Biography
Although admirers included Elvis Presley and Phil Spector, and they scored a major regional success in Memphis, the Guilloteens remain relatively overlooked among mid-1960s garage bands. This neglect is surprising, since the group ranked among the stronger acts of the style and stood out as one of the finest from the South, a region that generated fewer garage outfits per capita than the primary hotbeds of the sound. Their comparative lack of attention may reflect their broader stylistic range, which blended notable amounts of blue-eyed soul, pop, and folk-rock with the expected British Invasion and boisterous frat rock elements.
The Guilloteens originated in 1964 after Louis Paul, Laddie Hutcherson, and Joe Davis had been performing with the touring edition of the Mar-Keys. One evening when the horn section and singers failed to appear, the three musicians played as a trio and subsequently decided to establish their own band. Growing local popularity attracted a following that encompassed Elvis Presley, who had met Louis years earlier, and this connection secured the Guilloteens an early 1965 engagement at the Red Velvet Club in Hollywood, prompting a brief relocation. Phil Spector attended a performance, was sufficiently impressed to begin producing their original composition “I Don’t Believe,” yet during his absence the group’s manager Jerry Williams finalized an agreement with the newly established Hanna Barbera label.
The Guilloteens’ first single, “I Don’t Believe,” appeared without Spector’s involvement yet remained compelling through its fusion of British Invasion vocal harmonies, Searchers-style guitar lines, and Paul’s notably robust blue-eyed soul delivery. The Memphis hit was paired with the Kinks-styled original “Hey You.” Paul sang lead on three of the four tracks across the band’s initial two singles; the follow-up “For My Own” offered another effective blend of folk-rock and garage pop, though it did not replicate the regional impact of the debut. Paul departed the Guilloteens after that release, dissatisfied with management.
Having returned to Memphis from Los Angeles, the band recruited Buddy Delaney in Paul’s place. Their next single included the Hutcherson–Jim Dickinson co-write “Crying All Over My Time” and marked their final Hanna Barbera release. A Southern tour supporting Paul Revere & the Raiders led to a Columbia Records contract. The Raiders’ influence surfaced on the first Columbia single, “Wild Child,” a potent example of aggressive garage pop-punk that stands among the rawest such efforts issued by a major label. The record failed to reach a national audience, and after a final, uncharacteristically pop-oriented Columbia single in 1967 the group disbanded. Delaney soon issued the rare single “Girl” under the name Buddy Delaney & the Candy Soupe, essentially a modest revision of the earlier Guilloteens B-side “Hey You.” All ten tracks from the Guilloteens’ singles, together with Buddy Delaney & the Candy Soupe’s “Hey You,” appear on the Rhino anthology Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968.
The Guilloteens originated in 1964 after Louis Paul, Laddie Hutcherson, and Joe Davis had been performing with the touring edition of the Mar-Keys. One evening when the horn section and singers failed to appear, the three musicians played as a trio and subsequently decided to establish their own band. Growing local popularity attracted a following that encompassed Elvis Presley, who had met Louis years earlier, and this connection secured the Guilloteens an early 1965 engagement at the Red Velvet Club in Hollywood, prompting a brief relocation. Phil Spector attended a performance, was sufficiently impressed to begin producing their original composition “I Don’t Believe,” yet during his absence the group’s manager Jerry Williams finalized an agreement with the newly established Hanna Barbera label.
The Guilloteens’ first single, “I Don’t Believe,” appeared without Spector’s involvement yet remained compelling through its fusion of British Invasion vocal harmonies, Searchers-style guitar lines, and Paul’s notably robust blue-eyed soul delivery. The Memphis hit was paired with the Kinks-styled original “Hey You.” Paul sang lead on three of the four tracks across the band’s initial two singles; the follow-up “For My Own” offered another effective blend of folk-rock and garage pop, though it did not replicate the regional impact of the debut. Paul departed the Guilloteens after that release, dissatisfied with management.
Having returned to Memphis from Los Angeles, the band recruited Buddy Delaney in Paul’s place. Their next single included the Hutcherson–Jim Dickinson co-write “Crying All Over My Time” and marked their final Hanna Barbera release. A Southern tour supporting Paul Revere & the Raiders led to a Columbia Records contract. The Raiders’ influence surfaced on the first Columbia single, “Wild Child,” a potent example of aggressive garage pop-punk that stands among the rawest such efforts issued by a major label. The record failed to reach a national audience, and after a final, uncharacteristically pop-oriented Columbia single in 1967 the group disbanded. Delaney soon issued the rare single “Girl” under the name Buddy Delaney & the Candy Soupe, essentially a modest revision of the earlier Guilloteens B-side “Hey You.” All ten tracks from the Guilloteens’ singles, together with Buddy Delaney & the Candy Soupe’s “Hey You,” appear on the Rhino anthology Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968.