Biography
Band of Oz ranked among the most enduring acts on the East Coast beach music circuit by the late 2000s, having logged more than four decades of performances. Sustained vitality came from a regular turnover of players that refreshed their style across the years, together with songwriters inside the lineup who enabled the addition of original material to the cover-heavy beach music catalog. A circle of elementary and junior high school friends established the group under the name the Avengers in Grifton, NC, in 1967. Anchored by Johnny Byrd on bass, Buddy Johnson on vocals, and Keith Houston on guitar, the ensemble concentrated on R&B and drew strong responses from local school audiences. Club bookings appeared from time to time, and growing demand prompted the addition of Freddy Tripp—later a member of the Embers—and Jimmy Smith on horns, which markedly widened their stylistic reach and song list. The Avengers name was retired in favor of Band of Oz by 1970, the same period in which Chuck French entered on trumpet.
National attention for beach music was then emerging, as evidenced by chart singles from the rival act Bill Deal & the Rhondells, and Band of Oz participated in the same regional surge while touring the Southeast corridor from the Carolinas into Florida. Still operating on a part-time basis, the group turned fully professional in 1976 with a roster that included Billy Bazemore on vocals, Chuck French on trumpet and vocals, Tripp, Bob Lynch on sax, Ronnie Forbes on keyboards, Shep Fields on bass, Houston, and David Hicks on drums. Their debut single, “Shaggin’,” co-written by Bazemore and Houston, appeared in 1978 and received heavy regional radio exposure. French supplied the follow-up single, “Star of My Life,” in 1979.
John Thompson on bass and vocals and Butch Barnes on sax entered the lineup in 1980. Two years later the fourth single, “Ocean Boulevard,” jointly written and produced by General Johnson of the Chairmen of the Board, expanded their visibility within beach music circles and directly prompted the recording of the debut album Keep Keepin’ It Up for Surfside. Further personnel adjustments brought David Franks onto keyboards. Barnes and Bazemore left during the mid-1980s, prior to the release of the second album One More Step, although Barnes rejoined in 1991. The third album, Let It Roll, surfaced in 1995 and featured the track “Shama Lama Ding Dong,” which earned People’s Choice Song of the Year honors at the Cammy Awards.
John Thompson later stepped away from live work and was succeeded first by Jerry West, who eventually moved to guitar, and then by Rick Strickland, whose tenure included contributions to the album Dancing in the Streets. David Franks resumed keyboard duties, after which Over the Rainbow appeared in 2003. That same year the band issued its first anthology, Early Years, comprising thirteen tracks from the late 1970s and early 1980s that had been remastered and remixed. Barnes departed once more in 2005, prompting the arrivals of Scott Fine on trombone and vocals, Tim Morris on trumpet and vocals, and Daniel Morris on saxophone and vocals. Co-founder Houston and longtime drummer Hicks continued to lead the ensemble, which maintained a schedule exceeding two hundred performance dates annually as of 2009.
National attention for beach music was then emerging, as evidenced by chart singles from the rival act Bill Deal & the Rhondells, and Band of Oz participated in the same regional surge while touring the Southeast corridor from the Carolinas into Florida. Still operating on a part-time basis, the group turned fully professional in 1976 with a roster that included Billy Bazemore on vocals, Chuck French on trumpet and vocals, Tripp, Bob Lynch on sax, Ronnie Forbes on keyboards, Shep Fields on bass, Houston, and David Hicks on drums. Their debut single, “Shaggin’,” co-written by Bazemore and Houston, appeared in 1978 and received heavy regional radio exposure. French supplied the follow-up single, “Star of My Life,” in 1979.
John Thompson on bass and vocals and Butch Barnes on sax entered the lineup in 1980. Two years later the fourth single, “Ocean Boulevard,” jointly written and produced by General Johnson of the Chairmen of the Board, expanded their visibility within beach music circles and directly prompted the recording of the debut album Keep Keepin’ It Up for Surfside. Further personnel adjustments brought David Franks onto keyboards. Barnes and Bazemore left during the mid-1980s, prior to the release of the second album One More Step, although Barnes rejoined in 1991. The third album, Let It Roll, surfaced in 1995 and featured the track “Shama Lama Ding Dong,” which earned People’s Choice Song of the Year honors at the Cammy Awards.
John Thompson later stepped away from live work and was succeeded first by Jerry West, who eventually moved to guitar, and then by Rick Strickland, whose tenure included contributions to the album Dancing in the Streets. David Franks resumed keyboard duties, after which Over the Rainbow appeared in 2003. That same year the band issued its first anthology, Early Years, comprising thirteen tracks from the late 1970s and early 1980s that had been remastered and remixed. Barnes departed once more in 2005, prompting the arrivals of Scott Fine on trombone and vocals, Tim Morris on trumpet and vocals, and Daniel Morris on saxophone and vocals. Co-founder Houston and longtime drummer Hicks continued to lead the ensemble, which maintained a schedule exceeding two hundred performance dates annually as of 2009.
Albums
