THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,449) The Cheques — “To Stone”
I have no idea why this stunning moody garage rock number doesn’t show up on lists of the greatest garage classics. Greg Shaw does say that it is the “[b]est of 3 singles by this soul-influenced group of Italian boys, most likely from Tennessee.” (liner notes to Pebbles Presents: Ya Gotta Have . . . Moxie: Volume One: A Special 2-CD Tribute to the Pioneering Garage/Punk Label)
Tennessee, no way! E. Mark Windle sets the record straight:
The band were comprised of a group of mostly young . . . Air Force personnel [at England Air Force Base, 5 miles north west of Alexandria, Louisiana]. Members included Tony Nardi (keyboards, vocals), Mike Ventimiglia … on lead vocal, Sam Ryland (bass guitar, vocals), Chuck Parrino (drums, background vocals) and Matthew Joshua (rhythm guitar). Joshua was later replaced by Wayne Pagels. . . . “I think it was early 1967 when I first met the guys on the base” says Mike. “I was in the recreation building one day where Tony and Chuck were practicing. . . . I was asked to join them after sitting in on a couple of tunes at that practice. . . . [W]e practiced in the rec hall and initially played at the base. The first gig was on Valentine’s Day February 14th 1967 at the Airman’s Club.” . . . Chuck remembered some of the other venues. “As our popularity grew we started playing at the NCO club and the Officers club. We then began playing off base, all over the state[.”] . . . The Cheques’ first 45 was produced in 1967 with “In the Groove”/“To Stone” . . . . The next year, Toni Nardi set up his custom label Heatwave, for the band to produce the next two 45s. The first [was] “Sticks and Stones”/“If You Leave Me Now” . . . [and the next] with the most northern soul appeal was “Deeper”/“Funky Monkey” . . . . “Deeper” . . . is a breezy, mid tempo dancer with a swing and an infectious hook. “Funky Monkey” was a take on Major Lance’s “Monkey Time” . . . . The band considered “Funky Monkey” as the A side, as this was the track which received most airplay and reached the top 10 on the local radio station KDBS in Alexandria. Most likely as a result of the local success of their Heatwave 45, Stax offered them a deal on the Hip subsidiary, although the label wanted to use their own session musicians on the sessions: “The sessions were done in Jackson, Mississippi in 1969 just before I went to Nam” says Mike. “The instrumentation for some of the tracks were studio guys from there. I sang lead and Tony, Chuck and Sammy sang back ups on “Cool My Desire”. Of course this upset us all and as a result we were all a little bummed out. . . . When I went to Nam, I heard that “Cool My Desire” . . . was a hit in the Memphis area.[“]
https://a-nickel-and-a-nail.myshopify.com/blogs/news/deeper-the-cheques-e-mark-windle (from Rhythm Message, a book by E. Mark Windle)
The band broke up when Mike Ventimiglia was sent to Vietnam and Toni Nardi to Thailand. Read the rest of E. Mark Windle’s great retelling of their story — I left out the best parts!
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