Richmond, Virginia in dramatic black & white

The Old South, consisting of The Virginias, Carolinas, Delaware, Maryland and DC.   Provides a wealth of energized garage bands to showcase.  From Baltimore and Washington, through Richmond and Raliegh, down the coast to Myrtle Beach and Charleston the garages are rocking with the wild beat. Featured on The Old South are The Hangmen (formerly known as the Reekers) from Garrett Park, Md just a short distance from Washington DC.  Core band members were Joe Triplett - vocals & harmonica, Tom Guernsey - lead guitar, and Mike Henley - piano (drummers and bass players changed frequently). The lead song 'What a Girl Can't Do' was recorded at Rodel Studio in Georgetown.   By sheer accident the sound engineer captured an echo laden drum sound that gave the song an instant hook.   Tom took all but two strings off his guitar to get the clean riff and Joe delivered the lyrics with a sneering satisfaction that was perfect for the song.   'What a Girl Can't Do' knocked The Beatles 'We Can Work it Out/Daytripper' off the top of the chart at Arlington Radio Station WEAM on February 7, 1966.  The Hangmen spawned The Omegas who are also presented here with the song 'I Can't Believe'.

The Hangmen in an early photo of the Reekers

Please take a moment to reflect upon the contributions of Link Wray who passed away November 5, 2005.   Garage Music that fired up a generation had two main sources - Bo Diddley and Link Wray.   Link pioneered the overdriven distorted electric guitar sound.  That, along with his invented power chord created the basic "Garage Sound".

Link Wray

Old South Garage Bands