1968
Composer: Eric Thöner
LP "Originals" (later re-packed under the tile "Anytime")
Cornet Special 16058
This Stax-inspired track might be taken as an example of what happens, when an ensemble of highly proficient and versatile musicians do what they like best. Many sources describe the Jay Five as a Beat Band. But that is only a part of one of their identities. With their members ten to fifteen years older than those of an average 60ies Beat-Band and with individual professional careers starting as early as the early 50ies, they are more a proof that making a wealthy live on music has nothing to do with chasing for hit singles (not talking about 'authenticity' or similar nonsense), but acting as reliable craftsmen. Certainly visa-versa this is not the way to get chapters written in rock history. This is why this group remained relatively obscure.
The Jay Five are best remembered as the backing group for several 'Schlagersänger's. In particular the US-native novelty artist Bill Ramsey and the British Beat-turned-to-Schlager singer and songwriter Graham Bonney. On tour through CSSR with Bill Ramsey they found most fun pushing the novelty schlagers aside and delivering the goods with a bold package of R&B to a more than grateful Czech audience.
Under their own name you might find the one or another instrumental Easy Listening GoGo Dance LP in the style of Sid Ramin ("Music To Watch Girls By") complete with cheering party crowd dubbed to the background. Their debut album from 1966 was a collection of Beat and Surf covers though. It should be mentioned, that beside being a solid rhythm unit, they were also tight harmony singers and also did large parts of the brass sections on their records by themselves. On top of this, they even looked good on stage, which led to stage dress endorsements and jobs as dress men for fashion photos.
Originally the group was founded by students at the music high school of Würzburg as a Jazz unit. In 1964 they switched to the highly fashionable "Beat"-idiom in order to gain more jobs, originally calling themselves The Jolly Five. Bill Ramsey advised the Name change. Along with that, each member further on carried a nickname, each starting with a 'j': Jay (Eric Thöner), Joe (Joe Voggenthaler), Jiggs (Dieter Blahak), Jock (Tom Wohlert) and Jerry (Elmar Kast). The production of their debut 1966-LP in Frankfurt, led to their first collaboration with the Cologne based engineer, arranger, pianist and songwriter (with a considerable output of successful Schlagers) Heinz Giez. Giez had been an in-house producer (most notably The Lords) for ELECTROLA (the German branch of the EMI in Cologne). He would soon start his own label Cornet Records & Studios. The Jay Five became the Cornet in-house band, moving to Cologne, backing Schlager Records, Karnevalsmusik, recording the afore mentioned Easy Listening records and even recording a couple of risqué novelty singles under the moniker The Goosies.
The Album "Originals" is an exception in their oeuvre, since it is nearly fulfilling what the title is promising. Consisting mostly of group contributions, it adds two compositions by Heinz Giez and an uncertain rendering of the Dvorak "New World"-Theme. The only real cover version is a garagy treatment of "In the Midnight Hour", which thanks to it's distinctive guitar-fuzz-sound could make could make a good figure on any Pebbles compilation. But alas, along with the brilliant "Anytime" this was it about Soul music on this -indeed pretty ambitious- record. On most of the rest the band tries it's hands on self crafted vocal pop in the fashion of "Pet Sounds"-period Beach Boys or "Odessey and Oracle"-period Zombies. But decent craftsmanship execution-wise, didn't help the lack of brilliance (if not simply time and money) of Brian Wilson or Rod Argent. The second-best song on the album is a Byrds-Baroque near-psych gem: "It's Raining" one of the two songs by Heinz Gietz. No wonder that this humbly packaged vocal-pop-offering did nothing in a HendrixLedZep-versus-Schlager-wars-poisoned Germany of 1968, if it was ever decently promoted anyway.
The early 70ies saw the group performing at near-daily Musical-Shows of Townshent's "Tommy" in Munich. Eye witnesses recall an absolutely stunning performance by these stage-show-pros, about who's group name they would learn only much much later, thanks to the internet. The group would disband in the mid-70ies. Most members would continue their professional life in the music world. One keeps a drum-shop in Cologne from the late 70ies till today. Others would continue as backing and session men.
Eric Thöner, musical director of the group and author of "Anytime", refined his composition-skills as a creator of successful commercials (most notably the 70ies Geman McDonalds jingle) and less successful Schlagers, culminating at chart 9 of 12 at the 1986 preliminary round of Prand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson (anyway a debuting-platform for acts like ABBA) as the interpret of his own contribution. He sadly passed away in 2001. His 70ies in-stock soundtrack-library music LP's under monikers like Eric Thöner's Sound Magazine are right now being rediscovered by editors of German Rare-Groove comps, such as "German Funk Fieber".
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