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North Tower Band
What's Happening: What's
the latest for some of the Beach bands that are out there working hard for you? Let's take a look....North Tower had a strong
May, playing the Hot Nights & Hot Cars Cruise-In Series in Pilot Mountain, NC, the
North Hills Beach Music Series in Raleigh, NC, the City Market in Clinton, NC
as well as appearances at Duck's and Thirsty's. Eleven dates are on the calendar for June, plus they have a return engagement
at North Hills on July 4th .........Summerdaze Band continues to cover a lot of ground in both North and South Carolina, playing
six outdoor festivals and 'After Five' Series in May, ranging from Fort Mill, SC to Statesville, NC and several in between.
They travel to Wytheville, VA on June 15th to perform at the Chautauqua Festival..........Hats off to the Big Time Party Band,
they have a new hit tune in collaboration with Clifford Curry. Their rendition of Four O'Clock In The Morning follows closely
on the heels of last year's highly successful Cherry Groove. In addition to several upcoming private gigs, look for them playing
On The Horseshoe at the North Myrtle Beach Pavilion on July 11th.............
Atlantic Groove
Atlantic Groove is rolling red hot in June with ten play dates.
Among those are the Pilot Mountain Hot Nights & Hot Cars SERIES on June 1st, the legendary Stuart, VA Beach Music Festival
on June 8th and the Yorktown, VA Summer Concert Series on June 20th. Several planned dates at Duck's Beach Club are on the
summer schedule as well........The Holiday Band has a new song just out – Party On Main Street has a kind of a Beach/Reggae/Latin
rhythm groove to it, different but definitely relevant. Wrapping up twelve performances in May, the band has another twelve
scheduled for June, including outdoor appearances at North Hills in Raleigh on June 13th , Southpointe in Durham, NC on June
15th and the Hooters Outdoor Party in Burlington, NC on June 18th...............Steve Owens & Summertime continue to impress
the crowds with their performances. You can catch them outdoors at these upcoming events: The Blueberry Festival in Burgaw,
NC on June 15th, the Holden Beach, NC Concert Series on July 7th and the Ocean
Isle Beach, NC Concert Series on August16th.............
The Carolina Breakers
The multi-talented Carolina Breakers are in huge demand!! Sixteen dates cover up their June calendar,
all the way from one each in Tarboro, NC and Fayetteville, NC on June 1st to Charleston, SC on June 22nd
to the Holden Beach Concert Series on June 30th............. The Lakeside Drive Band continues to increase their
overall popularity. Check them out early this month at The Bark In The Park event in Cramerton, NC on June 7th
or at TJ's at High Rock Lake in Salisbury, NC on June 8th...........The Tim Clark Band has one of the hottest new
songs in Beach music with Have A Real Good Time. They have a bunch of private gigs coming up in June but can
be seen at public events in Concord, NC on June 20th, Harrisburg, NC on July 3rd and Monroe, NC on July
4th as well as back in Myrtle Beach at 2001 on July 5th..........
Too Much Sylvia
Charlotte based Too Much Sylvia has a busy hot
weather schedule ahead. Among their outdoor concerts is a return performance to the University Mall Summer Series in Chapel
Hill, NC on June 13th , Brick Street Live in Salisbury, NC on June 21st the Independence
Eve Celebration in downtown Cheraw, SC on July 3rd and the Bicentennial Park
Concert in Asheboro, NC on July 7th ...........The Night Move Band, originating
out of Taylorsville, NC had one of last year's big Beach hits with Smooth Stepping Papa. Among their upcoming shows open to
the public are Alive After Five in Lenoir, NC on June 21st and the Open Air Market in North Wilkesboro, NC on July 19th........The
Mark Roberts Band continues to be a favorite along the North and South Carolina beaches. Their upcoming gigs include Duck's
on June 5th and 29th, Ocean Isle Beach on June 28th and Sunset Beach on July 10th........
The
Fabulous Daddy-Os
One band that I have a great appreciation for is The Fabulous
Daddy O's. They helped us so much back when Craig Fleming and I were hosting the Saturday afternoon SOS parties at the Avista
Resort for several years. You can check out their outstanding musical talent on June 23rd at HOTOs in North Myrtle Beach,
on July 13th in Durham, NC at the Jimmy V Kids Klassic or on August 4th at the Holden Beach Summer Series...........Ron Moody
& The Centaurs are still out there getting it done! This Beach Music Hall of Fame band plays quite a few private gigs
but there are also opportunities for the general public to see them such as the Old Towne Concert Series in Petersburg, VA
on June 6th and the Summer Kickoff Festival in Mechanicsburg, VA on July 8th......I had a chance to talk briefly with Levi
Crawford at Thursday's Artist Showcase at SOS. The Fat Jack Band is alive and well, they played the Sounds of Summer Concert
Series at McLean Park in North Myrtle Beach on May 17th and the Sunset Beach, NC Concert
Series on May 29th. Have you heard Wrap My Lovin' Arms?...........
Part Time Party Time Band
The
nine piece Part Time Party Time Band out of the Triad area of NC put on a show that is always worth seeing. They have a couple
of public appearances coming right up, June 8th at Claytor Lake State Park in Pulaski, VA and July 4th at the Creekside Park
Celebration in Archdale, NC.....The Rick Strickland Band is definitely hot, rockin' their latest album entitled Lucky. Check
out all the new tunes with their performances at Memories in Atlantic Beach, NC on July 13th or at the Holden Beach Summer
Series on July 28th….........Did you know that The Carolina Soul Band is
sponsored in part by NASCAR's New Generation Motorsports Marketing? The band will play at an early Fourth of July Celebration
in Sanford, NC on June 29th, at the Burlington, NC City Park Celebration on July 3rd and the Yadkinville, NC Celebration on
the 4th.........
The
Craig Woolard Band
The Craig Woolard Band may be logging the most road miles of any group these days. They perform at Chesapeake,
MD on June 5th, Roanoke, VA on June 6th, Destin, FL June 13th through the 15th and Buford, GA on June 16th. Twenty dates in
total on the calendar for the month of June!.................
The Fantastic
Shakers will be on stage on June 6th at TJ's Nightlife in Raleigh. I will have the privilege of DJ'ing with them in between
sets. They have two great outdoor performances coming up in July – the 4th at University Mall in Chapel Hill and the
6th at the Hot Nights & Hot Cars Cruise-In in Pilot Mountain..........The Band of Oz' I Can' t Think was released in the
spring on 2010. As of May, it was STILL on the Beach charts – has any song in Beach music ever had such staying power?
Among
their upcoming shows open to the public are the Beach Music Festival in Stuart, VA on June 8th, the Burgaw Blueberry Festival
on June 15th and North Hills in Raleigh on June 27th..........
The Night Riders circa 1967
We have seen a few groups in Beach music that were together in their younger days only to disband
and then reunite many years later, which is not always easy. One such band from the Alamance County/Burlington, NC general vicinity (where this has happened more than once) is known as The Night Riders. Back in the mid-'60's,
a group of junior high boys who sang in church choirs and/or played in the school band, decided to get together to form what we referred to then as a 'combo'. They were young and impressionable to the styles of the era
– heavily influenced by listening to the music played by Charlie Brown and the KIX Men of Music at WKIX AM radio in
Raleigh and Gailes Stuckey at WBAG in Burlington. Steve Rogers (Bass Guitar), David Marlette (Lead Guitar & Trumpet),
Ray Atwater (Rhythm Guitar), Jon 'Two Gun' Johnson (Drums) and Tim Coble (Keys) were the original members first known as The
Colognes. Just as they were getting started, Tim decided he did not want to continue, enter another promising musician, Monte Allison as the keyboard player, and the name changed to The Night Riders. Taylor
Dean, the father of a close friend, agreed to be their manager.
However brief, The Night Riders had some major successes back in the day, particularly for a group
so young. School dances and teen centers in the North Carolina Piedmont area were happy to book them ( I saw them play in
the basement of the Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill – of course at the time I had no idea who they were!). Another
local friend, Mac Lewis, came on board as a horn and backup guitar player. They were entered in the 'Battle Of The Bands'
at Burlington's Williams High School in late 1966. An appearance playing on The Dick Bennett Show, a program featuring teen
dancers to popular music, on WGHP-TV in High Point, NC was another perk that
occurred in mid-1967.
Just prior to that event, the band decided to cut an album,
pretty much unheard of for a teenage band from rural North Carolina back in the day. Introducing The Night Riders, a combination
of originals and cover tunes, was recorded at Justice Studios in Winston-Salem NC in 1967 on a weekday. Of course, the band
members had to get permission from their parents as well as the school to leave early to make it happen! (Collectables Records
out of Pennsylvania re-issued this album on CD in 1995). The parents also overruled their first gig booking at Myrtle Beach
– at The Bowery as the opening act for a group that came to be known as Alabama! High school graduation and young adulthood
were fast approaching – the group mutually agreed to disband in 1968.
Fast forward forty years – a series of events triggered by
a reminiscent radio interview of original band members in early 2008 on WXDU 88.7 in Durham, NC resulted in discussions about
possibly getting back together. Monte Allison had passed away in 1980 and Mac Lewis was tragically paralyzed in an automobile
accident in 1985. The first order of business regarding a reincarnation of the band was to plan a benefit for Mac. This took
place in Burlington in June of 2008 – over 650 people attended to hear The Magnificents as well as the return of The
Night Riders. The band played together again later that year for a New Year's Eve gig, their first payday as The Night Riders
in well over forty years.
The Night Riders today
The band went into a local studio in early 2009 to record
two original songs. The first, Carolina Is The Place For Me, written by David Marlette, was released that Fall on Carolina
Soul Collection, a compilation album on Tobacco Road Records, which is a subsidiary of KHP. The song did very well, making
multiple Beach music charts and receiving widespread air play. The second tune,
Come On And Dance With Me, penned by Ray and Doris Atwater, became the title track for Tobacco Road's Fall 2010 compilation
release. Once again hitting the Beach charts, it may actually be the better one
of the two for the pure shaggers. On a sad note, Mac Lewis passed away in October
of 2010.
Three originals – Steve Rogers, David Marlette and Ray Atwater
– together with new members, continue to carry on the tradition, playing selected gigs as time allows. They have developed
a website at www.thenightridersband.com.
The band has a public date scheduled for June 29th at The Pit Pass
Lounge in Graham, NC. Ray and David are currently working on several songs, hoping to record and release some new material
in the very near future! Wouldn't a new album be a historical event, some forty-seven years after the first one was released?
Stay tuned from more from The Night Riders!
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A few editions ago,
we ran a list of some '60's/'70's rare Soul tunes for true lovers of that era of music, much of which is classified in today's
world as Northern Soul. I heard back from a couple of readers who said they thoroughly enjoyed looking for the songs that
were listed (a few of which they could not find) and asked if we would publish another list. So here you go, another one complete
with recording label and year released!!
Daylighters
– Cool Breeze Tip Top 1962
Maxine
Brown – Yesterday's Kisses Wand 1963
Erma
Franklin – Abracadabra Epic 1963
Invitations
– Hallelujah Dyno
Voice 1965
Jones
Brothers – So Much Love Silver 1965
Five
Du-Tones – Outside The Record Hop One-Derful 1966
Volumes
– That Same Old Feeling Impact 1966
Holidays
– I'll Love You Forever Golden World 1966
Lovelites
– I Found Me A Lover Bandera
1967
Belita
Woods – Magic Corner Moira
1967
Younghearts
– Oh, I'll Never Be The Same Pick-a-Hit
1967
Fantastic
Four – The Whole World Is A Stage Ric-Tic
1967
Parliaments
– Time Revilot 1968
Voice
Masters – You've Hurt Me Baby Bamboo 1969
Capitols
– I Thought She Loved Me Karen 1967
Presidents
– Girl You Cheated On Me Sussex
1970
Curtis
Blandon – In The Long Run Wand 1972
John
Miles – One Minute Every
Hour Orange UK 1973
Charisma
Band – Ain't Nothing Like Your Love Buddah 1975
Loleatta
Holloway – I Know Where You're Coming From Aware 1975
Artists, DJ’s, Club owners etc. send me your latest news for potential inclusion in
Beach Buzz at nealfur@aol.com.
A Band's Story
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