The Del-Vetts were an American
garage rock band formed in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, in 1963. They released five
singles and obtained regional success in the Midwest.
Band
The first lineup of the band consisted of Jim Lauer (
lead vocals,
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...
), Bob Good (
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
), Lester Goldboss (
rhythm guitar) and Paul Wade (
drums), Jeff Gerchenson (vocals & rhythm guitar), originally performing
cover versions
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...
songs and
surf rock standards, and developing a loyal following in Chicago. The Del-Vetts' initial membership was not the most well-known incarnation of the band, though they did team up with
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
,
Bill Traut William Raymond Traut (March 20, 1929 – June 5, 2014) was an American jazz musician, rock music producer, manager and record label executive. He co-founded the Dunwich and Wooden Nickel record labels, and produced The Shadows of Knight, The Am ...
, in 1965, to record a rendition of
The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Lo ...
' hit, "
Little Latin Lupe Lu
"Little Latin Lupe Lu" was written by Bill Medley in 1962, and became the song that launched The Righteous Brothers' career.
Though it peaked on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 49 on June 8, 1963, Medley and his partner, Bobby Hatfield, were ...
", on the small Seeburg Records label. Within a year of performing regularly at popular teen dance clubs such as
the Cellar and the Rolling Stone, a solidified lineup emerged, and included Lauer, Good, who swapped to rhythm guitar, Jack Burchall (bass guitar) and Roger Deatherage (drums).
Despite the lack of commercial success resulting from their debut, Traut still felt the band could reach a breakthrough. He signed The Del-Vetts to a
recording contract with
Dunwich Records, and recorded their most commercially successful, and best known song, "Last Time Around", an original composition by colleague Dennis Delquivist, in early 1966. The song, with a fuzz-toned guitar instrumental performed by Lauer acting as the highlight, was released as the band's second single, and scaled the regional charts to become the most-requested track on Chicago radio stations. However, their later in the year follow-up effort, "I Call My Baby STP", underperformed and could not reach the same success as "Last Time Around".
In 1967, the group changed its name to The Pride and Joy and released the single "Girl", a regional hit, and moved to
Acta Records after a corporate restructuring at Dunwich. The group's last single was "We Got a Long Way to Go", written by
Barry Mann and
Cynthia Weil; when it failed to chart at radio, Burchall left the group, and The Pride and Joy broke up in 1968.
In 1983, Burchall hit the pop charts again with the
Jump 'N the Saddle Band's
novelty song
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...
hit, "
The Curly Shuffle". The Del-Vetts, however, fell into obscurity until the release of the ''
Nuggets
Nuggets may refer to:
Music
* ''Nuggets'' (series), a series of compilation albums by Elektra Records, continued by Rhino
* '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968''
* '' Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from ...
'' and ''
Pebbles'' series in the late 1990s, when several of their tracks were included on the
compilation albums. Lead singer
Jim Lauer reportedly ended up in a mental institution.
Members
;Original lineup, 1963:
*Jim Lauer - vocals, guitar
*Lester Goldboss - guitar
*Bob Good - bass (later guitar)
*Paul Wade - drums
*Jeff Gerchenson - vocals, guitar
;Later members:
*Jeff Weinstein - guitar
*Jack Burchall - bass
*Roger Deatherage - drums
Discography
;Singles
* "Little Latin Lupe Lu" b/w "Ram Charger" (1965)
* "Last Time Around" b/w "Everytime" (1966)
* "I Call My Baby STP" b/w "That's the Way It Is (PS)" (1966)
References
*
The Del-Vettsat Allmusic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Del-Vetts, The
Musical groups from Chicago
Garage rock groups from Illinois
Surf music groups