By request, I am again publishing this post, including my 1968 recording of the band I was part of, The A.T.N.T.; formally, we were the Orphans but changed our name at the suggestion of Mark Lee Productions, our manager. Enjoy.
The year was 1968, and the rock band I played in, The A.T.N.T., recorded a 45 at Summit Sounds in Dallas, Texas. The band had been called The Orphans, but a copywriting dispute resulted in a name change. Our then-manager, Mark Lee Productions, wasn’t keen on the idea because we had been under his management and promotion for a year.
The A side is “Cobblestone Street,” written and sung by myself and our drummer Barry Corbett. The B side is ” No One Told Me About Her,” written and sung by our lead singer and bass player, Danny Goode. The two producers, Marvin Montgomery and Artie Glenn, suggested we add horns to get a Chicago Transit Authority sound. Before the brass was added, Cobblestone Street was loud and raw with loud guitars and organs. After adding the horns, we returned to the studio and tweaked the cuts. I purposely untuned my Gibson 335 a bit to give the guitar break a bit of an out-of-tune carnival sound. Marvin, who went by the name of Smokey, was a member of the Light Crust Doughboys since the 1930s and played with Bob Wills. He produced Paul and Paula and Delbert McClinton. Artie Glenn wrote the famous Elvis hit “Crying In The Chapel” and many others; he was also a Light Crust Doughboy western swing musician. These two men were top-shelf record producers, so we listened when they suggested.
Our band members in the above picture are: foreground right John P. Strawn ( me ), then Jarry Davis on rhythm guitar, Barry Corbett on drums, Danny Goode on bass, and Marshall Sartin on keyboards. Barry and Marshall have passed on, but Danny, Jarry, myself, and our wives met for lunch a few weeks back in Fort Worth. It’s obvious why we all have severe hearing loss from the large amplifiers turned up to 11.
We introduced the songs at Flower Fair 1968 but without the horns. The Doors were supposed to play the event, but last-minute scheduling got sideways, and they couldn’t make it. This was the Spencer Davis Group without Steve Wynwood in the band. LeCirque ( The Smell Of Incense Fills The Air ) was formally known as The Southwest F.O.B. with members England Dan and John Ford Coley, who would later go on to fame as a duo, both local Texas boys. Kenny and the Kasuals were also a local group managed by Mark Lee.
The record received good airplay, but we never made much money. Distribution was the key, although the local radio personalities gave it positive chatter. Hope you enjoy the tunes.
Notes From The Cactus Patch 
First I will say…you can have Pro Tools or Cubase…any recording software and plugins…you cannot duplicate that sound. Sounds really good Phil. I like the carnival atmosphere in that part also. The horns are seamless…they did a good job with them. They don’t sound added on.
You could have said this was a top twenty hit and I wouldn’t have known the difference….the recording sounds totally professional. Thanks, Phil.
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The sound today is very digital and cold. Summit Sounds used an 8 track recorder with a huge sound mixing board. Bob Sullivan was the engineer and mixer, but our producers had the final say on the mix. It was all analog equipment and all tube amps, that’s why the sound today is hard to duplicate.
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Yea those tube amps are great. The only thing they have improved that I can see is the PA’s…we had a Kustom PA from 1970…it could be a mess…that is the only thing that we replaced with modern equipment. I would take analog all day over digital. It sounds warm.
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Back then, we used a Kustom PA, 4 towers, a Kustom brain and an Echoplex loop machine to add a bit of echo to the vocals. The system worked good, but we eventually went to Fender tower speakers with a higher powered main amp. Kustom amps were loud and raw. Lots of power but not many effects. We tried Sun speakers also, but they kept fuzzing out. For my guitar, I used a Fender Dual Showman set up, two speaker cabinets with 4 12s and 2 horns in each with a 100 watt Showman brain. That’s why I am now deaf in one ear and losing the other. My 3 surviving bandmates are in the same boat as me.
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Phil…I can’t talk on a phone properly without headphones…I know it hurt mine also.
I love those vintage amps…no computer chips…just electronics and tubes.
Wow… 4 12s and 2 horns in each with a 100 watt Showman… You were heard…and heard well!
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I’m getting 2 hearing aids in a few weeks. Every musician I know from that era suffers the same fate. The bigger the amp, the bigger the sound. Right?
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Hey Phil. Very cool. I hear so many influences in the tunes. all good. It fits in with the Turtles, Rascals etc. Enjoying the cuts. certainly was well done. I would have like to hear what other stuff you guys were playing. Original, covers etc. I also would have liked to hear the original “loud guitars and organ” without the horns. Just to hear the rawness. I would enjoy it both ways. Very cool Phil.
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When we played the song live we didn’t have the horn section so it back to the original sound. The producer, Marvin Montgomery wrote the horn parts, brought the studio players in the next day and laid them down, then we came back to the studio and tweaked things a bit. The first demo we did of the song was 3 years earlier in the same studio and it sounded more like The Byrds than the final recording in 1968. You’re right about the influences, Rascals, Turtles and even more. We played many of those tunes as well as Hendrix, Doors, Cream and on..Back then you had to play a bit of everything because teens actually danced to the bands music.
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The take was very interesting Phil. I love the vibe from that era. So much experimenting going on that came up with great sounds. Good take. I get you on “playing a bit of everything’. I always like to hear bands cover songs plus you gotta give the kids what they want. They pay the bills.
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Far out, man!
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Thanks, Herb. We were just a bunch of teenagers living the dream.
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Very cool. I would have been about 8 or so and knew what I liked to hear when it came on the radio but never really knew much about the performers.
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Great stuff, Phil!
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Hi Phil. I just discovered your blog after seeing a comment you left on Mitch’s post. The reason your comment got my attention is because my dad has a cousin named Kathy Strawn (obviously she is my second cousin). She lives in Springfield IL and I believe her husband’s name is Mark Strawn. I have never met her but have had contact with her in the last few years since she is the family historian and has emailed much information about our family history. Just wondered if you may be related?
It doesn’t really matter because I’m really enjoying reading your posts. They are both educational and humorous. I’m now following and looking forward to reading more.
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We may be related. Try Family Search, it’s a free geneology site ran by the Mormon Church, and it’s better than Ancestry. The Strawn clan came from England and Scotland to Buck County PA. It seems the entire families came at one time and founded a small village in PA called Strawntown. I will do a search and see if I am related to your cousins, chances are good that we are. Thanks for stopping in and following. More on the way.
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I’ll say it again…very smooth. I would have liked to hear it without the horns just to hear.
BTW…thanks for the Billy Joe Shaver recommendation…I’m publishing it tomorrow…I didn’t know about his son…that is terrible.
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Thanks, Max, for the shout out. I wish that the acetate 45 had survived, it didn’t have the horns and was pretty raw edged. That 45 did get the attention of United Artists and our manager was talking with them about picking us up. That was until our keyboard player went to live in a commune in CA. , I left the band, and our drummer had a Frank Zappa freakout. Who knows, shoulda..coulda..woulda.
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Cool! Now I can put a sound to your words and descriptions! You guys were good! Nice harmony and nice arrangements. Very cool! Particularly cool you wrote your own stuff! Neat memories to have. And so neat you still hang with them some!
My best friend’s family (in high school) were gospel singers and sang with Amy Grant and Kathy Lee Gifford along the way It’s cool to listen to her albums. Had to buy a turntable to do that after she passed. She was my buddy…
That meant we hung around a lot of musicians all along. My son played guitar in bands like that, not as good as you guys are, but he is good. Plays in bands now, a celtic one and another cover type band. I don’t get to hear him enough.
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