Nightcrawlers (US band)
Encyclopedia
The Nightcrawlers were a regional Daytona Beach, Florida
band with a hit single, "The Little Black Egg
", recorded in 1965. The single ultimately reached 85 on the national charts after its third re-release in 1967. The group had three other singles "Cry", "A Basket of Flowers" and "I Don't Remember". The five original members were: Pete Thomason, Sylvan Wells, Robbie Rouse, Chuck Conlon and Tommy Ruger.
Their sound is best described as sparse folk rock, popularized by The Byrds, The Beau Brummels, etc. They did one LP album for Kapp Records
, but the original lineup disbanded in 1966, before the final (and most popular) release of "The Little Black Egg". The reformed Nightcrawlers did one more single for Kapp, "My Butterfly" written by band members Sylvan Wells and Rick Hollinger, in a more hard rock vein and then disbanded. The original main songwriter, Charlie Conlon, later reformed the group under the name "Conlon and the Crawlers", although the group never recorded again after 1967. The group continued with different members and eventually disbanded in 1970.
Although the group never gained wide fame, the simple hook of "The Little Black Egg" destined it to become a favorite cover for the garage bands of each musical era since the '60s. In 2000, a retrospective CD with 24 cuts was released by Big Beat/London, England. On September 19, 2008, the world premier of the film "Cracking The Egg: The Untold Story of The NightCrawlers" was held at the 6th annual Daytona Beach Film Festival. Outsider music
specialist Irwin Chusid
claimed that the song started his interest in "odd songs".
At the behest of Ajaye Agency in Cincinnati, Rick Hollinger reformed the Nightcrawlers in 1968 in Tallahasse, Florida, for the express purpose of taking them to Ohio because the song "Little Black Egg" was enjoying a resurgence. Besides Rick, the group members were Gary Sockwell on drums, Eddie Everette on lead guitar and vocals, Rod Vaillancourt on keyboards and vocals and Steve Flacy on bass guitar. They worked for years in a multi-state area but never issued additional recordings. Rod Vaillancourt and Steve Flacy went on to work with Adrian Belew in a band called Sweetheart and Rod later recorded with Artimus Pyle.
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...
band with a hit single, "The Little Black Egg
The Little Black Egg
"The Little Black Egg" is a song first performed by Daytona Beach, Florida garage band The Nightcrawlers in 1965. It reached number 85 on the Billboard charts in 1967,...
", recorded in 1965. The single ultimately reached 85 on the national charts after its third re-release in 1967. The group had three other singles "Cry", "A Basket of Flowers" and "I Don't Remember". The five original members were: Pete Thomason, Sylvan Wells, Robbie Rouse, Chuck Conlon and Tommy Ruger.
Their sound is best described as sparse folk rock, popularized by The Byrds, The Beau Brummels, etc. They did one LP album for Kapp Records
Kapp Records
Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp . David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca Records and RCA Victor Records. Kapp licensed its records to London Records for release in the UK.In 1967, David Kapp sold his label to MCA Inc...
, but the original lineup disbanded in 1966, before the final (and most popular) release of "The Little Black Egg". The reformed Nightcrawlers did one more single for Kapp, "My Butterfly" written by band members Sylvan Wells and Rick Hollinger, in a more hard rock vein and then disbanded. The original main songwriter, Charlie Conlon, later reformed the group under the name "Conlon and the Crawlers", although the group never recorded again after 1967. The group continued with different members and eventually disbanded in 1970.
Although the group never gained wide fame, the simple hook of "The Little Black Egg" destined it to become a favorite cover for the garage bands of each musical era since the '60s. In 2000, a retrospective CD with 24 cuts was released by Big Beat/London, England. On September 19, 2008, the world premier of the film "Cracking The Egg: The Untold Story of The NightCrawlers" was held at the 6th annual Daytona Beach Film Festival. Outsider music
Outsider music
Outsider music, a term coined by Irwin Chusid in the mid-1990s, are songs and compositions by musicians who are not part of the commercial music industry who write songs that ignore standard musical or lyrical conventions, either because they have no formal training or because they disagree with...
specialist Irwin Chusid
Irwin Chusid
Irwin Chusid is a journalist, music historian, radio personality and self-described "landmark preservationist." His stated mission has been to "find things on the scrapheap of history that I know don't belong there and salvage them." Those "things" have included such previously overlooked but...
claimed that the song started his interest in "odd songs".
At the behest of Ajaye Agency in Cincinnati, Rick Hollinger reformed the Nightcrawlers in 1968 in Tallahasse, Florida, for the express purpose of taking them to Ohio because the song "Little Black Egg" was enjoying a resurgence. Besides Rick, the group members were Gary Sockwell on drums, Eddie Everette on lead guitar and vocals, Rod Vaillancourt on keyboards and vocals and Steve Flacy on bass guitar. They worked for years in a multi-state area but never issued additional recordings. Rod Vaillancourt and Steve Flacy went on to work with Adrian Belew in a band called Sweetheart and Rod later recorded with Artimus Pyle.