| David Donahoe and Brigham Young's Best Bands |
| Dave Donahoe was a member of three of the most popular Utah groups of the 1960s. While at Brigham Young University, he crossed paths with Steve Thomas, and both would become important members of The Todes. Prior to The Todes, Donahoe had been rhythm guitarist for The Vectors and The Remnants, two of Brigham Young University's most popular groups. |
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| The Todes (mid-1970s) |
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During the three years prior to The Todes, Donahoe had been in two other bands at BYU and each of those bands cut one 45rpm record as well. Including The Todes, each one of his three bands had been the most popular band in central Utah during the time he was a member.
Donahoe was a member of The Vectors for two years. He hooked up with Skip Florence and George Spilsbury from Denver, and Ralph Geddes from West Covina in the Los Angeles area. (After The Vectors, Ralph also played a short stint on drums, keyboards, and guitar in The Todes, but this was after Dave’s time in that band.) Skip and George had a high school band in Denver, and they admired The Astronauts, who were the most popular Denver band at that time. Ralph had played lead guitar on a surf album in California in high school, but he played drums in The Vectors. ‘Shortnin’ Bread’ was recorded on the BYU campus in 1964 or 1965 in a recording studio that had never seen a rock and roll band before. Skip sang the song, and it was chosen because it was a public domain song that Skip and George had heard The Astronauts perform. The Vectors wanted to capitalize on their popularity built from live appearances, but had not yet written an original song at that time. The flip side was another quickly made-up instrumental written by Skip, called ‘Downhill.’ This was on the Timp label (Mt. Timpanogus is a large mountain by the BYU campus, hence Timp records). A Provo guitar storeowner and dance promoter, Jim Avery (also the group’s first manager), paid to have copies printed and sold locally. There was a limited quantity of these discs made since a record company was not involved. It’s doubtful even 1,000 discs were made (and most likely it was less). The Vectors and the promoter paid for the session, printed the 45s on their own label, and distributed it primarily at dances and maybe in a Provo record store.
The Vectors were the biggest name band in Central Utah for two years, but were (never associated with) a real record company. Ed Barner, an experienced entertainment manager from Los Angeles, came to BYU to finish a degree after working in radio and entertainment management with some big name entertainers, and he recognized the Vectors’ talent, popularity and potential (he became their second manager and just a few years later went on to manage PGA golfers, including Billy Casper, Johnny Miller and Lanny Wadkins). He promoted the band and their dances, and in the summers of 1964 and 1965 arranged bookings on the Sunset Strip in teen clubs. He also persuaded the club owner at the famous Red Velvet Club to allow The Vectors to play a short set using Ray Peterson’s band’s equipment. The cast of the TV show Shindig was there socializing after a show and Barner wanted the Shindig producer to hear The Vectors. He liked the band and said he would put The Vectors on TV, but (informed them) they needed to have a record on the charts first.
The Vectors’ drummer, Ralph Geddes (after a short stint in The Todes) went on to major in music and have a career as a full time keyboard player, writer, and arranger (Gatlin Bros. and others) and, as of this writing, still performs nightly at the Carolina Opry production in Myrtle Beach. Donahoe still plays in a (weekend) working rock and roll band in Richmond. Only after searching the Internet in 2007 did it become known to these former Utah-based ‘Vectors’ that there was one or more other bands named The Vectors during the ‘60s in the eastern U.S. who also were popular and made recordings. This coincidence may have occurred because Head Skis had a model at the time named the Vector, and musicians who were skiers may have become aware of the name ‘Vector’ (as did the Utah ‘Vectors’) as a result of their interest in snow skiing. Also note the name of the Instrumental “Downhill” – another skiing term.
After the Vectors disbanded and prior to joining The Todes, Donahoe was recruited into The Remnants for one school year. The Remnants name resulted from the fact that key members had been in other bands during the previous school year that ended in June 1965. A Provo dance promoter, band manager and radio personality, Ed Barner, who had managed and promoted The Vectors, assisted in assembling this group from “left over” members of prior groups: Jerry Solberg from The Plaidsmen, Dave Donahoe from The Vectors, and Jerry York and the bass player from a different band; hence, The Remnants. When their record was pressed, Jerry York, or his financial benefactor, had "Jerry & The Remnants" put on the label instead of just “The Remnants.” ‘I've Wasted My Time’ (was the A-side) and ‘If I Love You Girl’ (or possibly ‘If I Loved You Girl’) a slow song (was the flip side). This record was recorded in Los Angeles at Goldstar Studios, where many famous artists recorded hits. The Todes’ and The Remnants’ recordings in two different Los Angeles studios were made only a week or so apart in the summer of 1966. At that time, The Remnants were going dormant because several members had graduated from college and had to move on to other things. If The Remnants’ record became a hit, the group would have considered getting back together to tour. However, Donahoe had already committed to join the Todes for the upcoming college year, and he recorded ‘Good Things’ with them about a week later in another Los Angeles studio. |
The Vectors (December 1963-June 1965)
Skip Florence – lead guitar and lead vocals
George Spilsbury - bass guitar and harmony vocals
David Donahoe - rhythm guitar and lead vocals
Ralph Geddes - drums
The Remnants (September 1965-June 1966)
Jerry Solberg - keyboards and harmony vocals
David Donahoe - rhythm guitar and lead vocals
Jerry York - lead guitar and lead vocals
Frank ? - bass and harmony vocals
Buzz Minson - drums
The Todes (November 1965-1969)
Steve Thomas – lead guitar and lead vocals and choreography (November 1965 until now)
Dan Doty - bass and harmony vocals and choreography (November 1965 until 1999)
Bob Jetter – keyboards (an “organo”) and harmony vocals and choreography direction (November 1965 until Spring 1966)
Danny Davis – lead vocals and choreography (November 1965 until summer of 1966)
Danny Murphy – drums (November 1965 until summer 1967)
Mike Hart – keyboards (Spring 1966 until summer 1967)
Dave Donahoe – rhythm guitar and lead vocals (June 1966 until August 1967)
Ralph Geddes – keyboards, drums and guitar (after summer of 1967, approximately)
Al Thomas - drums and vocals (intermittently) |
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| The Remnants (L-R): Dave Donahoe, Frank ?, Buzz Minson, Jerry Solberg and Jerry York |
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| The Remnants (L-R): Dave Donahoe, Buzz Minson, Jerry Solberg and Jerry York |
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