Dudley and the Do-Rites, Carlsbad

DUDLEY AND THE DO-RITES - Want Ta Be Your Lovin' Man b/w Sunday Drive (Kavern Recordings 1000)

Carlsbad, New Mexico is today better known for its nearby systems of caverns than it is anything else. So like most folks I hear Carlsbad and think... 'Caverns'. But being a weird collectro, I also hear place names and start thinking about bands, labels, and songs. So not only do I think 'CAVERNS!!!' when I hear Carlsbad, but I thing 'Kavern Recordings'... home to those smashing New Mexiteen sensations, Dudley And The Do-Rites.

Take a stroll through the Carlsbad-based Stuck In The 60's Band website (HERE)... the town seems to have been quite the spot back in the 60s with combos like the Hustlers, The Others, the Sapiens, and the John Burke Society. Tons of bands ran around the area, but the only group I'm aware of having actually released a record were those smashing New Mexiteen sensations, Dudley And the Do-Rites.

At the very least Dudley And the Do-Rites included guitarist Glen Gettings, guitarist John Maxwell, and drummer John White. Glen's name pops up in numerous band photos on the Carlsbad site, but nary a single photo of the Do-Rites is to be found. Gettings had previously played with the Hustlers and few other Carlsbad area groups as is documented on the site. Neither of the other two members listed as being Do-Rites are found anywhere else on the Stuck website though. Neither is a name give for the swift bassist, nor the organ player.

On the vocal "Want Ta Be Your Lovin' Man", a Westex fave, Gettings and the Do-Rites turn in an incredibly bouncy and energetic vocal number that begged for an audience filled with pogo happy teens. Turn it up, close your eyes, and feel the room bounce as the kids yell along. The instrumental flip, another band original, is not exactly groundbreaking and perhaps might have been better titled "Slow Song For Dancing Really Close To A Girl". There's little other info to go with this record... it does not bear a publishing rights imprint which is odd as it was recorded in Clovis at Norman Petty's studio. Probably a 1966 release, though as late-to-the-party as we can sometimes be out this direction a 1967 release date wouldn't surprise me either and the addition of a zip-code on the address lends more weight to it being a later release.