The Soul Brothers - Wooly Bully Again
1965 –1966
(Continued beyond 1966 with A new group of musicians)

As with most Winston-Salem bands, when a musician leaves a band, a substitute was found. In some cases, the name of the band is changed.

All the members of The Soul Brothers came from previous bands. Who called who is not recorded in the annals of North Carolina band history.

The Soul Brothers recorded a 7” 33 1/3 RPM vinyl record with 6 songs on it.
Copies of that recording are still in existence.

At appearances they performed songs made famous by Junior Walker & The All Stars, The Seekers, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and other groups. If a song was playing on the radio, then it was most likely performed by The Soul Brothers.

Bookings:
Carolina Theater Saturday Morning Kiddie Show, Downtown A’ Go Go, Hennis Motor Company (Mt. Airy), Hill Junior High School, Moose Lodge (Mocksville), Parkway Chalet, Polo Grill, Salvation Army Kiddie Camp, The Gaslight

Band Members:
Sax & Manager - Frank Coleman
Guitars - Don Wishon, Frank Aldridge Jr., Bob Stewart
Bass – Jimmie Vestal, Richard Hege
Drums – Gene Berrier

New Band Members (1966-?)
Singer – Don Lane
Organ, Guitar – Dean Sykes
Lead Guitar – Doug Sealy
Sax _ Frank Coleman
Randy Lane – Bass
Drums – Gene Berrier

The Tu-Pairs (The Phil Blythe Combo) - no mp3 yet.

Phil Blythe was a well-known fabulous guitar player. For my part, I (Jimmie Vestal) performed with him in the 1963 to 1965 period. After I left, it can be assumed that he continued to perform until his death (Feb 2, 1983)

Bookings (1963-1965):
Frontier Supper Club, Hillcrest Supper Club, Le Chateau Restaurant, MooseLodge, National Guard Armory (Asheboro), Peppermint Junior, Sigma Phi Fraternity (East Carolina College, Greenville), Southwest School (Clemmons), The Tire Center, Winston-Salem Business College, WSJS TV – The Bob Gordon Show

Band Members:
Guitarist, Singer, and Manager - Phil Blythe
Sax – Danny Williams
Piano – Jim Smith, Ed Vernon
Bass – Jimmie Vestal
Drummer – Don McGee, Gene Berrier

Tommy Hailey and The Monotones - Olive Do The Popeye
1960 – 1964

On July 25, 1960, Reynolds High School 10th grader, Jimmie Vestal, meets singer, Tommy Hailey, at a Granville High School talent show.

Tommy visits Jimmie’s house on July 30 and he listens to some tapes of Tommy singing.

Tommy calls some musicians and they audition to form the band, Tommy Hailey & The Monotones.

Their first appearance was on September 10, at the Carolina Theater’s Saturday Morning Kiddie Show. They were booked every fourth Saturday thereafter. Payment was in the form of a monthly movie pass to attend movies at either the Carolina or Winston Theater.

The Twin City Sentinel, on Saturday evening, February 25, 1961 featured an article about the Carolina Theatre, and the bands performing there. It included two pictures of the band.

They did receive radio airplay through WTOB’s DJ, Dick Bennick. Recordings do exist of the band, but there were no vinyl 45 RPM records pressed and distributed for sale.

During their years together, they appeared at a number of venues, as catalogued below:

American Legion, Bill Ogburn’s Restaurant, The Babcock Mansion, Carolina Theater Saturday Morning Kiddie Show, Center Theater (High Point), Children’s Home, Churches, Civic Club, Cooleemee School, Dick Bennick’s (a WTOB DJ) Hi Fi Club dances In Winston-Salem and Kernersville, Dixie Classic Fair, Elk’s Club (Lexington), Forsyth Country Club, Frontier Supper Club, Glenn High School Hi-Y Dance, Grey High School, Hillcrest Supper Club, Jay’s Dance Land (Walnut Cove), Kernersville Community Center, Kernersville Dance Land, La Chateau Restaurant, Mountain Springs Restaurant, Navy Armory, North Elementary School, Northwest High School, Old Town Country Club, Pleasant Hill High School, Reynolds Building restaurant, Rock N’ Roll Review (Thomasville), Rudy’s Wooden Rail, Summit School, Tanglewood Barn Theater, Thunderbird Club, Tom Tom Supper Club (Greensboro), Wake Forest fraternity houses, Winston-Salem Business College, Y.M.C.A.

Band Members:
Manager: Frank Foy
Lead Singer – Tommy Hailey
Guitar – Billy Wilson
Sax – Jimmy Mandakis
Bass – Jimmie Vestal
Drummer – Ted Foy

Little Diesel - Kissy Boys - 1974
from the cd "No Lie"

Quite possibly THE most important reissue (if you can call it that) with serious NC roots. This album is a must have. Word on the street is, there might be some a reunion show in the near future. Play this LOUD!!!!

Below is a VERY brief paragraph taken from the band's web site. Go here and get the full story.

The Iceberg Theory of music history goes like this: the most potent stuff is always hidden below the surface, and if only we’d heard the music of J. S. Bach’s second cousin twice removed, all would be different. In the Winston-Salem, NC, rock scene of the early 1970s, Little Diesel was the stealth missile in the silo, the band that had the courage to play exactly how they wanted and what they wanted. The dB’s and Let’s Active were to hog history’s footnotes of the period, but Little Diesel are the ones who kick-started it all.

Band Members:

BOB NORTHCOTT
CHRIS STAMEY
CHRIS CHAMIS
PETER HOLSAPPLE
MITCH EASTER
PHIL THOMAS
TOMMY ESHELMAN
WILL RIGBY