Thursday, May 01, 2008

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Classics IV


Artist:Classics IV

Song:Spooky

Album:The Very Best Of Classics IV





Classics IV had a couple of hits in the late 60s and quickly faded. They started out in Jacksonville, FL as Leroy & The Moments with Wally Eaton on bass & vocals, James Cobb on guitar and Joe Wilson on keyboards. Drummer/singer Dennis Yost had been in a group called The Echoes. When they split up, he joined Leroy & The Moments and they became The Classics. This Jacksonville cover band signed with Capitol in 1966, released a couple of singles, moved to Atlanta in 1967 and producer Bill Lowery signed them to Imperial Records. There was already a group called The Classics so the group name was changed to Classics IV. James Cobb and producer Buddy Buie based Spooky on an instrumental that was a regional hit in the southeast. The song is a mix of blue eyed soul and Yost's love of doo wop. It was a top 5 hit and the band hired Kim Venable to play drums so Yost could concentrate on singing. Cobb was replaced by Auburn Burrell so he could concentrate on writing and producing. So Classics IV was a touring band but the records were made mostly by session musicians. They had a couple more hits but Yost took the group to MGM Records and changed the name to Dennis Yost & Classics IV. James Cobb & Buddy Buie went on to form Atlanta Rhythm Section in the early 70s. Yost has been leading a version of Classics IV on the oldies circuit since the 70s though he's currently recovering from injuries suffered in a July 2006 fall. This comp is less than a half hour long so you might want to get Spooky on a various artists comp like Varese Saraband's Rock & Roll:The First 50 Years/The Late 60s. Here's Classics IV performing Spooky in 1968.


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