4/16/2023 0 Comments Tunesmith recrods discography![]() ![]() “We were traveling the state and enjoying some success on the dance circiout but the size of the group made traveling and dividing up the paycheck at the end of the gig was a challenge”. It was at this point that the band re-christened themselves as The Fabulous Continentals and added Marsha Mae, sister of Ron Covey, on vocals. ![]() Bob Hull had also gone off to college and was replaced by keyboardist Mike Balzotti, and guitarist Mardi Sheridan joined the group around the same time. But it was Bob Galloway that finally became a permanent member of the band. Chuck says “I was playing the upright bass, Bob Hull was on piano and I don’t really recall the exact make up of that first combo.”Īfter graduating from High School in 1963 Ken went off to college, and the band went through drummers Stan Gibson and Nick Varney. ![]() The band played “Five Foot Two” and the mostly-adult crowd loved them. Ken suggested the band play a “real” gig and they ended up with a 1962 booking for a New Year’s dance at a local Elks Club. His father owned the local Lincoln, Mercury car dealership but at the time I’m not sure we were sharp enough to make a connection”. Ken McDonald was the leader of the group and named it the Continentals. “ John (Draney) could do a pretty good Roy Orbison and ‘Pretty Woman’ was an early addition to our repertoire. During the early years Ron Covey was added on electric guitar, and singer John Draney got on board. Originally the Continentals was loose-knit affair with personnel coming and going. The band was formed was formed at Moses Lake High School in 1961/1962. One of the many bands that would follow in the tradition of eastern Washington bands was The Continentals (later The Fabulous Contitnentals). Bands did much of the bookings themselves in Grange Halls, all-ages clubs, teen fairs in the larger towns and relentlessly trying to get the attention of small, local radio stations that were largely forgotten by labels and distributors. Perhaps the crowd sizes were smaller, but it’s important to remember the distances between the small towns of the Inland Empire. Teen dances were just as popular on the east side of the Cascades as they were on the west, but we often overlook it. Looking back on heyday of 50s and 60s teen-dance music in the Northwest we tend to forget there was also a very healthy scene in eastern Washington, Northern Idaho and to a lesser degree in eastern Oregon. ![]()
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