| David Donahoe Remembers The Vectors, The Remnants and The Todes: Utah Valley's and BYU'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 a lead singer and rhythm guitarist for The Vectors and The Remnants, two of Utah Valley's most popular groups. |
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| The Vectors (1964): David Donahoe, Ralph Geddes, George Spilsbury and Skip Florence |
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During the three years prior to joining The Todes and recording their hit record, 'Good Things,' Donahoe had been in two other bands at BYU and both of those bands cut one 45rpm record as well. Each of these three bands was the most popular band in Utah Valley during the time he was a member. Steve Thomas of The Todes opined that Donahoe's soulful hard driving style (inspired by Chuck Berry, Little Richard and others) was a key addition to all three groups. Donahoe brought with him from Virginia the influence of soul music and bluesy rock and roll, and Utah Valley radio stations had not yet aired a lot of that type of music. Instead, radio stations there had played more Top 40 pop and California surf sounds. After The Vectors had played live dances for a while, local radio personalities told the group that they were influencing requests received by the radio station. In particular, the Vectors' version of 'Stand By Me,' sung by Donahoe, had made Ben E. King’s hit record the most requested song at the station.
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 El Monte, California. Skip and George learned to play rock and roll guitar while in high school in Denver, and they admired The Astronauts, who were the most popular Denver band at that time. Skip took guitar lessons from the Astronauts’ lead player and George benefited from both piano and guitar lessons, and as BYU freshmen they decided to organize a band. Skip had a talent for talking and establishing rapport with crowds, in addition to his versatile lead singing and accomplished lead guitar. George sang leads as well, and he used his musical training and talents to adapt to the bass guitar. He had a natural feel for playing bass lines and he played bass lines on a guitar in the early months of The Vectors, including on their 45rpm Utah hit, ‘Shortnin’ Bread’. Dave had some previous experience singing and playing guitar in a folk-rock trio while in high school. He added another strong lead voice and solid rhythm guitar. The Vectors loved singing harmonies and they excelled at it. Ralph was an accomplished guitarist and had already played lead guitar on a surf album in California while in high school, and he showed a portion of his exceptional multi-faceted talents at this early age with standout performances on the drums in The Vectors. Ralph also recorded some promising songs on tape, where he wrote the songs, sang the songs, and played all the instruments. This was a sign of the talent, focus and drive that led to his continuing highly successful career in the music industry (more on that below). Russ Bice was The Vectors' drummer for the first few months of their two-year run, but his commitments to university-sponsored musical groups led to Ralph being "discovered" and recruited.
‘Shortnin’ Bread’ was recorded on the BYU campus in 1964 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 with lyrics and vocals. The flip side was an 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 popular Provo disc jockey, musical instrument store manager and dance promoter, Jim Avery (also the group’s first manager), arranged to have copies printed and sold both locally and in other Utah markets. The record did very well in Provo (top ten or better) where The Vectors were the very visible number one band, as evidenced by packed, weekly dances. As a disc jockey, Avery was successful in getting airplay in Salt Lake City and other Utah radio markets, resulting in a number one ranking in at least one market and name recognition and bookings for The Vectors outside of Provo. However, there was a limited quantity of these discs made since this record was only sold in Utah. |
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| From The 1965 Banyan/BYU Yearbook: The Vectors Pack Them In! |
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The Vectors were the biggest name band in Utah Valley and at BYU for two years. They started the “live” rock scene there and inspired the bands that followed. Jim Avery provided The Blue Terrace dancehall for The Vectors' dances, and as the crowds expanded these dances moved to the larger Steelworkers' Union Hall in neighboring Orem. The Vectors won the Utah Battle of the Bands in 1964 at The Terrace Ballroom in Salt Lake City, and they also played private events, including University of Utah fraternity parties. 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, including Trini Lopez, 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). Ed quickly became a popular Provo disc jockey; he promoted the band and their dances, and in the summer of 1965 arranged bookings in Los Angeles 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 on a night Peterson was appearing there. The cast of the TV show Shindig was there socializing after a show and Barner wanted the Shindig producer to hear The Vectors. The producer 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.
Ralph Geddes (after a two year church mission followed by a short stint in The Todes and a key role in another successful BYU band), went on to major in music and have a highly successful career as a full time music director, keyboard player, guitarist, writer and arranger (Gatlin Bros., Natalie Cole, Charlie Rich, and more). He has also composed music for movies and TV, including Bob Hope’s Christmas Special and, as of this writing (March 2008) still performs nightly at the Carolina Opry production in Myrtle Beach. George and Skip later played in the very popular Honey and Soul band after returning to BYU from missions. Donahoe has played in bands ever since The Vectors disbanded, and he currently plays in a (weekend) working rock and roll band in Richmond with long-term friends (The Union Pacific Band).
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 (see logo on bass drum in group picture), and musicians who were skiers may have become aware of the name ‘Vector’ (as did these 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 (Skip, George and Ralph left BYU for two year missions but later returned and graduated) 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. 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 Buzz Minson, Jerry York and Frank Larsen from other bands; hence, The Remnants. The Remnants played a lot of English music (very hot at that time) and were the most popular band in the area for their one-year run.
When their record was pressed, Jerry York, or his financial benefactor, had "Jerry & The Remnants" printed on the label instead of just “The Remnants”. ‘I've Wasted My Time’ (was the A-side) and ‘If I Love 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, and York’s financial benefactor distributed the record. This record had some sales success and airplay in Utah Valley, but Donahoe was not informed in regard to sales or airplay in other markets, or as to the number of copies that were distributed. York wrote both songs and sang the leads and Donahoe added the harmonies. Solberg contributed keyboard leads for both songs.
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 Solberg 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. |
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| The Todes at the Steelworker's Union Hall in Orem, Utah |
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| David Donahoe while with The Todes |
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The Vectors (December 1963-June 1965)
Skip Florence – lead guitar and lead vocals
George Spilsbury - bass guitar and lead vocals
David Donahoe - rhythm guitar and lead vocals
Ralph Geddes - drums and vocals (Russ Bice for the first few months)
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 Larsen - 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)
Buzz Minson – drums (during the 1966-1967 academic year)
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, Buzz Minson, Jerry Solberg and Jerry York |
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| The Remnants (L-R): Dave Donahoe, Frank Larsen, Buzz Minson, Jerry Solberg and Jerry York |
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The unreleased Vectors' songs below ('I'm A Hog For You Baby,' 'I've Had It,' 'Shop Around,' ‘Searchin’” and 'Sweet Little Rock & Roller') were recovered in 2007 from reel-to-reel tapes that had been in a box for 43 years, and that once were in a flood. These tapes were recorded live in a dance venue (we believe) prior to a live performance. The songs recovered from these tapes do not reveal the Vectors’ wider range of material, including a variety of male rock and roll artists, British Invasion music and Atlantic soul/R&B.
NOTE: About ten months prior to this writing, Donahoe did not have a copy of any of the recordings by The Vectors, Remnants or Todes, or any pictures of The Vectors and Todes, and he mentioned to his current bass player and old friend Gary Crane that he had recorded three records with three bands in the ‘60s in Utah and California. His friend started surfing the Internet and found the Tode’s record for sale ($75.00) and a compilation CD with one side of the Remnants recording. Donahoe began surfing too, and over a period of a few months they found five of the six sides of the three records for sale on five separate compilation CDs of ‘60s bands. They also found three of these songs on the play-lists of two Internet radio stations. One CD was purchased from the Netherlands, and the Internet radio stations were in the Netherlands and Australia. Donahoe received and/or viewed copies of e-mails, from interested parties in the Netherlands, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom, California and Illinois. As a result of Donahoe’s contact with the CD sellers and the Internet stations, a Netherlands friend of Mike Dugo of 60sgaragebands.com, Hans Kesteloo, contacted Mike and suggested that he document the story of these three bands. After locating the five recordings on CDs (plus the Vectors’ “live” tapes), communicating with old band members, gathering information, pictures, etc., and writing and re-writing, the members of these three bands, and their friends and families, have benefited in many ways from this process. Many thanks and Kudos to Skip Florence and George Spilsbury (Vectors) and Steve Thomas and Mike Hart (Todes) for their many and varied contributions, to Hans Kesteloo for providing audio files of the Todes' record and for contacting Mike Dugo, to Mark Taylor for providing us with the elusive Remnants' slow song from his collection, to Bill Haynes for remixing a damaged Vectors' sound file, and to the inquisitive Web surfer Gary Crane, without whom we would not have the benefits of this unique and memorable experience.
A very sincere and great “thank you” goes to Mike Dugo, yet it is grossly insufficient to express the members of The Vectors’ (UT), Remnants’ and Todes’ deep appreciation for the vast number of man-hours Mike has devoted, and for his uncommon patience, highly developed skills and love for his work. Mike, we salute you. Cheers!
- David Donahoe, for The Vectors/UT, Remnants & Todes |
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| The Vectors (1964): David Donahoe and George Spilsbury |
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| The Vectors Live at Blue Terrace |
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| The Vectors Goof at a Picture Session |
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| Ralph Dons Beatles' Wig |
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| Vectors' Logo on Bass Drum |
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| Vectors' Promo Picture |
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| Vectors' Admirers Aren't Shy |
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