Friday, March 27, 2009

The Crabs - Chase Yourself/Bye Bye My Little Girl (1967)


Αντε άλλο ένα γκρουπακι πριν παμε για ύπνο. Αυτό το πολύ συμπαθητικό 45αρι έβγαλαν τα παλικάρια, με το Chase Yourself να είναι διαχρονικό. Εκείνο που δεν νομίζω ότι κυκλοφορεί σε συλλογές είναι το Bye Bye My Little Girl που κάποιοι ίσως θέλουν να ακούσουν.

Personnel:
JERRY DeJONG ld gtr A
ROBBIE LEFF rhythm gtr, vcls A
ED RUDNICK III bs A
ALEC SMITH drms A

45:
1 Chase Yourself/Bye Bye My Little Girl (Universal 30495) 1967

Formed in 1966 by childhood friends Alec Smith and Robbie Leff, The Crabs were managed by prominent Houston agent and big-band leader, Buddy Brock, who produced their only record, Chase Yourself b/w Bye Bye My Little Girl on Brock's own Universal label. Both songs were written by Leff.
Chase Yourself met with no success on Houston radio (many thought that the 'B' side should've been the A-side) but it did chart in Beaumont, Texas and Lake Charles, Louisiana where The Crabs also made their one and only TV appearance on a local morning show. There they lip-synched their single and promoted that night's appearance at the opening of a Lake Charles nightclub, The Cave. One embarrassing moment of the live TV show: Someone in the booth mistakenly played the opening 20 seconds of the 45 at 33rpm... no doubt the longest 20 seconds in the brief career of The Crabs.
Typical songs from the group's set list included those of the Yardbirds, The Beatles, Gerry and The Pacemakers, Johnny Rivers, Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs, Paul Revere and The Raiders, Wilson Pickett and Roy Head and The Traits.
After playing steadily for almost two years the group broke up when drummer Smith went off to college in El Paso and Leff moved to Los Angeles to pursue songwriting. Although Leff's music never enjoyed great success, his songs were recorded by a diverse group of artists including Nancy Sinatra, Johnny Winter and Alice Cooper.
Leff moved back to Houston in 1982 where he currently performs in the sixties music duet, Speedy Mancini with singer/drummer Dale Marks. Alec Smith is married with two grown children and is in the insurance business. Jerry DeJong was last heard of teaching guitar and Ed Rudnick's whereabouts are currently unknown.
Compilation appearances include: Chase Yourself on Highs In The Mid Sixties, Vol. 12 (LP) and Acid Visions - The Complete Collection Vol. 1 (3-CD).
Tracks:
1. Chase Yourself
2. Bye Bye My Little Girl

1 comment:

88 said...

thanks for links to listen, just a blog note, the links at end to "Highs in Mid Sixties" and "Acid Visions" both refer your "F:\...Documents"

Compilation appearances include: Chase Yourself on Highs In The Mid Sixties, Vol. 12 (LP) and Acid Visions - The Complete Collection Vol. 1 (3-CD).

cool stuff, gracias amigo