The Doughboys
The Doughboys - New Jersey garage rock band
Group from United States
Genres: spotify, garage
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About The Doughboys
The Doughboys is an American rock band from Plainfield, NJ, who were active in the mid-1960s, and re-formed in 2000. They have been active ever since, and have cut three albums of newly recorded material since their reunion. What set the band apart from the competition (and there were many rock’n’roll groups in the area) was an authentic passion for the music and presentation. The band was formed in the fall of 1964 when Mike Caruso asked Richie Heyman if he wanted to get together with a couple of guys from Hubbard Junior High (the school they all attended) for a rehearsal. Caruso and Heyman clicked right away, Caruso on guitar and Heyman on drums. The others weren’t quite up to par so Caruso found two other guitarists, one of whom was Willy Kirchofer, with his big Gibson acoustic/electric – a rarity in those day. They called themselves the Ascots. A year later they merged with two members from a rival group, the Apollos. Heyman, only thirteen at the time, invited guitarist Mike Farina and drummer/singer Myke Scavone to join forces with the Ascots, convincing Scavone to step out from behind the drums and become the lead singer. The five-piece Ascots changed their name to The Doughboys in 1966 and won a recording contract with Bell Records as part of their first prize winning of a year-long battle-of-the-bands on Zacherle’s Disc-o-teen television show. They put out two singles – Rhoda Mendelbaum and Everybody Knows My Name, which received airplay on WMCA in New York City in exchange for the band playing the weekly Good Guys shows, which were live package performances at various YMCA’s and high schools in the tri-state area. They were the house band at the Café Wha? in Greenwich Village during the summer of ’68. Their signature song was a cover of Bo Diddley. The Doughboys stayed together until the end of the decade, as a four-piece and finally as a three-piece configuration. As the 60s faded, the founding members went their separate ways. Myke Scavone joined Ram Jam, who had a hit with Black Betty, toured the world and even appeared on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert TV show. Willy played in various bands, including Jake and the Family Jewels, and formed his own country & western outfit, Willy and the Wranglers, in the 80’s. Mike Caruso played sessions with Tommy James, producers Bo Gentry and Kenny Laguna, and jammed with Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Miles. Mike Farina moved to California and got involved with television production. Richie commenced a career as a solo singer/songwriter. As the decades passed, Richie continued to tell stories of the Doughboys to his friends and wife Nancy, until finally, in the year 2000, Nancy decided she wanted to see the band for herself, called Myke, Mike and Willy, and organized a reunion gig. Sadly, in 2005, Willy passed away after a short illness. Guitarist Gar Francis had played in Willy and the Wranglers, and grew up in North Plainfield. As a kid back in the 60’s he used to come to The Doughboys’ gigs. Having done session work with Billy Idol (on Billy’s hit version of Mony Mony), Jerry Ragovoy (who wrote Piece Of My Heart and Time Is On My Side under the pseudonym Norman Meade) and played in renowned Stones tribute band Sticky Fingers, Francis joined the band. The Doughboys released their first full-length recording, Is It Now? in November 2007. In January 2010, the group released its second full-length recording, Act Your Rage. In November 2012, The Doughboys released their third studio album Shakin' Our Souls. The track "It's A Cryin' Shame" was named "coolest song in the world" on Sirius/XM Underground Garage.
Taken from Last.fm
4,393 listeners · 43,000 plays via Last.fm