The O'Kaysions are an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

pop

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

from

Kenly, North Carolina Kenly is a town in Johnston and Wilson counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It was named for John R. Kenly, Northern Division Superintendent of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, who later became president of the railroad in 1913. The po ...

that first formed in 1959. They are best known for their 1968 million-seller " Girl Watcher".

Career

The group first formed under the name The Kays in 1959, and scored a Top 10

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1968 with the tune " Girl Watcher" (#5 Pop, #6 R&B).

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Allmusic.com The

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

was first released on the North State

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

owned by Ronald Killette (Buck Trail), then based in Goldsboro, N.C., under the production of John I Whitfield . Authorship credit for the song was originally shared by Buck Trail and O'Kaysions band member Wayne Pittman. Due to the popularity of this single it was sold to and released nationally by

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...

where it eventually reached #5 on the Billboard pop charts. "Girl Watcher" 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 meta ...

status for a million sales from the R.I.A.A. in December 1968. It was their only major hit, and they released their full-length album in 1969 entitled ''The O'Kaysions'' on the ABC label. In 1987, the song was reworked as "I'm A Wheel Watcher" and was used to promote the TV

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, ''

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'' (as well as its French-Canadian and New Zealand versions). This reworked version was performed by

Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...

. As the song was recorded at Pitt Sound Studio,

Greenville, North Carolina Greenville is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County, North Carolina, United States; the principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area, Greenville metropolitan area; and th ...

, a budget

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, the

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was long thought to be missing, a story dismissed by original member Wayne Pittman who believes that ABC Records took possession of the master and still maintains it. Others have claimed that a needle-drop of The North State single was used by ABC to create the nationally released hit single. That "master" is now the property of

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

and is leased to other record labels. The group still receives royalties from MCA. The group still performed with a different line-up as of 2020. Wayne Pittman was the only original member remaining active in the band and served as the manager of the group. He died at the age of 76 on July 7, 2021 in Irmo, South Carolina. In November 2003, the original line-up reunited for a one-time show at the Alabama Theater in

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...

, where they received a CBMA Hall of Fame Award.

Original band members

*Donnie Weaver -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

*Wayne Pittman -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Eddie Dement -

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

*Gerald Toler -

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

*Jimmy Hinnant - bass *Steve Watson -

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

Discography

Singles

Albums

References

Musical groups from North Carolina Musical groups established in 1967 People from Kenly, North Carolina {{US-pop-band-stub