Bill Deal & The Rhondels - May I (Featuring Ammon Tharp & Bill Deal)

[Dickneeds]

THis song was originally written and done in 1965 by the Stay man himself, Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs. Bills version is better and I never thought that I would say the cover is better than the original.

[trtomthedrummer2]

Going to see Ammon Tharp with Steve Basset this weekend at the Powhatan Festival of the Grape! Wooo Hooo!!

[flamesounds]

I HEARD ALL THEIR STUFF ON THE RADIO IN THE 60S AND THOUGHT THEY WERE A BLACK NORTHERN SOUL BAND...............I am blown away! Thanks for posting!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wfarrar69]

i've got this 45 too.also the heritage 45 pressing.i've first heard this on a various artists lp in 1982.this song got me interested into bill deal and the rhondels.i like it.it puts me in mood to hear great beach music.thanks for putting this one up.

[1saxman]

I was on a show recently and another group was there featuring Steve Basset and Ammon Tharp. They do this and other Rhondels' songs. Ammon can still sing this thing, and in the original key, plus playing the drums at the same time. I was on a two-band gig with them all summer of 1964 at the 'Top Hat' in Va. Beach. The Rhondels were one of the greatest bands in America during the '60s - I wish you could have seen that show.

[trtomthedrummer2]

@1saxman I'm going to make it a point to catch Ammon & Steve Basset soon. I remember Bill Deal & The Rhondel's tunes being played on the jukeboxes around the beaches when I toured there some years ago. They were a great band! Glad to hear Ammon's carrying the tunes well.

[MrTAFSIYNOT]

Thank-you for posting this song. I went nuts trying to find this version!!!!!!!

[Chiefjohncrow]

This was my love song to Yvonne Smith in 1964.

[tennforever]

Can't find Bill Deal cd's at the big malls or on Ebay. WTF...all kinds of kiddie-rock though.

[ISayISayISayISay]

Of course you may! Come on! I've been waiting!

[nickeynork]

written by maurice williams.....

[maddadram1]

Remember this song very well. It got quite a bit of

airplay here in Southern New England.

Nice to see it here on you tube.

[saxman46]

I played when a Man Loves a Woman as a sax solo on the flip side of this 45. The best memories I have was playing the Peppermint on summer days. We used to start at noon and play till 1 in the morning. Never got tired of it. Tom Pittman

[Fritzoid64]

Take me back to the Peppermint Beach Club in the winter of 1965 !

Ammon and the boys were beyond belief !

And, BTW, who was that blonde doing the boo-ga-loo and the skate every night ?!?

[lakewoodil]

Bill and The Rhondels were a great band out of VA Beach. Saw them several time in VA Beach and Hampton, VA, always a great show. RIP Bill.

[thecountofbasie]

Thanks for the info...never saw this label, obviously...does sound a bit cleaner than the Heritage pressing, if to my ears the same speed (maybe half a revolution slower, if at all)...another solid post...thanks

[TheTakeOffs]

I had a band called The Fabulous Titans from N. California...we covered this song and we always thought of it as a reggae or ska kind of rhythm!! We did a lot of reggae and ska tunes so it fit perfectly with what we were doing. We performed it 'live' in Havana, Cuba in the early 80's too! I'll be uploading a 'live' version we did soon. Great song and band...i found the single in a thrift store in Berkeley, Ca. and payed 10cents for it!!

[47alfonz1]

Thank you so much for posting this! Always loved this song!

[RockinRita45]

Thank you for posting this. I only get to hear this when I'm home in TN and I'm not there much so now I can hear it here. I have the 45 but it's not on the same label as yours. Until I see it again I probably won't recall it.  Thanks again for keeping this stuff alive!

[deyoungaza]

Everybody loves a POLKA!

[RockLives4u]

Thank the fantastic Maurice Williams for this gem....

[horarwgt]

I had no idea that this was originally a locally released 1968 B side! When re-released as Heritage 812, this track nationally charted for the first time in January 1969 and climbed to #39 over a ten week run. What a great track -- as were "I've Been Hurt," "What Kind Of Fool," "Nothing Succeeds Like Success," etc.