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.

THE CLIQUE from Red Bank, New Jersey (1962-1969)

by Achille Brunet

(The Daily Register - Dec 27, 1965)

Even if they never released anything at the time, The Clique from Red Bank, New Jersey were nevertheless one of the most popular acts in Monmouth County as part of the same scene as Bruce Springsteen's The Castiles or The Mods, also playing regularly in New York, and almost made it on wax no less than three times! Let's uncover some archives...

The Clique were first formed in Red Bank in the early 60s as The Velveliers by John Presti, Emil Talarico, Jimmy Scott and Nick Migliaccio. The band members were around 15 and the band attended school dances.

Emil's brother, Vinnie Talarico (aka "Little Vinnie"), started to perform with them around 1962 as he was only 9. At first, Vinnie's inclusion was only a gimmick for his older brother's band. "I was about six years younger than they were," Vinnie recalled in 1977, "so they asked me to come along and try to sing on stage. I'd sing about four or five songs before I'd get tired and have to go home, but it got them jobs."

(The Daily Register - July 17, 1964)

In July 1964, the band had become a quintet with Vinnie becoming a constant member of the band. Nick Migliaccio had left and been replaced by Mel Taylor on sax. When members started to drift apart after the summer, Little Vinnie took up lead singing. Several members attended Red Bank High School.

In the fall of 1964, the lineup that would be The Clique had solidified with John Presti (bass guitar, of New Shrewsbury), Vinnie Talarico (lead singer, of Red Bank), Emil Talarico (drums, of Red Bank) and Jimmy Scott (lead guitar, of Middletown) and the band added Nick Soviero of Little Silver on keyboards.

(The Daily Register - June 11, 1965)

The band appeared at the Old Mill in Spring Lake, the Holiday Inn in Long Branch, the Shrewsbury Yacht Club in Oceanport, CYO dances, and numerous schools and private parties. At that point, they could play a variety of styles ranging from rock'n'roll to jazz, dixieland and even foxtrot.

The band changed name to The Clique around May 1965, when they provided the dance music at a Church 'Crowning' in Eatontown. They also played for the opening of the Teendezvous country club in Red Bank in June and soon played two nights a week throughout the summer. They would appear there until the late 1960s.

(The Daily Register - July 16, 1965)

The band was managed by John Muller and Mark Finucane of New Shrewsbury and soon became one of the best bands North of Ashbury Park. On July 16, the band was sponsored by Teendezvous owner J. Kelsey Burr, Jr. to play at the New Jersey pavilion of the World's Fair in New York and played twice on WNYC as part as Mrs. Laurence Taylor's program "Worlds Fair Spotlights".

The band also met with Columbia records and announced two songs written by Jimmy Scott, "1965" and "The Clique", would be recorded for a single, but no release followed.

In December, the band attended the Teenage Band of 1965 contest in St. Joseph School in Keyport along with 15 other bands from the area, including The Inmates that would soon release "You Tell Lies' on Columbia. Jury included Brian Epstein. More than 1,200 teenagers flooded the place.

Little Vinnie holds trophy.

(The Daily Register - Dec 31, 1965)

The Clique won first place, grabbing the $200 cash prize and engraved trophy. The jury praised their showmanship and originality of arrangement for "What Love Has Joined Together", "I'm Down" and "It's My Life". The Inmates ranked second. (The story goes that The Mods were also part of a contest that The Clique won, but it wasn't that one, unless they went by another name at that point.)

In 1966, the band left the area in order to pursue their performing career. Though four members had finished High School, the band confined their performances to weekends to allow 13-year-old Vinnie to complete his education.

(The Keyport Weekly - May 5, 1966)

During the next three months, The Clique appeared at the Park-Sheraton Hotel and Downtown Club in New York, at Rutgers University, and various other clubs and discotheques in New York and New Jersey including the Sound Room, Dover, and occasionally coming back at the Teendezvous. 

They also attended recording sessions in January and it was announced in February that a single had been recorded and would be released March or April. The plan likely fell flat again as it was never mentioned again after March.

(The Daily Register - May 27, 1966)

The band also planned a tour in Chicago and in Florida for the spring but apparently stayed in New Jersey, New York and Delaware, playing colleges and discotheques. In May, they were back at the Teendezvous for an anniversary party for the club, while still playing in New York. 

Vinnie also played solo performances at several Long Island beach clubs but not for long. "I had an opportunity to out on my own but I didn't take it. I guess I basically was afraid to leave my brother and the band," he recalled in 1977.

Around that time, The Clique changed manager for Paul D. Moroney of Matawan. The band signed with Nemperor Artists Ltd., a company founded by Brian Epstein and Nat Weiss (the guy who had brought The Beatles to the US) for managing artists. In July, the band gave news of a new upcoming record, produced by Brian Epstein and pop band The Cyrkle (of "Red Rubber Ball" fame) for a release planned in September. The A side was to be "There's Nothing Sacred Now".

The reworked Clique lineup.

(The Daily Register - Jan 10, 1967)

From September, the band started to play at the Hullabaloo dance club at the Oaks on Highway 35 in Middletown, a club where The Castiles started to play regularly as well. Other bands featured there included The Chlan, The Knack, The Teburys, 5 Of A Kind and The Caste. The Clique also attended dances in Eatontown and Matawan.

In November, the single was rescheduled for a release in early 1967 because of personnel changes in the group. John Presti was drafted and Jimmy Scott also left (presumably for the same reason). Jimmy Barr from Colts Neck was brought in in replacement. The new lineup shared the bill with The Mods (of "Ritual" and the Back From The Grave version of "Satisfaction") at the Surf 'N See Club in December.

On January 3, 1967, The Clique was back in studio and cut the only song by the band to have reached us for now at Dick Charles recording service in New York.

Information on this acetate are next to nothing, but despite the fact several bands roamed the country as The Clique at the time, several things point toward the New Jersey band, particularly the New York location and kiddie vocals that would perfectly fit Little Vinnie. It's difficult to be sure but it seems very likely. It's probably not one of the songs for the single, maybe intended album tracks or rehearsal.

The single was announced again for a national release in March. The band also opened a teen shop named after themselves on Little Street in Matawan where they sold records, pop art posters, teen fashions and items from Greenwich Village. The shop was operated by Moroney but the band regularly checked in. The shop remained open at least until July.

Clique manager Paul Moroney tries 

a "Clique tie" outside the band's shop.

(The Daily Register - Feb 21, 1967)

Unfortunately, an embarrassing silence regarding the single followed again and the release was likely cancelled. The band went on playing at the Hullabaloo and attended dances including a swim party at the YMCA's Camp Arrowhead in July along with The Mods and The Castiles in July.

From then on, news about The Clique became sparse. It was no more question of any release. The band came back to Camp Arrowhead for the summer of 1968 with bands like The Source, the Harlequins and the Castiles.

In September, the band attended a teen dance in St. Mary's Memorial Hall in Middletown, hosted by DJ and TV star Murray the 'K'. They kept playing teen and CYO dances until the end of the year.

(The Daily Register - July 6, 1967)

At the beginning of 1969, The Clique was back at the Teendezvous until June. Back at Arrowhead yet again for the summer, they shared the bill a couple of times with The Rusty Chains. 

By that point, the band featured only the Talarico brothers, plus Jim Scott who had apparently come back. Scott teached at the Red Bank School of Music until the late 1960s and also cut an unidentified record in New York City with John Cubbage (of the early 60s duo Denny & Jay) that was produced by Tommy Falcone. The Clique closed the season at Arrowhead with one last dance at the end of August.

(The Daily Register - Sept 30, 1966)

Organist Nick Soviero had went on with a band called Scaborough Fair. In late 1969 he joined The Source. The band played at the Teendezvous. The band had won four band contest prior to Nick's addition to the lineup.

The Clique then evolved into "Fate". Scott and the Talarico Brothers stuck together and they co-wrote songs from the early to mid-1970s. "Fate" also included Tom Zvoncheck and kept playing until 1975.

Vinnie Talarico graduated from Red Bank High School and majored for two years in acting at Brookdale Community College, while still perfoming each weekends in clubs. After "Fate", he was in a band called Skyline still with Jim Scott for about a year. He then became an extremely popular singer and entertainer at Resorts International hotel in Atlantic City. He passed away in 2019 at the age of 66. Emile Talarico passed in October 2024.

Sax player Mel Taylor seems to be still around and has a site HERE.

The Clique has also been lengthily evoked at garagehangover HERE in the comments under the Mods article.

Vinnie sings in New York clubs.

(The Daily Register - Oct 9, 1977)