THE KRACKERJACKS - "Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right" b/w "Girl" (Vampire Records — Acetate, 1967)

by Achille Brunet

What a cool acetate! And what a label!! Sold in 2019 for $3,383, this great rarity has never been issued nor compiled and I'm longing for the day I'll hear the full songs at last. So for now we'll have to be content with the excerpts, their cool story, and we'll take this opportunity to dive in the unusual case of Vampire studio as well...

The Krackerjacks formed first as The Cracker Jacks at Pleasantville High School near Atlantic City, New Jersey with Albert "Al" Eble (lead singer, from Northfield), Gerry Sharpe (lead guitar, from Northfield), Dave Lambert (rhythm guitar and vocals, from Northfield), Wayne Andress (bass, from Absecon) and Bob McArdle (drums, of Pleasantville).

Wayne Andress on guitar.

(Press of Atlantic City - March 29, 1962)

Wayne Andress played guitar and sang from the age of 9, performing solos from 1961 in sixth grade at New Jersey Avenue School in Absecon, NJ. Later at Pleasantville High, he formed and played with The Wayne Andress Group in May 1966 and was also accepted as second bass in the New Jersey All State Chorus. Dave Lambert was previously in another Atlantic City band called Lincoln And The Continentals in July 1966.

The band likely formed at the start of the school year in Sept 1966, likely evolving out of The Wayne Andress Group since it was said later they formed in 1965. The first known appearance of The Cracker Jacks was at the Hullabaloo Scene dance club in Pleasantville on Sept 30, 1966. The band was managed by James "Jim" Edward Throckmorton, a distributor of lubricants for cars and music producer working between Allentown, NJ and Pennsylvania, with a foot in Atlantic City, NJ.

(Press of Atlantic City - Jan 6, 1967)

From November, the band adopted the Krackerjacks spelling and was back at the Hullabaloo Scene on the 2nd. The band was good enough to attract the attention of RCA Victor through their manager, and on Nov 30 it was announced they cut a demo tape titled "Try It" produced by Bernie Lowe, a composer and producer active in the record industry since at least the beginning of the 1950s and who also produced The Sidekicks on the same label at that time.

This first song was unfortunately never issued. While the band expected to be signed, it turned out RCA only offered a contract to lead singer Al Eble, the only member not in high school. The later preferred to stick with his pals and refused, which caused them to be dropped by Jim Throckmorton.

(Press of Atlantic City - March 17, 1967)

With no adult to supervise them, The Krackerjacks worked twice as hard at their nightly rehearsals, forcing Gerry Sharpe to quit his after-school job. In the first months of 1967, the band appeared at the Jerry Blavat Show, the Hullabaloo, Dewey's, the Liteen Week shop teen show and at Pleasantville and Mainland High Schools.

In January 1967, the band went to Vampire studio and cut two original tunes, "Girl" written by Gerry Sharpe, and "Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right" (title misspelled on the acetate) written by Dave Lambert.

Hear extracts of both sides.

Vampire was a recording studio set in the back of a barbershop at 1128 Atlantic Ave. in Atlantic City, NJ, operated by owner Leo Masucci, who was barber most of the week, and recording engineer for music and movies the rest of the time. His wife Kay occasionally helped.

Leo Masucci had emigrated from Alife, Italy in 1928 and settled as a barber. Filming as hobby at first, he was soon asked by local businessmen to shoot publicity films for them. First working at Tel-Ra studios in Philadelphia, Masucci soon set up his own studio in the back of his barbershop.

(Press of Atlantic City - July 17, 1966)

Masucci would open the recording studio every Wednesday, every evening after hours, and on Sundays by appointment only. In Sept 1966, Masucci had been the only one equipped to film The Beatles when they were in Atlantic City and made a 25min tape featurette for TV that was, according to him, broadcast even on British TV. 

In July 1966, produced by Jim Throckmorton, Dave Lambert's previous band Lincoln And The Continentals had also cut an acetate at Vampire studio. The acetate was apparently sent to New York companies but nothing came of it and no copies have surfaced to my knowledge.

Lincoln And The Continentals at Vampire Studio.

(Press of Atlantic City - July 17, 1966)

To note some online sources list Throckmorton as the co-owner of Vampire but the article I found on the studio mentioned mostly Masucci, and Throckmorton was billed only as producer.

Among the few acetates from the studio to have surfaced, most of them are pop, jazz and soul music but one reportedly fuzz/psych acetate by a yet unknown band billed as The National Gross Products is known to exist. Songs are "God Dam The Pusher Man" and "The Pusher".

Two area radio stations played "Girl" and "Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right" and out-of-town producers promised them the moon but nothing followed. In February 1967, Wayne Andress's father Charles M. Cohen, who had been in the background all the time, stepped in to manage them full-time.

From then on, the band practiced four or five times a week at Cohen's house at 311 Spruce Street in Absecon, considering gigs and constantly thinking of ways to improve the band. They appeared at many places, such as the Jerry Blavitt Record Hop in Ocean City, the Harvey Holiday Hop in Margate, the Elk's Hall in Vineland, the Absecon Youth Center, the Mainland Swim Club, ect., ect. and another half-dozen places among the more popular of the area, as well as countless private parties.

(Press of Atlantic City - March 19, 1967)

In March, thanks to an eulogistic article written by Sonny Schwartz in the Press of Atlantic City praising the band, they received many offers for gigs and a TV appearance. In April they appeared at the Alibi Lounge, then at Tony Mart's in Somers Point where they got regular jobs for the whole month.

The band attended several Battle Of The Bands, including the Holy Spirit High School Talent Show, and on March 22 at the Atlantic City Armory and ranked second at both.

(Press of Atlantic City - April 15, 1967)

On April 15 they appeared on TV on Channel 40 in Wildwood, and forgot an expensive piece of equipment at the station when they left. A frantic phone call was made and the band had the surprise to see their equipment returned to them through the cooperation of all the police departments along the way by police car relay!

From June 1967, The Krackerjacks became regulars at the 300 Lounge in Absecon where they stayed until the beginning of September. However, at the end of the month, lead singer Al Eble had left the band and accepted a long-term contract with Jubilee Records. Nothing came of it as far as I know.

(Press of Atlantic City - March 10, 1968)

The band kept playing at least another year. In the fall of 1967, Gerry Sharpe entered Atlantic Community College with the aim of becoming a history teacher. Wayne Andress started to make plans to leave for Rider College in the fall of 1968 to study business education and teaching. 

Despite missing Al Eble, the band still played at the Alibi Lounge and Tony Mart's and had a busy summer, with bookings at the Sea Horse Pier in Brigantine, NJ six nights a week and with a more psychedelic sound. The band likely disbanded during the summer of 1968.

Krackerjacks drawing that came 

with Sonny Schwartz's article.

(Press of Atlantic City - March 19, 1967)

After that, Gerry Sharpe was apparently the only member to keep up with music, first with The Sharptones, a country band later renamed Gerry Sharpe And The Country Gentlemen with a gig at the Split Rail Tavern in Cardiff and the Rascal Lounge in 1971. He was back at the Split Rail the next year with The Mullica River Boys, and in 1973 with The Country Comforts. That's the last I could find.

To note that a musical and comedy revue called Len Carries And His Krackerjacks was popular in New Jersey all through the sixties but they were in the Jersey City/Newark area and were not related.