Southwest F.O.B. ("Freight On Board") was a 1960s psychedelic rock group from Dallas, Texas, now
perhaps best remembered because it featured Dan Seals and John Colley, who later found great success as the duo England Dan and John Ford Coley. The Southwest F.O.B. also included Michael (Doc) Woolbright on the bass.
Southwest F.O.B. are mostly remembered for "Smell of Incense," a pop-psychedelic tune with an
ethereal organ that was a big regional hit in the South, and a small national one. The group were more aligned with the "soft rock" or sunshine pop sounds typical of many late-sixties pop-psychedelic southern Californian acts than the tough Texas garage style.
Multi-part vocal harmonies characterized many of their arrangements, and their occasional use of horns
added a mild dash of soul. Although "Smell of Incense" was a pop-slanted cover of a song by L.A. psychedelic group the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, most of their material was original, penned by Dan Seals and John Ford Colley, who went on to land some big soft-rock hits in the 1970s as England Dan and John Ford Coley.
Their brand of psychedelia was way tougher than what they'd make in the 1970s, but certainly on the
tame side. After making one album and a few singles, Seals and Colley left the group to form a duo, leaving the remaining members to carry on for about a year before disbanding.
Started by guitar player Larry "Ovid" Stevens when they were students at W. W. Samuell High School
in Dallas, the band secured a minor hit in 1968 (reaching number 56) with a cover of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band song "Smell of Incense", nationally released on the Stax subsidiary label Hip Records. The band's sole LP was also called Smell of Incense; it has been reissued as a remastered, expanded CD by Sundazed Records, now out of print. Later success eluded them, and the band broke up in 1969.
Dan Seals died on March 25, 2009. He and classmate John Colley, who later changed the spelling of his last name to Coley, formed a group with three other Samuell students called the Playboys Five. That became Theze Few, which morphed into Dallas high school band Southwest F.O.B.
"We were very popular in the late 1960s", Coley said. "We even opened for Led Zeppelin and Three Dog Night, and remember, we were just high school kids".
Southwest F.O.B. – Smell Of Incense
Label: Sundazed Music – SC 11060, Sundazed Music – SUNDAZED SC 11060
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Stereo, Mono
Country: US
Released: 1998
Genre: Rock
Style: Soft Rock, Psychedelic Rock
TRACKS
01. Southwest F.O.B. – Smell Of Incense 2:40
Written By – Markley-Morgan
02. Southwest F.O.B. – Tomorrow 3:11
Written-By – Colley-Seals
03. Southwest F.O.B. – Rock 'N' Roll Woman 2:47
Written-By – S.Stills
04. Southwest F.O.B. – Downtown Woman/Nadine 6:54
Written-By – Colley-Seals
05. Southwest F.O.B. – All One Big Game 2:54
Written-By – Colley-Seals
06. Southwest F.O.B. – On My Mind 2:26
Written-By – Colley-Seals
07. Southwest F.O.B. – Bells Of Baytown 3:30
Written-By – Colley-Seals
08. Southwest F.O.B. – And Another Thing 11:55
Written-By – Colley-Seals
09. Southwest F.O.B. – Mercy, Mercy, Mercy 2:59
Written-By – J.Zawinal
10. Southwest F.O.B. – I ndependent Me 2:27
Written-By – Colley-Seals
11. Southwest F.O.B. – Green Skies 2:02
Written-By – Colley-Seals
12. Southwest F.O.B. – As I Look At You 2:23
Written-By – Durrell
13. Southwest F.O.B. – Beggar Man 2:29
Written-By – Colley-Seals
14. Southwest F.O.B. – Feelin' Groovy 2:52
Written-By – P.Simon
15. Theze Few – Dynamite 2:36
Written-By – D.Seals
16. Theze Few – I Want Your Love 2:15
Written-By – D.Seals
17. Southwest F.O.B. – Smell Of Incense (Single Mix) 2:41
Written By – Markley-Morgan
18. Southwest F.O.B. – Nadine (Single Version) 2:59
Written-By – C.Berry
19. Southwest F.O.B. – Tomorrow (Alternate Mono Mix) 3:11
Written-By – Colley-Seals
20. Southwest F.O.B. – And Another Thing (Edited Mono Version) 3:10
Written-By – Colley-Seals
LINE - UP
Bass – Mike "Doc" Woolbright
Drums – Tony "Zeke" Durrell
Engineer [Original Sessions] – Randy Fouts, Robin Hood Brians
Guitar – Larry "Ovid" Stevens
Lead Vocals, Saxophone – Dan Seals
Liner Notes – Efram Turchick
Liner Notes [Original Album Liner Notes] – Robin Hood Brians
Mastered By, Producer [Produced For Compact Disc] – Bob Irwin
Organ, Keyboards – John Coley
THEZE FEW
Theze Few formed in Dallas and cut one single for the BlacKnight label in 1966, “Dynamite” / “I Want Your Love”. Dan Seals wrote both songs, though the labels mistakenly list his name as D. Feals, published by Tall Pine BMI. Dan Seals, 61, was born in West Texas but moved to Dallas as a teenager. He graduated from Samuell High School in Pleasant Grove in 1966. He and classmate John Colley,
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| DAN ENGLAND (1976) |
who later changed the spelling of his last name to Coley, formed a group with three other Samuell students called the Playboys Five. That became Theze Few, which morphed into the legendary Dallas high school band Southwest F.O.B. As the friendship blossomed, Seals’ brother Jim was emerging as a musical superstar. Jim Seals was part of the multi-platinum-selling duo Seals & Crofts. But Dan Seals and Coley would soon put their own stamp on music. They formed England Dan & John Ford Coley and became the toast of 1976 when their single, “I’d Really Love to See You Tonight,” and album, Nights are Forever, became gold records, meaning each sold more than 500,000 copies.
Members of the band were:
Danny Seals – Vocals, saxophone
Larry Stevens – lead guitar
John Colley – piano
Mike Woolbright – bass
Buddy Lay – drums
Thanks, I did not know! Cheers to you Kostas!
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