The Dovers

Something bout the concept of "doving" or being a "dover" appealed to musicians in both the garage rock and doo wop genres, indicating that the vast gap between street corner and garage can be spanned, providing the concept is vague enough. Thus the existence of at least two different doo wop groups called the Dovers, who sometimes obscure the fine rock group of the same name that came out of the free-flowing Santa Barbara scene of the mid-'60s. Without a doubt, the Beatles were the dominant influence on the band, who started out calling themselves the Vandells. Apparently the latter name, in addition to potentially serving as an escape valve from the confusion with the doo wop scene, might also describe the tactics of record collectors when it comes to procuring copies of the sides this band originally cut for the Miramar label. In garage rock, the Dovers are apparently the equivalent of the strongest French cheese, the original singles too expensive to purchase, the group's songs too personal for cover bands to attempt. Most followers of garage rock hear the Dovers on compilation collections; "She's Gone" and "She's Not Just Anybody" are two titles that show the band flowing in the mainstream of rock and roll thought patterns for this era. Bands were fascinated with "chicks" -- "She's Not There," "She's a Rainbow," and so on and so forth. Drummer Rick Morinini was one of the first original members to leave the group. His replacement, Randy Busby, saw this as a step up from his gig with Ernie and the Emperors. Busby's period in the band includes some good raga rock. The group's last sessions were in May of 1966. Original bassist Robbie Laudewig died in the late '80s. In 2001, the Misty Lane label released a complete collection of the group's material. ~ Eugene...