The Man-Dells

The Man-Dells, one of the earlier mid-'60s American garage bands to record, put out one single, "Bonnie"/"Oh No," in the winter of 1964-1965. The A-side was an almost nerdy rockaballad with chintzy organ and a spoken middle that, like the melody, was highly reminiscent of Ritchie Valens' "Donna." The B-side was a tougher, more typical garage tune that emulated the basic British Invasion format, albeit in a pretty simple and innocuous manner. Shortly after the single, they changed their name to the Other Four, and they did three singles in a less lightweight vein in 1965 and 1966. Members Rick Randle and Norman Lombardo later played together (and were the songwriters for) the Brain Police, a San Diego psychedelic group that recorded an obscure demo album in 1968. Both sides of the Man-Dells single are available as bonus tracks on the CD reissue of the Brain Police's demo LP, titled The Brain Police, on Normal/Shadoks.