1965
I got my first electric guitar and amp for Christmas, 1965. Again, it wasn't a name brand guitar or amp (obviously, my parents didn't want to spoil me too much - or maybe they were hoping this music thing would eventually pass).The guitar was a single pickup, double cutaway Japanese model called a "Mii™" and the amp was a generic tube job with beige fabric cover and a gold grill, probably about 25 amps of questionable power. But hey, was I ever thrilled! I'd learned how to play bar chords by then and had gotten pretty good at learning how to play songs "by ear." I wasn't a lead guitarist by any stretch, strictly rhythm, but I could pick out the chords to many of the current Beatles and Stones songs with the best of them. Besides jamming with Bob Burns, who was strictly drums, I'd started getting together with Bob Nichols and Steve Buckner (who was already in a band). This was definitely my formative period, as my friends and I traded off new chords and new songs. I loved playing and spent most of my time in 8th and 9th grades jamming and hoping to get in a band. Live bands by then were a dime a dozen and dances at the Armory as well as the CAY building were happening on a weekly basis. Portsmouth, Ohio was really at its peak during this period - a great time for music and kids my age to express themselves. We were young and bursting with creative energy.
Before long, I finally formed my first band, "The Sands Of Tyme." The first version of the band included Bob Burns (drums), Mike Grierson (organ), Jerry Studynka (lead guitar), me (rhythm guitar) and Lonnie Scherer (lead vocals). The line-up eventually changed in 1966 to accomodate the missing bass player. More about that on the next page...
The Beatles weren't the only band I listened to back then; this 45 got a lot of play as well:
Songs from 1965 (chart positions in Billboard):
(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings - Mel Carter (#38)
Amen - The Impressions (#7)
And Roses and Roses - Andy Williams (#36)
Any Way You Want It - The Dave Clark Five (#14)
Apple of My Eye - Roy Head & The Traits (#32)
Are You There (with Another Girl) - Dionne Warwick (#39)
As Tears Go By - Marianne Faithfull (#22)
As Tears Go By - The Rolling Stones (#6)
Ask the Lonely - Four Tops (#24)
Eight Days a Week - The Beatles (#1)
Engine Engine #9 - Roger Miller (#7)
England Swings - Roger Miller (#8)
The Entertainer - Tony Clarke (#31)
Eve of Destruction - Barry McGuire (#1)
Everybody Loves a Clown - Gary Lewis & The Playboys (#4)
For Your Love - The Yardbirds (#6)
Game of Love - The Mindbenders featuring Wayne Fontana (#1)
Get Off of My Cloud - The Rolling Stones (#1)
Hang On Sloopy - The McCoys (#1)
Harlem Nocturne - The Viscounts (#39) (instrumental)
Heart Full of Soul - The Yardbirds (#9)
Heart of Stone - The Rolling Stones (#19)
Help! - The Beatles (#1)
Here Comes the Night - Them (#24)
Positively 4th Street - Bob Dylan (#7)
Pretty Little Baby - Marvin Gaye (#25)
Princess In Rags - Gene Pitney (#37)
Puppet on a String - Elvis Presley (#14)
Ticket To Ride - The Beatles (#1)
Tired of Waiting for You - The Kinks (#6)
To Know You, Is To Love You - Peter & Gordon (#24)
Tonight's the Night - Solomon Burke (#28)
Too Many Rivers - Brenda Lee (#13)
The Tracks of My Tears - The Miracles (#16)
Treat Her Right - Roy Head & The Traits (#2)
True Love Ways - Peter & Gordon (#14)
Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) - The Byrds
Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers (#4)
Under Your Spell Again - Johnny Rivers (#35)
Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Stevie Wonder (#3)
Use Your Head - Mary Wells (#34)
Voodoo Woman - Bobby Goldsboro (#27)
A Walk in the Black Forest - Horst Jankowski (#12) (instrumental)
We Gotta Get Out of This Place - The Animals (#13)
A Well-Respected Man - The Kinks (#13)
Yesterday - The Beatles (#1)
You Didn't Have to Be So Nice - The Lovin' Spoonful (#10)
Another rare one: "She Loves You" on Swan
