24 Sep 2010, Comments (1)

Joe Bravo y Su Orquesta- It’s Okay (El Zarape 1968)

Author: alex larotta

Another recording in the seemingly endless vault of San Antonio westside soul, Joe Bravo’s “It’s Okay” was originally written and recorded by Tex-Mex music mogul Manny Guerra and The Sunglows. With its simple R&B arrangement, heavy-handed vocal reverb, and spikes of maniacal laughter interspersed throughout the song (which is so over the top it’s nothing short of brilliance), It’s Okay retains a uniquely dark and unsettling overtone for an R&B/pop single. The song follows a young man’s woes of heartbreak and ultimate acceptance of lost love, pouring over the details of the story in a seemingly drunken stupor. But, maybe that’s what makes it such a great teenage love song.

I can’t recommend Ruben Molina’s Chicano Soul: Recordings and History of an American Culture enough to our readers. Full of great stories, pictures/record scans, concert bills (and related ephemera), label discographies, and in-depth conversations with artists and band members of the era, Molina covers the little-known subgenre in great detail with unfettered determination to the cause. I thought I might borrow his lyric transcription of It’s Okay as written in the liner notes of the book and share it here–it’s just too good not to share, in my opinion. I might note that the laughs were written in the lyrics as per Manny’s original composition of the song. Enjoy:

He he he ha ha ha ha
It’s alright, I’ve been hurt before
You don’t love me anymore
He, ha
Maybe someday, I’ll find a way without you

What am I saying?
It’s okay, huh
Baby, I can see
It’s okay
But, but will it make you happy?
Maybe someday I’ll find a way without you
He he he he ha ha ha ha
Someday, huh, it won’t be long.
He he he he ha ha
You’re going to find yourself all alone

LISTEN: Joe Bravo y Su Orquestra-It’s Okay
7 Sep 2010, Comments (1)

The Hombres-Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) (Verve 1967)

Author: alex larotta

Mix in Bob Dylan’s nonsensical lyricism, a recognizable chord progression/organ vamp (i.e. Them’s Gloria), handclaps on the one, and stir it with a funky southern swagger, and you’ve got a hit. At least, it worked for Memphis’ The Hombres and their Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) single on Verve from 1967. It’s a pretty ridiculous song, and ridiculously catchy at that. Clocking out an inch past two minutes, Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) was produced by Texas record cowboy, Huey Meaux, and charted the national Top 40 for a few weeks in the fall of ‘67 (peaking at #12). The Hombres attempted to follow up on their novelty approach to hit-makers with another 45 (and full-length LP), but failed to chart again and dissipated shortly thereafter in 1969. For me, this record is testament to why psychotropics and late 60s music experimentalism worked so damn well.
LISTEN: The Hombres- Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)
26 Aug 2010, Comments (0)

The New Breed – P.M. or Later (Jamie) 1967

Author: michael selman


I have been trying to locate members of The New Breed for a long time with no real luck. The confusion surrounding this band has proven to be quite a hardship to research, for in trying to cross facts many inaccuracies are found. The New Breed was another great Dallas area group headed up by the master writer and vocalist Ron Price. Ron wrote Texas hits such as “Wishy Washy Woman”, and “My Girl” for Jimmy Rabbit. He also wrote the tune “Didn’t We Have a Good Time” for The Mystics, another Dallas group, which is where some inaccuracies surface.


Many sources falsely accredit Price as one of the musicians who played with The Mystics. I contacted Bud Buschardt who was part owner of GPC Enterprises in the 60s. GPC was the booking agency that promoted The Mystics. I Hoped Bud would have some information on The New Breed or could confirm or deny whether Price was in The Mystics. He was under the assumption that Price was in the group as well, but was not really sure, being that it had been forty years and that he only booked the group. He was nice and mailed me some great promo shots of the Mystics and some publicity prints.


Bud pointed out that in “Journey to Tyme” (Texas discography of 60’s psych), The Mystics and The New Breed were listed as the same group. Bud told me to try to contact Robin Hood Brians out of Tyler, TX. Robin had recorded and produced The New Breeds last record in 1968 “I’d Like To See Her Again/High Society Girl.” Robin Hood, as most know, is one of the heavy hitters when it comes to recording and production in Texas. He is known for recording Jon and Robin, Kenny and The Kasuals, The Moving Sidewalks and Jimmy Rabbit. I tried to contact Robin Hood for a while with little luck.


In the mean time I stumbled upon an interview at Garage Hangover with Dave Mitchell, the bassist from the Mystics. He confirmed that Price was never in the group, that he only wrote their single. Price became affiliated with The Mystics after they won a battle of the bands. This set them up with a single on the Spectra label, out of Dallas, who Price had been working with at the time. This interview shows many scans of the band lacking any photos of Ron Price. Mitchell claims that the Spectra label and the In Crowd label (The New Breed’s first label) had some affiliation. The two labels, according to Mitchell, mislead the public to believe that The Mystics became The New Breed, to give the band some publicity. I then tracked down a man by the name of Gerald Peirce, who was in a group named the Mystics and soon after joined another group called The New Breed. As it turns out there was another Mystics from Port Neches, TX and another New Breed from Beaumont, TX. For a side note Peirce was in a group named The Basic Things also from Beaumont; check it out on Garage Hangover.

I also stumbled upon a great interview at 60sgaragebands, where Bill Looney from The Penthouse Five, another amazing Dallas group, spoke of some affiliation with Price. The Penthouse Five used to play gigs in Dallas with The New Breed and actually recorded one of Price’s tunes, “Don’t Mess Around With My Dream”. This interview seems to reflect that Price was in The Mystics as well.

Around this time I received a call back from Robin Hood, he told me that he didn’t remember the exact details, but he thought that the group consisted of a few brothers and that he would contact Ron Price to verify. When Robin called me back I learned that Ron Price had passed away several years ago from multiple strokes. Robin Hood told me that Ron’s brother, who Robin spoke with on the phone, said the band consisted of five brothers. He also claimed to be the vocalist on “I’d Like to See Her Again.” The brother also said the group at one time had played as Roy Orbison’s backing band? Robin told me that he didn’t feel comfortable giving me the brother’s name or number and that he would forward my email to him so he could contact me. That email never came…

I am posting this hoping one of our readers will solve the mystery. If a person was to look close at the scan of “P.M. or Later”, D. Morris was credited as well as R. Price, proving that at least a portion of the writing crew was not of relation. BMI doest not reflect D. Morris, only Ron Price as the writer. Another thing that is funny to mention here is that after this track was pressed regionally, the Jamie Label picked it up and sited the production to Ray Price instead of Ron Price. Yet another bit of oddness for this group, the first release of “P.M. or Later” contains lyrics where the second release on Jamie is a straight forward instrumental. I want to apologize for the poor condition of the In Crowd release of “P.M. or Later,” it is the only one I have turned up as of yet. If anyone has any information about The New Breed or Ron Price please contact us and we will reference your contribution.

The New Breed Discography

In Crowd 001 – Sunny/P.M. Or Later
Jamie 1341 – Sunny/P.M. Or Later
In Crowd – Little Bit of Soul
In Crowd 1234 – Big Time/Summer’s Comin’
Fraternity 1003 – I’d Like To See Her Again/High Society Girl

LISTEN: The Mystics – Didn’t We Have Good Time

LISTEN: The New Breed – High Society Girl

LISTEN: The New Breed – P.M. Or Later

LISTEN: The New Breed – P.M. Or Later (In Crowd release)

24 Aug 2010, Comments (3)

Carl Carlton-Wild Child (Back Beat 1970)

Author: alex larotta

Before the disco sheen of ‘Everlasting Love’ and ‘She’s A Bad Mama Jama’, Houston’s Carl Carlton (by way of Detroit) dabbled with the experimental sounds of psychedelic funk, if for only a short moment in his career. Steeped in druggy grooves, backward tape loops, and fuzz guitar tones, Carlton’s Wild Child makes for some of the best in this short-lived variety. Carlton ran the gamut of nearly every soul style; from early R&B and southern funky soul to the 4/4 boogie train of the 1970s and 80s (from which he’s popularly known) and later affiliations with gospel music.

Likely taking his cue from acid-blues hero Jimi Hendrix and fellow Motor City native George Clinton with his new bag of funky rock, Carlton and his band got to work on branding their own take on psychedelia, produced by renowned Philly music producer Bunny Sigler (Gamble and Huff). Recorded on Don Robey’s home for Houston R&B–Back Beat Records–Carlton recorded a handful of 45s for the label until his departure in the mid 70s. Given the poor storage of the record by its previous owner(s), you’ll have to excuse the pops and tics, but this is Texas black psychedelia at its finest.

LISTEN: Carl Carlton-Wild Child
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