SOMA RECORDING COMPANY
119 North Ninth Street &
7600 Wayzata Blvd
Mpls, Minn

I 12 The Trashmen -- Bird Dance Beat
GA-4003

I 17 The Trashmen -- A-Bone
GA-4003

I 1 The Underbeats -- Foot Stompin'
GA-4004 &
Soma LP MG-1245 GA-201'/GA-201"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME I
Billboard Oct 2, 1965
w/ MG 1243 & 1244
Seymour & His Heartbeat Trumpet

(-) The Trashmen -- Bad News
GA-4005

I 13 Gregory Dee And The Avanties --
Olds-Mo-William
Bangar BA-00602 / GA-4007 &
Soma LP MG-1245 GA-201' / GA-201"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME I

I 20 The Accents -- Howlin' For My Baby
BA-00605 / GA-4008 &
Soma LP MG-1245 GA-201' / GA-201"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME I

(-) The Trashmen -- New Generation
GA-4010

I 3 Gregory Dee And The Avanties -- The Grind
BA-00620 / GA-4011 &
Soma LP MG-1245 GA-201' / GA-201"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME I

(-) The Trashmen -- Walkin' My Baby
GA-4012
Original version: Allen Wayne
Doric, then Kapp 553
Also: Sue Thompson
Hickory 1359, Var rvw Dec 29, 1965

(-) The Trashmen -- Dancin' With Santa
GA-4013

I 9 The Accents -- Why
BA-00648 & GA-4014 &
Soma LP MG-1245 GA-201' / GA-201"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME I

(-) The Accents -- Searchin'
Soma LP MG-1245 GA-201' / GA-201"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME I

(-) The Accents -- Wherever There's A Will
Soma LP MG-1245 GA-201' / GA-201"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME I

(-) The Underbeats -- Annie Do The Dog
BA-00632 &
Soma LP MG-1245 GA-201' / GA-201"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME I

(-) The Underbeats -- Little Romance
Soma LP MG-1245 GA-201' / GA-201"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME I

(-) The Underbeats -- Sweet Words Of Love
Soma LP MG-1245 GA-201' / GA-201"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME I

(-) Gregory Dee And The Avanties --
The Slide
Soma LP MG-1245 GA-201' / GA-201"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME I

(-) Gregory Dee And The Avanties --
Ain't Got No Home
Soma LP MG-1245 GA-201' / GA-201"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME I

BR-113 The Titans -- Tchaikovsky Rides Again
Soma 1402'
A DJ Mac Production

I 18 The Titans -- Summer Place
Soma 1402"
A DJ Mac Production

(-) The Zodiacs -- Another Little Darling
Soma 1410'
Arthur Smith, Producer
Charlotte, N.C.

BR-113 The Titans -- Reville Rock
Soma 1411'
Arranged by R. Colborn

I 6 The Titans -- The Noplace Special
Soma 1411"

I 15 Lou Riegert & The Troops -- Gary's Tune
Soma 1412

I 4 The Gestures -- Run, Run, Run STEREO
Soma 1417' &
Soma LP MG-1246 GA-202' / GA-202"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME TWO
Billboard October 2, 1965
Billboard review October 23, 1965

BR-112 The Gestures -- It Seems To Me
Soma 1417" &
Soma LP MG-1246 GA-202' / GA-202"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME TWO

(-) Jack Barlow -- 49/51
Soma 1420

I 14 The Chancellors -- Yo Yo
Soma 1421'
A Path Musical Production
Soma LP MG-1246 GA-202' / GA-202"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME TWO

I 5 The Chancellors -- Little Latin Lupe Lu
Soma 1421"
A Path Musical Production
Soma LP MG-1246 GA-202' / GA-202"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME TWO

BR-111 The Chancellors -- Charlie Brown
Previously Unreleased

BR-113 The Chancellors -- Surf Beat
Previously Unreleased

BR-113 The Chancellors -- I Can Tell
Previously Unreleased

(-) Mary Jaye Four -- Walk A Little Longer
Soma 1423

(-) Dick Dunkirk & The Strangers -- Don't You Believe Them
Soma 1424

I 10 The Corvets -- You Don't Want Me
Soma 1425

I 16 The Gestures -- Don't Mess Around
Soma 1426
A Dawn Enterprises Production
Soma LP MG-1246 GA-202' / GA-202"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME TWO

II 3 The Gestures -- Candlelight
Soma 1426 B &
Soma LP MG-1246 GA-202' / GA-202"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME TWO

BR-111 The Gestures -- I'm Not Mad
Soma 1426 B

II 13 The Messengers -- My Baby
Soma 1427

II 4 The Messengers -- I've Seen You Around
Soma 1427 B

II 11 The Four Wheels -- Central High Playmate
Soma 1428

I 19 The Four Wheels -- Cold 45
Soma 1428
A Koss-Lester Production

II 7 The Embermen -- Fat Girl
Soma 1429

BR-112 The Embermen -- Karen
Soma 1429

I 7 The Del Counts -- Let The Good Times Roll
Soma 1430

I 21 The Del Counts -- Bird Dog
Soma 1430

I 11 The Castaways -- Liar, Liar STEREO
Soma 1433 & 1469 &
Soma LP MG-1246 GA-202' / GA-202"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME TWO

I 23 The Castaways -- Sam
Soma 1433 &
Soma LP MG-1246 GA-202' / GA-202"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME TWO

II 5 The Chancellors -- So Fine
Soma 1435
A Path Musical Production
Soma LP MG-1246 GA-202' / GA-202"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME TWO

BR-112 The Chancellors -- I'm A Man
Soma 1435
A Path Musical Production
Soma LP MG-1246 GA-202' / GA-202"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME TWO

I 8 The High Spirits -- (Turn On Your) Love Light
Soma 1436
Produced by Rick London
Soma LP MG-1246 GA-202' / GA-202"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME TWO

I 22 The High Spirits -- Tossin' And Turnin'
Soma 1436
Produced by Rick London
Soma LP MG-1246 GA-202' / GA-202"
THE BIG HITS OF MID-AMERICA VOLUME TWO

II 9 The Shades -- Summer's Here
Soma 1437

BR-113 The Shades -- Please, Please, Please
Soma 1437

BR-113 The Torres -- I've Had It
Soma 1438

BR-111 The Torres -- Ride On
Soma 1438

II 8 The Boys Next Door -- Why Be Proud
Soma 1439

BR-111 The Boys Next Door --
Suddenly She Was Gone
Soma 1438

II 19 Jimmy Kaye And The Coachmen -- Gloria
Soma 1441

II 2 The Castaways -- Goodbye Babe
Soma 1442
A Path Musical Production

BR-113 The Castaways --
A Man's Gotta Be A Man
Soma 1442
A.R.I. Productions

II 1 The High Spirits -- I Believe
Soma 1446
ARI Productions

II 17 The High Spirits -- Bright Lights, Big City
Soma 1446
ARI Productions

II 12 The Fabulous Rumbles -- I'll Be Gone
Soma 1448

BR-112 The Fabulous Rumbles The Echoing Past
Soma 1448

II 6 The Underbeats -- Book Of Love
Soma 1449 & 1137
A.R.I. Productions

II 20 The Unbelievable Uglies --
Keep Her Satisfied
Soma 1451

II 18 The Deacons -- Empty Heart
Soma 1452

II 15 The Half Dozen -- Heat Wave
Soma 1453

II 24 Sir Winston & The Commons --
We're Gonna Love
Soma 1454
Produced by Sondance

BR-112 Sir Winston & The Commons --
Come Back Again
Soma 1454
Produced by Sondance

II 23 Dudley & The Doo-Rytes -- U.F.O.
Soma 1456
Produced by James Donna

II 21 The Underbeats -- I Can't Stand It
Soma 1458
A.R.I. Productions

BR-111 The Underbeats -- Shake It For Me
Soma 1458
A.R.I. Productions

II 10 The Gamins -- Ridin' High
Soma 1459

BR-113 The Gamins -- Freeway
Soma 1459

BR-113 The Castaways --
Should Happen To Me
Soma 1461

II 14 The Torres -- Ride On
Soma 1463 & 1438

II 16 The Del Counts -- What Is The Reason
Soma 1465
Produced by Marshall Edelson
For Marsh Productions

II 22 The Del Counts -- With Another Guy
Soma 1465
Produced by Marshall Edelson
For Marsh Productions

II 25 Sounds Like Us -- It Was A Very Good Year
Soma

BR-113 Sounds Like Us -- The Other Side Of A Record
Soma

Heilicher's hit `Surfin' Bird' catches another wave on CD

Star Tribune; Minneapolis, Minn.

Oct 16, 1998

Jon Bream; Staff Writer

Amos Heilicher, godfather of the Twin Cities record business, has a habit of hanging on to things. He's had the same assistant for 42 years (she's retiring today). He still has extra copies of a 22-year-old magazine featuring his former business. And, in the front of a red-leather scrapbook, he has the original test copy of "Surfin' Bird," the biggest record in his storied career. On its plain sleeve is a hand written note from his then-partner in a Minneapolis recording studio and a record-pressing plant, Vern Bank: "The Bird" is the worst I've ever heard. Must be a hit. Call me if you're interested. Vern.

Heilicher trusted his partner's taste and never listened to that audition recording by the Trashmen. But at every dance the group played,they'd tell teens to look for the song on Heilicher's Soma Records. After inquiries started coming into record shops, he finally decided to distribute "Surfin'Bird."

Founder of the Musicland chain and one of the most influential U.S. record distributors in the '60s and '70s, Heilicher touted the single to his distributor friends around the country: "I said, `It's the worst record in the world, but we've got a hit in Minneapolis. See what you can do,' " he recalled this week. It became a hit nation wide, peaking at No. 4 on Billboard in 1964. "I laugh every time I hear it," Heilicher said with a chuckle. "It's that bad."

The million-selling "Surfin' Bird" is one of 48 songs on the new double-CD "Big Hits of Mid-America: The Soma Records Story 1963-67." And on Saturday, the Trashmen will join the Del Counts, Castaways and the High Spirits in concert to celebrate the release on CD of these mostly regional hits.

"To this day, I get calls for these songs," said Heilicher, 80. Even though he's been out of the record business for 20 years, he still thinks like a guy who's trying to sell records. "I didn't know what they planned to do when I turned over some of the old tapes," he said of the reissue compilation. "When I saw it, I was kind of shocked; it's one of the nicest looking packages I've ever seen on a CD.

Sitting in his Golden Valley office, he reminisced about Soma(that's Amos spelled backwards) with his son, Ira Heilicher, 52. While Ira was still in high school, he co-owned a band booking agency, and he'd pitch acts to Soma. "Ira was more hep than I am," said his father, who, in the late 1950s, once kicked out a barefoot high-schooler named Bobby Zimmerman (whom his daughter had met at summer camp) for banging on the piano in the Heilicher home. That pianist went on to sell a few records under the name Bob Dylan. Being the boss' son didn't mean carte blanche for Ira at Soma. A committee consisting of the buying, sales and promotion staffs as well as Heilicher voted on which acts the label would take on.

Ira got particularly excited about a band who invited him to their recording session even though he'd never seen them perform. He stayed in the studio with the Castaways until 4 a.m., offering ad-hoc advice on the recording and money to cover the session. "I was standing at {Amos'} door at 6, going `You gotta listen to this,' " Ira recalled. "He didn't say `Yes'right away, and he brought it in to the group and they listened to it." Soma put out the song, "Liar Liar," which went to No. 12 on Billboard in 1965. Every once in a while, Ira will hear the tune on an oldies station, turn up the volume and get excited all over again.

Soma virtually disappeared in 1967 when Heilicher Bros. merged with Pickwick International. Simitar Entertainment, run by some former K-tel International executives, put together the current reissue - named after the two volumes of "Big Hits of Mid-America" that Soma issued on LP in the '60s- as a tribute to the Twin Cities' first indie label. "Some younger people know `Big Hits of Mid-America Vol. 3' that Twin/Tone put out {in the late '70s} but don't know about the first two volumes," said Steve Wilson, executive producer of the reissue, which also includes songs from other local labels.

Amos Heilicher may not be hep to the punkier bands on Volume 3, but he remains loyal to his Soma groups. Three years ago, when he owned a suburban bar called the Country House, he booked the Castaways and the Del Counts.

---

Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

November 17, 1998, Metro Edition

SECTION: Pop musing; Pg. 1E

BYLINE: Jon Bream; Staff Writer

"Big Hits of Mid-America: The Soma Records Story" was issued as a two-disc CD collection last month by Twin Cities-based Simitar Entertainment. If you prefer your oldies on vinyl, track down the three separate "Soma" volumes issued by Sundazed Music of Coxsackie, N.Y. There's nothing from the Trashmen on these LPs, but there are 16 songs per album by the likes of the Chancellors, Gestures, Castaways, Titans and High Spirits.

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Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

September 22, 1998, Metro Edition

SECTION: Pop musing; Pg. 3E

HEADLINE: Boos and bravos for summer pop

BYLINE: Jon Bream; Staff Writer

A 48-track compilation of Twin Cities bands from the 1960s called "Big Hits of Mid-America: The Soma Records Story 1963-67" will be released Oct. 6. Among those included are the Trashmen, Castaways, Gestures, Del Counts and Accents.

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Vinyl

Various Artists
The Soma Records Story, Volume 1
Beat Rocket 111
The Soma Records Story, Volume 2
Beat Rocket 112
The Soma Records Story, Volume 3
Beat Rocket 113

This series at first gives off the appearance of being the audiophile vinyl version of Simitar's Soma box set, but a closer look at the track listings reveals there's much more of a collector's perspective at work here, if such a notion is possible. Only two of the label's big hits ('Liar Liar,' 'Run Run Run,') are aboard any of the three volumes in the series although many of the more obscure bands on the CD set show up as regular players on the Beat Rocket compilations. Amazingly, all the music contained in the series is first rate, every bit as good as the hits and sometimes, even more interesting. Volume one is Shake It For Me, 16 loud'n'snotty ones from the Deacons' 'Empty Heart,' Dudley & The Do-Rights' 'U.F.O.,' the Castaways' 'Goodbye Babe' and 'Sam,' the High Spirits' tuneless and ineptly executed 'Tossin' & Turnin',' Sir Winston and the Commons' 'We're Gonna Love,' The Boys Next Door's 'Suddenly She Was Gone,' the Chancellors' 'Yo Yo' and previously unissued stab at 'Charlie Brown,' all the way to the Underbeats' version of the title track. Volume two in this series is Bright Lights, Big City!, another 16 track audiophile vinyl compilation of the more obscure but equally great records that came out on the Soma label in the mid-'60s. One of the label's biggies - the Castaways' 'Liar Liar' - is aboard, but equally grind worthy are the High Spirits tackling 'I Believe' and the title track, the Chancellors' 'Little Latin Lupe Lu' and 'I'm A Man,' the Embermen's 'Karen,' the Four Wheels' 'Central High Playmate' (insanely great Beach Boys cop), the Gestures' 'Candlelight' and 'It Seems To Me,' and Jimmy Kaye & The Coachmen's offbeat take on 'Gloria.' Again, a lot of great, hidden music proving that there's more than one way to compile a label's best offerings. The third installment in Sundazed's (Beat Rocket is their vinyl only subsidiary) audiophile vinyl overview of the Soma label is A Man's Gotta Be A Man!, another wild and obscure 16 tracks from this legendary Minnesota label. Great songs abound on both sides from the Chancellors (previously unissued versions of 'I Can Tell' and 'Surf Beat'), the Gestures ('Don't Mess Around,' and 'Run Run Run, the only 'hit' on here if you're counting), the Titans ('Reveille Rock' and 'Tchaikovsky Rides Again'), the Sounds Like Us ('The Other Side Of A Record'), the Shades ('Please Please Please'), the High Spirits ('Turn On Your Lovelight'), the Gamins ('Freeway'), the Messengers ('My Baby'), the Torres ('I've Had It'), the Del Counts ('Let The Good Times Roll'), to the Castaways ('Should Happen To Me' and the title track). In tandem with Simitar's two disc CD anthology/box set and Sundazed's Trashmen box set, this gives you a big chunk of what made Minnesota so great in the '60s. A lot of great, hidden music proving that there's more than one way to do a label retrospective.
~ Cub Koda, DisCoveries, February 1999

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LIAR LIAR:
THE BEST OF THE CASTAWAYS
Plum CD 1402
Released September 28, 1999
01. Liar Liar
02. Sam
03. Goodbye Baby
04. A Man's Gotta Be A Man
05. She's A Girl In Love
06. Why Should This Happen To Me
07. Lead Me On
08. Everytime
09. Watching The Time Go By
10. Work Song
11. (I) Feel So Fine
12. Hit The Road Jack
13. Walking In Different Circles
14. Just On High
15. Lavender Popcorn
16. What Kind Of Face
17. Words On Fire
18. Bad Hair Day
19. Lucille
20. That Was Then This Is Now

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THE FENDERMEN: MULESKINNER BLUES
Plum CD 14042, 1999
'The Best Of The Fendermen'
w/ Soma singles 1137 Mule Skinner Blues / Torture,
1142 Don't You Just Know It / Beach Party,
1155 Heartbreakin' Special / Can't You Wait,
1418 (The Muleskinners) Wolfman / Everglades