The Combinations

Left to Right: Marty Freifeld, Bobby Scammell, Sammy Losagio, George Ross and Neil Wellen

The Combinations (or Combenaschuns for you garage band 45 collectors) were one of the more successful 1960’s rock and roll groups to emanate from Pennsylvania. A white band with a black singer, they played many diverse locales and, in the words of bassist Bobby Scammell, could be likened to Paul Revere & The Raiders if Jackie Wilson fronted them. Their racial mix led to their eclectic song set list and although they never broke nationally, they did record a song that was a national tie-in to a popular Milton Bradley game of the era.

An Interview with Bobby Scammell

60sgaragebands.com (60s): How did you first get interested in music?

Bobby Scammell (BS): My initial interest in music? My Dad was a big band musician and also played in our area's symphony. His 18-piece band and female singer rehearsed in our piano room. There were always Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller albums playing on the stereo (even though they weren't stereo). Those albums playing and the musicians rehearsing was the first time I realized that the Steinway wasn't just a place for family photos.

60s: Was The Combinations your first band?

BS: Excluding school orchestra, The Combinations was my first band.

60s: When and where was The Combinations formed?

BS: The Combinations was formed in 1964-65 by a couple of cousins from Easton (Pennsylvania): Sammy Losagio and Frank Gaulano. One never knows the exact starting date of these things, but by '65 the band was out playing.

60s: Who else comprised the band?

BS: The band members were Sammy Losagio, drums; George Ross, vocals; Frank Gaulano, bass (I replaced him on bass around late 1965); Gary Zeigfreid, guitar. Marty Freifeld replaced him also in late 1965. Chuck Odenheimer played organ and trumpet. When he left for college in the fall of 1966, Neil Wellen replaced him as the Hammond organist.

60s: Where did the band typically play?

BS: Well, we were fortunate for some reason. We were a band that could sell out a junior high, sell out a college concert, sell out a teen club, sell out a nightclub and sell out an outdoor festival, too. We conservatively played 200 college frat houses. Parties were rare because we were booked. One I do remember was for Max Hess, the owner of Hess Brothers. He had a party at his house and he had two acts: The Combinations and Sonny & Cher. This was 1966 and she had her original nose - but not the implants. Sonny did have the fur vest.

60s: How would you describe the band's sound? What bands influenced you?

BS: In my opinion you have touched on the secret. The Combinations were an early racial mix group. Several of us sang, but our lead singer George Ross was African American. Our song list was as unique as existed at the time. Motown? Stax/Volt? Philly Soul? Yes. Lots!

But we did as much top 40 mix, adult standards, California pop, and many British Invasions selections as well. "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" might be followed by the Animals "It's My Life" - followed by Otis Redding's "I've Been Lovin' You Too Long" - followed by "Satan Doll" or "Ebb Tide". Our blend of white rock under black soul just sort of evolved. Picture "Kicks" being done by The Raiders, with Jackie Wilson fronting. It was sorta' like that.

60s: Rumor has it that that George Ross was a continual source of problems for the band.

BS: These are difficult questions that are sad to reflect on. The meteor, the comet; that was The Combinations faded and ended at the end of 1968, when George made the decision that college was not for him. In all honesty he was never a student. But, the alternative at that time in history was the draft. In an odd twist of fate, that early Combinations track of "Hey, Uncle Sam" became a reality for George. In that era it meant Viet Nam.

What came back from Viet Nam was not the Supernova that I had traveled with, lived with or learned with or that I had achieved so much success with. It was a different person; a different man.

In the years after returning from Viet Nam George ran into some trouble with the law. He did his time but came out and made the same mistake again. His release date is 2021.

When he is released the RCA recording contacts, the Milton Bradley Company promotional contracts, the international distribution of "Bump Ball", the national promotional tour and concerts, and the TV shows will not be there. Nor will our youth that served us so well.

My band mates and I choose to remember George Ross this way: He was a classic Ferrari. When the engine was running perfectly it was an exhilarating, exciting ride. We were a bright red machine capable of a soaring 140 mph. But when the engine went out of tune the trip was rough and you hoped you made it back to the garage.

60s: You’ve alluded to the fact that being a racially mixed group - along with your varied song selection - provided you the opportunity to play many eclectic types of clubs. Did you at any time experience the opposite - where it might have closed some doors for you? This was smack dab in the middle of the Civil Rights era, of course...

BS: I do not remember having the experience of racial discrimination towards our band. If it happened we were unaffected - for this simple reason. When we played folks showed up. So, we would receive calls to play again - private clubs, shore resorts, mountain resorts, country clubs, black clubs, white clubs, political clubs, ethnic clubs, and churches. If an organization didn't want to hire us because we were racially mixed I assume they just wouldn't contact us. As long as the phone rang; we were unaffected by the times it didn't ring. It was plain and simple.

60s: Did you play any of the local teen clubs?

BS: In our local area, we played every teen club. I once saw a list of them and recognized every one as a place we'd performed (at).

60s: What about battle of the bands?

BS: Yeah. I can remember four that we won - and a fifth one in which we finished second. Unfortunately for us, that fifth one was the National Rock and Roll final of (August) 1967. The first place band was an eleven-piece act out of Memphis. We were four-piece and a singer. They were four-piece, four horns and three singers. Gee - they must have had a four-car garage for their garage band, back home in Memphis! They won a recording contract, a TV appearance and some money. We were, however, given a complete set of amplifiers, guitars and a PA system, by the President of Ampeg Instruments. So we cheered up a little bit when that happened.

We also received a request from the Milton Bradley Company to write and record a song for a new dance game they were creating. Based on our performance, at that 1967 event, they wanted us to be the music performers attached to the game.

60s: “Bump Ball”. Where were your singles recorded?

BS: The first recording was done in a studio in New Jersey. Teaneck? Maybe Newark. One side was "Whatcha' Gonna Do?" written by George Ross. I always wondered if Hulk Hogan got his catch phrase from that tune. The flip side was written by Chuck Odenheimer and was a Viet Nam protest song called "Hey, Uncle Sam". My favorite line was "Hey, Mr. Reedman. Take back my car. I don't need it. I'm travelin' far". If you were of draft age back then that struck more than a musical chord!

The second was the project for the Milton Bradley Company. They had developed a dance game called Bump Ball. Marty Freifeld and I wrote the tune that we recorded for the project and the sessions took place at the RCA Studios in New York City. I remember that our producer was Jim Fogelsong who had worked with Elvis Presley and I remember the horn players had played on James Brown's records. I have a nice collection of photos from those sessions.

My best memory of that session was the flip side we did up there in Manhattan. We did Teddy Randazzo's "I'm On the Outside Looking In". If you want to hear the five of us as close to live as possible then that's the cut to play. In our region, it became a very strongly requested tune by female listeners – and, no, I can't hit that falsetto anymore.

60s: The "Bump Ball" promotion sounds like a major success for the band. Were the Combinations utilized at all to promote the game by appearing in print or radio ads - or other media? Or was the 45 the primary involvement you had with the promotion?

BS: A 45 rpm was packaged with every game. RCA had a nice original order from the Milton Bradley Company. We promoted the game in quite a few places. I can remember a big release party held at the Americana Hotel in New York City. It was a big classic Manhattan upscale nightclub. Lou Rawls was performing there at the same time. I can remember riding in the elevator with him. He turned and spoke to me in that enclosed area and it was like James Earl Jones' Darth Vader voice - only real - and standing right there! He was a human sub-woofer.

In addition to promotion gigs for the Bump Ball game, we did quite a few events that promoted the record and "us". In our area, the flip side was a much requested track. "I'm On The Outside Looking In" was a beautiful song from the era of the early 1960's. It was something we'd always done well and kids heard the tune as one of ours.

Given another six months, and without the main singer entering the military, maybe it would've been a big success for us. But, it's one of those "never will know" things.

60s: The “Bump Ball” promotion received a fair amount of press during the time. The corresponding “Bump Ball” dance was even featured on the Mike Douglas Show and on Hy-Lit and was created by “Killer Joe” Piro, the creator of the frug among other popular dances.

BS: We met “Killer Joe” in New York City. He was a good jazz dancer and a bit older than we were. But his troupe were young girls in between Broadway auditions that were first rate jazz, rock, and free form dancers.

60s: A newspaper article of the time reports that there was a planned beach party to launch the song/game.

BS: The beach party idea was a marketing idea among several that were on the planning board but it was never one of the actual marketing events we were part of. I don’t remember it ever happening.

60s: The article also states that “Bump Ball” was the first 45 rpm single ever to be released in stereo…

BS: “Bump Ball” was not the first to be released in stereo but stereo wasn’t the norm (at the time) either for 45 rpms. The recording technology was advancing and (stereo) was happening more often. We went for the extra technology. Things like that are automatic today; back then it was an “extra”. But…it was new then. Maybe RCA did make us the first test run. After all, if it's in the paper - it must be true!

60s: Your first single was released as by "The Combenashuns". Why the difference in spelling?

BS: The Combinations did two singles. The first was pure garage band, dig in your pocket, and borrow money from Mom and Dad for studio time stuff. (Our name was) phonetically spelled Combenashuns because we didn't have left over money to secure the name copyright from some guy who (owned) the name (“Combinations”). By the time we did the second (single) the name copyright was available, so we got it. The Combinations was the spelling we always used for live performance.

60s: It’s refreshing to hear you describe the single as “pure garage band”. Many groups – even some that agreed to be interviewed on this site - take it to be a derogatory term…

BS: Offended at the term garage band? No, No, No, brutha'. It's a badge of honor. Every band (Hear me? Every band!) goes into the garage with the intent on coming out and having people dig what they play. That's what we did. We did it real good. And there's no denying we were a "garage band" - the Odenheimer family's garage on the south side of Easton, Pennsylvania. We went in there, worked hard and came out rockin'. We're an example of the genre that deserves to be chronicled in your historic files.

60s: Do any Combinations recordings exist? Are there any vintage live recordings, or unreleased tracks?

BS: Yes, (live recordings) are in an attic somewhere and we are going to make a strong effort to find them. One that I know exists, in a box somewhere, is a tape I made at a black nightclub called the Paradise Club. It was on the south side of Easton and it was the Mecca for soul, funk and blues music. We were invited to play there and it was a mini Apollo Theater crowd. George was way, way out there vocally, and could have been elected President that night. For 30 years, I've lamented the misplacement of that tape. But, I'll find it.

60s: Did The Combinations have a manager?

BS: We would book ourselves. We were lucky to have a lot of repeat business. Our primary contact was Sammy. There was always somebody home at Sammy's house to answer the phone. Sammy stayed in the booking business and to this day has the same phone number from way back then.

In addition, we had some management from Lou Reda. Mr. Reda has a long history in the entertainment industry. Besides his music acumen, he managed the mentalist Kreskin and launched the History Channel and Cartoon Network on the nation’s cable programming systems. He's 80 and still works every day. He did good things for us but we did good things for him as well. It worked out well for both parties.

But, in those grinding hours and days, in that rehearsal garage…over on the south side of Easton…there was no manager. We pushed ourselves to learn and improve. It was just the five of us - and the neighborhood kids that gathered and danced in the alley.

60s: How popular locally did the Combinations become?

BS: No hotel, no bar, no frat house, no teen club, no adult club, no college, no school, no concert venue, no festival, no Pocono resort, no Catskill resort, no shore resort, no radio station, no Deejay - nobody - ever lost money on an event they hired us to perform in. People came out to see us play and it humbled us every time they did. I will give you two stories.

1) In 2002, I escorted a person to her 35th Reunion of the Easton High School class of 1967. At the event, as many people there knew me as they did the person I escorted. Yet, I did not attend Easton High School and haven't lived there for over 30 years. "Hey! I know you. You play with The Combinations!" I was shocked - but happy.

2) Guitarist Marty Freifeld became a doctor. He met an attractive nurse. She did not like doctors. So, he told her he was a musician. She asked what group. He said I was in The Combinations. She said, "Hey, I have their record". He picked up the 45rpm, pointed to his name and said, “That's me”. They've (now) been married for 22 years.

60s: How far was the band's "touring" territory?

BS: When we started, we were college and high school students, so it never got national. We played from Virginia/DC up to the Catskills and the Mid-Atlantic. We were half way between the Poconos and the Jersey Shore. We were right in the middle of two dozen colleges. We were an hour from Philly. There were a lot of venues.

60s: What other local groups of the era do you especially recall?

BS: Your web page centers on 1965-’69 – Post-British Invasion when Baby Boomers started to become teenagers. The band with the best harmony was the High Keys; the best teenaged pop band was Uproar. The best horn band was Big City Music Band and the best British Invasion band was The King's Ransom (our own Rolling Stones).

60s: Did the band make any local TV appearances?

BS: We were on several TV shows - but who knows if they kept archives. My father once filmed us in concert, in Easton, in front of about 8,000 folks. It's a silent 8mm film, but, it too, has been put in a "safe place" were no one can find it. I suppose my mom tossed it out with my baseball card collection. Don't they always?

60s: Do you by chance recall any names of the TV shows you appeared on? Was it a mixture of local Pennsylvania shows, or were there any national ones, too?

BS: I wish I could be more accurate here, but those shows come and go, as did the many "live radio" shows we did. What I do remember is that, at one time, we had been on every major TV station in the Philly market and some of New York's, as well. And we were very available to the radio shows. We'd stopped by and interview, then they'd play our record, or promote our local appearance. The barter system, eh?

Jerry Blavat, "The Geator with the Heater", was a very well known deejay from the Philly area. When Dick Clark moved American Bandstand out of Philadelphia to the Los Angeles area, Jerry Blavet had a TV dance show that took over the void. He was very supportive of us, as local boys. That was very Philly and he was very Philly. He was very popular then and his radio shows still draw today.

60s: What year and why did the band break up?

BS: Well, as it is the case when a band starts up, there’s never a specific date of breakup, either. Really? Late 1968.

Your website concentrates on the era of 1964 to 1969. The Combinations were born, raised and they flourished in that exact era. By 1969, the era had ended. If someone wanted the band to play after 1968 some musician friends would be called in and the gig would be played. But, it wasn't the combination of Combinations that was expected, or remembered. So, it ended.

60s: What are the other various members of The Combinations up to today?

BS: Marty Freifeld is a doctor but still plays about a dozen times a year with a band of doctor friends – just because he loves to play. Neil Wellen still plays about every month. He's 20 years older than his current band mates, but only chronologically. Emotionally, his age is a rockin' 20 year old and he still plays an outstanding organ and piano. Chuck Odenheimer is a teacher in the Lehigh Valley. But he, too, still plays (and carries) his Hammond B-3. Good God they were heavy! Sammy Losagio remains in the entertainment industry as a booking agent and is still in family contact with his cousin Frank Gaulano.

Me? I still go out every now and then, on a substitute basis, with musician folks that I know. Plus, I did a CD back a couple of years ago. It turned out pretty well and I was happy with it. And, happy that music buddies liked it. More recently I've been playing and recording with the '60's band The Rip Chords.

60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with the Combinations?

BS: It is a simple answer - an answer that will get a head nod from all of my fellow band mates and, perhaps, many of the musicians in your music history web page: It was a time in my life when my vocation was my avocation. It doesn't get better than that.

Rock 'n Roll World Championships, Lambertville Music Circus, NJ 1967

Recording at the RCA Victor Studios, NYC 1968

Backing Little Anthony & The Imperials, Allentown, PA 1966

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