Our story starts in Lake Jackson, Texas, where the small record label Van was once based. Charles and Bobby Vanmeter, two brothers from Longview, TX, started the label out of the back of their music store in Lake Jackson. Both men ran the small studio where they used a Roberts 4 track recorder to recorded local acts from Angleton, Clute, West Colombia and Freeport. The two brothers took on an accountant to help with the business side of the label named Lonnie Roberts, who was also an accountant for Dow Chemical at the time. Lonnie’s address was used occasionally, which is why you see Angleton on the labels and not Lake Jackson. Lonnie once recorded a single for the label with The Raiders titled, “Rugged But Right/ Room Full of Roses.”

The two groups I would like to spot light on this specific label are the Raiders and The Originals. I have come across some evidence that Van did in fact record a few groups in the Garage, Rocker vein, but have not acquired them as of yet.

The Raiders were a three piece consisting of Jessie Castor on bass, Bill Pitcock on drums and Terry Simpson on guitar. I had the pleasure of speaking with Terry Simpson on the phone to get the down low on this mysterious label and his group along with some information on The Originals.

Terry told me that the group started in 1961, but did not actually record until 1962. The group’s first recording was the hit, “Stick Shift.” It was outside of a club in Angleton that Terry just started playing around on the guitar and ended up writing the guitar section of the song on spot. The group went to the Vanmeters with the song where Terry and Jessie Castor then wrote the rest of the song and recorded the tune. “Stick Shift” sold 10,000 copies in Houston alone after being picked up by the Vee Jay label, giving the record worldwide distribution.


When the group started playing Terry was a fifteen year old and a freshman in High School, Jesse Caster was twenty-two, and Bill Pitcock was twenty-six years old. Another single the group wrote, which was not a chart topper, was a track titled “Raisin’ Cane/Repetition.” This disc is my personal favorite and was recorded in about 1963 with two different members, Clyde Kirkpatrick on bass and Larry Cox on Drums. This tune features a slower bass line edging toward a tittyshaker.


It was around this time The Raiders went through multiple lineup changes and finally became the backing band for Walter Crane, who was a popular vocalist in the area.




The second group I would like to highlight is The Originals. Gary King on guitar, Ronnie Ellis on VOX, Gary’s brother Tommy King on bass, and George Shelton on drums made up the group. They started out with a sound similar to that of The Raiders, but later recorded a few slower ballads and a few moody garage numbers. The Originals went on to record Terry’s “Stick Shift,” with a slight title change, “Stick Shift 65.” Terry Simpson was a huge influence for Gary King and many other guitar players in Texas at the time. Billy Gibbons will even drop Terry Simpson’s name when asked of his early influences.

The Originals eventually recorded four singles for the Van Label. The first one, “Scatter Shot/Lucille,” was the topside written by Garry King and the flipside was a moody version of Little Richard’s “Lucille”.


The group then recorded “Honey Blonde/ One Little Raindrop,” both tunes written by Monte Angell. Their third single contains the Terry Simpson and Jessie Castor cover of “Stick Shift 65/Blast Off”, with the “Blast Off portion written by Gary King. Their fourth single contains my favorite of the four singles “How Much of Your Heart/Searching For Your Love.” The song features Ronnie Ellis belting out the vocals and was written by Monte Angell. For more information on The Originals please refer to Garage Hangover’s interview, which features some additional tunes as well.


I would like to thank Terry Simpson for giving me his time, and Doug Hanners for providing the photos of the band on stage and the publicity poster.

LISTEN: The Raiders – Stick Shift

LISTEN: Lonny Roberts & The Raiders – Rugged But Right

LISTEN: The Raiders – Raisin’ Cane

LISTEN: Walter Crane & The Raiders – Everyday I Have the Blues

LISTEN: The Originals – Lucille

LISTEN: The Originals – How Much of Your Heart

This week I have been off of my feet due to a bike spill. Being that the record convention was this past weekend, I was able, prior to the spill, to dig up some new Texas fuzz. So please bear with me, next week will return to a normal length.

The Countdown 5 was formed out of the demise of a group called The Dominoes, a high school band, from Texas City, Texas. The Bamboo Hut was a Dance club in Galveston, Texas where the group became the house band. The Bamboo Hut would be a place for, practicing and performing and really tightening their sound, which later put them on the billboard top 100. In 1965, the Countdown recorded the single “Bamboo Hut,” recorded on the Pasadena label Pic 1. The single carries over a frat rock sound from the early sixties, a high-energy dance number, showing homage to their original stomping ground. The honkin’ saxophone layered over a theme of constant beach parties at a grass hut, just seems to have fallen out of a Frankie Avalon picture. “Bamboo Hut,” never stirred much attention for the group except for a local Galveston following.

Countdown 5, two years later recorded “Uncle Kirby,” this single gave the group a spot on the national charts. This track starts out with a slow psych tone, which drops out to reveal a paint peeling screamer, “I’m Gonna Get Rich.” This screamer was the beginning of an evolution of The 5’s sound, which continues with their singles to follow. The group changed labels to a local Galveston label, Toucan Records. It seems that the group, at the same time, released this single on the Houston Cinema label, but I cant figure out which came first, but I think the Toucan press was a much smaller local press. “Uncle Kirby,” later turned up on the Texas Flashback Compilation.

LISTEN: Countdown 5 – Bamboo Hut

LISTEN: Countdown 5 – Uncle Kirby (from Brazil)

Out of the shadows of surf rock comes a monster from a group coined the “Gulf Coast Beach Boys”. Most commonly known for their harmonies and catchy hooks, The Coastliners recorded hits like “Alright” and “Wonderful You”. Hailing from Bay Town, Texas in 1964, the group was a five piece: Ozzie Hart (drums), Tommy Meekins (keyboards), Wayman Lamb (guitar), Bob Williamson (bass), and Rex Kramer (lead guitar).

The brain behind the group would be no other than Fred Carroll, their manager at the time. Carroll, in 1965 started International Artists, the record label we all know later recorded such acts as The Elevators, Bubble Puppy, and Red Krayola etc. The first I A release was actually The Coastliners with their hit “Alright”. Carroll would not stay with the label long selling it for $35. Carroll did, however, stay with The Coastliners writing and managing, but most importantly scoring them another record deal with the larger label in the area, Backbeat. That’s right, this group bridged the gap, recording for both I A and Backbeat records. Backbeat rereleased “Alright” and recorded a slew of other singles. One making the Houston charts, “She’s My Girl.” This hit was very in tune with The Beach Boys’ surfer harmonies, which centered on themes of cars, girls and California. This over the top pop backbone made The Coastliners a Texas household name and gave them the alias “The Gulf Coast Beach Boys”. In 1966, “She’s My Girl” was recorded with the flip, “I’ll Be Gone”.

This heater of a track really exemplifies the sound I’m digging for, especially coming from Texas. The fuzz from the bass, from the top, lets any listener know they are not about to hear some Beach Boys cover. This track never made much of an impact on the charts, and as far as I know, still has not shown up on any compilations. The fact that this group was on both International Artists and Backbeat is an amazing feat in itself.

LISTEN: The Coastliners – I’ll Be Gone