Randy and the Radiants
| Randy and the Radiants | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1962-1966, 1976-1985 |
| Labels | Sun |
| Past members |
|
Randy and the Radiants (or Randy & the Radiants) were an American garage rock band from Memphis, Tennessee who were active from 1962-1966 and then again 1976-1984. They were one of the most popular groups in the Memphis area during the 1960s, and though their association with Knox Phillips, son of Sam Phillips, they signed with Sun Records and recorded two singles on the label which became hits in the region, particularly their second release, "My Way of Thinking", which became one of the top hits in the area, reaching #1 on WGMN's charts. The group's work has today become highly regarded amongst garage rock enthusiasts and collectors.
Randy and the Radiants were grew out of a band called the Embers. Randy Haspel and Bob Simon had played together since junior high in another band, the Casuals, led by Howard Calhoun. Calhoun had another group, which was the Embers. Haspel and Simon sung backup vocals in Embers, but eventually Haspel became their primary lead singer and front man, prompting the band to change their name to Randy and the Radiants. Their lineup settled into the following configuration: Haspel on guitar and lead vocals, Simon on rhythm guitar, and Calhoun on bass, along with Ed Marshal on lead guitar, Bill Slais on saxophone, and Mike Gardener on drums. Toni Rossini later joined on backing vocals. The band included self-written numbers in their repertoire, usually penned by Bob Simon, but sometimes by Randy Haspel. At the time, the most popular rock & roll band in Memphis was the Counts. The members of Randy and the Radiants sought to emulate the Counts, even so far as taking notes while watching them play live. According to Haspel: "Tommy Boggs [the Counts drummer] used to let me sit behind his drum set onstage and take notes and study them." However, with the arrival of the Beatles and the British Invasion, the group began to look across the Atlantic for inspiration. Because the various members in the band went to six different high schools, they wee able to cull fans from multiple places, which turned out to be an advantage. They became a popular live act in the Memphis area, playing regularly at the T. Walker Lewis YMCA.
Eventually the group was so regularly-booked that they decided to hire a manager. They approached Johnny Dark, a disc jockey at WGMN, an AM station in Millington, Tennessee. WGMN had sponsored dances at the T. Walker Lewis YMCA, and the band had gotten to know their DJ's who would regularly host shows. Dark accepted their offer, and one of his first moves was to raise their asking price from $50 per gig to $500 a night. Dark got the band active in the college fraternity gig scene. When playing one show at Southwestern college, they met a student there, Knox Phillips, who arranged for them to audition for his father, Sam Phillips' label, Sun Records, which had launched the careers of Elvis Presley and so many of the most famous Memphis-based rockabilly stars of the 1950s. The band was signed to the label and recorded their first single for Sun released in 1965, "Peek-a-boo" backed with "Mountains High", which had previously been a hit for Dick and Dee. The song became a moderate hit on WHBQ.The Gentrys were one of Randy and the Radiants' chief rivals in the competitive Memphis scene. Randy and the Radiants took part in several battles of the bands, even beating-out the Gentrys at T. Walker Lewis and the Counts on another occasion. They opened for the Dave Clark Five at the Mid-South Coliseum.
...
Wikipedia