joined The Standells.
One of the guitar players Larry Carlton later became a famous jazz guitarist, and another
was Rob Edwards of Colours who was the guitarist on the title track for the surf movie,
Pacific Vibrations.
One of Eddie & the Showmen's biggest hits, "Squad Car", was a cover version
of the Bel-Airs track. Eddie and the Showmen are included in the Hard Rock Cafe: Surf 1998
compilation of surf bands and surf music on track 11. Mr. Rebel They are also included in
The Birth of Surf compilation track 20 Squad Car and are on 10 tracks of Toes on the Nose:
32 Surf Age Instrumentals compilation.
The Frogmen made just a few records in their short instrumental career. The biggest hit by far was called Underwater. It was a smoking instrumental picking up on the surf scene in Southern California, and peaked at number 44 in 1961. The first issue was on Candix Records. Reportedly, the group was a six piece band from Culver City, California, and Rockin Records lists the members as: Jim Young, Dennis Farley , Mike Anderson, Raymond Sullivan, Larry Wnuk and Larry Bartone
The Lively Ones were an American instrumental surf rock band active in
Southern California in the 1960s. They played live mostly in California and Arizona. They
recorded for Del-Fi records with production from Bob Keane. They recorded mostly cover
songs, but there were a few originals.
Their 1963 song "Surf Rider" (written by Nokie Edwards from The Ventures) was
featured in the final sequence as well as the end
credits of Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction.
They are best known with these members:
Lead guitar: Jim Masoner
Rhythm guitar: Ed Chiaverini
Bass guitar: Ron Griffith
Saxophone: Joel Willenbring
Drums: Tim Fitzpatrick
Currently, John Benton plays rhythm/alternate lead guitar and Tracy Sands plays bass
guitar. Recent live shows have featured Earthman on rhythm/alternate lead guitar.
One of the better Southern Californian instrumental surf groups from the
heyday of the genre circa 1962-63, Dave Myers and the Surftones issued a decent LP for
Del-Fi in 1963 in the style of Dick Dale, though not as raunchy. The similarity to Dick
Dale is understandable, since the group took over from Dale as the house band at the
Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa, California. Also Myers and his men, like Dale, used the
same kind of equipment, in particular Fender guitars and amps, which helped create a
powerful reverb sound. Myers, and all but one of the Surftones, were music majors in
college, which put them ahead of many rival surf bands in skills. Myers himself played
tenor sax, trumpet, bongos, and steel guitar in addition to electric guitar, which he
played on a specially made Mosrite that was
designed to look like flames.
Myers and the Surftones' Del-Fi album, Hangin' Twenty, was a cool and varied, though not
stunning, set that included R&B-driven tunes with sax, moody minor-key cuts, and
languid ballads with the kind of middle eastern-informed melodies also employed by Dick
Dale. In 1964 they renamed themselves Dave Myers and the Disciples for a vocal single, and
then went back to instrumental music, but changed their name again, for the album Greatest
Racing Themes (which was billed to the Dave Myers Effect). Myers didn't record again,
although he continued to work as a professional musician until the end of the 1960s. One
of Myers and the Surftones' stronger tracks, "Moment of Truth, " appears on
Rhino's Cowabunga! The Surf Box Set.
The Surftones were from Laguna Beach. The majority of the group had majored in music at
college. Myers himself was a multi-instrumentalist. As well as playing guitar, he played
steel guitar, tenor sax, trumpet and bongos. Their lineup in 1962 consisted of Dave Myers
on lead guitar, Jon Curtis on rhythm guitar, Johnny
Miller on bass guitar, Bob Hurtly on saxophone, and Bob Morosco on drums.
In 1962, Dave Myers and his group as well as another group called the Rhythm Rockers were
regulars at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa, California. They became the house band at
venue, having taken over from Dick Dale and his band. Myers's father owned a store that
was visited by Bob Hafner who was the partner of Tony Hilder. One day Hafner and Myers Sr.
were having a conversation that got on to the subject of music. A short time later Hilder
turned up. He came to one of their practice sessions and heard their version of
"Church Key", a song he held the rights to. They would end up having two singles
released on Hilder's Impact label. They were "Moment Of Truth" bw
"Frogwalk" . They also covered The Revels hit "Church Key" bw
"Passion" as Dave Myers and his Surf-Tones.
In late 1963, drummer Bob Callwell left the group. He was replaced by Ross van Kleist.
Also in late 1963, the group played at the Second Annual Surf Fair, held at the Santa
Monica Auditorium. This live event was recorded live and released on the Impact label as
Shake! Shout! & Soul.
In 1964 Dave Myers and his group recorded a vocal single. After that he was playing
instrumental music. In the mid-1960s, he recorded as the Dave Myers Effect, releasing an
album called Greatest Racing Themes.[11] It was later released on the Carole label in
1968. This album was produced by Larry Brown a/k/a Lawrence Brown who provided the music
for the 1968 biker film, The Angry Breed.
One of the last surf bands to emerge, the Pyramids were one of the best marketed. When their initial single "The Pyramid Stomp" fizzled nationally, the group's bassist Steve Leonard decided to analyzed the Chantay's "Pipeline" and came up with a clever variation of that opening reverb riff. In early 1964, The Pyramids made the Top 20 with "Penetration, helped by the promotion of John Hodge, the group's manager. The Long Beach, California group achieved some notoriety after Hodge convinced them to shave their heads just as the British Invasion and became "America's answer to the Beatles." During their concerts they'd wear Beatle wigs which they would throw to the audience halfway through the show revealing their bald heads. Hired girls would then storm the stage. Other gimmicks were arriving at a job on elephants or in a helicopter. The gimmicks worked and they were soon appearing on Bandstand and Hullabaloo and in the beach movie Bikini Beach. Hodge wasn't as good at investing the money as he was at helping them earn it. After several bad investments they disbanded after recording one album and a few non - hit singles.
The group started in the mid-to-late 1950s as a high school band in San
Luis Obispo, California called Gil Serna & The Rockets, before changing their
name to The Revels in 1959. Although their instrumental style predated the 1961-65
era of surf music, their success came during that period.
They are usually considered a "pre-surf" band and were the original Central
California coastal instrumental band. Other bands from the area later included the more
popular groups named The Sentinels and The Impacts.
The Revels singles were collected on their sole album, Revels on a Rampage (1964). They
also composed music for the soundtrack of the 1961 film The Exiles.
Their 1961 song "Comanche" has been featured on two soundtracks. It first
appeared as the "Detoured Theme" in The Exiles.[2] It was later included along
with several other Surf music hits on the soundtrack of the film, Pulp Fiction (1994).
Another member, Norman Knowles, had offered to manage the Sentinels who had a hit with
"Latin'ia". In addition to managing The Sentinels he wrote "Church
Key" and "Intoxicate".
The Rumblers are known mostly for their one instrumental hit,
"Boss," which made it to number 52 in early 1963. The Southern Californian
group, however, recorded quite a bit in the subsequent two years, never repeating the
success of "Boss." Though sometimes thought of as a surf band, they recorded in
a variety of raucous instrumental rock & roll styles, as well as doing some vocal
numbers. The Rumblers were formed at the end of the '50s by teenagers in the Los Angeles
suburb of Norwalk, and by 1962, were doing some recording, hooking up with the small
independent Downey label (based in the L.A. suburb of the same name). Downey had just one
big hit, the Chantays' 1963 surf classic "Pipeline," and couldn't replicate the
same level of success with the Rumblers, though "Boss" got to the Top Ten at
some local stations, going all the way to number two on KFWB in Los Angeles.
"Boss" and their local popularity, however, were enough to get them an
LP on Downey and numerous follow-up 45s, including some recordings done under different
names, such as the Nylons and Bel Canto's, whose "Feel Aw Right" has an
arrangement by a young Barry White. Distinguished from some other acts associated with the
surf scene by their prominent use of saxophones (at one point the lineup included two sax
players) and a heavier R&B orientation, the Rumblers broke up in late 1965 after
guitarist Johnny Kirkland was drafted. They evolved
into the Interns, who had a 1967 single in the vocal garage-pop-rock style whose
popularity had made surf music largely a thing of the past.
The group's rise literally started with a dream by its drummer Ron Wilson. One day he woke up with lyrics in his head about a surfer and his travails, based on a real life brother of one of the band members.
Glendora, CA surf group remembered for "Wipe Out," the number two 1963 hit that ranks as one of the great rock instrumentals, featuring a classic up - and - down guitar riff and a classic solo drum roll break, both of which were emulated by millions (the number is no exaggeration) of beginning rock & rollers. They recorded an astonishing number of albums (about half a dozen) and singles in the mid - '60s; the "Wipe Out" follow - up "Point Panic" was the only one to struggle up to the middle of the charts. The Surfaris were not extraordinary, but they were more talented than the typical one - shot surf group; drummer Ron Wilson was praised by session stickman extraordinary Hal Blaine, and his uninhibited splashing style sounds like a direct ancestor to Keith Moon. He also took the lead vocals on the group's occasional passable Beach Boy imitations.
The Tornadoes were an American surf band from Redlands, California. They
were the second band to receive national airplay with a surf instrumental (after The
Marketts), with their song "Bustin' Surfboards", released on Aertaun Records in
1962. "Bustin' Surfboards" has since become a classic and mainstay of the surf
genre. One of its distinctions, and appeals, was that the song opened with the sound of an
ocean swell (that continued throughout the song), thereby creating
a sense of being at a beach. The album with the same name was belatedly released on
September 20, 1963. The band, however, did not manage to follow up on their success. Their
song "Shootin' Beavers" was banned from airplay because of its suggestive title.
The band temporarily changed their name to The Hollywood Tornadoes, because the British
band, the Tornado(e)s, were charting with the song "Telstar."
"Bustin' Surfboards" was included on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack in 1994,
thereby renewing interest in the band. The Tornadoes continued to perform through 2007.
Members as of 2007 (including four members of the original band) were brothers Gerald
(bass) and Norman "Roly" Sanders (lead guitar), their cousin Jesse Sanders
(rhythm guitar), Leonard Delaney (drums) and Joel Willenbring (saxophone).
In 2005, they released a CD called Now and Then on the Crossfire Publications label
containing 29 tracks, including live recordings from their performance at the Zappanale
concert in Germany in 2003, cuts from a 1998 CD,and two new recordings. The 2006 Crossfire
Publications CD Charge Of The Tornadoes featured more of their '60s masters and Zappanale
performances.
The band announced on their website that they would retire and cease performing as of
November 2008, but the band has since decided to continue. During a conversation with
Crossfire Publications head, Greg Russo, on July 13, 2014, Tornadoes leader Gerald Sanders
confirmed that the band is still active.
Former band member, Leonard Delaney, died on October 5, 2014, aged 71, in San Bernardino,
California, from complications of Alzheimer's
disease.