The "Swingin
Lampliters" were formed in January 1964. They played engagements
in the Birmingham area from 1964 to early 1969. In 1967 they recorded
one 45 rpm single entitled "Get Away" on Vaughn LTD Records.
The members on the record were:
- Al Lovoy, lead vocals
- Charles Carbonie (band leader) drums
- Jesse Warth, bass guitar
- Gary Swatzell, organ
- Tommy Calton, guitar
Other members of the band that played at one time or another were:
- Frankie Parrish, rhythm guitar
- Greg Sheffield, bass guitar (really, it was a 6 string guitar, but he played the bass lines)
- Jimmy Whitt, lead vocals
- George Tobias, lead vocals
- Larry McMeekin, lead vocals
- Steve Burkes, organ.
This band was so much
fun from beginning to end. Every member was a great guy and a good musician,
even at such a young age.
THE ROYAL CAROUSEL
The Royal Carousel was formed in the fall of 1967 and were together for just a few months.
The band members were:
- Al Lovoy, lead vocals
- Jimmy Whitt, bass guitar
- Al Pettinato, drums
- Gary Swatzell, organ
- Tommy Calton, guitar
This band played some cool copy material such as "Live" by The Merry Go Round and "Holiday" by the Bee Gees.
After a few months,
Tommy and Gary went back to the Swingin Lampliters.Al Lovoy joined
a group called The Wyld Vybrations. Jimmy Whitt and Al Pettinato
performed with various groups around Birmingham.
The Brass Button/Rainwater
The Brass Button hailed from Jasper, Alabama playing engagements in that region. The band was formed and stayed together through most of the members' High School years.
In late 1968/early 1969, some of the members began to leave the band for college or the army (Tim Townley). It was around December of 1969 that Ross Roberts (guitarist) introduced Tommy Calton (who had come from Birmingham to attend Walker College) to Marc Phillips and Mark Herndon.
It was the beginning of a 19 year partnership and lifetime friendship for Marc and Tommy. The boys added Mike Patton (from Jasper's most popular group at the time, "The Carousel" ) on drums and changed the bands name to Rainwater. Rainwater traveled all over Alabama and parts of Georgia doing mostly copy material ranging from The Beatles, Three Dog Night to Crosby, Stills & Nash.
In 1970 they recorded a Marc Phillips song " Morning Dew", but no record was ever made from the demo tape. In early 1971 the band members began to go separate ways. Ross Roberts joined a band in Birmingham (Black Mountain), Marc Phillips moved to Atlanta for a very short while and Tommy Calton went back to Birmingham and formed an acoustic group, which Marc would quickly join.
Rainwater members were:
- Marc Phillips (lead vocals and keyboards)
- Ross Roberts (lead guitar)
- Mark Herndon (lead vocals)
- Mike Patton (drums)
- Tommy Calton (bass guitar----for a very short time)
Wooden Music
Wooden Music began
in February of 1970. Tommy Calton got together with two high school friends,
Roy Reeder and Robin Behee, to form an acoustic group. Roy had been a
major folk and rock influence on Tommy, not to mention one of his best
friends. Robin had played numerous times at Birmingham's most popular
folk nightclub - the Lowenbrau. Roy suggested they add Beverly Raspberry
to the fold - they would not be disappointed. Beverly had a beautiful
voice and complemented it well with her smooth fingerstyle acoustic guitar.
After a few rehearsals, Beverly, backed by Roy, Robin and Tommy on acoustic
guitars sat in at the Lowenbrau maybe a couple of times and all seemed
well. Suddenly, however, Roy Reeder was drafted and joined the Navy. A
short time after Roy left, Tommy ran into a college friend John Bean.
John was a good singer, and also a lover of the then new folk style music
(James Taylor, Simon & Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young).
He invited Tommy to The Cornerstone (another folk club in Birmingham)
to hear himself with Bo Crowe - another great singer and acoustic player.
Tommy was so impressed with John and Bo that he invited them to a rehearsal
with Robin and Beverly. It was a good thing too, because at this time
Robin moved on. The chemistry between Bo, John, Beverly and Tommy was
great! It was almost right - but something or someone seemed to be missing.
It was at this defining moment that Marc Phillips called. He was moving
back to Birmingham from Atlanta. After pondering offers from Tommy to
try the acoustic thing and Ross Roberts to join Black Mountain (a popular
local rock group) Marc decided to go the acoustic route.
Now that the group was set, they needed a name. Bo Crowe remembered Stephen
Stills asking a crowd to be quiet - on the live C, S, N, & Y album
"Four Way Street" Stills said "SSSSSHHHHH. This is Wooden
Music" and Bo suggested they use that name. Wooden Music would play
universities in the southeast over the next year, sometimes aided by Larry
Chandler on piano, David Darr on bass, and Bunky Anderson on drums. On
one occasion Ronald Narramore played electric guitar. The material they
covered ranged from Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young to Yes, James Taylor,
The Band, Carly Simon, Steeleye Span to their own vocal version of The
Beatle's "Blackbird". The group also wrote and recorded original
material, but no records.
Eventually, the group members went separate ways. John Bean got married
- Beverly Raspberry got married - Bo Crowe attended the University of
Montevallo and earned a Bachelor's degree in music. Marc Phillips was
invited to Philadelphia to join a group called Dialogue. David Darr went
to work for the Phone Company and Bunky Anderson became a partner in Birmingham's
most successful booking agency - Southeastern Attractions. Larry Chandler
played piano in clubs around the Birmingham area.
The
members in Wooden Music were:
- Marc Phillips (acoustic guitar, vocals)
- Bo Crowe (acoustic guitar vocals)
- John Bean (vocals)
- Beverly Raspberry (vocals)
- Robin Behee (acoustic guitar, vocals)
- Roy Reeder (acoustic guitar)
- Bunky Anderson (drums)
- Larry Chandler (piano)
- David Darr (bass)
- Tommy Calton (acoustic
guitar, vocals)
This photo was taken
for the booking agency in 1971. The members in the photo are: John Bean,
Bo Crowe, Marc Phillips, Beverly (Raspberry) Owen and Tommy Calton.
HOTEL
In
1972 Marc Phillips and Tommy Calton decided it was time to become full
time musicians. They went to their agency (Southeastern Attractions) &
asked to be considered for one of the nightclubs they booked. The agency
called back about a brand new club "Knights of the Round Table"
in Homewood. Marc and Tommy asked Beverly (Raspberry) Owen to join them
for an audition with hopes of becoming the house band for the new club.
The audition was a success - the owners suggested they add a drummer and bass player, so Van Neff (drums) and Joe Breckenridge (bass) were added to the fold. By early February 1973, the new band was rehearsed and ready to go. All they needed was a name. Once again they asked their friend Bo Crowe. Bo suggested the name Tumbrel", and at the same time Marc Phillips suggested the name Hotel. So, in the beginning they were called Tumbrell Hotel. The Band played The Round Table for about a year. They also did a "Yellow Pages" Tour for South Central Bell in the southeast.
The first person to leave the band was Beverly. She andher husband, Larry Owen, moved to Auburn. Alice Catanzano replaced her for a short while and then moved to New Orleans. The next person to leave the band was Van Neff, who was replaced with Jim Pollard on drums. Marc, Joe, Jim, and Tommy kept the band at four pieces for a while - still playing the Round Table and having musician friends come by and sit in - and also playing a new club "Joe Namaths" in downtown Birmingham backing up vocalist Vickie Hallman.
In early 1973 Marc auditioned at Boutwell recording studios for producer Don Mosley. Don was impressed with Marc's talent and started using him for some jingles andletting him record some original material. Marc introduced Tommy to Don and he (Don) started using Tommy for jingles also.It was around this time that Dennis Yost of The Classics 4 decided to record the Marc Phillips song - "Losing my Mind".
In
Spring of 1974 Joe Breckenridge received an offer to play bass for a popular
group in Alabama called Cross. Joe accepted and was replaced with
Mark Smith. Also, Marc Phillips' good friend from The Brass Button
Tim Townley was added on guitar and vocals. With the new lineup, Hotel
began to hit the road and returned to Birmingham to record. They were
making a living off mostly 'copy' material but the original material was
beginning to take shape. Don Mosley had purchased Sound of Birmingham
studios from Neal Hemphill and Hotel began to do demos there.
In 1975 the band was invited to play a new club in Birmingham called The Cobblestone. The Cobblestone was located on Morris Avenue, downtown Birmingham's oldest street, which had been refurbished with several nightclubs and restaurants. The Cobblestone and Hotel began to draw sizeable crowds. In 1976 Tim Townley and Jim Pollard left the band, and were replaced with Michael Reid on guitar and vocals, and John Nuckols on drums.
In 1976, Dain Eric (an A&R man with Capitol Records) was introduced to the band by Buddy Causey - a great singer and friend of the band. Dain (who was looking for a band to produce) booked some recording sessions in Nashville at Creative Workshop. When not playing engagements, the band would use what spare days they had to commute from Birmingham to Nashville and record tracks. After a few of the recordings had been made, John Nuckols (with marriage on the way) decided to leave the band. He was replaced with Michael Cadenhead (of Cross) on drums. Because of all the multi-track overdubs Hotel was doing in the studio (popular at the time) another band member would have to be added in order to perform the songs live.The band drafted the multi talented Lee Bargeron. Marc and Tommy knew Lee from Sound Of Birmingham studios where he had engineered some of their early demos. Lee was already soundman for the band when the opportunity to perform with the band came. He added keyboards, guitar,and background vocals to the mix and also co-wrote several songs with Marc.
By 1977, Hotel signed their first recording contract with Mercury Records for a 45 single called "You'll Love Again". Thanks mostly to Dain Eric's efforts, the song charted. Even though the band showed promise, Mercury was noncommittal when it came a possible LP release. Hotel asked out of their contract and Mercury accepted.Once again the band was free to shop for a record company. In 1978, Dain Eric secured a deal for Hotel with the Scotti Brothers in Los Angeles. The Scotti Brothers were best known for their promotions of records within the industry. They could also secure a record deal for Hotel with a major label - which they did - with MCA. Hotel's debut album "Hotel" was released in the summer of 1979 with the first single "You've Got Another Thing Coming" followed by the Marc Phillips/Barry Mann song "Hold on to the Night."
Hotel
hit the
road to promote the album in September of that year with the help of Dain
Eric and their manager Tony Ruffino (Tony was, and still is, responsible
for any of the arena concerts in Birmingham and was the co-owner of Brothers
Music Hall with Dan Nolen). They secured the Southeast leg of The Little
River Bands tour, also opening for The Atlanta Rhythm Section
& Louisiana's Leroux. By October of 1979 they were writing
material for their next LP. They began recording early 1980 (the new album
was produced by Dain Eric, Debbie Towsley and Hotel). By late spring
the album was finished, and by the summer of 1980 "Half Moon Silver"
was released. The first single was "Cold Blooded Red Hot Love"
a song by Tom Kimmel and Eddie Setser, followed by "Half Moon Silver".
The follow-up LP didn't sell as well as the first, and as a result, MCA dropped the band. The band was released from The Scotti Brothers and they parted ways with Dain Eric .They spent the next the next two years playing around the southeast, writing material and doing demo recordings but no more records. George Creasman was the first to give notice in the spring of 1982. He was replaced for a short time with Eddie Usher (bass). Lee Bargeron gave notice next and the writing was on the wall. In the summer of 1982, Hotel, with the aid of Manager and attorney Michael Trucks, disbanded.
George Creasman played with various bands in Birmingham and still resides there. Michael Cadenhead went on a short tour with Pam Tillis and joined The Extras. He now resides in Atlanta. Michael (Mikal) Reid went on the Pam Tillis tour, moved to LA and joined Wang Chung. He has a long list of achievements as guitarist, writer, engineer and producer in the Los Angeles area. He still resides there.
Lee
Bargeron joined The Extras and over the past 25 years has established
himself as one of Birmingham's best engineers. Lee has his own studio
at home and still resides in Birmingham. Eddie Usher joined Marc and Tommy
in the Calton Phillips Group - which became Split The Dark.
He later joined the recording group Witness with guitarist Damon
Johnson and subsequently joined Lovebang with Eric Dover. He resides
in Gainsville, GA.
Marc Phillips went to LA to co-write some songs with Tom Snow and Jay Gruska and returned to join forces with Tommy in the Calton Phillips Band/Split The Dark. In 1988, he formed a group with Lee Bargeron and Randy Hunter called Boardgames. In 1989, he co-founded Airwave Productions/Studios. From then to the present he has played on, sang on and produced numerous recordings and jingles and has proven himself to be a music treasure for the state of Alabama. As of 2003 he has launched his own website (www.marcphillips.com) and released his first solo CD - "Color Me His". Marc still resides in Birmingham.
The members of Hotel were:
- Beverly Raspberry Owen (vocals)
Alice Catanzano Bargeron (vocals)- Van Neff (drums)
- Joe Breckenridge (bass)
- Jim Pollard (drums)
- Mark Smith (bass)
- Tim Townley (guitar and vocals - Tim's song city lights is on the 'Hotel' LP)
- John Nuckols (drums - John played drums on "You'll Love Again" and "Losing my Mind" on the 'Hotel' LP)
- Eddie Usher (bass)
The members on the MCA Albums 'Hotel' and "Half Moon Silver" were:
- Michael Cadenhead (drums)
- Lee Bargeron (keyboard, guitars and vocals)
- George Creasman (bass guitar)
- Marc Phillips (keyboards, lead vocals)
- Michael Reid (guitar and vocals)
- Tommy Calton (guitar and vocals)
Crew members for the The Little River Tour included:
- Gary Weinberger (Road Manager)
- Mark Andrews (Crew Chief, lights)
- Tim Gibbs (monitors and sound)
- Bruce Jones (sound)
- Jim Chapman (lights)
- Dave Mcdowell (Crew Chief)
- Barry Michaels (sound)
- Terry Lee (lights)
The Calton Phillips Group/ Split The Dark
In September of 1981 Tommy Calton and Marc Phillips formed a new band with Eddie Usher (Hotel) on bass and Steve Sample Jr. - drummer extraordinaire. The band played a mix of cover material ranging from Genesis to Squeeze to The Police. The bands first engagement was at Nitetown - a very popular club in Destin, Florida. The Group played all over the southeast and by 1982 established a strong following at Louie Louies in Birmingham and Cajuns Wharf in Little Rock Arkansas.
All
seemed to be going well except for one problem. The venues were having
problems with the spelling of Tommy's last name. Everywhere the band went,
they were either The Carton Phillips Group or The Clayton Phillips
or Cotton Phillips. Finally, Barbara Hallerman, the agent from
Southeastern Attractions asked Tommy if he would mind changing the name.
Marc Phillips suggested the new name, Split The Dark, having seen
a flashlight commercial. The group also decided to add Lolly Lee to the
band - on vocals and rhythm guitar.
The bands first engagement with a new name and a new member was at "Solomon Alfred's" in Memphis - the band was accidentally billed as Split The Dog. By 1983, the band was pretty well established doing "cover material" but Marc and Tommy had not spent as much time on 'original' material since Hotel. They had recorded a few demos of Marc's in the studio and also had done a few jingles for Marc's and Conrad Raefield's jingle company - Concept Company. They approached their manager and friend, Michael Trucks and laid out the plans for a new EP Keep it to Yourself. The new EP contained 6 songs written by Marc, Tommy and Lolly Lee.
Steve Sample was the first member to leave Split The Dark. Steve (the best musician in the band and the most defined sideman) wanted to pursue different types of music and play with different types of bands as opposed to doing everything in one band. Lolly Llee also left the band to have her first child. Lolly had been very popular in Birmingham before joining Split The Dark as a solo artist and with a group called The Mortals. Steve Sample was replaced on drums with David James, and Lolly was replaced with keyboardist Jeff Florreich who left after a short time and was replaced with keyboardist extraordinaire Scott Macdavid.
One
day in 1984,Tommy was visiting a guitar player, engineer friend Tommy
Petros at Air Mobil - a video facility in Birmingham - to get some audio
copies made of Keep it to Yourself. After making the audio copies
Tommy (Petros) introduced Tommy to Steve Ashlee - one of the directors.
Tommy suggested the possibility of shooting a video and Steve arranged
a meeting between the band and his staff.
The Air Mobile staff and Split The Dark would spend spare time
over the next year going to locations in and out of Air Mobile Studios
to shoot the Video. Split The Dark had been in Polymusic Studios
recording three new tracks - Take off the Mask, World in Motion,
and Always a Chance. The video was originally called Take off
the Mask and all of the vocal segments were synched to that track.
A few weeks before the video was to be released, the band received an urgent call from Conrad Raefield (who was co-managing the band with Michael Trucks). Conrad put on the bands new video - with the sound off on the TV - and at the same time played one of the band's other audio tracks, Always A Chance, on the stereo, which worked better with the video. So the band and Air Mobile's crew made the necessary changes and Always A Chance won an MTV Basement tapes competition in 1986 by a large percentage of the votes.
Although
the band had the Basement tapes win, they weren't generating any interest
from record companies. They recorded another four tracks in Nashville
with James Stroud producing and Bill Deaton engineering, but, the results
still produced no interest. In 1987, Scott Macdavid left the band and
was replaced with Damon Johnson - one of Alabama's finest and most popular
guitar players.
The band would record three more tracks - Train of Thought, In
my Future, a David James song, and Digging Down. However, there
was still no record company interest, and by early 1988, Damon Johnson
and Eddie Usher had an offer to join Witness - a group with a record
deal. They accepted. David James decided to go back to school and gave
notice. Marc Phillips was ready for a change and Tommy Calton moved to
Louisiana. It was to be the end of Marc's and Tommy's 19 year professional
relationship. In April 1988, Split The Dark gave their last performance
at Louie Louies.
The
members of the Calton/Phillips Group / Split The Dark were:
- Steve Sample Jr. (drums)
- Eddie Usher (bass and vocals)
- Marc Phillips (keys and lead vocals)
- Tommy Calton (guitar and vocals)
- Lolly Lee (lead vocals and rhythm guitar)
- David James (drums and vocals)
- Jeff Florreich (keyboards, vocals)
- Scott MacDavid (keys and vocals)
- Damon Johnson (guitar
and vocals)
The crew members were:
- Marc Andrews (crew leader, lights)
- Mike Guerra (sound)
- Dennis Reid (sound)
- Eli O'Neal (sound)
- Duane Griffin (sound)
- Scotty Scott (lights)
- Joe and Mike (lights)
The
Johnny Vindigni Band covered material by Ivan Neville, Simply Red,Terrence
Trent D'arby and Paul Carrack. They played mostly local clubs and private
engagements in the New Orleans area with many Saturdays on the Riverboat
Natchez. The band did some recording of Randy Heber and Louie Ludwig tunes
but no records. Occasionally, Nora Wixted would ask John and Tommy to
play with her at Tricou House - the upstairs club at 711 Bourbon, usually
during Mardi Gras. Nora was a very popular singer who knew everybody in
New Orleans. She played the downstairs piano bar at 711 Bourbon for years
and was the reason Tommy Calton hooked up with anybody. Nora covered R&B
material and performed several of her own tunes. 
Tommy
had met Gary in New Orleans just before moving to Orlando. Gary told Tommy
he had a gig booked in Orlando and invited him to play. On Gary's first
trip to Orlando he used New Orleans musicians. On his second trip, he
used Tommy, Jim, Cadillac, Dawn Catron (who had just relocated from New
Orleans) and Charlie Brent - the original guitarist for Wayne Cochran
& The CC Riders - who had also relocated from New Orleans. The band
went over very well with the audience but didn't have a working chemistry
for longevity.