The Music Explosion was an American garage rock band from

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The ci ...

, United States, discovered and signed by record producers

Jerry Kasenetz Jerry Kasenetz is an American bubblegum pop producer who worked with Jeffry Katz, the two working together as the Super K Productions company,Clarke, Donald (ed.) (1998) ''The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', Penguin Books, , p. 182 to manu ...

and

Jeffry Katz Jeffry Katz (born May 20, 1943, Brooklyn, New York) is an American music producer, one of the first exponents of bubblegum pop. Music career He is one half of a hitmaking duo with Jerry Kasenetz, the two working together as the Super K Productio ...

. The quintet is best known for their number two

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, "

Little Bit O' Soul "Little Bit O' Soul" is a song written in 1964 by British songwriters John Carter and Ken Lewis. It was originally recorded by Coventry band The Little Darlings, and released in 1965 on Fontana Records in the UK. The Music Explosion version In ...

", that received

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

status by the RIAA. Written by John Carter and Ken Lewis, who had previously written big hits for The Ivy League and Herman's Hermits, the song (

Laurie Records Laurie Records was a record label established in New York City in 1958 by brothers Robert and Gene Schwartz, and Allan I. Sussel. Among the recording artists on Laurie's roster were Dion and the Belmonts (both together and as separate acts), ...

No. 3380, subsequently reissued on

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foun ...

) was the band's only top 40 hit. This single paved the way for tours with contemporaries like

The Left Banke The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, " Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the music press referred to as "baroq ...

and

The Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian rock band that formed in Sydney in late 1964. They enjoyed a level of success that in Australia rivalled The Beatles. They became the first Australian rock act to score an international hit, with the 1966 sing ...

. "Little Bit O' Soul" has been subsequently

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by several bands including

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United S ...

; Dodging Susan; and

2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida, which had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's most well-known line up was composed of Luke Campbell, Fresh Kid Ice, Mr. Mixx, and ...

, who

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the melody. On its own, the flip "I See The Light" (featuring a surf guitar bridge) was covered by The Fourth Amendment and had a resurgence on some stations in the Midwest four years later. In the band's sole album, Kasenetz and Katz wrote several of its tracks, which were blatant re-writes of existing songs. Bassist Burton Stahl acknowledged these claims. Lead singer Jamie Lyons (born James Lewis Lyons on January 31, 1949 in

Galion, Ohio Galion is a city in Crawford, Morrow, and Richland counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 10,453 at the 2020 census. Galion is the second-largest city in Crawford County after Bucyrus. The Crawford County portion of Galion i ...

) also recorded several solo

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

on the Laurie

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

while still recording with the group. His first single, "Soul Struttin'", became a Northern soul hit. Lyons died of heart failure at his home in

Little River Little River may refer to several places: Australia Streams New South Wales *Little River (Dubbo), source in the Dubbo region, a tributary of the Macquarie River * Little River (Oberon), source in the Oberon Shire, a tributary of Coxs River (Haw ...

, South Carolina on September 25, 2006, at age 57. The band continued touring in festivals with a new lead singer. Drummer Bob Avery later became a member of

Crazy Elephant Crazy Elephant was an American bubblegum pop band noted for their 1969 hit single, " Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'". Crazy Elephant was a studio concoction, the Marzano-Calvert Studio Band, created by Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz of Super K Produ ...

Band members

Music Explosion

* James "Jamie" Lyons – singer, percussion (died 2006) * Donald (Tudor) Atkins – guitar * Richard Nesta – guitar * Burton Stahl – bass guitar * Robert Avery – drums

Super K staff musicians

Discography w/Billboard chart peak positions

Singles

Albums

*''Little Bit O'Soul'' (#178) – Laurie SLLP-2040—8/67 ::Side one: ::"Little Bit O' Soul" / "I See the Light" / "Everybody" / "Love, Love, Love, Love, Love" / "Good Time Feeling" / " 96 Tears" ::Side two: ::"Can't Stop Now" / "Let Yourself Go" / "Patches Dawn" / "One Potato Two" / "What Did I Do to Deserve Such a Fate" / "(Hey) La, La, La" ::"Love, Love, Love, Love, Love" is identical to a recording of the same name by

Terry Knight and the Pack Terry Knight and the Pack (also known as The Pack and The Fabulous Pack) was an American garage rock band formed in Flint, Michigan in 1965. The band was signed to the Lucky Eleven label through most of its brief recording career. They produced ...

(released on the

Lucky Eleven Lucky may refer to: *An adjective of luck Lucky may also refer to: Film and television * '' Lucky: No Time for Love'', a 2005 Hindi-language romance starring Salman Khan, Sneha Ullal, and Mithun Chakraborty * ''Lucky'', a 2005 short film by Av ...

label), but has a re-recorded vocal track.

Compilations

*''Little Bit O' Soul—The Best of the Music Explosion''—Sundazed—2002 ::"Little Bit O'Soul" / "I See the Light" / "Everybody" / "Love, Love, Love, Love, Love" / "Good Time Feeling" / "96 Tears" / "Can't Stop Now" / "Let Yourself Go" / "Patches Dawn" / "One Potato Two" / "What Did I Do to Deserve Such a Fate" / "(Hey) La, La, La" / "Little Black Egg" / "Stay by My Side" / "Sunshine Games" / "We Gotta Go Home" / "Hearts and Flowers" / "What You Want (Baby I Want You)" / "Road Runner" / "Where Are We Going" / "Yes Sir" / "Dazzling" / "Jack in the Box" / "What's Your Name"

Notes

References

External links

*
Home.comcast.netMusicexplosionband.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Explosion, The American pop music groups Garage rock groups from Ohio Laurie Records artists