Go... Go... Go!!! - The Astronauts

 

Go Go Go

Go... Go... Go!!!

The Astronauts

Produced by Al Schmitt

Recorded in RCA Victor's Music Center of the World, Hollywood, California

Recording Engineer: Dick Bogert and Dave Hassinger

Cover Photo by Don Carlson

RCA Victor LPM-3307

1965

From the back cover: Two years ago I flew to Boulder, Colorado, to look at a group of young performers who had been highly recommended by Ward Terry, the RCA distributor in that area.

As a Artist & Repertoire producer, I spent a good deal of my time flying to one place or another on similar "scouting" trips and I usually come home empty-handed, having seen "just another act." With all due respect to Ward Terry, I had no premonition that this trip would be different.

Then, when I stepped off the plane and saw my "hosts," I was immediately impressed... in fact, "stunned" would be closer to the truth. Five young men and Alaskan Huskie pup (the size of a pony) literally swept me off my feet into a waiting car. The boys – Bob Demmon, Rich Fifield, Jim Gallagher, Stormy Patterson and Dennis Lindsey – were fresh, funny and totally uninhibited. The pup was a tail-wagging charmer, obviously staved for affection, who proceeded to kiss me every time I tried to get a word in the conversation.

I was driven to Bob's home, where a steak cookout had been planned in my honor. (I later found out it was the kind of affair where everyone brings his own steak and they all chipped in to buy mine.) By the time the food was served, the boys not only had me eating their steak, but eating out of their hands as well. To say that they had "won me over" is an understatement, for I had never met five more likable, personable, extremely amusing young men. "Just watch them turn out to be a bomb on stage," I said to myself as we drove to the Tulagi club where they were appearing. I was given a ringside seat, the boys went backstage, the house lights were turned out... and in total darkness the SOUND began. I can honestly report that the mishmash of flat notes, off-key guitar playing and screeching bedlam that filled my ears was the most awful noise I ever heard in my life. I actually put my head down in my hands for fear I'd have to look them in the eyes when the lights came up. Then suddenly the lights did come on, the boys took one look at the expression on my face and they broke up. To them it was hilarious to "put on" a big company A&R man and have him fall for it. To me it was astonishing that an unknown group who obviously wanted a recording contract would have that kind of nerve!

But then, as the boys settled into the groove and began to play, sing and perform for real, I could understand where they got their nerve. They were GREAT and they knew it, in the way that only confident, seasoned performers usually know it.

Needless to say, RCA Victor signed them to a recording contract. Their first album, Surfin' With The Astronauts, became a national best seller, as did their second, third and fourth. And, as reflected in the traveling-fast-and-far name of the group, the Astronaut's popularity is not limited to the West or to the United States. They had the number-one selling single and the number-one selling album in Japan for ten weeks. Wherever they've appeared here or abroad – at the major universities, on tour with the Dave Clark Five, in the Orient – they have been a sensational hit.

From that first meeting in the airport to this, their fifth album, I've found working with the Astronauts has been nothing but pure pleasure. This time we've really let the boys show off their versatility, as the majority of the songs in Go... Go... Go! were written by member of the group. I think this is the Astronaut's finest album to date, and I sincerely hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed producing it. – Al Schmitt, A&R Producer

Hey Sugarfoot

My Sin Is My Pride

I'm A Fool

Little Lover

Quiet Village

You Gotta Let Me Go

Almost Grown

Love Goes On

Can't You See I Do

Go Go Go

Touch

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind