Under age drinking is the theme of this weeks post. The Kings were a five piece, only recording a few singles most notably “It’s The L.C.B.” This tune opens with the first few bars from the Dragnet theme song, foreshadowing being arrested for D.W.I. The L.C.B. stands for Liquor Control Board. The group recorded for Abe Epstein’s JOX label, out of San Antonio. I was able to track down only three of the member’s names: Donnie McCormick on Drums, Tommy Carlisle on Guitar and Rob Morgan on Bass.
The group only stayed together for a short time because four of the members were drafted. This track reached number one in Texas when it was released. Tommy and Donnie went on to form Eric Quincy Tate, an Atlanta blues rock group. In Kingsville, the L.C.B. used to raid the clubs quite frequently because of rampant underage drinking. It became a signal to all of the underage boozers in the venue when, “It’s The L.C.B.” was played that the cops were raiding the joint.
“Now I turned 21 just the other day
I thought I’d go out and hear a good band play
As sure as I’m sitting here singing this song
I must’ve been drunk and read the calendar wrong
Oh no! It’s the LCB”
I was able to find a shot from an early practice session and another at a local Kingsville venue. I have been sitting on this track for a while, trying to accumulate information, only to find there is not much known about these guys. I have decided to post anyways because this track is too good to sit on any longer. Enjoy.
LISTEN: The Kings – It’s The L.C.B.
Comments (9) »
They cut 2 other 45’s on Jox, the rarest and (IMHO)best by far is “I’ve got a licence”, great photos thanks for posting those!
Man I have not seen any other 45s by this group as of yet. Glad to hear there is more, I will be on the look out just found an article that my friend Doug Hanners gave me that feature The Kings. Will update with a new photo from this article soon.
Michael
One of the names is wrong…it’s Ron Morgan, not Rob Morgan. the initials REM on the picture of the 45 are Ron’s.
That is Don Brillhart pictured with Donnie. DDon was a member of the original Shades…….
That is David Pollard playing sax and Tommy Pollard on bass
I run a small mastering studio in upstate NY and mastered all of the Eric Quincy Tate material for the band. One of the members recently was in contact with one of the members of the Kings who had both 45’s the band did back in ‘65 and (“It’s The L.C.B” / “If I could “Believe In You” and “I’ve Got A License” / “Just A Little Bit Of You”). It was for personal use however, and not for public issue. I’d like to see him make these tracks public somehow however – they were actually very good!
Forgot to add – yes, I mastered the 45’s as well. They came out pretty good, all things considered. I’ll send a note and see if we can make them public somehow (maybe mp3’s – I don’t think there is any publishing rights on these, but out of courtesy I’d rather get the ok from the band members first is all). You can contact me at dmorris1 (at sign) nycap DOT rr DOT com (or dmorris1@nycap.rr.com) if you wish for more info.
One other note: the black and white pic is NOT the band that played on the 45’s!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2_hWdrIHpE&feature=youtu.be