Thursday, June 22, 2017

Mona Thomas - Lawrence Township School - 1963 - Reflections

 Had an interesting comment about "Mona Thomas" and her single on USA. Wasn't even on the radar, of course I was interested in the juicy details, let's roll!

Mona Thomas cut this 45 (USA 776 - There He Goes / Just in Between) in 1963. Mona was a student at either Lawrence Central or North High School, and this was her only offering.

Mona cut the 45 at a long defunct studio of Jan Hutchens in Indianapolis. Cut in the fashion of a Leslie Gore style "boys" tune, it went nowhere. But of course, there is more to the tale than meets
the eye.

Enter the Reflections, also of Indianapolis. The Reflections are the tasty background vocals on Mona's 45. The Reflections up-tempo version of  "In the Still of the Night" garnered some airplay on WLS and was on their charts in early 1964. Also recorded in Jan Hutchens studio. I've had this 45 for some time and it's always been rumored to be Indianapolis, but now it's confirmed. My next blog entry will feature the Reflections, it's a great story.

And wait, there's more! Mona's writer credits feature "B. Roth". Bernie / Bernard / David Roth (not David Lee Roth of Van Halen fame) has been spotted on three Indiana 45's so far. The Jads (not Jades) on the Ashley label, The Jokers (from Valparaiso) on Destination, and now Mona Thomas on USA. What's the connection?