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

I generally try to stay away from posting hits but sometimes I come across a rare pressing of one and it's worth sharing with the public. In this case, this record made it to #39 in 1969 so it almost was not a hit. The group was performing in clubs around Virginia and North Carolina when one night as a gag they decided to perform Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs' tune May I with a polka beat and pushed the horns up to the front of the tune....to the band's surprise, the crowd loved how they did the song and they performed it several times in their first night. They decided to release the song on a 45, however it was never the intended plug side of their local release. That distinction belonged to an instrumental (!) version of When A Man Loves A Woman. Their recording was first issued on the Beach record label out of Norfolk, Virginia and immediately caught the attention of someone in Jerry Ross' camp who saw the group live and picked up a copy of the single in the process (think along the lines of what happens in the movie That Thing You Do). The group signed with Ross' Heritage record label and the rest, as they say, is history. Copies of this tune on the Beach label are incredibly rare, to the point that most record price guides make no mention of this disc even existing! It's also worth noting that Ammon Tharp and Bill Deal co-share credits on this side of the 45 for being the vocalists on the record. I also noticed that the copies of the song on Heritage records seem to run at a slightly different speed from this label pressing. As with all of my videos, the audio you hear comes directly from the 45 in the picture you see in the video. You can catch great records like this one live every night on www.topshelfoldies.org!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Bill
• Deal
• And
• The
• Rhondels
• May
• Ammon
• Tharp
• Beach
• Records
• Heritage
• 1969
• Norfolk
• Virginia
• Topshelf
• Oldies

[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

[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.

[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.

[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!