The Castaways are an American rock

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 the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

, United States. The band's only

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 ...

single was " Liar, Liar".

Written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

band leader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues ...

James Donna and drummer (and band co-founder) Dennis Craswell, the song was produced by Timothy D. Kehr and released by Soma Records, reaching number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ...

in 1965. "Liar, Liar" was later featured in the films ''

Good Morning, Vietnam ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' is a 1987 American war comedy film written by Mitch Markowitz and directed by Barry Levinson. Set in Saigon in 1965, during the Vietnam War, the film stars Robin Williams as a radio DJ on Armed Forces Radio Service, wh ...

'' and ''

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' is a 1998 British black comedy crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, produced by Matthew Vaughn and starring an ensemble cast featuring Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Steven Ma ...

'' and was

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 copy ...

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

in ''

Married to the Mob ''Married to the Mob'' is a 1988 American crime comedy film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Mercedes Ruehl, and Alec Baldwin. Pfeiffer plays Angela de Marco, a gangster's widow from B ...

''. The Castaways performed "Liar, Liar" in the 1967 beach movie, ''

It's a Bikini World ''It's a Bikini World'' is a 1967 American musical comedy film starring Tommy Kirk, Deborah Walley and Bobby Pickett. The film features cameos by the music groups the Gentrys, the Animals, Pat & Lolly Vegas, the Castaways and R&B girl g ...

''. Their followup, "Goodbye Babe", was another local hit, but did not break nationally. Although the group released several more singles throughout the 1960s, they never released an album, until the appearance of their 1999 Greatest Hits compilation.

History

The original members were Jim Donna on keyboards, Robert Folschow and Roy Hensley on guitars, Dick Roby on bass guitar and vocal, and Dennis Craswell on drums. Folschow sang the distinctive

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...

vocal on "Liar, Liar", and Dick Roby contributed the scream. Following the dissolution of the band, original drummer Dennis Craswell (co-author of the song "Liar Liar"), went on to join

Crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

, a Minneapolis-based rock band of the late 1960s and early 1970s. and now plays UP North MN under the name: The Original Castaways (summers) and plays under the name: The Castaway in the Rio Grande Valley playing dances in the 55+ parks, and on South Padre Island (winters). In the early 1980s, Folschow and Craswell led a West Coast version of the band under the name The Castaways in

Pismo Beach, California Pismo Beach (Chumash: ''Pismuʔ'') is a city in the southern portion of San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast area of California, United States. The estimated population was 8,072 at the 2020 census, up from 7,655 in the 2010 census. I ...

. Folschow, who was using the stage name of Bob LaRoy, played guitar and a

keytar The keytar is a lightweight synthesizer that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement onstage, compared to conventional keyboards ...

on many songs, including "Liar, Liar". At some point, this lineup also included fellow original members Roby and Hensley, leaving Donna as the only original member not participating. Rhythm guitarist Roy Hensley (born on December 31, 1947) died on June 8, 2005, at the age of 57, and was buried in

Lewisville, Minnesota Lewisville is a city in Watonwan County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 250 at the 2010 census. History Lewisville was platted in 1899. The city was named for the Lewis family, original owners of the town site. A post office has b ...

. In 2006, all five members of the classic Castaways lineup were inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the group's former producer, Timothy B. Kehr accepting the award on behalf of posthumous inductee Hensley.

Discography

;Singles *" Liar, Liar" / "Sam" (1965) *"Goodbye Babe" / "A Man's Gotta Be a Man" (1965) *"She's a Girl in Love" / "Why This Should Happen to Me" (1967) *"I Feel So Fine" / "Hit the Road Jack" (1967) *"Walking in Different Circles" / "Just On High" (1968) *"Bad Hair Day" Dennis Craswell and Roy Hensley. *"Lavender Popcorn" / "What Kind of Face" (1968)

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castaways, The Garage rock groups from Minnesota Musical groups from the Twin Cities