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The Revels were an American rock band from California, associated with the 1960s surf music craze. They had hits with "Six Pak", and "Church Key" which was their most famous single.

Background

The group started in the mid-to-late 1950s as a high school band in San Luis Obispo, California. They were originally called Gil Serna & The Rockets before changing their name to The Revels in 1959. Although their instrumental style predated the 1961-65 era of surf music, their success came during that period.

They are usually considered a "pre-surf" band and were the original Central California coastal instrumental band. Other bands from the area later included the more popular groups named The Sentinals and The Impacts.

Some of The Revels singles were collected on their sole album, Revels on a Rampage (1964) which was produced by Anthony John Hilder with the assistance of Howard Bowers and Norman Knowles.

Their 1961 song "Comanche" which was written by Robert Hafner has been featured on two soundtracks. It first appeared as the "Detoured Theme" in The Exiles (1961). It was later included along with several other surf music hits on the soundtrack of the film, Pulp Fiction (1994).

The group had been playing and appearing locally since 1957. They were originally part of a larger San Luis Obispo High dance band. From that a smaller group was formed to play Rock 'n' Roll. Their career took off when Norman Knowles took over as leader and changed their name from Gil Serna and The Rockets to The Revels.

Gil Serna & The Rockets

They were five members who were part of an 18-piece San Luis Obispo high school dance band called The Dreamers. Breaking away from the band, they formed Gil Serna & The Rockets. This happened around Norman Knowles' third year at San Luis Obispo. He and the other members wanted to form their own combo to perform at dances and parties and make some money as well. An early line-up of the performing band Gil Serna & The Rockets, consisted of Serna on guitar, Sam Eddy on piano, Dan Darnold on guitar, Jim Macrae on drums and Knowles on sax. In 1957, there was a line up made up of Knowles, Serna, Jim Macrae, Darnold and Ron Fanunkin. With his graduation behind him and now a married man, Knowles was eventually elected as band leader in late 1958. Knowles was already handling a good deal of the band's bookings and business affairs. In early 1959, Knowles changed the name of the group to The Revels.

Members

• Dan Darnold: guitar, vocals
• Sam Eddy: piano
• Ron Fanunkin: saxophone
• Norman Knowles: saxophone
• Jim Macrae: drums
• Gil Serna: guitar
• Vince Tempesta drums
• Dave Davis guitar

The Revels

Career

In October 1959, the group released "Six Pak" bw "Good Grief" on Lynn 1302. The A side was written by Norman Knowles who had been inspired by Dan Darnold's reputation for drinking a beer in just four seconds.

Early in 1960, The Revels were in San Luis Obispo at a Chevrolet dealership, playing for a March of Dimes benefit. Tony Hilder had come into town to promote Billy Watkins and Charles Wright who were two of his artists. He was looking for a band to back his artists while on tour. Knowles wanted Hilder to think about The Revels as the backing band. Not that impressed, Hilder didn't consider them but still left his business card. The second time meeting Hilder was in the summer of 1960. The group had driven down to LA to record at a small studio located on the corner of Santa Monica and Western for what was their second recording session. The session wasn't going too good for the group so Knowles decided to ring Hilder to come over to help them with the experience he had. Soon Hilder arrived with Robert Hafner who was his partner and songwriter. Hilder was focused on guitarist Dan Darnold's playing around with the vibrato bar. Hafner helped with a melody centering around a hook with the vibrato. An arrangement was developed and later the title "Church Key" was given to the piece. Barbara Adkins, Hilder's girlfriend and future wife provided the giggles on the recording. Among the other tunes that Robert Hafner brought with him was "Vesuvius". The band learned it there and recorded it. Not having a label of his own at the time, Hilder and Norman Knowles started their own company as partners, splitting the costs as well as the profits.

In 1960, the group released "Vesuvius" bw "Church Key" on Tony Hilder's CT label. A single release on the same label by another artist could cause confusion as to that which act had the first release on the label as they share similar catalogue numbers. The catalogue number for "Vesuvius" bw "Church Key" on CT was 1-IM, 1-IMX. The other artist was Vi Hall. The release by Hall was a Robert Hafner, K.C. Reeth composition, "Endless Love" bw "It's Graduation Time", with the catalogue numbers, CT C-1, C-1X. In 1960, "Church Key" bw "Vesuvius" was released this time on Impact Impact 1-IM, 1-IMX. It was credited to The Revels with Barbara Adkins. The track featured an emotionless "Church Key", announcement, the sound of a beer can being opened and giddy laughter by Adkins. The August 1960 issue of Cashbox Magazine reported that Al Chapman of Modern Distributing had high expectations for a couple of singles. One of them was "Church Key" and the other was a release on the Spry label, "Tall Quiet Stranger", by Nick Green and Don Jackson. Later that year, Impact Records said in the November 26 issue of Cashbox that the track was starting to click in several midwest areas. In the December 24 issue of Cashbox, it was noted that The Gonzos had their version out on the Donna label and gave it a B+ rating while The Revels were making some noise with theirs. "Church Key" became a hit for The Revels.

Also in 1960, Serna left the band to join the Coast Guard. He was replaced by guitarist Save Davis.

In 1961, they released two singles, "Intoxica" bw "Tequila" and "Rampage" bw "Comanche", both on Impact. Then there was "It's Party Time" bw "Soft Top", released on Impact 13-IM, 13-IMX.

In 1962, they had another Impact single, "Revellion" bw "Conga Twist", which was their last Impact single release. Later that year was reported in the December 1, issue of Cashbox that Nico Records had acquired an instrumental of theirs from the Daco label. Nico records which had offices in Dallas and Hollywood was headed by Bobby Boris Pickett, Ned Ormand and R.B. Chris Christensen. The instrumental by The Revels was to be Nico's first release. They had some other singles were released on different labels, they were "Intoxica" bw "Comanche" on Downey D-123 and "It's Party Time" bw "Soft Top" on Westco WC-3. In 1962, following their involvement with The Exiles, the group was looking to secure a deal for a film that they would star in. Sam Eddy had also taken over from Norman Knowles as the band leader. Then in late 1962, Eddy and Dean Sorensen were drafted into the military. Knowles had also left the group to pursue his own ventures. This signalled the end of the group.

In 1964, their album On a Rampage was released on Impact LP-IMX.

Later years

Norman Knowles, who co-owned the Westco record label with Tony Hilder, moved into management, managing The Sentinals. In addition to being their manager, he had also been a member of the group. By 1966, he was out of the music business and was branch manager of an oil company. In 1989, he was working as an Amtrak ticket agent, and had his own 200-acre ranch near King City in the central California area. In the 1990s, he was involved in music again, playing on Merrell Fankhauser's 1991 California Live album. By the mid-1990s, he was a member of the reformed version of The Centurians. In 1997 he played on "Devils Tail" a track from the Bustin' Surfboards '97 album for The Tornados, on the

Serna would later become an actor. He appeared as Lt. Suarez in Che! in 1969. Also in television shows such as The Wild Wild West, episode "The Night of the Spanish Curse" in 1969 as Fernandez, and in the 1970s with Kojak, episode " Requiem for a Cop" as Sandro, Police Story, episode "The Man in the Shadows" as Luis Ortega and others.

In 1990, Sam Eddy was contacted by a friend from Chicago, Jim Fichter who was hoping to get a copy of their original LP, Rampage. This started off something and Eddy was able to contact Dean Sorensen and Norman Knowles. Then with minimal effort involved, they were playing night clubs, county fairs, car club meetings as well as shows. In 1993, Eddy was again contacted again by Fichter who put him in touch with Bob Irwin of Sundazed music. Just like Irwin had done with John Hodge, manager for The Pyramids and their recordings, the same was done for Intoxica! The Best Of The Revels, which was released on Sundazed LP 5010 in 1994 with the assistance of Eddy, Norman Knowles and Tony Hilder.

James "Sticks" Edward Macrae aka Jim Macrae died on January 12, 2017.

Band members

• Norman Knowles (saxophone)
• Dan Darnold (rhythm guitar, 1959–60)
• Merrell Fankhauser (rhythm guitar)
• Brian England (bass)
• Sam Eddy (piano)
• Jim Macrae (drums)
• Gil Serna (lead guitar, 1959)
• Dave Davis (lead guitar, 1960)
• Dean Sorensen (lead guitar, 1961–62)
• Paul Sorensen (rhythm guitar, 1960–62)
• Vince Tempesta (drums, 1962)

Discography

References

1. AllMusic - The Revels, Intoxica!!! The Best of the Revels, AllMusic Review by Cub Koda
2. Real Life Rock: The Complete Top Ten Columns, 1986-2014, By Greil Marcus - Page 403 9 = The Exiles, directed by Kent McKenzie (Milestone) and Revels, Intoxica! (Sundazed)
3. The Tribune, March 01, 2012 - Surf music: SLO County's radical history - Patrick S. Pemberton
4. The Golden Age of Rock Instrumentals, by Steven Otfinoski - Page 142
5. The Tribune, March 01, 2012 - Surf music: SLO County's radical history - Patrick S. Pemberton
6. Discogs - The Revels – On A Rampage
7. AllMusic - The Revels, Revels on a Rampage
8. The Chicago Tribune, December 3, 1995 - ROCK 'N' ROLL MEMORIES By Ken Davis
9. Billboard, May 8, 1961 - Page 4 Hollywood
10. The Chicago Tribune, December 3, 1995 - ROCK 'N' ROLL MEMORIES By Ken Davis
11. California Gold Coast Dreamin' - The Revels
12. Rolling Stone -- Surf Music and Seventies Soul: The Songs of ‘Pulp Fiction’
    Take a song-by-song tour of the groundbreaking film’s bestselling soundtrack, 'Pulp Fiction,' A to Z, The Revels, ‘Comanche’
13. Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock 'n' Roll's Last Stand in Hollywood, Domenic Priore - Page 1961
14. The Golden Age of Rock Instrumentals, Steven Otfinoski - Page 142
15. Intoxica!, The Best Of The Revels - Sundazed Music SC 11020 CD booklet, Page 3 An Introduction by Sam Eddy of The Revels - Sam Eddy (August 1994)
16. Intoxica!, The Best Of The Revels - Sundazed Music SC 11020 CD booklet, Page 4 It's Party Time, Norman Knowles and The Revels
17. Intoxica!, The Best Of The Revels - Sundazed Music SC 11020 CD booklet, Page 4 It's Party Time, Norman Knowles and The Revels, 1957 pre-Revels:
18. Intoxica!, The Best Of The Revels - Sundazed Music SC 11020 CD booklet, Page 5 It's Party Time, Norman Knowles and The Revels
19. 45Cat - The Revels (California) - Discography, Six Pak / Good Grief Lyn 1302
20. Surf & Hot Rod Music of the 60's: Collectors Quick Reference, By R. Duane Cozzen - Page 103 THE REVELS, Singles (45's)
21. The Golden Age of Rock Instrumentals, Steven Otfinoski - Page 142
22. Intoxica!, The Best Of The Revels - Sundazed Music SC 11020 CD booklet, Page 7 It's Party Time, Norman Knowles and The Revels
23. Intoxica!, The Best Of The Revels - Sundazed Music SC 11020 CD booklet, Page 8 It's Party Time, Norman Knowles and The Revels
24. Who Put the Bomp, No.14, Fall 1975 - Page 13 "The Tony Hilder Story" by John Blair & Bill Smart - CT LABEL
25. Popsike - Rare Surf 45 The Revels ' Church Key ' on CT from 1960
26. The Illustrated Discography of Surf Music, 1961-1965, John Blair - Page 65
27. Popsike - West Coast TEEN R&R VI HALL Endless Love/It's Graduation Time CT 1 M- HEAR BOTH
28. Popsike - VI HALL: Endless Love / It's Graduation Time 45 (red wax, obscure Teen, plays f
29. Who Put the Bomp, No.14, Fall 1975 - Page 13 "The Tony Hilder Story" by John Blair & Bill Smart - CT LABEL
30. Discogs - The Revels – Vesuvius / Church Key
31. Popsike - Rare Surf 45 The Revels ' Church Key ' on CT from 1960
32. The Illustrated Discography of Surf Music, 1961-1965, John Blair - Page 65
33. Popsike - West Coast TEEN R&R VI HALL Endless Love/It's Graduation Time CT 1 M- HEAR BOTH
34. Popsike - VI HALL: Endless Love / It's Graduation Time 45 (red wax, obscure Teen, plays f
35. Who Put the Bomp, No.14, Fall 1975 - Page 13 "The Tony Hilder Story" by John Blair & Bill Smart - CT LABEL
36. 45Cat - The Revels (California) - Discography
37. Surf & Hot Rod Music of the 60's: Collectors Quick Reference, By R. Duane Cozzen - Page 103 THE REVELS, Singles (45's)
38. Billboard, November 21, 1960 - Page 54 Reviews of THIS WEEK'S SINGLES
39. Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961-1963, By James B. Murphy - Page 260
40. Global Dog Productions - 45 Discography for Spry Records
41. Cashbox, August 27, 1960 - Page 20 Ramblings, LOS ANGELES:
42. Cashbox, November 26, 1960 - Page 43 Record Rambings, LOS ANGELES:
43. Cashbox, December 24, 1960 - Page 14 Record Reviews, THE GONZOS (Donna 1330)
44. New West, Volume 6, Issues 5-9, 1981 - Real Life Rock * Greil Marcus, The First Wave
45. Surfin' Guitars: Instrumental Surf Bands of the Sixties, Robert J. Dalley - Page 259
46. Real Life Rock: The Complete Top Ten Columns, 1986-2014, By Greil Marcus - Page 403 9 = The Exiles, directed by Kent McKenzie (Milestone) and Revels, Intoxica! (Sundazed)
47. Intoxica!, The Best of The Revels - Sundazed Music SC 11020 CD booklet, Page 7 It's Party Time, Norman Knowles and The Revels
48. Popsike - 1SS IMPACT 13 THE REVELS SURF ITS PARTY TIME SOFT TIM
49. Who Put the Bomp, No.14, Fall 1975 - Page 3 "The Tony Hilder Story" by John Blair & Bill Smart, TONY HILDER DISCOGRAPHY, IMPACT SINGLES
50. Surf & Hot Rod Music of the 60's: Collectors Quick Reference, By R. Duane Cozzen - Page 103 THE REVELS, Singles (45's)
51. Who Put the Bomp, No.14, Fall 1975 - Page 3 "The Tony Hilder Story" by John Blair & Bill Smart, TONY HILDER DISCOGRAPHY, IMPACT SINGLES
52. Cashbox, December 1, 1962 - Page 30B Pickett A Partner In New Disk Firm
53. 45Cat - The Revels (California) - Discography
54. Intoxica! The Best Of The Revels, Sundazed Music SC 11020, 1994 - Page 8 - John Blair author of The Illustrated Discography of Surf Music, 1961-1965
55. Surf & Hot Rod Music of the 60's: Collectors Quick Reference, by R. Duane Cozzen - THE REVELS, Albums (LP's)
56. Who Put the Bomp, No 15, Spring 1976 - Page 42 SURF THEORY FOR THE SEVENTIES
57. The Illustrated Discography of Surf Music, 1961-1965, Compiled by John Blair - Page 71
58. Surfin' Guitars: Instrumental Surf Bands Of The Sixties, Robert J. Dalley - Page 149
59. The Illustrated Discography of Surf Music, 1961-1965, Compiled by John Blair - Page 71
60. Surfin' Guitars: Instrumental Surf Bands Of The Sixties, Robert J. Dalley - Page 263
61. The Los Angeles Times, Friday, January 6, 1989 - Reunion Discussed : Former Surf Musicians See a New Wave of Popularity - By GERALD FARIS
62. Reverb Central - Merrell Fankhauser - California Live
63. Surf Bands of the Sixties (Second Edition), by Robert J. Dalley - ISBN 1560750421, 9781560750420 - Page 53
64. The Centurions Surf Band, Myspace - Photos
65. The San Bernardino County Sun, Friday, May 23, 1997 - The Tornadoes busy 'Bustin' Surfboards' again By JASON FOSTER
66. Osobnosti.cz - Filmografie – Gil Serna
67. TV.com - Gil Serna, Credits
68. Intoxica!, The Best Of The Revels - Sundazed Music SC 11020 CD booklet, Page 3 An Introduction by Sam Eddy of The Revels - Sam Eddy (August 1994)
69. Billboard, August 10, 1995 - Page 87 REVERSE TAKEOFF: SURF'N'ROD MUSIC REVIVALS INTENSIFIES
70. Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records: 1950-1975, Tim Neely - Page 1004
71. Legacy.com - James Edwards "Sticks" Macrae, Obituary (Published in San Luis Obispo County Tribune on Jan. 22, 2017)
72. Surf & Hot Rod Music of the 60's: Collectors Quick Reference, By R. Duane Cozzen - Page 103 THE REVELS
73. 45Cat - The Revels (California) - Discography, USA
74. Discogs - CT (3)
75. Popsike - Rare Surf 45 The Revels ' Church Key ' on CT from 1960
76. Surf & Hot Rod Music of the 60's: Collectors Quick Reference, By R. Duane Cozzen - Page 103 THE REVELS
77. 45Cat - The Revels (California) - Discography, USA
78. Popsike - Guiseppi Apollo & The Revels Bright Star / All Because IMPACT RARE Teen SURF EX
79. Who Put the Bomp, No.14, Fall 1975 - Page 3 "The Tony Hilder Story" by John Blair & Bill Smart, TONY HILDER DISCOGRAPHY, IMPACT SINGLES
80. Roots Vinyl Guide - REVELS revillion conga twist
81. Roots Vinyl Guide - 1d THE REVELS WITH ROBERT HAFNER THE MONKEY BIRD REVELLION GARAGE SURF ROCK
82. Discogs - Sam Eddy (2) With The Revels – Skip To My Lou / Lonely Walk
83. Surf & Hot Rod Music of the 60's: Collectors Quick Reference, By R. Duane Cozzen - Page 103 THE REVELS
84. 45Cat - The Revels (California) - Discography, USA
85. Surf & Hot Rod Music of the 60's: Collectors Quick Reference, By R. Duane Cozzen - Page 103 THE REVELS
86. Discogs - The Revels – Intoxica! The Best Of The Revels
87. MusicBrainz - Intoxica!!! The Best of the Revels

External links

• Discogs.com The Revels at Discogs
• Exiles film website
• The Revels biography by Michael Jack Kirby at Way Back Attack

• Rock music groups from California
• American surf music groups
• American instrumental rock musical groups
• Impact Records (California) artists
• Sundazed Records artists