by Achille Brunet
Compiled no less than three times,—all in 1989 and surprisingly never again since,—on such LPs as Glimpses Vol. 4 or Follow That Munster! Vol. 1, "I'm Going" by The Quantrill Raiders is, to my ear, a classic. Yet, not much has been said about the band itself. Let's unearth some clippings...
Formed in 1965 in Middleburg Heights, Ohio (southwest from Cleveland), The Quantrill Raiders actually began as The Trohls, and would be known as such for most of their existence.
The lineup, as of March 1967, included three brothers, Larry Cox (lead vocals and bass guitar, 17), Danny Cox (lead guitar, 16) and Mike Cox (drums, 15), along with Dennis Webb (organ, 15) and Roland Solomon (guitar and backing vocals, 15).
(The Cleveland Press - Oct 21, 1966)
The members were then probably between 13 and 15 years old when they started the band. In 1967, Larry and Danny attended Midpark High School, Mike and Dennis attended Middleburg Junior High and Roland went to Parma High School.
The earliest Trohls gig I could find was on Sept 2, 1965 at the Southland Shopping Center in Middleburg Heights. According BuckeyeBeat, the band soon gained a large following on the local dance scene and in Cleveland, including by future Dead Boys member William James Wilden aka Jimmy Zero.
(The Cleveland Press - Sept 23, 1966)
By July 1966, they were included in the Best Bands Ballot, a contest organized by The Cleveland Press in order to elect the five best bands in Cleveland, along with important local names such as The Baskerville Hounds (aka The Tulu Babies), The City Squires (future Gregorians on ABC), The Epics (of "White Collar House"), The G.T.O.'s (aka Joey & The Continentals), The Missing Lynx (of "Behind Locked Doors"), The Outsiders (of the classic "Time Won't Let Me"), The Twilighters (on Bell Records), Bocky & The Visions (of "Spirit Of '64"), or The Tree Stumps (of the unreleased "Dark As Night"); only to name a few. Muther's Oats Quintet, an unrecorded combo, won the contest but The Trohls ranked sixth, just after The Outsiders who took the fifth place.
From Sept 1966, The Trohls appeared several times at the Casa Di Baron restaurant in Parma Heights and The Note in Ruggles Beach until November, when they changed their name to The Millstone Pebbles. Only one gig was advertised under that name and they were back as The Trohls in February 1967.
The Trohls at the Rolling Stone Club
(The Cleveland Press - Apr 4, 1967)
The band was then regularly booked at the Rolling Stone Club on Brookpark Road in Cleveland, where The Music Machine had also appeared. The band was apparently known for the comic antics of the three brothers on stage. An article published in March described what seemed to be the typical end of a Trohls concert at the Club.
"Danny and Larry spray shaving lotion right in their little brother's face, Mike, who keeps right on drumming until he becomes weak, then his big brothers come on stage and cheer him up with Cheerios. At the end, he throws his drumsticks up in the air. Larry is the perfectionist of the group, Danny comes up with the showmanship gimmicks."
(The Plain Dealer - March 17, 1967)
The article also mentioned Danny wrote the songs for the band, including one called "I'm A Fool". That song was never recorded nor released to my knowledge. Reportedly, one of their antics also included a vacuum cleaner, without further details. The band also appeared around that time at The Lantern in Berea on the Paul Revere And The Raiders program.
During the following months, the band had many gigs at the Rolling Stone, as well at Padua Franciscan High School, St. Edward High, the Hullabaloo in North Ridgeville, the Boston Mills Ski Lodge, Chagrin Armory, The Stable in Painesville, the "In" Spot, sometimes opening for The Rationals and The Choir.
In June 1967, they got a regular job at the Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio where they appeared until the end of July, also playing at the Wildwood Lake Sand Dance and the Mentor Hullabaloo during the summer, and It's Boss in September.
After that date, news about the band became sparser. They changed their name to The Quantrill Raiders likely around late 1967/early 1968, when the group recorded their great lone single at Audio Recording Studios in Cleveland, engineered by Don White.
"I'm Going", an original written by Danny Cox, is the standout side with fast pace and slower parts, though both sides are great garage rockers with fuzz and organ. The flip side, though being more pop and a cover, has a great riff and remains uncompiled.
The single was produced by Don (Dante) Rossi of The Tulu Babies/Baskerville Hounds, through whom they most likely obtained their flip side "Sad Eyed Lady". The song was an original by Baskerville Hounds organist Doug McCutcheon (also the writer of their Hit single "Hurtin' Kind" as The Tulu Babies). They had included "Sad Eyed Lady" on their 1967 album on Dot Records, as The Baskerville Hounds. By then, Doug was out of the group and in the service.
The Quantrill Raiders single was issued in January 1968 and doesn't seem to have made much noise. The only gig I could find under their new name was at the Brunswick Hullabaloo that same month. They reportedly disbanded not long after that same year.
I couldn't find much on the members after that. After the band broke up, at least Danny Cox and Roland Solomon went on to play in The Baskerville Hounds. Danny Cox later joined a group called Happy Daze and then Freewheelin' in 1974-76. Solomon was also in the early 1970s post-Baskerville Hounds band Raintree. Around 1975, he also joined Rainbow Canyon.
More information would be appreciated.
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Sources include articles published in The Cleveland Press and The Plain Dealer, as well as the account on the band at buckeyebeat.com.
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