The Rockin’ Ramrods were an American
garage rock
Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...
band from
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
, who were active in the 1960s and early 1970s. Along with
the Barbarians,
the Remains and
the Lost, they were one of the most popular acts in the Boston area. While they did not achieve national success, their work is today well-regarded by garage rock collectors and enthusiasts. They are perhaps best remembered for the 1964
protopunk
Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated wi ...
anthem "She Lied." Though best known as the Rockin’ Ramrods, they recorded under other names. They recorded one
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
as the GTO's. In 1968, Ronn Campisi left to form Puff who recorded one
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
, but the Rockin' Ramords subsequently reformed as the Ramrods, but with a different lineup, and released an album in 1971.
History
The group was founded in 1962 as the Ramrods Four by Boston residents Bill Linnane and Vin Campisi.
They began as a
surf rock
Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a Music genre, genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is in ...
unit who played primarily instrumentals, eventually modifying their name to the Rockin' Ramrods. Their original lineup consisted of Bill Linnane guitar and keyboards, Vin Campisi on guitar, Bob Blake on bass, and Butch Holmes on drums, but in 1963 Vin Campisi's brother Ronn replaced Blake on bass and Bob Henderson became the group's drummer.
Both Ronn Campisi and Henderson would become important fixtures in the group over the next several years. The Rockin' Ramrods released their first
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
"Jungle Call" b/w "Indian Giver" on Explosive Records in late 1963.
In 1964 as instrumental groups lost favor after the onset of
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and the
British Invasion
The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...
, the Rockin' Ramrods switched to the practice of using vocals in most of their songs.
Guitarist Ronn Campisi began to handle most of the band's lead vocals, although other group members, such as drummer Bob Henderson, would also sing leads and backups.
In April of that year, the band cut a single featuring the grinding protopunk of "She Lied," written by Bill Linane and Ronn Campisi, for Bon-Bon Records, backed with "The Girl Can’t Help It."
Guitarist and keyboardist Linnane was largely responsible for the group's hard-driving early sound, but in 1965 with his departure, the band began to evolve in different stylistic directions.
He was replaced by Scott Curtis on keyboards.
In the Fall of 1965, their manager, Bill Spence arranged a short tour of New England opening for
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
, along with the Blue Belles Vibrations.
In December 1964 the Rockin' Ramrods had cut a version of "I Wanna Be Your Man" that John Lennon and Paul McCartney had written for the Rolling Stones' first single in 1963 and which the Beatles later recorded for their second album in England, ''
With the Beatles
''With the Beatles'' is the second studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 November 1963 on Parlophone, eight months after the band's debut ''Please Please Me''. Produced by George Martin ...
.''
On the flipside was an obscure Lennon/McCartney number, "I'll Be on My Way."
In 1965 the band released their next 45, "Wild About You" b/w "Cry in my Room" on the Southern Sound label, followed by a record they released under another name, the GTO's, "Don't Fool With Fu Manchu" b/w "Tears in the Stones" for the
Claridge label.
They band made an appearand in the movie, ''Disk-o-Tek Holiday,'' filmed in 1965 while Scott Curtis was their keyboardist.
At the end of the year, Scott Curtis departed and was replaced by Lenny Cirelli.
In 1966 the band cut two singles, the first featuring "Play It" and the song
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...
made famous, "Got my Mojo Workin', on the flipside, then later that year "Bright Lit, Blue Skies" b/w "Mr. Wind."
Their last single as the Rockin' Ramrods was released on Plymouth in 1967 "Flowers in my Mind" b/w "Mary Mary."
In 1968 Ron Campisi departed to form Puff recorded one album.
The remaining members in the Rockin' Ramrods were Vin Campisi on vocals and guitar, Jim Mandell on keyboards, David Ryan on guitar, and Bob Henderson on drums, but the group disbanded shortly thereafter.
Subsequently, they re-formed as the Ramrods, but with a different lineup and recorded an album in 1971, but then broke up for good.
Several anthologies have been released featuring the band's collected work. The French label Eva Records issued the LP compilation ''I Wanna Be Your Man'' in 1983.
Big Beat Records released ''The Best Of The Rockin' Ramrods'' in 1995.
In 2000, Akarma Records, out of Italy, issued their own compilation of the same name, ''The Best Of The Rockin' Ramrods.''
Personnel
Circa 1963
*Bill Linnane (guitar and keyboards)
*Vin Campisi (guitar)
*Bob Blake (guitar)
*Butch Holmes (drums)
Circa. 1964
*Bill Linnane (guitar, keyboards, and vocals)
*Vin Campisi (guitar and vocals)
*Ron Campisi (guitar and vocals)
*Bob Henderson (drums and vocals)
Circa. 1965
*Bill Linnane (guitar, keyboards, and vocals)
*Scott Curtis (organ and vocals) replacing Linnane
*Vin Campisi (guitar and vocals)
*Ron Campisi (bass and vocals)
*Bob Henderson (drums and vocals)
Circa. 1966-1967
*Vinn Campisi (guitar and vocals)
*Ron Campisi (bass and vocals)
*Lenny Cirelli (organ)
*Bob Henderson (drums and vocals)
Circa. 1968
*Vin Campisi (guitar and vocals)
*Ronn Campisi (bass and vocals)
*Lenny Cirelli(organ)
*Bob Henderson (drums and vocals)
*David Allen Ryan, after Ronn left the group. (bass and most lead vocals)
*Jim Mandell came in to replace Len Cirelli (vocals and keyboard)
Discography
Singles (as the Rockin' Ramrods)
*"Jungle Call" b/w "Indian Giver" (Explosive #F-102, 1963)
*"She Lied" b/w "The Girl Can’t Help It" (Bon-Bon 1315, April 1964)
*"I Wanna Be Your Man" b/w "I’ll Be on My Way" (Plymouth 2961/2962, December 1964)
*"Wild About You" b/w "Cry in My Room" (Southern Sound 205, July 1965)
*"Don’t Fool with Fu Manchu" b/w "Tears Melt the Stones" (as the GTO's) (Claridge 301, November 1965)
*"Play It" b/w "Got My Mojo Workin'" (Claridge 317, April 1966)
*"Bright Lit, Blues Skies" b/w "Mister Wind" (Plymouth 2964, July 1966)
*"Flowers in My Mind" b/w "Mary, Mary" (Plymouth 2965, 1967)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockin' Ramrods
Garage rock groups from Massachusetts
Garage punk groups
Musical groups disestablished in 1971
Musical groups from Boston