Checkmates Perhaps best known to garage rock collectors for two 1965 singles on Ruff Records, including 'Hey Girl,' Amarillo, Texas' The Checkmates had a long and successful career prior to that.  Coming from The Rhythm Teens and then The Invaders ( whom he rejoined immediately after leaving The Checkmates), bassist Jack Williams was with the group from the summer of 1961 through 1962, and played on the band's 'Long Pony Tail' / 'Pledge Of Love' 45-rpm release.  Although a member of other groups, Williams considers his stint with The Checkmates as both wonderful and instructive. Jack Williams, Billy Roach and Ray Williams An Interview With Jack Williams 60sgaragebands.com (60s): How did you first get interested in music? Jack Williams (JW): I guess I’ve been interested in music since I could hear. My dad and all his family played guitars mandolins and fiddles and sang mostly country & western and gospel from the time I can remember. My dad actually played with some of the old stars such as Spade Cooley and Jimmy Heath, and knew a few more such as Willie Nelson. I started learning guitar at five and was not all that interested ‘till eleven when I went crazy over rock 'n' roll and got serious. I was given a electric Silvertone guitar and amp that year for Christmas. I taught my brother to play rhythm with me and we played all we could, including playing at the barber shop for quarters or whatever. 60s: Was The Checkmates your first band? JW: My very first real band was when I was 13, in the eighth grade. I met a boy named Larry Marcum and he invited me over to his house to jam. Very soon we had formed a group which consisted of Larry, my brother Ray Williams, and a drummer named Billy Roach, who didn't own drums. On the weekends we would borrow a Parade snare, a cymbal, and a parade bass drum from Mr. Wall, the band director at our school, Bowie Jr. High in Amarillo, Texas. We named our band The Rhythm Teens.  Two highlights of the one year we were together: We played a 15-minute pause in the juke box music at one of our school dances and we played a talent show at the school--we came in second--and, best of all, we played a two-hour show at the orphans home in Amarillo. 60s: Where and when was The Checkmates formed? JW: I can’t swear as to when The Checkmates was formed. As far as I know, Ray Ruff and Chuck Tharp, of The Fireballs, formed the originals. I played with both and never got a real clear answer.  If I had to guess, I think Norman Petty probably got them together. I joined The Checkmates in the summer of 1961. Larry Marcum came to my house and told me they needed a bass man. He invited me to play rhythm for them at a dance in Shamrock, Texas, just to check them out. Ray Ruff was not all that excited about paying another player; he believed in three-piece bands, So the other guys chipped in and paid me for the night. The members at that time were Larry Marcum, lead guitar; Louis (Chano) Preciado, drums; and I think the bass player was Tom Green. He was quitting the band. Norman Petty Studios Shortly after that I got a call from Larry to do a session at Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis, New Mexico. When Ray Ruff picked me up that afternoon I learned that Chano had quit and Dick Miller (formerly of The Cinders) was the new drummer. When we arrived at the studio, after a few hours of waiting, we found out that The Fireballs were still recording for their next album. Unknown to me at the time, this was the session for 'Sugar Shack!' We recorded a song by Chuck Tharp that night called 'Long Pony Tail.' The other side of this 45 is 'Pledge of Love,' one of the better rock love songs of the era, I think. After meeting Norman Petty, whom I consider a genius in sound at the time, and recording in the same studio as Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, and The Fireballs, I was starstruck and agreed to join the band.  60s: How would you describe the band's sound? JW: Playing for Ruff, and being from Amarillo it was (like) Buddy Holly. However, Ray did 45 minutes each night and we carried the other three sets instrumentally. Larry Marcum and I grew up on The Ventures and The Fireballs so this was 90% of our show. During this period (pre-Beatles) the kids loved it.  60s: What was the Amarillo rock and roll scene like in the '60s? JW: As far as my time with The Checkmates, other than school dances or bars, there wasn’t that much going on in Amarillo.  We mostly played on the Midwest Circuit--that is from Amarillo to North Dakota.   The first Time I played with The Checkmates as a member was at The Spearfish Canyon Ballroom in Spearfish, South Dakota. Talk about awesome for a fifteen year old musician!  On the outside of the building were posters of The Crickets, Buddy Knox, The Angels, and The Everly Brothers, who had played on Friday just before our date on Saturday. We were told The Everlys drew 2,000 kids. This was unbelievable to me but Ruff assured me we would have a great night as the kids came here from as much as 100 miles away. He was right!  We drew 1,200 and I signed my first autographs, some in places I can’t mention here. 60s: What are your recollections of Ray Ruff? JW: Ray Ruff was the controlling force in The Checkmates. While I believe Ruff was a real talent and not only a very good vocalist but one of the great promoters, he was one to take advantage of kids in music. When I first started with him we were paid $20 and expenses. At one point he decided we would share expenses and profits. That next gig at Childress, Texas, after paying for gas and new tires on the Nash Rambler Station Wagon, we received $10 each. I think he knew how to back us off from sharing? 60s: Did The Checkmates write many original songs?  JW: None while I was with them. Right after I left them, a friend of mine, Galen Englebrick, joined the band and they recorded some of his songs.  I’m pretty sure when Ray quit touring and they went out on their own. 60s: Did the band make any local TV appearances? Does any home movie film footage exist of the band? JW: My aunt has some footage of us in Claton, New Mexico, but can’t seem to find it now. 60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with The Checkmates? JW: It was one of the most wonderful and instructive times in my life. I met people like The Fireballs and Norman Petty, and recorded in the same studio as Buddy Holly. We were a show band. We did “steps” meaning we moved in unison. We got pretty wild sometimes. I remember a show in Mead, Kansas where we took down Dick Miller's drums as we did 'Wipe Out.' The crowd went as crazy as we were. Dick Miller, by the way, is the best drummer I have ever played with or ever heard since. One time in Spearfish, a black guy came up to the stage and beckoned me to talk to him. He said, "I’m from Betty and The Blue Bonnets and you sure can rock for white boys."