NIGHT SHADOWS BAND CHRONOLOGY
Volume 2: The Little Phil Era 1964-1967
Introduction
The Night Shadows have been in my top five for the last three
decades - their great 45’s and the classic standard,
“The Square Root of Two” album is legendary and
essential. When the Chesterfield Kings originated in the late
70’s, Little Phil and the Night Shadows were a driving force
and a major influence in our direction along with other icons
like the Rolling Stones and Yardbirds. “60 Second
Swinger” appeared on our first album, Aleck Janoulis
designed our logo which appeared on our 2nd 45 “Hey Little
Bird,” and Aleck produced our 2nd album, “Stop!”
Night Shadows’ numbers have been, and to this day, still are
staples in our set, from “60 Second Swinger” to
“The Way It Used To Be”... The Night Shadows- A group
of the Future, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.
-Greg Prevost
Chesterfield Kings/Outasite Magazine
Rochester, New York
Prologue
This CD is the second volume of a limited edition musical
anthology featuring the legendary Night Shadows. The Night
Shadows are well known to serious record collectors as one of the
pioneer “garage bands” of the 1960’s and was the
paragon of psychedelic music in the Deep South. The group’s
infamous 1968 album, “The Square Root of Two” on
Spectrum Stereo Records is currently valued at more than $1000 in
mint condition (Ref: Jerry Osborne’s Rocking Records Price
Guide 1997 Edition). The 1979 vinyl reissue of that classic album
on Hottrax Records has already increased in value by 700% over
its original retail price. According to information found on the
Internet, an unauthorized compact disc of “The Square Root
of Two” is being bootlegged in New York City.
Volume Three of this anthology will feature the authorized
version transferred from the original master.
In Volume One, it may have surprised some collectors to find out
that the Night Shadows were organized almost a decade before the
release of their 1968 masterwork by Aleck Janoulis, the
group’s bass player and vanguard. Volume Two spans the
period between June 1964 and July 1967, which is considered the
Little Phil Era of the Night Shadows. The group joined forces
with Little Phil to front their performances in June 1964, and
soon became known to their new fans as Little Phil & The
Night Shadows. To present a proper historical perspective of the
band during this period, it is necessary that a chronology of
important events should begin several years prior to 1964 when
Janoulis first met Little Phil.
1960-1961
Randy Little of Randy & The Holidays introduces Aleck
Janoulis to Phil Ross (a.k.a. Phil Rosenberg), a twelve year old
school kid who wants to break into show business as a
professional entertainer. When Bobby Jones, blues frontman for
the Night Shadows, leaves the group in the fall of 1961,
Phil’s mother contacts Janoulis to solicit an audition for
her son. Her request is denied and Little Erv & Helene, a
male/female duo, are hired as the new front for the group.
1962-1963
The Steak & Trumpet, an after-hours club featuring a great
show band called the Diplomats, becomes the favorite haunt of
Atlanta’s night people and glitterati. One night Janoulis
meets Judy Argo, a tall vivacious singer, at the S&T after
she makes a guest appearance. Thinking she was twenty-something,
he offers her Helene’s job when there is a major split-up of
the Night Shadows in September, 1963. Hearing about the personnel
changes, Phil’s mother tries convince Janoulis that he
should hire her son instead of Argo. Once again her offer is
rebuffed. The new band line-up featuring Little Erv & Judy is
a smash on the college circuit and demand for the group begins to
soar.
At first the older members of the band were unaware that Judy
Argo and Jimmy Callaway (lead guitar) were only in their
mid-teens since they both looked and acted very mature for their
ages. Callaway even married his high school sweetheart a few
months after becoming a Night Shadow. However, both junior
members of the group quickly earned the respect of the veteran
players after they saw the great response to their new show. This
set the stage for Janoulis to hire the even younger Ross when
Little Erv & Judy quit the group the following year.
During 1962 & 1963, the Night Shadows came into contact with
the fringe of Atlanta’s counter culture by partying with the
late night set. “Uppers” known as “bennies”
(slang for Benzedrine, a legal amphetamine) and “grass”
or “weed” (marijuana) began showing up at gatherings of
the city’s artistic community. However, it was plain alcohol
(and an occasional “upper”) that supercharged the high
energy level of the early to mid-1960’s. This was reflected
by fast stock cars, hot rods, the so-called “Jet Set”
and the birth of up tempo garage rock.
In early November 1963, Spinks and Janoulis happen to see TV
newscasts of the rock & roll “mania” sweeping
Britain. The coming “English Invasion” of rock bands
was postponed, however, by the tragic assassination of President
Kennedy on November 22, 1963. This allowed the Night Shadows to
get a three month jump start on other American groups that would
follow this new direction in music after the “mop-top
invasion” started in February, 1964.
1964
In April, 1964, Little Erv announces that he is going to get
married and may have to quit the band. Janoulis starts the search
for a replacement to work with Judy Argo. Once again, Libby
Rosenberg, Phil’s mother pleads for an audition for her son.
Since Phil is several inches shorter than Argo and would look
like her kid brother, Janoulis turns down her plea once again. A
month later however, Argo gives notice that she is quitting the
band for opportunities in New York. Faced with the dilemma that
both lead singers were quitting at the same time, Janoulis
decides to drop the singing duo format for a strong solo artist
to front the band. This time he contacted Phil’s mother and
said he would give Phil the audition he had been trying to get
for almost three years.
For the next month, Phil along with two other lead singers
auditioning for the job, were allowed to perform as guest artists
during the Night Shadows’ few remaining shows with Little
Erv & Judy. Although Phil was the best of the three
vocalists, the other two put on a better show and got a far
better audience response. Phil was also the youngest of the three
(He was still in the ninth grade), so it came as a complete shock
to the other band members when Janoulis hired him.
What the other members of the group didn’t know was that
Phil was collaborating and recording songs with Phil Jackson, an
extremely talented songwriter. When Janoulis heard their demo
tapes, he felt that the tunes were potential hits if they were
re-arranged and produced properly in a good studio. He also made
Phil agree to use the stage name “Little Phil” (since
he was replacing Little Erv) and promise to learn some of the
dance routines that black singers used in soul bands. When Little
Phil performed his first power-split dancing on stage at Funtown,
a large outdoor amusement park, the crowd of several thousand
on-lookers went wild with applause. By July of 1964 the Night
Shadows had a dynamic new show, an energetic lead vocalist that
could sing either rock or soul tunes equally well, and access to
some great original songs to record.
However, In the fall of 1964, Janoulis detected two new problems
that had to be overcome. First of all, the college music market
in the southern U.S. did not accept the “English (Rock)
Invasion” that was exploding across the country.
Fraternities in eastern states continued to book acts that played
what they called “beach music” (rhythm & blues and
soul music). Secondly, some booking cancellations were
unavoidable because the sexy male/female duo in the Night Shadows
had been replaced by a “high school kid”. Since Judy
Argo was in New York, Helene Kopell was called back to sing with
Little Phil in order to comply with some contractual agreements.
This still did not please some of their old accounts, so Janoulis
realized new audiences and accounts would have to be acquired. A
two market approach was initiated in the band’s repertoire.
Both rock and soul (“beach music”) would be
incorporated in their shows. More rock for the high school set
and more rhythm & blues for the college market. This worked
well for the high school audiences, but only had limited success
on southern college campuses where students did not want any
“white band rock and roll”, just “(black)
soul” music. (White bands actually experienced reverse
discrimination by white fraternities in the 1960’s.) Even
though the Night Shadows played “beach/soul music”,
talent agents still had difficulty booking the band in a number
of places. For this reason the tongue-in-cheek tune “I Wish
I Could Sing Soul Music” (Track #11) was written by
Janoulis. The situation finally started to improve in the late
1960’s after four or five years of incoming students weaned
on rock replaced the college students that graduated.
1965
This was a watershed year for the Night Shadows. Several
important events occurred that would impact the group for the
next four years. Johnny Brooks, a studio engineer Janoulis had
worked with since 1959, opened his own recording facility and was
seeking artists with original material. This gave the group an
opportunity to record both the tunes Little Phil had collaborated
on and some others that Janoulis had written. The end result was
a label deal with Dot Records, a very successful record company
based in Hollywood, California. Everything seemed to be going
their way until the “conflict” in Viet Nam suddenly
escalated into “war” and all able-bodied, single men
between the ages of 18 to 26 were made eligible for the draft.
Even married men under 26 with no children to support could be
drafted. Luckily, Little Phil was still in high school and
Janoulis , Spinks, and Newell were all in college. As fate would
have it however, Jimmy Callaway’s 14 year old wife got
pregnant forcing him to quit the band to support his family as a
fireman. (Firemen had to work 24 hour days and weekends which
made booking shows almost impossible). Janoulis contacted their
original lead guitarist, Ronnie Farmer, and got him to return to
the band after an absence of two years. For a short period of
time both Callaway and Farmer worked alternately with the group
and sometimes together. Callaway continued to collaborate on
recording projects for another year, but was eventually phased
out. “The Hot Rod Song” [Track #4], recorded in July
1965 was the last tune Callaway and Janoulis worked together on.
Farmer remained lead guitarist for the Night Shadows until the
group disbanded in 1969. He was married and had a family that
kept him from being drafted into service. When Janoulis and
Newell graduated from Georgia Tech as aerospace engineers, they
managed to get occupational deferments for critical skills by
working at a nearby aircraft plant. Although deferments kept all
the band members out of the war, it hampered them from going on
tour to support their record releases.
1966
By January of 1966, the group’s first single featuring
Little Phil [“So Much” (Track #1 ) b/w “The Way It
Used To Be” (Track #3)] was on several Top 40 charts in
various regions of the country. This prompted very tempting
offers by booking agents and promoters for concert appearances.
Extensive touring, however, posed a serious problem for band
members who could lose their deferments and be drafted. The Viet
Nam War created a terribly restrictive situation on all draft age
bands and limited the Night Shadows to weekend concert
appearances within a few hundred miles of Atlanta. Nevertheless,
a national fan club based in Texas and Oklahoma was organized for
the Night Shadows and letters from all parts of the country and
Canada started pouring in.
The group’s growing popularity also created an unexpected
demand for their risqué single, “The Hot Dog Man”,
which was out of print. To accommodate the demand, the band
recorded a live updated version (with Janoulis singing lead
again), and backed it with “The Hot Rod Song” (Track
#4). Although the record company’s A&R staff went wild,
management gave it a “thumb’s down.” To make
matters worse, the record label then made a surprising decision
to cater to the growing country market. This slowed distribution
and promotion of most pop products including “So Much.”
In a effort to keep the momentum of the group going, the party
tunes were released as a single 45 in February 1966 on Banned
Records while the group was still under contract. Two years
later, the record was inserted in their infamous 1968 album,
“The Square Root of Two” as a surprise bonus.
Little Phil graduated from high school in June 1966 and was soon
enjoying his new freedom, national fame and letters from his fan
club. To avoid the “war” he had applied and was
accepted to an Atlanta area college. South of Atlanta, a new AM
radio station (WBAD) went on the air and began programming
records by the Night Shadows. After a few concert promotions with
the station, Little Phil was made a part-time host on one of the
afternoon shows which gave him access to new, promotional record
releases.
In the summer of 1966, Farmer began experimenting with different
guitar sounds using a combination of fuzz-tone, vibrato and
reverb. Newell also developed a new, slightly distorted sound for
his keyboard by overdriving his amp and speakers. To keep up with
the new intensity, Janoulis started using two amps for his bass.
The result of this experimentation was the creation of the
group’s trademark acid-punk and psychedelic sounds.
In July, the aircraft company Janoulis worked for sent him on a
six month special assignment in Ohio. To keep the band together
until the next record deal materialized, Janoulis booked a house
gig for the Night Shadows at a showbar called the Pigalley. His
cousin Danny Stephens and Dave Gallagher (a.k.a. Microwave Dave)
substituted on bass for him while he was away. Finally, in the
fall of 1966, a new contract was negotiated indie label Gaye
Records. “60 Second Swinger” (Track #14) b/w “In
The Air” (Track #6) was released the following year with a
color picture sleeve which featured the photograph on the cover
of this CD. “60 Second Swinger” was covered 16 years
later on an album by The Chesterfield Kings from Rochester, New
York.
January - June, 1967
By 1967, the Night Shadows were working steadily in two markets.
The college circuit was where the big money was, but they also
performed at many teen clubs to promote their records. Following
a show at Mercer University, a hit and run accident with a
tractor trailer truck destroyed their classic 1959 band trailer
and most of their equipment. Luckily, there was only one minor
injury. As a result, a van and new equipment had to be purchased
before their March trip to Florida and Jamaica.
During their stay in Miami, the Night Shadows found out about the
psychedelic music scene in San Francisco. When they got back to
Atlanta, Janoulis got Little Phil to borrow all the psychedelic
promotional records sent to radio station WBAD (where Phil was a
part time DJ). In April, 1967 the Night Shadows performed their
first psychedelic show, complete with strobes and liquid lights,
at Emory University.
In late Spring Janoulis met with Jan Cox, one of Atlanta’s
intellectual illuminati and blues piano-man extra ordinaire,
about doing a project for Cox’s Baja Records. Aware of the
Night Shadows’ satirical party records, Cox wanted the group
to record several “tongue-in-cheek” tunes he had
written concerning socio-political and psychedelic themes. The
Night Shadows were still under contract to Gaye Records, so they
recorded the tunes under the fake name,” The Square Root of
Two”, to avoid legal problems. The single, “Don’t
Hold Your Breath” b/w “Turned On,” was released on
Baja Records in the Summer of 1967. “Dancing To A Different
Beat” [Track #8], another Cox classic, was also recorded but
was never released.
In the summer of 1967 Janoulis started work on “The Square
Root of Two,” a psychedelic album. By the time he had
completed it, the major labels were past their acquisition frenzy
for this type of product. The only remaining option was another
independent release.
July 1967- June 1969
Events during this period will be covered in more detail in The
Legendary Night Shadows: Volume #3, The Square Root of Two/The
Psychedelic Years 1967-1969.
Thank You & Kudos
Volume 2 is dedicated to David Lindsey (rock musicologist
savant), Greg Prevost (artist, songwriter, freelance writer), The
Chesterfield Kings and all the record collectors around the world
for their 30+ years interest in the Night Shadows.
Read more about the Night Shadows development in Volume 1.