Turn it Down Local Mix: Obscure Michigan-made songs from 1967 

This week, Turn it Down! takes a look at the year 1967. All of these garage-rock tunes were released in that pivotal year for music. Sure, these are obscure cuts (three of which were released on the legendary Fenton Records imprint), but they’re all highly revered by vinyl collectors from across the globe. As the ’60s were coming to a close, this batch of singles represents the last gasp of stripped-down, primitive garage-rock, as rock music was rapidly moving towards a more complicated, progressive sound. Read on, and listen along on YouTube. 
 
 
The SoulBenders “Hey Joe”  

Led by frontman and keyboardist Aris Hampers, The SoulBenders formed in Grand Rapids in 1967 and churned out a matchless cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Hey Joe” and a blistering take on Love’s “7 and 7 Is” that same year. Released on the Phantasm and Mala Records labels, “Hey Joe” was No. 1 on WLAV’s charts for six weeks and helped the band sell 3,000 copies in around three weeks’ time. Aside from dominating charts, The SoulBenders opened a big show for The Blue Magoos and were also notorious for winning a bulk of the Battle of the Bands events.

But it wasn’t just cover tunes that helped them gain local notoriety. While at the Great Lakes Recording Studio, the band also put originals down on tape — including poppy tracks like “Petals” and “I Can’t Believe in Love.” In the years following the band’s break up, Hampers fronted his band Phlegethon, which opened shows for The Stooges, MC5 and The Byrds, among others. At the onset of the 1970s, he also became a beloved local disc jockey and spent the following decades spinning tracks on both WLAV-FM and WBFX-FM. 
 
The Mussies “Louie Go Home”  

The climatic swagger of The Mussies’ “Louie Go Home,” an amped-up Paul Revere & the Raiders cover, is a prime example of garage-rock flawlessness. The menacing 1967 Fenton single, backed with the unruly psych-tinged instrumental “12 O’clock, July,” was recorded by the South Haven-based band at Chicago’s Chess Studios and featured Greg Erikson (vocals/bass), Paul Nabb (lead guitar), Tom Mann (rhythm guitar/vocals), Brady Rusin (keys) and Bill Johnson (drummer). Some of the band’s high points included opening big shows for The Buckinghams and Shadows of Knight. After the draft broke up The Mussies, some of the band went on to form The Smoke, releasing one self-issued single, 1968’s “Half Past the End.” 

The Legends “I’ll Come Again” 

The sea of reverberated “Ooh, ooh, oooh, oooohs!” paired with the relentless pulsation of a Farfisa organ on The Legends’ “I’ll Come Again” is textbook ’60s Garage Rock 101. Perhaps that’s why the 1967 Fenton single, backed with the soft ballad “I’m Just a Guy,” is considered one of the label’s classic releases. This lone release from the Holland-based band was actually recorded in 1966, but a delayed release pushed it into the next year — right as the outfit was disbanding. Still, they had a good run. The band, which formed in 1964 at Holland High, consisted of Ray Vasquez (keys/vocals), Scott Hamberg (guitar), Andy Fierro (bass) and drummer John Bertalan.

The group played local clubs like the Thunderbird Lounge in Muskegon, Noah’s Ark in Saugatuck, and The Edgar Allan Poe Club in Holland (fun fact: The Edgar Allan Poe Club was previously a funeral parlor). The Legends also backed Ray Hummel III of The JuJus on his 1967 solo outing, the “Fine Day” b/w “Gentle Rain” single on Fenton. The Legends emerged from its breakup in the early 1970s as a six-man group called The Black Sparrow, but it fizzled out into obscurity.

The Jades “Surface World” 

Luckily, after forming in 1964, The Jades didn’t have to travel too far to get to Sparta’s Great Lakes Recording Studio. The band formed at Sparta High School and cut two 45s on the Fenton label: “Confined Congregation” b/w “Please Come Back” in 1966 and 1967’s “Surface World” b/w “We Got Something Going.” The pop-fueled group included guitarists Rich Seigel and Phil Succop, Craig Clarke (bass), Floyd Johnson (keys) and drummers Don Preston, Bill Alexander and Roy Johnson.

The band gigged across West Michigan, performing at high school post-games, Friday-night dances and countless teen clubs, including one massive Battle of the Bands show at The Place (632 Plymouth Ave. N.E., Grand Rapids). The Jades also performed three nights a week, during the summers, at a club in Hess Lake before disbanding in 1968. As usual with teen bands, it was that pesky high-school graduation that dissolved the group. Last year, the band reunited for a fan Q&A in their hometown of Sparta.