The Gants was an American
garage rock band that formed in 1964 in
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the riverp ...
, in the cultural and geographic
Deep South.
History
The Kingsmen – a different band from
the Kingsmen
The Kingsmen are a 1960s rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of R&B singer Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the No. 2 spot on the '' Billboard'' charts for six weeks and ...
that had a major hit with "
Louie Louie
"Louie Louie" is a rhythm and blues song written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955, recorded in 1956, and released in 1957. It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a standard in pop and ...
" in the same time period – began with Sid Herring & Johnny Freeman in 1963 playing
R&B covers and the type of
instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...
s popularized by
The Ventures
The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...
. The Gants were formed shortly after by Sid Herring (lead vocals and guitar), Johnny Sanders (October 8, 1945 – September 29, 2012; guitar),
Vince Montgomery (bass guitar), and Don Wood (December 19, 1949 – May 14, 2011; drums).
Several events combined to push the band from the obscurity of playing other artists' songs at Greenwood, Mississippi dances and into the popular genres of 1960s garage-rock. Freeman dropped out of the Kingsmen because of conflicts with his parents over touring out-of-town. After discussions with Vince Montgomery and Don Wood, Sid Herring replaced Freeman with Johnny Sanders. The band name was changed to The Gants, after a popular brand of shirt with a button-down collar, which is also the
French word for "glove". In 1965, The Gants released their first single and album, Road Runner. At the same time, Herring, who resembled
Peter Noone
Peter Blair Denis Bernard Noone (born 5 November 1947) is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actor. He was the lead singer "Herman" in the 1960s pop group Herman's Hermits.
Early life
Noone was born in Davyhulme, Lancashir ...
of
Herman's Hermits,
began writing some original songs. In early 1965, The Gants were overheard by a U.S. tour manager and coordinator for
The Animals
The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...
, York Noble, while playing in the Holiday Inn ballroom in
Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel is a city in and the second county seat of Jones County, Mississippi, Jones County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 17,161. It is located northeast of Ellisville, M ...
and were chosen to open for that band's
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
tour. This turned out to be a typical development for The Gants — playing the first set for more famous groups — but opportunities were limited with half the band still in high school and the other half in college.
At this point, The Gants had a professional sound and a repertoire of original material and an even larger repertoire of covers, which were reflected in the choice of sides for their first single: (
Bo Diddley
Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, inc ...
's) "
Road Runner" backed with (Herring's own) "My Baby Don't Care", released on the Statue label in mid-1965. The record showed enough potential for re-release on a major label,
Liberty Records, in September, and it gained some modest chart success, reaching #46 in the
US and #28 in
Australia. Later that year, Liberty released The Gants' first album, ''Roadrunner''. In January 1966 a new single was released, "
Little Boy Sad", which included an early use of the
talk box
A talk box (also spelled talkbox and talk-box) is an effects unit that allows musicians to modify the sound of a musical instrument by shaping the frequency content of the sound and to apply speech sounds (in the same way as singing) onto the sou ...
later made famous by
Joe Walsh
Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...
and
Peter Frampton. The band tried to get Liberty to release their recording of
Them's "
Gloria" but the label declined. The song later became a hit for
The Shadows of Knight
The Shadows of Knight were an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, that played a version of British blues influenced by their native city. When they began recording in 1965, the band's self-description was "the Stones, Animals and the Y ...
.
A definite pattern had been established: The Gants were able to record and make brief tours during vacations, but that was never enough. Radio stations gave up on their records when the band could not get away from their responsibilities at home for promotional appearances. In 1966 and early 1967, several singles and two more albums were released, ''Gants Galore'' and ''Gants Again''. None of these releases had significant chart impact. During this period Johnny Sanders had quit and was replaced by Johnny Freeman, for a couple of gigs and a trip to
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, which proved fruitless. Then Freeman was replaced again after they returned from California in the summer of 1967, and three of the Gants headed back to Greenwood, leaving Herring in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
with a job as a staff songwriter for Liberty Records.
Despite their lack of hits, The Gants maintained a minor cult aura within the garage rock ethos and were not entirely forgotten. One of their songs, Herring's "I Wonder" was included on the 1980
compilation album, ''
Pebbles, Volume 8''. In 2000,
Sundazed Records
Sundazed Music is an American independent record label based in Coxsackie, New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 2000, Sundazed had a staff of 15 and two mixing studios, including a vintage audio ...
released ''Roadrunner! The Best of The Gants'', with liner notes by Mike Stax; their single "
Little Boy Sad" was included on
Oxford American
The ''Oxford American'' is a quarterly magazine that focuses on the American South.
First publication
The magazine was begun in late 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Marc Smirnoff (born July 11, 1963).
The name "Oxford American" is a play on ''T ...
magazine's ''Southern Sampler'' music CD.
In 2005, The Gants were performing together again: Sid Herring, Don Wood, Johnny Sanders, (Johnny Freeman rhythm guitar rejoined the band in 2001) with bassist Ed Foresman replacing Vince Montgomery, who died of natural causes in January 2001 at his home in
Clarksdale, Mississippi, at age 54.
Don Wood died in his home in
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the riverp ...
on May 14, 2011, at age 61.
Johnny Sanders died at home on September 29, 2012 from Alzheimer's Disease, at age 66.
He was an MD, and founded Sanders Clinic for Women in Tupelo, MS.
[ orrections by Sid Herring of The Gants/ref>
]
Discography
Albums
* ''Road Runner'' (1965)
* ''Gants Again'' (1966)
* ''Gants Galore'' (1966)
Compilation albums
* ''I Wonder'' (1988)
* ''Roadrunner! The Best of The Gants'' (2000)
* ''Introducing The Gants'' (2005)
Singles
References
External links
Official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gants, The
Garage rock groups from Mississippi
Musical groups established in 1963
1963 establishments in Mississippi
Musical groups disestablished in 1967