The Sentinals

Formed in 1961 in San Luis Obispo on California’s Central Coast, the Sentinals released two LPs on the Del-Fi label during 1963 and 1964. Although they earned solid regional recognition as a surf outfit, they remained outside the genre’s uppermost tier; only their drummer, Johnny Barbata, who later joined the Turtles and Jefferson Starship, achieved lasting prominence in other groups. The same coastal locale also produced the Del-Fi surf combo the Impacts, the group that launched the career of future cult folk-rock figure Merrell Fankhauser. Occasionally listed as the Sentinels, the band infused much of its output with a pronounced rhythm-and-blues emphasis that set it apart from most surf ensembles and even ventured into vocals on covers such as “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” and “Shout.” At the same time, the musicians excelled at the Latin-tinged guitar figures and melodies that gave surf its distinctive early-1960s character, most clearly on the 1962 single “Latin’ia,” later anthologized on Rhino’s Cowabunga! The Surf Box. The group disbanded in the mid-1960s after psychedelic-soul keyboardist and singer Lee Michaels spent a brief period in its ranks without contributing to any recordings. Bassist and vocalist Kenny Hinkle pursued a quieter path afterward, appearing in the 1970s with the Los Angeles collective California Music alongside Beach Boy Bruce Johnston and producer-artist Terry Melcher.