Bill Deal and the Rhondels
Bill Deal and the Rhondels | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Portsmouth, Virginia, US |
| Genres | pop, blue-eyed soul |
| Years active | 1960–1983 |
| Past members | Bill Deal Ammon Tharp Rollie Ligart Mike Ash Mike Stillman Byran Bennett Al Shriner George Bell Joel Smith Ronnie Hallman Jackie Shelton Bill Weaver J.T. Anderson Jimmy Alsbrook David Williams Ken Dawson Kenny Copeland Don Quisenberry Roy Hines Gloria Stephenson Mike Kerwin Perry Calligan Tom Pittman Ronny Rosenbaum Gary Church Bob Fisher Jeff Pollard Gary Hardy Freddy Owens Linda Green Leon Barge Howard Eaton Wilson Rogers Chatty Cooper Gary Brown Everett Hill Marion Sledge Alan Porter Tom Cole Bruce Burns Ray Wilkes Mark Maynard Benny Bialy Randy Pope Dave Williams Bernie Jacobs Edgar Justice Mike Robert Chris Tennant R.B. Sharp |
Bill Deal & the Rhondels were an American pop band, formed in 1959[1] in Portsmouth, Virginia, crossing blue-eyed soul and beach music.
History
William Franklin Deal was born in Portsmouth, Virginia to restaurant propietor Noah Deal, who died on January 1, 1951.[2] His father was a guitarist who introduced Bill to music, and as a child he took piano lessons.[2] Deal played in local bands while attending Woodrow Wilson High School, where he met drummer Ammon Tharp.[2] Because they only knew a few songs, they would repeat songs during a gig, to which a friend joked they should call themselve The Rondels, a term in poetry for a short poem.[2] Deal attended Old Dominion College, studying business administration.[2]
They had three hit singles in 1969, "May I" (U.S. #39), "I've Been Hurt" (U.S. #35), "What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am)" (U.S. #23).[3] Their single "Swingin' Tight" reached (U.S. #85) in December 1969.[4][5] "Nothing Succeeds Like Success" reached (US #63) on the charts in the spring of 1970.[6]
Ernest Frederick "Freddy" Owens joined the band after 1970 and served as lead vocalist as well as playing sax and bass. On March 4, 1979, he was robbed and shot dead by Jeremiah Carr at a Holiday Inn motel in Richmond, Virginia, where the band had a show earlier that evening. He had attempted to stop Carr from escaping after Carr raped his wife. Two shots wounded another band member, Chris Tennant, in the room.[7][8] While Bill Deal kept going on with the Rhondels for another four years, he never really got over this incident and quit the music business in 1983.[1]
Deal and Tharp reunited for one last gig at a nightclub in Virginia Beach.[2]
In November 1995 Bill Deal and the Rhondels were among the first groups inducted into the Carolina Beach Music Awards Hall of Fame.[2]
On June 6, 2003, the mayor of Portsmouth announced June 6 as "Bill Deal Day".[2]
Deal married Janice Louise Burton in Perquimans County, North Carolina, in 1962.[2] They had one son and one daughter. Their marriage ended in divorce, and in 1984 Deal married Barbara Jo Lerner.[2] Deal died of a heart attack at his Virginia Beach home on 10 December 2003.[2] He was cremated.[2] Portsmouth city leaders declared February 2004 William F. "Bill" Deal Month, and the governor and the mayor of Virginia Beach recognized 19–23 May 2004 as Bill Deal Beach Music Weekend.[2]
Original members of the Rhondels, sometimes called Bill Deal's Rhondels, continued to perform after his death.[2]
Tharp died on September 22, 2017, aged 75.[9]
Members
- Bill Deal (born July 8, 1944, died December 10, 2003) - vocals, organ, electric piano, bass pedals (1959–1983)[1][10][11][12]
- Ammon Tharp (born Ammon Chester Tharp on July 5, 1942, in Norfolk, Virginia, died September 22, 2017)[9][1] - vocals, drums (1959–1978)[10][11][12]
- Rollie Ligart - trumpet (1960–1962,1965–1969, 1970–1971)[11]
- Mike Ash - saxophone (1960–1961)[11]
- Mike Stillman - saxophone (1960–1961)[11]
- Byran Bennett - trumpet (1960–1961)[11]
- Al Shriner - guitar (1960)[11]
- George Bell - saxophone (1961–1975)[11][12]
- Joel Smith - guitar (1961–1964)[11][12]
- Ronnie Hallman - trumpet (1961–1963)[11][12]
- Jackie Shelton - bass (1961–1963)[11][12]
- Bill Weaver - saxophone (1962–1965)[11][12]
- J.T. Anderson - guitar (1962–1965)[11][12]
- Jimmy Alsbrook - drums (1962)[11][12]
- David Williams - trumpet (1961–1963; 1975–1977)[11][12]
- Ken Dawson - trumpet (1963–1970)[10][11]
- Kenny Copeland - trombone (1963–1969)[11]
- Don Quisenberry - bass (1964–1978)[10][11]
- Roy Hines - vocals (1964–1966)[11]
- Gloria Stephenson - vocals (1964–1966)[11]
- Mike Kerwin - guitar, trumpet (1965–1978)[10][11]
- Perry Calligan - guitar (1965)[11]
- Tom Pittman - saxophone (1966–1969)[11]
- Ronny Rosenbaum - trombone (1966–1971)[10][11]
- Gary Church - vocals (1966–1967)[11]
- Bob Fisher - saxophone, guitar (1969–1976)[10][11]
- Jeff Pollard - trumpet (1969–1973)[10][11]
- Gary Hardy - trumpet (1968–1969 & 1971–1976)[11]
- Freddy Owens - saxophone, vocals (1971–1979)[11][12]
- Linda Green - vocals (1971–1974)[11]
- Leon Barge - percussion (1971–1973)[11]
- Howard Eaton - trumpet (1971–1973)[11]
- Wilson Rogers - saxophone (1972–1973)[11]
- Chatty Cooper - percussion (1972–1973)[11]
- Gary Brown - vocals (1973–1979)[11]
- Everett Hill - trumpet (1973–1978)[11]
- Marion Sledge - vocals (1973)[11]
- Alan Porter - bass (1978–79)[11]
- Tom Cole - drums (1980–1983)
- Bruce Burns - saxophone (1974–1977)[11]
- Ray Wilkes - guitar (1974–1975)[11]
- Mark Maynard - Trombone (1974–1976)[11]
- Benny Bialy - Bass (1974)
- Randy Pope - Guitar (1974)[11]
- Dave Williams - trumpet (1975–1977)[11]
- Bernie Jacobs - saxophone (1976)[11]
- Edgar Justice - guitar (1977–1981)[11]
- Mike Roberts - trumpet (1977–1981)[11]
- Chris Tennant - trombone (1977–1978)[11]
- R.B. Sharp - guitar (1978–1982)[11]
- Tom Scott - drums (1978–1981)[11]
- Ken Barringer - trumpet (1978–1979)[11]
- Eddie Williams - saxophone (1978)[11]
- Audie Stanley - bass (1979–1981)[11]
- Wayne Kessinger - saxophone (1979–1981)[11]
- Curtis Swisher - trumpet (1979–1981)[11]
Timeline
Albums
Vintage Rock (1969)
| Vintage Rock | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by Bill Deal and the Rhondels | |
| Released | March 1969 |
| Recorded | July 1968 |
| Genre | Bubblegum pop |
| Label | Heritage |
| Producer | Jerry Ross |
| Singles from Bill Deal and the Rhondels | |
| |
The material for this album was recorded in New York City between July 25, 1968 (May I) and March 10, 1969 (multiple), with the most tracks recorded at Bell Sound Studios on March 10, 1969.[13] The "Swingin' Tight" track ("Swinging Tight" is often cited, but is not the official title spelling of the song. "Swinging Tight" is the title to the album released in 1980), first recorded March 10, 1969, is distinct from the similarly-named track on the second album, below and is a slow version of the song.[13]
Track listing
| A-side | B-side |
|---|---|
|
|
The Best of Bill Deal & The Rhondels (1970)
| The Best of Bill Deal and the Rhondels | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by Bill Deal and the Rhondels | |
| Released | 1969 |
| Recorded | 1968–1969 |
| Genre | Bubblegum pop |
| Label | Heritage |
| Singles from The Best of Bill Deal and the Rhondels | |
| |
The material for this album, which substantially overlaps the Vintage Rock album, was recorded in New York City between July 25, 1968 ("May I") and October 30, 1969 ("Harlem Shuffle"), with the most tracks recorded at Bell Sound Studios on March 10, 1969.[13] The "Swingin' Tight" track, recorded on October 3, 1969, is distinct from the similarly named track on the first album, above and is a faster single edit version.[13]
The album debuted on Billboard magazine's Top LP's chart in the issue dated April 11, 1970, peaking at No. 185 during a two-week run on the chart.[14]
| A-side | B-side |
|---|---|
|
|
Note[15]
Singles
| Year | Label | A-side | B-side | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | AUS | CAN | ||||
| 1968 | Heritage | "May I" | "Day By Day My Love Grows Stronger" | 18 | ||
| 1969 | "I've Been Hurt" | "I've Got My Needs" | 18 | |||
| "What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am" | "Swingin' Tight" | 14 | ||||
| "Swingin' Tight" | "Tuck's Theme" | 80 | 57 | |||
| 1970 | "Hey Bulldog" | "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" | ||||
| 1972 | "It's Too Late" | 108 | ||||
| ? | ? | "Nothing Succeeds Like Success" | 37 | |||
Note[22]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 William "Bill" Deal Archived 2013-09-20 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved October 29, 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Dictionary of Virginia Biography - William Franklin "Bill" Deal (8 July 1944-10 December 2003) Biography". old.lva.virginia.gov. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 7th edn, 2000
- ↑ Billboard Hot 100 Chart, Dec. 13, 1969 Billboard hot 100 1969 Archived 2021-05-14 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 23 March 2021
- ↑ "Cashbox Top 100 Singles Chart, Dec. 13, 1969 Cashbox top 100 1969". Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
- ↑ The Billboard Hot 100 Hits.
- ↑ Suspect In Death of Musician Is Extradited to Virginia, The News and Courier, Charleston, SC, March 7, 1979, retrieved October 29. 2013.
- ↑ "Ernest William Owens about his murder". The News and Observer. October 7, 1979. p. 25. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- 1 2 Ammon C. Tharp Archived 2017-12-04 at the Wayback Machine accessdate December 4, 2017
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 The Best of Bill Deal & The Rhondels, Heritage HTS 35,006, 1970.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 Bill Deal & the Rhondels Discography[link removed], retrieved October 29, 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Bill Deal - History Archived 2008-04-14 at the Wayback Machine, by his son, retrieved October 29, 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 The MGM Labels: 1961-1982, By Michel Ruppli, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top LPs, 1945–1972. Record Research. p. 42. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
- ↑ "Bill Deal And The Rhondels Discography". 45cat. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 85. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.)
- ↑ "RPM Top 100 Singles - March 10, 1969" (PDF).
- ↑ "RPM Top 100 Singles - May 26, 1969" (PDF).
- ↑ "RPM Top 100 Singles - September 27, 1969" (PDF).
- ↑ "RPM Top 100 Singles - December 13, 1969" (PDF).
- ↑ "Bill Deal And The Rhondels Discography". 45cat. Retrieved May 4, 2026.