THE TROPHIES, "LEAVE MY GIRL ALONE" C/W "YOU'RE THE QUEEN," KAPP K-750 (REL. 7/1966)

The Trophies formed in Brattleboro, Vermont in 1963 as one of countless pre-Beatles local rock combos who became local heroes and complete unknowns to the rest of the world. With no social media, musicians had an impossible task if they wished to get national attention. Once The Beatles hit US shores in early ’64, such groups realized a bandwagon ready for their fearless leap.

The Trophies took that jump with a locally-produced single that featured two frat-rock standards. Rufus Thomas’ “Walkin’ the Dog” was given a Liverpool-style romp, while Eddie Cochran’s “Somethin’ Else” got the bash-and-growl garage approach. The single was a Top 10 hit in the greater Boston area, but band members  Jack Dunham, Paul Olbum, Richard Eriksen, Wayne Harvey and Tom Howes realized they needed to write original material to have an edge on a potential nationwide breakthrough.

They worked up a set of new songs as they toured in their decorated van and often played support for famous acts who passed through the area. Group members recall backing up The Shirelles, Del Shannon, Chubby Checker and Dionne Warwick. As the group honed their chops on the road, a meeting with Kapp Records was arranged. The label was intrigued and signed the group to a two-record deal in 1965.

Their first Kapp single paired two group originals and went nowhere, despite its quality. A first-time flop was common, even for famous groups, so Kapp tried again. They had a powerful song by the NYC-based composer combine of Bill Giant, Kenny Lynch, Bernie Baum and Florence Kaye. “Leave My Girl Alone” was first recorded by The Everly Brothers and was the opening track to their excellent 1966 LP In Our Image. As they’d passed on a single release, the field was wide open. With producer Laurence Weiss, who was on Kapp’s staff at the time, a solid sound was achieved. It combines the vocal approach of UK band The Hollies with a touch of San Francisco’s Beau Brummels.

Though it wasn’t a group original, they perform it with conviction. An au courant harpsichord adds period charm to this hypnotic, sinuous song. As with so many failed singles of 1965-66, it sounds like a hit—perhaps mid-chart, but worthy of some recognition. It was hard for a new band to get much bandwidth in the music market. Influential DJs could still make an unknown single a hit; coast-to-coast TV appearances such as the rock-oriented Shindig or the network variety shows also helped. It took connections and pull to make those happens, and this bar band from Vermont had none. LINK FIXED.

“You’re the Queen” is an original by Tom Howes, who’d been listening to Bob Dylan but could filter that influence through the harder edge of what would be known as garage rock. This very 1966 put-down of a ruthless social climber gets a solid, rockin’ treatment by the band; this is perhaps what they sounded like in person. The band members recalled that they recorded their Kapp tracks live with no overdubs to be mastered in mono sound.

I applaud singer Howes for not taking the Dylan vocal route. His voice has a good edge and is skillful. It’s too bad we don’t have much more of it.

The group didn’t record again and broke up the band in 1967. By 2018, when The Brattleboro Reformer did a where are they now piece on The Trophies, two members (including Howes) had passed on. The other three shared their memories, which include a bizarre statement that their first Kapp 45 got into the Billboard Top 10 (it did not), can be read here:

https://www.reformer.com/community-news/the-trophies-rock-n-roll/article_201e25a8-6ec6-5f28-a068-28f0b998d0c5.html

Tomorrow: another obscure pop-rock combo recorded in NYC in ’65. The Townsmen do a Moody Blues-esque power ballad coupled with an attempt at The Impressions’ sound on a one-shot Columbia 45.