RICK'S CONTINENTALS
Meridian, Mississippi band
Rick's Continentals Band had its' reunion in Meridian, MS., the weekend of April 28 - 29th 2012.
The website link below has been updated with video from the 60s and our '60s recording
made at RAP Records studio in Meridian of "Wipeout".
The Continentals were formed by Stan Suire of New Orleans, Louisiana after he and his family relocated to Meridian, Mississippi while he was still in his late teens. The band started out performing at school dances, regional talent shows, teen events and other local venues. They rapidly developed a local following of teenaged fans which expanded to include adults as time passed. They won several talent shows and eventually acquired full time manager, promoter and producer, Richard “Rip” Coard to help the band achieve new heights. Rick Spence, a talented singer from New York joined the group in 1965. Spence, who had previously performed with The Kingsmen (which later became The Lovin’ Spoonful), brought strong vocal talent to the group and was able to sing in a wide variety of music styles from the old standards of the era including blues, soul and of course Rock & Roll. The band soon changed their name to Rick’s Continentals.
You Can Live It Up”
became a nationwide hit and was played on radio stations throughout the
United States gaining considerable popularity on the east coast. “You Can Live It Up” peaked at No. 67 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart and remained on the Hot 100 Chart for 7 weeks.
Showing off their legs
Regionally, “You Can Live It Up” reached No. 1 on Top 40 Tunedex surveys (the most requested songs) and remained in the Top 40 for weeks. Under the management of Richard “Rip” Coard, the group became popular performing concerts, radio and television broadcasts throughout Mississippi and other southern states. They were the featured entertainment for the Junior Miss America Pagent in 1967. Two of the bands singles, “I Don't Know” and “Who Are My Friends” featured Paul Davis on keyboards which was one of his earliest recordings. Paul Davis would release his first two singles on the same Recording Artists Productions (RAP) record label only weeks later. The singles were, “It's Over My Head” and “I Gotta Find A Way”. Davis had his first American Top 10 single with the slow ballad "I Go Crazy," which peaked at #7 in 1978. "I Go Crazy" spent 40 weeks on Billboards Hot 100, which at the time set the single-song record for most consecutive weeks on the chart in the rock era.George Soule was instrumental in Rick's Continentals record productions and also played the drums on one of the bands singles. In 1967, Richard “Rip” Coard announced in a press release that he was in contract negotiations with Capitol Records for the acquisition of Rick's Continentals single, “You Can Live it Up” and there was promise that the group might land a contract with this Music giant. Unfortunately, the contract with Capitol Records never materialized. The group went on to produce several promotional recordings for marketing and distribution and during the hieght of the bands popularity, traveled extensively and performed throughout the southern states at college concerts and toured with popular recording artists of the day. They performed an unscheduled, spontaneous beach concert in Orange Beach-Gulf Shores, Alabama using acoustic guitars to a standing room only crowd and appeared at countless autograph parties where the artists signed copies of their records and performed live for their fans.
Rick's Continentals ... A Southern Rock & Roll band (originally known as The Continentals). This Mississippi Band was prominent during the mid 1960s best known for their hits ”Live It Up” and ” I Don’t Know”. The group’s home was Meridian, Mississippi. The band members were; Stan Suire, Ray Vaughn, Bob Minnis, Darrell Ross and Rick Spence. The Continentals met in high school and began playing together in the mid 60s. Eventually teaming with Rick Spence, the band name changed to Rick's Continentals. Rick had previously played with the Kingsmen in New York before they gained fame as The Lovin Spoonful. The Continentals Band was active throughout the southeast in concerts, private bookings and television broadcasts from 1965–1968 and were the featured entertainment in the 1967 Junior Miss America Pagent. They performed Southern Style Rock & Roll, Pop, Classic Rock, Instrumentals, Soul and classic standard music. Rick’s Continentals Band [1] was contemporary with groups like Paul Davis and the Endless Chain, David And The Giants, John Fred And The Playboys and The Jagged EDJ. The band recorded with Paul Davis and George Soule [2] on their first two records and toured with Jimmy Ellidge [3] performing his great hits.
Their Smash Hit, Live It Up, played throughout the country gaining considerable popularity in the southeast and the northeast US. Live It up reached No. 67 on the nations Top 100 Billboard charts and remained in the top 100 for 7 weeks. In other regional locations in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida panhandle and Louisiana, Live It Up reached No. 1 on these local area Top 40 Tunedex surveys (the most requested songs) and remained in the Top 40 listings for weeks. Under the management of Rip Cord, the group became popular performing in concerts, radio and television broadcasts throughout Mississippi and other southern areas. They were the featured entertainment for the Junior Miss America Pagent in 1967. Their second smash hit, I Don’t Know backed by Who Are My Friends featured Paul Davis playing organ for the group on his first record recording. Paul Davis released his first two songs on the RAP label a few weeks later, It’s Over My Head and I Gotta Find A Way. George Soule was instrumental in Rick’s Continentals recording and music productions playing drums on one of the bands recordings and producing another record. In 1967 Richard Cord, the bands manager, announced in a press release that he was in contract negotiations with Capitol Records for their acquisition of Rick’s Continentals song, Live it Up and there was promise that the group would land a contract with this Music giant. The contract with Capitol Records never materialized.
The Band Members
Rick Spence/Daryll Ross
Bob Minnis/Stan Suire
George Soule/Ray Vaughn
The Recordings
These songs were originally recorded by Rick’s Continentals in Meridian, Mississippi at Recording Artists Productions studios owned by Robert Reetz. They are embedded here for the enjoyment of everyone who desires to listen. All four recordings have been digitized and professionally remastered. Who Are My Friends and I Don’t Know have been remastered from the original studio masters which were recently discovered and graciously donated by Sandy Reetz, wife of studio owner Robert (Bob) Reetz. However, You Can Live It Up and Cold Lonely Winter were remastered from 40+ year old vinyl 45s. Expect the audio quality to reflect the source.
Check out these links for Rick's Continentals"
(Info and pics courtesy of Ray Vaughn)