In the sixties bands were forming on every cul-de-sac and would soon bring the latest rock & roll music to every high school, teen center, ballroom, VFW, and nightclub in the country. The music they produced was Garage rock, a raw form of rock and roll that enjoyed its original period of wide success in the United States from 1963 to 1967. Garage bands that crept into the national charts included: The Kingsmen (Portland), Paul Revere and the Raiders (Portland) and The Gentrys (Memphis).
“Garage rock” comes from the perception that many such performers were young and often rehearsed in a family garage. Bands were mostly made up of middle-class teenagers from the suburbs. Garage rock peaked both commercially and artistically in 1966 and generally disappearing entirely by 1970.
1960’s Nashville Combos included:
Allman Joys, The Exotics, The Nobles, Ronny and the Daytonas, Deltas, Prophets, The Chessmen,
Lemonade Charade, King James and the Sceptres, Johnny Jones & The King Casuals,
Gremlins, Continentals, Kapers, Crystals, Jaguars, Remicks, Spinners, Barons, Jesters, The Citations,
The DeVilles, The Squires, The Chaparelles, Sam Robinson and the Nashville Shadows,
The Ministers of Sound, Jerry and the Buccaneers, The Loved Ones, The Marshmallow Mood,
Epidemics, Spidells, Fairlanes, Canned Soul, Johnny Jones and the King Casuals,
Anglo Saxons, Alex Harvey Band, Kenny and the Confidentials, Silhouettes, Glass Hammer w/ Joe Meador,
Charlie McCoy and the Escorts, Steve Davis Group, The Whole Damn Family, Counts of Nowhere,
Ugly Forest, Cavaliers, Taxmen, Feminine Complex,
We the People and hundreds more.
Typical equipment setup for the sixties.
RONNY AND THE DAYTONAS
John (aka Ronny) Wilkin, vocalist, songwriter, guitarist John “Bucky” Wilkin was the “brains” behind Ronny & the Daytonas; the group was comprised of mainly Bucky, but with input from Bergen White, who went on to become an extremely sought after arranger in Nashville; Buzz Cason, who filled in for Jerry Naylor as a Cricket, as well as having a hit under the name Garry Miles on “Look For a Star,” and finally Bobby Russell, who composed hits such as “Sure Gonna Miss Her” (Gary Lewis & the Playboys), “Popsicle” (Jan & Dean), “The Joker Went Wild” (Brian Hyland), “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia” (Vicki Lawrence –his former wife), “Honey” (Bobby Goldsboro) and “Little Green Apples” (O.C. Smith).