I have read the two accounts of the history of our little rock & roll band from Abilene, Texas—The Chevelles and later The Chevelle V—and feel tempted to add my own recollections to the fray. And being the original drummer, I always had a hard time resisting temptation. The first account of our story was from our original lead guitar player, Jack Chisholm, and the second by our original lead singer, Joe Baccus. The main shortcoming of Jack’s account is that he completely omits several of the original members—most notably Joe Baccus and Jimmy Bearden. Both of these guys were two of the founding members of the group, along with our first rhythm guitarist, Bobby Vannoy. Jimmy Bearden was our original bassist, and I played drums. The other main character in the formation of the group was our business manager/booking agent, Max D. Irwin, who died a few years ago. He was truly instrumental in the group’s success, and a great guy. I will now take my own rim shot at recalling these super fun times! Hit it!
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| Chevelles (1963-1964), L-R: Jimmy Bearden, Bass; Bobby Vannoy, Rhythm; Charlie Taylor, Drums; Joe Baccus, Vocals; Jack Chisholm, Lead |
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Recollections Of The Chevelle and Chevelle V, Abiline Texas, 1963-1969
By Charlie Taylor
The band was formed in 1963, with a rearrangement of a few local bands, all just getting by, in dusty West Texas. Joe Baccus was the very accomplished lead vocalist for a group called The Bonnevilles, made up of Joe, the three Giddens brothers, (George, Hubert and a step-brother, whose name I don’t remember) and their drummer, Bill Perry. Another band in Abilene, just hanging on, was made up of Jack Chisholm and Bobby Vannoy, a less talented lead singer—whose name escapes me—and Johnny Greeson on drums. I was in a little band called many different names – the printable ones are The Diamonds, The Satans, and Storm, that included Ian Haney and Wayland Huey. Wayland later played with The Coachmen, The Traditions, and went on to form The Livin’ End.
I was asked by the Giddens brothers to audition for their band, to replace Perry, after we (Storm) performed ‘Wipeout’ in a talent show at Cooper High School in Abilene. I did an audition at the Giddens’ house, in the presence of Max Irwin, who was The Bonnevilles agent at the time, and Joe Baccus, lead singer. After the audition, I was asked by the Giddens to join The Bonnevilles. They were the most successful band in the area at that time, but I told them I had to tell my old band first, before accepting. That same evening, I got a call and a visit from Max, and he told me of the pending departure of Joe Baccus, and Joe’s plans to join Jack, Bobby, and Jimmy Bearden, in a new group. Max also said that he himself was going to make the move to this new group. A few days later I got another call from Max, and a call from Bobby, asking me if I would like to be the drummer for their new band, The Chevelles. Thus began the original band that we named “The Chevelles” (car names were easy for young boys to think of, and the Chevelle, by Chevrolet, had just come out on the market). So, for the record, the original members of The Chevelles from Abilene, Texas, were: Joe Baccus, lead vocals; Jack Chisholm, lead guitar and vocals; Bobby Vannoy, rhythm guitar and vocals; Jimmy Bearden, bass guitar and vocals; and Charlie Taylor, drums and occasional yelps. This group was the foundation of a band that had a very respectable measure of success for many years, throughout most of Texas, and into Oklahoma and Arkansas. Others would come and go, continuing this measured success for most of the 1960s.
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| Chevelle V (1965): Tommy Nixon, Bass; Don Nicholas, Vocals; Jack Chisholm, Lead; Charlie Taylor, Drums; Bobby Vannoy, Rhythm |
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We played all over West and Central Texas, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and numerous smaller towns throughout the state. We played the West Texas Fair, Abilene and The State Fair of Texas in Dallas. We played for hundreds of high school and college dances, public dances, fraternity parties, and stage shows. We performed with The Sparkles, the premier band from the South Plains, and actually outdrew this great group in Midland, in a battle of the bands, for the Midland High and Midland Lee High School graduation. The Sparkles were playing the main ballroom of the posh Midland Country Club, while we were sent to setup by the swimming pool. We were covering all the current Beatles hits of the time, and The Sparkles were still doing late ‘50s and early ‘60s songs, and doing them very well. We knew The Sparkles were the more accomplished band, but before the night was over, we had almost all of the kids out by the pool. It was the tunes we were playing and not superior musicianship. The Sparkles I remember are Lucky Floyd, drums and vocals (Orbison stuff); Stan Smith, lead guitar (super picker); Bobby Smith, bass (kick-ass bass); and Jimmy Merrit, other drums. They were as good as any band around, and really good friends. (We later hired Stan Smith away from The Sparkles, to replace Jack Chisholm, when Jack went to boot camp, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.)
As Joe told it, we performed with Johnny Tillotson, Roy Clark, Eddy Arnold, Roger Miller, Bob Wills, Paul & Paula, The Collins Kids, and The Youngfolk. The band also performed with Chuck Berry, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Rusty Weir, and others, after Joe left the band. During these early years, we recorded a demo tape in Ben Hall’s Studio in Big Spring, Texas. It got the attention of a Midland record producer, Sonley Roush, who signed us to a recording contract. We recorded several songs in the Accurate Sound studio in San Angelo. Sonley acquired the rights to a song called ‘Last Kiss’ and wanted us to record it, with Joe singing lead. We decided the song was not one we wanted to record as a band (it was more of a lead vocal w/backup band type tune, and not a rock band type song), and we disliked the “tear-jerker” aspect it represented. Sonley then had a local bar singer do the tune, J. Frank Wilson (and The Cavaliers), and it was a big hit. (We were so perceptive!) But, while on tour with the song, Sonley and some of The Cavaliers were killed in a car accident in the Midwest. After Sonley’s death, there were many problems with our recording contract, which limited our chances for other contracts. So much for fame and fortune; we just had to settle for monstrous fun!
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| Chevelle V, L-R: Jimmy Bearden, Bass; Bobby Vannoy, Rhythm; Charlie Taylor, Drums; Joe Baccus, Vocals; Jack Chisholm, Lead |
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| University of Texas fraternity party, 1968 |
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It was around this time that we changed the name of the band from The Chevelles to The Chevelle V. There was another Chevelles, in Austin. They became The Chevelles of Austin and still play, featuring Charlie Hatchet, one of the original Sparkles.
Joe Baccus was the only married member of the band, and hanging around a bunch of young, single guys was probably not in the best interest of his marriage or his future. Joe’s departure was preceded by the departure of Jimmy Bearden, who was, in my considered opinion, the best musician in the group. He had a great sense of style and played a mean “walkin’ bass,” which added immensely to the successful sound we had developed. I really hated to see him go. We hired another bass player temporarily, and then Joe decided to call it quits. This created a situation that was, to say the least, desperate. We had to find both a lead singer and a bass player, and be ready to play that same week. Time to raid the competition: Don Nicholas and The Coachmen.
The hiring of Don Nicholas to be lead singer, and Tommy Nixon as the new bass player, was an offensive as well as a defensive move. The Coachmen were a coming band, and Don had been the vocalist in the earlier band that Jack had been in prior to The Chevelles. The bad part was that it left The Coachmen with no lead singer or bass player. We felt a cruel sense of victory for vanquishing our competition. However, Wayland Huey, the Coachmen’s lead guitarist, and Tommy Swindle, their drummer and vocalist, were not happy, and there were some hard feelings for quite a while. Wayland is a good friend today, and still picks a great guitar. (More on Tommy Swindle later.)
We continued playing most of the same venues with the new band, UT fraternity and sorority parties, Texas Tech frats, TCU, Baylor, SMU, OU, Arkansas, and more. We also did some clubs, in Abilene, Odessa and Austin, and a honky tonk in Mingus, Texas, where the stage was surrounded by a cage of chicken wire, to keep the band safe from flying beer bottles. We also played the SPJST Hall in Taylor, Texas, I think, on a monthly basis. It was good money and great fun! All in all, it beat the hell out of a paper route. We recorded several original songs, with very modest local success. I found it amusing to have found one of our singles, ‘Come Back Bird’ b/w ‘Koko Joe,’ sold on eBay a while back for $600 on a Buy It Now. (I need the name of that buyer!)
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| University of Texas fraternity party, 1968 |
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Probably the greatest success came when the next group formed, due to a variety of circumstances. First, Don Nicholas left, and was more than adequately replaced by Tommy Swindle. Tommy was a huge talent, but I was only a drummer, so he got himself a portable piano, and came in as the most popular vocalist in the band. He had a great voice for melodious tunes, but did the best James Brown around—complete with the dance moves James Brown was famous for. During this time we entered a statewide battle of the bands. It was 1966, and there were over 600 bands from all over the state, in area contests. It came down to 27 bands, performing in Dallas, at the old Memorial Auditorium. The competition was sponsored by Vox Guitars & Amplifiers, and American Airlines, and had judges from Capitol Records, Decca Records, and Billboard Magazine. The grand prize was a record contract and a recording session at the Dot Record Company studio in Los Angeles, plus, endorsements from Vox and American Airlines Each band had six minutes, and was penalized if they went over or under. There were three stages. One had the band that was performing, and the other stages had the next band setting up and the previous band tearing down. All bands shared the same amps, pianos, and drums. We performed near the middle of the show, doing two James Brown songs and one Spencer Davis tune, and hit the six-minute time limit exactly. Then we retreated to the balcony of the Dallas Memorial Auditorium, to await our fate, hoping to place in the top five and win a prize. We thought we hadn’t even placed, as the names of the top finishers were announced. We were ready to slink out of the building in disgrace, as the last top finishers were being called out. Then, we were announced as the winners. That was very exciting to five guys from Abilene, Texas. We couldn’t run fast enough to get to the stage for the presentation, as they kept asking for us to come onstage. It was really cool! Other bands that placed in the competition were The Coastliners from Houston, in second, and three Dallas bands, The Entertainers, The Outcasts, and The Menerals.
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The trip to Los Angeles and Hollywood, the recording at the old Dot Records Studio, (‘Dangling Little Friends’ b/w ‘Stone & Steel Man’ on the Titan label) appearances in TV ads and a Christmas parade, and a really first-class tour of Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Columbia Studios, was a terrific experience for all of us. We returned to Texas, and continued as we had before, hammering out a good living by playing and showing off. It was a great life for a young man in West Texas.
When Jack Chisholm went to boot camp, we hired Stan Smith from The Sparkles, who played as good a lead guitar as anyone around (including Jimmie Vaughn, who I think was the lead guitar for the Dallas based Chessmen). This group of guys was together from 1967 through 1968. The members were Stan Smith, lead; Bobby Vannoy, rhythm; Tommy Nixon, bass; Tommy Swindle, piano; and Charlie Taylor, drums. This was, I believe, the best combination of musicians and entertainers out of all the different configurations of The Chevelle V. Everyone did vocals, as the larger variety of songs required, and we were making excellent money. This group played the biggest variety of music—Beatles, Rolling Stones, Temptations, Kinks, Four Tops, James Brown, Lovin’ Spoonful, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Otis Redding, Spencer Davis Group, lots of Motown, and more.
There were, by this time, several other really good bands in Texas, most of who were great friends with each other. After all, this was the time of fantastic jam sessions in Austin on Sunday afternoons at The New Orleans Club and Club Saracen. All the bands that played Austin each weekend would show up and play together all afternoon before heading back to our respective towns all over Texas. Some of these bands included a reconstituted Sparkles, which now included Gary P. Nunn (oh yeah, Gary P. play briefly with us in The Chevelle V). There was another Abilene band, The Traditions, which became George, then Sundance (lead guitarist Lee Pence was one of the great blues players and singers anywhere, and a great personal friend and roommate). I can remember a young Stevie Ray Vaughn sitting around these jam sessions, and picking up many of Lee’s guitar riffs, which he went on to play for the world. (Sadly, Lee died a couple of years ago.) Other groups were The Livin’ End and The Continentals, both from Abilene, The Lavender Hill Express and Georgetown Medical Band, from Austin, Randy Thornton (Rock ‘n Roll Randy), Rusty Weir, and a band from East Texas called Felicity. Felicity included an excellent guitarist named Richard Bowden, and a singing drummer by the name of Don Henley. We all jammed together, playing Texas rockin’ blues every Sunday afternoon in Austin.
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| Charlie Taylor |
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| Bobby Vannoy |
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| Stan Smith |
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The overall opportunity of playing and performing for so many people, meeting such a wondrous assortment of folks, both on and off stage, was the most fantastic life experience I could have ever hoped for. Being able to play the music I continue to love and enjoy to this day, and doing it with people I truly cared about, can only be compared to one of life’s most fortunate set of circumstances. I will forever be grateful for all the music, all the players, all the listeners, and all the fun! It was one great big blast!
My musical career ended in August, 1968, when I was drafted into the U.S. Army, and was replaced by Rick Cobb from Dallas, who was the drummer for Bloodrock. This was a great time in rock & roll music, and a great time in Texas, with the beginnings of the Austin music scene. More alumni from Abilene include Tim Neece and David Baldry from The Traditions/George/Sundance group. Tim went on to manage and promote Christopher Cross, also from Austin, and Bruce Hornsby. David was very instrumental in getting Austin’s famous 6th Street live music scene started, and continues to serve Austin music as one of the owners of Musicmakers music store.
After I got out of the Army in 1970, Lee Pence (my post-Army roommate in Austin) and I spent the better part of the summer of 1970 in Europe, primarily in Germany, Italy and Switzerland. We went there to “play some Texas blues/rock” and see the world. We played several clubs in Rome, did a demo recording session, and lip-synched a TV commercial for Roman Television. It was great fun, but not financially fruitful. Upon our return to the USA, Lee went back to Austin, and I wound up in the oilfields of West Texas...the music becoming mostly a magical memory—a misplaced mistress—the past.
But back to The Chevelles or The Chevelle V…in July 2010, Joe Baccus is a successful business man in Houston; Jack Chisholm and Stan Smith both live and labor in Abilene; Bobby Vannoy lost a battle with cancer several years ago; Jimmy Bearden is a motivational speaker in Austin; Tommy Nixon works for Glenn Frey and The Eagles; Tommy Swindle is retired in the metroplex; and I don’t know where Don Nicholas is. As for myself, I work in the energy conservation business. I live in hotels all over the country, but still call Abilene home. I have been blessed with great opportunities, good luck, a wonderful family, great friends, and the unbelievable good fortune to play rock & roll for thousands of folks, in a time when rock & roll was at its best. I am one of the most fortunate people on earth. Thanks for the opportunity to tell snippets of a very fun time. Long live good old real rock & roll—especially the Texas kind!
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| Final Chevelle V Line-Up (1967-1968), L-R: Tommy Nixon, Bass; Bobby Vannoy, Rhythm; Charlie Taylor, Drums; Stan Smith, Lead; Tommy Swindle, Keyboards |
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