Here's another of my St. Louis finds, "The Fox and The Hound" by Little Artie and The Pharohs. There's not much info spread around the net on this disc. About all I've been able to determine is that it dates from 1963. The Cuca label was located in Sauk City, WI. The band is from Milwaukee and still active, playing local shows. I'm not sure how many original members are in the current line-up.
"The Fox and The Hound" starts with a horn blast, a la something signaling the beginning of a fox hunt. Then, a cool organ kicks in, along with some good percussion, including lots of splashes on the cymbals. The lead singer begins, "You got me goin', like a fox and a hound". Later, he's "searchin' like a hound dog on the trail". Yeah, he's after the big prize. By song's end, he's even talking marriage. There's a nice sax break, guys whooping it up in the background and added horn charts to help drive the proceedings.
Stylistically, the song falls somewhere between r&b and frat rock, leaning more heavily on the latter. The melody and organ remind me a bit of "Hot Pastrami". It's yet another fine number for the dance floor.
I'm not sure how common the record is. My copy was very reasonably priced. Maybe it's one of those discs that's sort of under the radar, as frat rockers tend to get ignored by a lot of collectors. But if you enjoy the stuff as much as I do, it's worth checking out.
14 comments:
I was the drummer on that recording. My name is Chuck Madsen.
I was drafted in dec 64. had to leave
the group. Please contact me at
clmfx@aol.com
Chuck, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Really great record. What else, if anything, did you guys record?
Todd
Saw the posting about "The fox and the hound," and have some info regarding the record. I am the original Bass player on that session. There is no Organ on that song, what you are hearing is the guitar and horns doing the two note Ba-Dat before the Bass line. As I recall, it was recorded in '62, and was written for us as an upbeat novelty tune. We were an R&B band heavily into Bobby Blue Bland, Ray Charles, James Brown, and other mostly horn-driven groups. While it has more of a R&R feel, I never thought of it as Frat-rock. Some other recordings were My Symphony, It puzzles me, I'll take care of you, and Impossible, all on the Cuca label. Thanks for the interest in what is surely an obscure record. We were together shortly a couple of years ago with three of the original members including Little Artie, and did play a few shows. Sadly this is no longer the case. As an aside, glad to see Chuck Madsen is still around, haven't seen him since '64. Best regards, Jim lombard
Wow Jim, thanks for checking in. Amazing, two guys who played on this record leaving comments here.
Anyway, thanks for the additional info, especially regarding the instrumentation on the song.
I'm Arties youngest daughter Amanda and It was great to see this posted. My Dad still performs. He just moved out to California 3 yreas ago and does some gigs out there and there has been a few reunions in Milwaukee prior to his move. They got together ( most of the orignal members) to record a CD.
Amanda, thanks for checking in and the information about your father.
Hi, I'm Artie's brother Al. I joined the group after the recordings, and later in 1966, Artie and I joined the MOB. Artie will be making a special performance on Feb. 5 in Milwaukee. I plan to be there and support my brother. He still has IT!!
Phil Zinos here..
I was the sax player on this recording. The Pharaohs came out of South Division HS in Milwaukee, and played regularly in clubs and dance halls until about 1965. A great scene in those days, plenty of gigs and good times..
Just to set the record 100% correct. I, Richard Baradic, was the the drummer on the original recording; not Chuck Madsen. Verification available from Art Herrera, Phil Zinos and Jim Lombard.
I'm Johnny Santoy and was Artie's best Friend during the late 50's and early 60's and just him and Big Al on Feb 5th at the ICC along with his Family. The Music was Great but seeing him,Family,and meeting his daughters and Grandkids was even better.
Thank you Artie for making me feel Sixteen again.
Hi,
I'm Roger Muckerheide,& I used to live in Milwaukee until moving to Texas in June of 1974. I remember going regularly to the dance hall at Wisconsin State Fair Park in the early 60's, to listen and dance to The Pharoahs with Artie, Jimmy Lombard, Mike Morgan, and I think Phl Zinos was with them then, too. Those were some of the BEST R&B MUSIC NIGHTS I have ever experienced. "The PHAROAHS" could really kick it!!!!
I think of all the fun and great music Artie and the guys gave us back then, and have often wondered if any of them are still around so it's really good to hear from Jimmy Lombard, Phil Zinos and Artie's daughter, Amanda, (who I've never met), and it's great that Artie is still singing. I wonder if Mike Morgan is still
"stingin' the strings"??
Some years after Bob Beaudreau and his son quit promoting the weekend dances at "Fair Park", I went on to become lead singer of another local Milwaukee band,"The Vantels" for a short time, but I did something stupid that caused some problems in the band and got kicked out. After moving to Texas several years later,I quit entertaining, and I haven't been on stage since. I still miss it a lot, but it's my own fault, and another story. I'm really
sorry, Gary Jay.
A few years back,when I was back in Milwaukee, I got to enjoy Sam McCue perform. Sam sang and played guitar with another great Milwukee band,"The Legends" back in the day, and I got to hear and meet the Wisconsin "Super Harp", Jim Liban, that night as well. I also got a chance to visit a while with Bruce Cole, the drummer from "The Vantels", and talk about all those great times and folks.
Since I don't check this forum very often, I'm going to leave my email address, in case any of the other locals want to say hello, or give me the latest Milwaukee buzz,
or cuss me out or whatever.
Thanks for readin' this and for the sweet music memories,
Rog
rajah44@verizon.net
Hi Rog -
Pharaohs update:
Art lives in San Diego, Jim in Milwaukee, Richard splits his time between Milwaukee and Florida, Mike is in Phoenix,and I live in St Paul..
Phil
does anyone have a copy to sell? I´d love to spin it to the crowds in norway!
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