|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
The Elgin Wells Group Gallery
|
|
|
A brief pictorial history of the band, from 1972, to Present
|
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
| 1972: "Metropolitan Salad" was the name of this ensemble, formed after Elgin left the Joe Savage Band. From left: Lee Hargrove, Jay Norem, Mike McCoy and Elgin. Lee (keyboards) was a maniac on stage, often mounting his Hammond B3 organ and playing the keyboard behind his back. Jay, a phenomenal harmonica player and drummer, had moved to Atlanta from Chapel Hill, NC, where Elgin had met him while in school, there. Mike (bass, vocals), an accomplished guitarist and keyboardist in his own right, and Elgin had performed together in high school. The band played mostly in Underground Atlanta, at the Pumphouse and Sergeant Pepper's, and often invited the audience to "roll" the club with toilet paper during shows, until the janitor put his foot down. |
|
|
 |
|
|
| Elgin, age 22, began carving his own experimental electric violins. With 5 strings, a cutaway (like those found on electric guitars) to facilitate high note access, and tuning machines (instead of ebony pegs), these instruments were of all maple construction. They were very heavy, for violins, but immune to the acoustic feedback that normal violins can develop when amplified. A combination of a violin and a viola, but in-between in size, Elgin played these exotic instruments for over 15 years. The distinct sound of the violin pictured here is heard in his best known recording, "Mirage." |
|
|
 |
|
|
| 1973: "Starbuck" This rare photo shows the band in its original configuration. (Back row): Elgin, Sloan Hays (brilliant keyboardist and excellent vocalist, recently engineer for the Neal Boortz show on WSB radio), Bo Wagner (drums, percussion), and (kneeling ) Frank Wagner, and ? Elgin, Sloan and Bo performed at the Moorings (later named Ray's on the River) as the "Elgin Wells Extravaganza" while assembling "Starbuck" (remember "Moonlight Feels Right?"). The band rented a seven-bedroom ranch on Post Oak Tritt Road (Marietta, GA), complete with vast Great Room/rehearsal hall, while assembling the act (eventually signed to Joel Katz). Frank (Bo's brother) and the mystery man (recognize him, anyone?) were Roadies who "sat in" on the photo session, which was done to use for advance bookings, before Jim Cobb and David Snavley were recruited into the band. The "Starbuck Ranch" became a Mecca for local songwriters, who, calling themselves "Camp Peachtree," voted on the members' best song of the week (each member's homework was to write one song a day and bring the best song to the weekly clinic) and then record three or four arrangements of the song. The exercise allowed the musicians to develop creative discipline while, simultaneously, honing arranging and recording skills. (After-hours was a Party Clinic!) |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| 1974: Jim Anderson (keyboards, vocals), Elgin and David Rifkin (drums, vocals) performed in Atlanta at The Moorings, the Northlake Hilton, the Terrace Garden Inn and the Atlanta Playboy Club (just before it burned down). David, a former teacher, went on to form his own, very successful band. |
|
|
 |
|
|
| 1975-76: Elgin, Randy Wyton (bass, vocals), Benny Goss (keyboards) and David Rifkin (drums, vocals), played at the Northlake Hilton, the Terrace Garden Inn, Dunfey's Royal Coach and the Sandpiper. In early '76, after Elgin returned from Australia (guest vocalist with the Daly-Wilson Big Band), Mike Spivey, an outstanding guitarist-vocalist, replaced Benny. From that time, the band became a staple of the Sandpiper. Music included a 50's nostalgia show. All the band's gear, except the guitars and violin, was destroyed in a fire that gutted the Hospitality Inn, in East Point, on Christmas Eve. |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| 1976: Immediately after having signed a management contract with Lee Magid (Hollywood agent who handled Della Reece for many years), Elgin toured Australia as guest vocalist, guitarist and violinist with the Daly-Wilson Big Band. This terrific18-piece orchestra (with four Gold Albums in Australia, and sponsored by Benson and Hedges) covered "Down Under" from coast to coast, from Sydney, north across the continent to Perth, and back across the southern provinces, through Melbourne and back to Sydney. Aussies are "Fair Dinkum." |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| 1976: Back in the states, "The Elgin Wells Group" became Bill DeLoach (keyboards), Doc Samuels (bass and vocals - the beginning of an off-and-on 18-year association), Elgin and Jimmy Jackson (drums and vocals). This period marked the band's move toward Jazz, with heavy Rock and R&B influences. The "Nacho Circuit," consisting of the Carlos McGee's nightclubs, Clarence Foster's, Raffles, the Menagerie and Max' (at the Omni), became the focus of Atlanta's nightlife. The Elgin Wells Group played all of these venues, usually in rotation with other Atlanta favorites like The Villy Lakitos Band and The Jerome Olds Band (then featuring Tom Grose on keyboards). Doc joined the band, on bass, late in the year, following Barry Dunaway and Ricky Keller. |
|
|
 |
|
|
| 1977: David Snavley (drums), Simon Kenneth Carter (bass, vocals), Luis Stefanel (percussion) and Fred vanDoren (keyboards). David teamed up with Elgin again, after his years with Starbuck, and Simon was recruited from the R&B band "Topper." Luis, Atlanta's premier Latin percussionist, "sat in" a time or two on gigs at the Terrace Garden Inn and the Northlake Hilton, and soon became an integral part of the group. Fred used to get so excited on stage that he'd throw his charts on the floor and leap into the air. We never found his chart to "Birdland" after a benefit concert for Easter Seals at The Moonshadow. David and Simon later left the EWG and formed the band "Northside." |
|
|
 |
|
|
| 1978: With the loss of David Snavley and Simon Kenneth Carter to "Northside," and Fred vanDoren moving to New York to become a Russian interpreter, the Elgin Wells Group saw a complete turnover. Mike Nepote (drums), Keith Rawls (seated, keyboards, vocals) and Ronnie Harville (bass, vocals), made up the new roster. The "Nacho Circuit" was winding down its heyday, but a number of hotels in the Atlanta area still supported live music, and the Elgin Wells Group sound, in particular. In addition to the Northlake Hilton and the Terrace Garden Inn, by 1980, the Radisson Inn (northside) began to buy up blocks of the band's calendar. Fleetwood Groover, host of WQXI's Sunday night "Jazz Flavours" began playing Elgin's original music on the air. |
|
|
 |
|
|
| 1980: Elgin's first album is completed. Recorded at Stone Mountain Music Studio (not really located in Stone Mountain), with a lot of help from owner Don Tanner, this was Elgin's only album to be produced on vinyl. Musicians included Mark Parrish (Dixie Dregs), Keith Rawls, Ronnie Harville, David Snavley, Mike Nepote, Andrea daVinci, and others. Those who were on Elgin's mailing list received this card, announcing the release, which came just in time for Christmas. (See the "Earth Records Catalog" page, on this site, for more details.) WQXI's "Jazz Flavours" quickly began playing "You'll Never Know," 'Icarus," "Jamy's Tune," and "Dinah's Delite," all from this new album. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Site Map
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Music |
|
 |
|
|
Airshow Flying
|
|
|
The Elgin Wells Group
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|