Biography
Tampa garage band the Soul Trippers came together in 1964, featuring singer John DeLise, guitarists Buddy Richardson and Ronnie Vaskovsky, bassist Ronnie Elliot, and drummer Spencer Hinkle. The musicians had previously worked together as the Outsiders, cutting a 1966 version of Eddie Cochran’s classic “Summertime Blues” that proved regionally popular enough to secure them a deal with Laurie Records’ Providence imprint. To sidestep clashes with countless other Outsiders groups worldwide, the label urged the Tampa musicians to adopt the Soul Trippers name. Their July 1966 Providence release, a blues-punk treatment of James Moore’s “I’m a King Bee,” followed. The Fuzz, Acid & Flowers website reports that the single moved 20,000 copies until programmers learned the Soul Trippers were actually five white musicians, prompting many stations to yank the track from their playlists. That episode of reverse racism accelerated the group’s breakup; afterward Richardson and Elliot joined forces in Noah’s Ark, while DeLise later appeared with the Rovin’ Flames.