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1963 |
In the summer
of 1963, the Newports went through another major transition. Cal Linley
left to form his own band, the Velures. Tom Willett
(later of the Willett Brothers) joined as lead singer, and Don
Williamson joined as drummer; Don was also a talented singer who sang
some R&B songs with the band. Greg Novik also joined the band,
primary as a tenor sax player, though he played bass and guitar on some
songs. And Greg’s talented junior-high neighbor, Bill Behr, joined for a time on trumpet.
Bill White continued on electric bass; and because Larry Swacker
continued for a while on guitar, The result is
the lineup you see below, in shots taken at a school dance most likely
in the fall of 1963, and possibly Woodrow Wilson
The Newports were now a more horn-driven band, and for a while we focused more heavily on R&B (rhythm‘n’ blues) material (James Brown, Otis Reading, Solomon Burke, etc.). Because the British Invasion hadn’t arrived yet, R&B was the edgiest popular music available for a band like ours to play, and we majored in it. We continued to be highly active, playing at least twice most weekends, with some of us now in college locally. And we began playing more frequently for college events, such as frat and sorority parties. |
High School Dance, Fall 1963 |
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(L to R) Don Williamson (drums), Tom
Willett (singing) Larry Swacker (guitar) |
(L to R) Blaine Smith (bass), Don
Williamson (drums), Tom Willett (singing), |
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(L to R) Bill White (bass), Tom Willett
(singing), Don Williamson (drums) |
(L to R) Bill White (bass), Larry
Swacker (guitar), Blaine Smith (tenor sax) |
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(L to R) Don Williamson (drums), Larry
Swacker (singing), Blaine Smith (tenor sax) |
(L to R) Bill White (bass), Larry
Swacker (guitar), Blaine Smith (tenor sax), |
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(L to R) Don Williamson (drums), Larry
Swacker (guitar) |
(L to R) Don Williamson (drums), Larry
Swacker (singing), |
Record |
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The Resumes |
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Also in 1963 |
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The
Newports |
Celebrating Washington, D.C.’s
Legendary Oldies Band |