The Recording Years
The first recording was an instrumental titled “Blast Off.” The song was written by Mike (Mickey) Aversa. It was supposed to be the “B” side to “The Land of Broken Hearts.” I believe it was Produced by Lou Adler.
I recently saw this original recording available for $500.00. Wow! This was really early on in our musical adventure. I think we were all only fourteen or fifteen years old. Then we signed a management contract, and they also became our producers. But first!
We had been on tour with Dick Biondi and the government, to tour their job corps camps. This was handled through Sargant Schaffer for the government, and I don’t know how it came about or why, but the next thing we knew was we were going on the road! The tour was Dick Biondi, Mickey and Invaders, Chuck Oberon (Chuck Negron), 2 female dancer and some others. We went to places like Bosie, Idaho, Wolf Creek, Trapper Creek, and Kicking Horse Montana and some other glorious spots, but we were on the road.
This was the first time we had ever flown, and I can remember being at the airport waiting to get on. It was Western Airlines flight. Their slogan was “It’s The Only Way To Fly.” It was a propelled airplane out of Burbank, and it was the start of a wild ride.
When we got back home, we all were surprised to learn that Dick Biondi had been fired for Radio Station KRLA. Dick wound up at a radio station is Shreveport, Louisiana and one day, we got a call. We were rehearsing when the call came through, and it was Dick Biondi.
He called to let us know that he had two friends in Los Angeles who had started a production company and said he had given us as someone they should sign, and if we were interested. We said we were interested and then he gave us his friends’ names and phone numbers. His friends were Charlie O’Donnell and Harvey Miller.
Charlie was disc jockey at KRLA radio station, and who had moved to Los Angeles from Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, Charlie worked as the announcer for Dick Clark and the TV show “American Bandstand.”
Harvey Miller was better known as “Humble Harve.” He was a disc jockey, no, he was the most listened to disc jockey at radio station KHJ.