The Chartbusters

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The Chartbusters were an American rock band from Washington, D.C. The group's lone hit single was the 1964 song "She's the One", which had an 8-week chart run and peaked at #33 in August 1964 on the Billboard Hot 100. [1] "She's the One" was released on Mutual Records after 20 other record labels had turned it down.

Contents

Origin and recordings

The Chartbusters featured lead guitarist/vocalist Vernon Sandusky, who began his career with Bobby Poe and The Poe Kats. Bobby Poe was the manager and often co-producer of this new group. In the 1970s, Vernon Sandusky went on to play guitar in Roy Clark's band for the next 20 years. [2]

The Chartbusters recorded several singles from 1964 to 1968, but none reached the sales and chart heights of "She's the One". The band's second single, "Why", made the Billboard chart, but rose only to #92. [3] Over the relatively brief period of the band's career, The Chartbusters recorded several singles for Mutual Records, Crusader Records, and Bell Records. The band did not record an album. A compilation album of singles - along with unreleased tracks and demos - was issued on compact disc in the 1990s by the German label Eagle Records.

Although founding member Vernon Sandusky repeatedly has said it is not true, local Washington, DC legend has it that The Chartbusters also released several quickly recorded budget albums for Diplomat Records (a subsidiary of Synthetic Plastics Company) circa 1964 under the name "The Manchesters," including Beatlerama Volume 1 (Diplomat D-2307 mono and DS-2307 stereo) and Beatlerama Volume 2 (Diplomat D-2310 mono and DS-2310 stereo). These albums contained cover versions of several Beatles' songs along with (according to Sandusky) unauthorized versions of The Chartbusters' original songs/demos, including some which appeared in alternate versions on the Mutual Records singles.

On tour

As a popular live band, the Chartbusters performed with many stars of the day, including The Animals, The Four Seasons, Jan and Dean, Johnny Rivers, The Lovin' Spoonful, Peter and Gordon, Chuck Berry, and Dino, Desi and Billy. [4] Some of the aforementioned artists also performed with The Chartbusters at a weekend of music held at The DC Armory in Washington, DC in April 1966, which was called "The National Teen Show". For several years during the mid-to-late 1960s, The Chartbusters were also the house band at The Crazy Horse in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C.

Influence

In the 1990s, Tom Hanks was quoted in People saying that The Chartbusters were one of the inspirations for his film That Thing You Do! (There was also a band called The Chartbusters in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Hanks grew up, so this may be a reference to that band, which recorded for the Concord Music Group in the 1990s and had a member born in Oakland.)

Personal

Lead singer and guitarist Vernon Sandusky (born on June 30, 1939, in Earlham, Iowa) died at his home in Enda, Kansas, on January 25, 2020, at the age of 80. [5]

Members

Additional members

References

  1. ↑ Billboard Top 100 Songs, August 15, 1964
  2. ↑ See the book "Kansas Music: Stories Of A Rich Tradition"
  3. ↑ Billboard Top 100 Songs, November 14, 1964
  4. ↑ Pictures of many of these artists and The Chartbusters can be seen at The Chartbusters Official Website
  5. ↑ "Vernon R. Sandusky June 30, 1939 - January 25, 2020". forbeshoffman.com. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
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