Paul Hobenstein - bass
Ben Berry - rhythm guitar
Mort Mckee -guitar
Carl Berry - drums
Although the Raven's professed to lean toward the folk end of the music szene, at the time of this photo, the Beatles "Day Tripper" was their favorite tune of the time. Beatles and Byrds were the inspiration for the moniker "Raven's".
Using the newspaper as evidence, the Raven's cut 2 sides for a 45 to be released in September '67. "For You" & "In the Rain". if anyone has any idea if these were released, please let me know! There was a 45 released in '66, from a South Bend group of Ravens! No relation, and no I don't have it at this writing either (although I will get it and the picture sleeve it was released with!)
Till next time friends!
Yes, both songs were released on the Night Owl label. No idea where it was recorded but the mother / stamper was sent to Sauk City, Wisconsin / Cuca Recording Studios. It was released in November, 1967. Both sides are excellent, Beatle-esque harmony jangle-beat.
ReplyDeleteTwo major problems - the group is credited on the label as the REVENS.
Even worse: all copies pressed of the 45 suffer from defective, lo-fidelity mastering, resulting in severe audio "swish" distortion and dropouts. I spoke to Ben Berry many years ago, the group was dejected when they got the 45s back from Cuca.
Thanks Mike, that's sorta good news! At least I have another 45 to hunt down, or perhaps they tossed them in a lake or went shooting with them!
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ReplyDeleteMike I am the drummer for the Raven's, Carl Berry, I have been talking to Mort McKee tonight after we were told of this site. I do have a copy of the original record somewhere in the house, but I have made several copies on CD's. Mort and I have talked this evening and we are going to try to clear up some of the questions that we read about tonight. I will get back with you on this as soon as I can verify dates and locations and any other things that may be helpful. I will make one statment that the record was recorded in Milwaukie, WI. It was recorded in two different sessions on two seperate weekends, first being instramental, second being vocal. I am sorry to say that my brother Ben Berry passed away on Jan. 13, 2010. He would have been a big help in remembering all the details of this event because he was the backbone of the group and in the early years of our group handle all the details and gig arrangments before we came under manangement. Mort and I are very pleased to see that there are people out there that still remember us and are interested in information on the group. Ben would be Very Pleased. He loved the band life and was still jamming on a regular basis with Mort. More to follow as soon as I can verify data. Thank you for your interest. Raven's Drummer
My ex-wife, dated Ben Berry for a while back when the group was very active in Fort Wayne, and New Haven. I believe she may still have the 45 that they cut....
ReplyDeleteI thought I posted here several days ago but it's not showing up, so I'll try again. Because of their WI-based recording, the Revens are in my book, "On That Wisconsin Beat" (info from Ben Berry in 1995). I'm also interested in another band from Ft Wayne that may have been on the same label - The Ebb Tides. There is a 1968 Ebb Tides 45 that remains a mystery. My friend, Joe Accardi, recently found clippings for an Ebb Tides from Ft Wayne playing gigs in WI in '67. 1st names shown are Herb, Steve, Phil, Bonnie & Gloria. Last names of the writers on the 45 are Dale & Riggs (no female voices on the 45). The 2 sides are drastically different, giving the impression that they may have been a show group, as the WI clippings indicate. So, I'm trying to find out if it might be the Ft. Wayne band. I welcome any clues or guesses!
ReplyDeleteI've played in bands for 45 years in Fort Wayne and rememberThe Ravens well. We were riding around town one day and the song "riding around on a carrosle" by The Holliesstarted playing on the radio. A few nights later, we went to see the Ravens at Bell's skateing rink ... and they played and sang it note for note with all the harmonies. We couldn't believe it.
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