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The Five Americans was a 1960s
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...
, best known for their song "
Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the co ...
", which reached number five in the
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
''
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''
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and was their only single to chart in the Top 20. In Canada, they had three in the Top 20.


Career

The Mutineers formed in Durant,
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
(
Southeastern State College Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Southeastern or SE) is a public university in Durant, Oklahoma. It had a total enrollment of 5,376 in 2022. History On March 6, 1909, the Second Oklahoma State Legislature approved an act designating D ...
) in 1962. The band members crossed paths at the university, and began performing a repertoire of
Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...
and
Duane Eddy Duane Eddy (April 26, 1938 – April 30, 2024) was an American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" guitar sound, including ...
standards within the campus. In 1963, the band recorded their debut single, "Jackin' Around", in Dallas, Texas, an instrumental which received extensive airplay in their college. The
British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...
influenced The Mutineers to include
Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
numbers to their repertoire, a change in outfitting, and a slight emphasis to
vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
. However, their most impactful acquisition was their utilization of the
Vox Continental The Vox Continental is a transistorised combo organ that was manufactured between 1962 and 1971 by the British musical equipment manufacturer Vox. It was designed for touring musicians and as an alternative to the heavy Hammond organ. It supp ...
electronic organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the pump organ, harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has si ...
, a later highlight of the group's sound. While in Dallas, the band achieved prominence playing as a frequent attraction in a venue called The Pirate's Nook. There they came to the attention of
Abnak Records Abnak Records was a record label based in Dallas, Texas, owned by Fort Worth insurance man John Howard Abdnor Sr., active from 1963 to 1971, begun mainly as an outlet for his son John H. Abdnor Jr., primarily as Jon & Robin. The most success for ...
, whose president John Abdnor took the group under his wing. Shortly thereafter, the band identified themselves as the Five Americans. For a short while after their five top
singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...
"I See The Light", "
Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the co ...
", "Sound of Love", "Evol - Not Love", and "Zip Code" were released, they toured. However, their manager, Jon Abdnor Sr., owner/president of Abnak Records (and Bankers Management and Services Insurance Co.), was allowed control of their finances. After Abdnor's death in 1996, all rights to their songs should have reverted to the group, but
Sundazed Music Sundazed Music is an American independent record label founded and based in Coxsackie, New York. It was initially known as a '60s-centric surf, garage, and psych label. Over time with the additions of imprints such as Modern Harmonic, American ...
bought the original tapes. The Five Americans are now receiving their share of the sales and publishing
royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...
.


"Western Union"

In a March 1967 interview that appeared in Michael Oberman's "Top Tunes" column in the ''Evening Star'' newspaper (Washington, D.C.), Norman Ezell, guitarist for the group, explained how they came up with "Western Union." "
Mike Rabon Michael Lee Rabon (April 16, 1943 – February 11, 2022) was an American musician. He was the lead guitarist and lead vocalist of the 1960s hit group the Five Americans, and was co-writer of the group's hits including "Western Union" and "I See ...
, our lead guitar player, was just fooling around with his guitar when he came up with a unique sound," Norman said. "It sort of reminded us of a
telegraph key A telegraph key, clacker, tapper or morse key is a specialized electrical switch used by a trained operator to transmit text messages in Morse code in a telegraphy system. Keys are used in all forms of electrical telegraph systems, includ ...
. That's when we decided to write 'Western Union.


Break-up and the deaths of band members

The Five Americans broke up in 1969, after several singles only scraped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ("7:30 Guided Tour" stalled at #96) or missed the chart entirely ("Virginia Girl" managed to " bubble under" at #133, while a new version of an earlier hit, entitled "I See The Light '69", couldn't even manage that).
Mike Rabon Michael Lee Rabon (April 16, 1943 – February 11, 2022) was an American musician. He was the lead guitarist and lead vocalist of the 1960s hit group the Five Americans, and was co-writer of the group's hits including "Western Union" and "I See ...
had a successful touring career afterwards, released two albums that sold well and played guitar for the
Tyler, Texas Tyler, officially the City of Tyler, is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the List of municipalities in Texas, 38th most populous city in Texas (as well as the m ...
,
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
group
Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
, whose "A Piece of Paper" reached number 45 in October 1972. He later returned to college, acquired a master's degree in public school administration, and worked in the Oklahoma school systems for 28 years. Rabon married Cara Beth Whitworth in 1979. He died on February 11, 2022, at the age of 78. John Durrill, the
keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...
, who wrote " Dark Lady" for
Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...
and "
Misery and Gin "Misery and Gin" is a song written by Snuff Garrett and John Durrill, and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard. It was written specifically for inclusion in the 1980 movie, Bronco Billy, and released as a single in June 1980. I ...
" for
Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...
and was also a member of the band
The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson (musician), Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar acro ...
, now lives in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
; as of 2024, he is the group's only surviving member.
Bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...
Jim Grant died from a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on November 29, 2004, at the age of 61. Norman Ezell (
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
and
harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...
) became a teacher and minister in Northern California. He died of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
on May 8, 2010, at the age of 68. Drummer Jimmy Wright (born James Thomas Wright on December 2, 1947) left the
music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...
to become a freelance photographer. He died at Texoma Medical Center on January 30, 2012, at the age of 64.


Discography


Albums

* ''I See the Light'' (BB No. 136) – HBR HLP-8503 (mono) / HST-9503 (stereo) (1966) * ''Western Union'' (BB No. 121, CB No. 66) – Abnak ABLP-1967 (mono) / ABST-2067 (stereo) (1967) * ''Progressions'' – Abnak ABLP (mono) / ABST-2069 (stereo) (1967) * ''Now and Then'' – Abnak ABST-2071 (1968)


Singles


References


External links


Five Americans at ClassicBands.com
* * * {{Authority control 1965 establishments in the United States 1969 disestablishments in the United States Rock music groups from Texas American garage rock groups Musical groups established in 1965 Musical groups disestablished in 1969