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Ronnie & the
Casuals: 60s Eastside Band From Pomona
by Mark
Guerrero
Ronnie & the Casuals, a.k.a. Ronnie & the Pomona
Casuals, were one of the best bands on the East L.A.
circuit during the golden age of the "Eastside
Sound" in the mid-sixties. With their seven-piece lineup, comprised of a lead vocalist, tenor and
baritone sax, bass, drums, keyboard, and the lead guitar
playing of leader Ronnie Duran, they typified the
"Eastside Sound" to the max. Unlike most
Eastside lead guitarists, Ronnie played a Gretch "Chet
Atkins" model guitar, instead of the more prevalent
Fender Telecaster or Stratocaster. They also
featured the strong lead vocals of
Charles Lett, a 16 year old African American with the
voice of a seasoned adult r&b singer. These
elements combined to create a powerful sounding band
with its own unique brand of the "Eastside
Sound." Like
many of the best Eastside bands, they were managed by
Billy Cardenas and performed extensively around the greater
Los Angeles area. In 1964, Ronnie & the
Casuals recorded an album, produced by Billy Cardenas,
called "Everybody Jerk" for Bob Keane's Donna
Record label, a subsidiary of his DelFi
Records. (DelFi had previously released recordings
by Chicano artists Ritchie Valens, Chan Romero, and The
Romancers.) The Jerk was an extremely popular dance
in '64, hence the title and style of the music on the album.
"Everybody Jerk" was very popular, particularly on the east
side of Los Angeles, and featured the great single
"I Wanna Do the Jerk." It also had a few
original songs, along with covers of r&b songs such
as "High Heel Sneakers," "Out of
Sight," "Ya Ya," and "Land of a
Thousand Dances." In fact, Ronnie & the
Casuals covered Chris Kenner's "Land of a Thousand Dances"
before Cannibal & the Headhunters and Thee Midniters.
Ronnie
Duran, founder and leader of the Ronnie & the
Casuals, grew up in Pomona and showed his first interest in
music by taking up the accordion. At the age of
thirteen he changed to guitar, influenced by a paternal
uncle who played the instrument professionally.
Ronnie remembers his uncle showing him some chords and
getting him started. He later bought a guitar
instruction book and taught himself, spending hours a
day practicing after school. Ronnie formed his
first band at age 14 and played local dances and
weddings. Shortly thereafter, at Damien High
School in San Dimas, The Casuals were put together with
original members Ronnie Duran on guitar, his brother
Jimmy Duran on tenor sax, Bob Foley on baritone sax,
Phillip Duran (no relation) on drums, Ryan O'brien on
bass, and Robert Arroyo on organ. (Sometime after
the recording of their DelFi album Robert Arroyo was
replaced by Les Calill on Wurlitzer electric
piano). They met their
lead singer, Charles Lett, when he walked across the
street from a friend's house to watch The Casuals
rehearse. Ronnie asked him if he could sing.
Charles proceeded to demonstrate that he could and
instantly became a member of the band. The Casuals
became Ronnie and the Casuals when it was brought to
their attention that Brenda Lee had a band called The
Casuals.
Ronnie recalls that his father had heard about
manager/producer Billy Cardenas and gave him a call to
tell him about Ronnie & the Casuals. After
hearing the band, Billy began to book them at various
Eastside venues. When Cardenas felt they were
ready, he took them to Bob Keane at DelFi Records.
Bob liked what he heard and scheduled the sessions for
the recording of what became the "Everybody
Jerk" album. Amazingly, when Ronnie & the
Casuals recorded the album they were between the ages
of 14 and 17. Ronnie recalls doing the music
tracks for side one in a single night. It took a
few weeks to complete the tracks for side two and the
vocals. According to Ronnie, "I Wanna Do the
Jerk" was written by Arthur Lee of the legendary
L.A. psychedelic band, Love. Ronnie and one of the
other members of Love assisted with the writing of the
song, which was not credited on the album. Ronnie
also worked with The Sisters, a Chicana vocal r&b
trio, in the studio on their DelFi recordings.
Ronnie & the Casuals backed up The Sisters on
several DelFi singles and Ronnie also helped with
musical arrangements and production. (Ronnie later
married one of The Sisters, Rosella Arvisu, and had two
daughters, who are now excellent singers in their own
right. One of the other
"Sisters" was Ersi Arvisu, who later would be
lead vocalist for El Chicano.
After the release of Ronnie & the Casuals' DelFi album, the gigs became
better and more frequent. On one memorable show,
they were on the bill with Little Stevie Wonder at the
Paramount Ballroom in East L.A. Ronnie remembers
being astounded by the 12 year old Stevie's
talent. Aside from his phenomenal singing, he
played drums, guitar, sax, keyboard, and harmonica that
night. They also played with The Byrds at
DeAnza Park in Ontario, CA, where Ronnie says The Byrds
played an extremely loud version of "Turn Turn
Turn." So loud he could scarcely hear the
vocals. For Ronnie the highlight was playing a gig
at the Big Union Hall in Vernon, CA where, according to
Ronnie, the headliners were The Who, who were just
starting to get famous. He said there must have
been 2,000 people there. Since I'd never heard
that The Who had played an Eastside venue, I asked Billy
Cardenas to corroborate the story. He didn't
recall The Who playing the venue, but I still mention it
because Ronnie seems positive about it and distinctly
remembers watching them from the side of the
stage. He says they were "awesome". In addition, they played with
legendary r&b artists Ike & Tina Turner and Ray Charles. Ronnie
& the Casuals also played often at Casey Kasem's
club in Thousand Oaks, CA, which also featured other
East L.A. bands such as Thee Midniters, The Blendells,
and The Premiers. Another great gig was at the
Hollywood Palladium, promoted by Huggy Boy, with Thee
Midniters also on the bill. They were also scheduled to play
the Shrine Exposition Hall in Los Angeles, where they were to
back up
the Righteous Brothers. Before the show, Ronnie
& the Casuals and the Righteous Brothers had
discussed what songs they would do and the keys in which
they would be played. Ronnie & the Casuals were ready to go on
when a big fight broke out in the audience. It was
of sufficient size and ferocity that the concert was
cancelled before it began. Another gig that stands
out in Ronnie's memory is an all night show at the
Golden Gate Theater in East L.A., where they backed up
saxophone legend Joe Houston, Don & Dewey, and many others. It turns
out the supposed other back up band never showed so
Ronnie & the Casuals played their own show and
backed up other artists for six hours. He was
thrilled to meet and play with the great r&b
artists, but was not happy about being overworked and,
to make matters worse, doesn't recall getting paid.
Ronnie & the Casuals stayed together into the late
70s. The most interesting gig during that period
were frequent performances at a combined concert/dance
hall in Montebello, CA. It had been converted from
a bowling alley into an impressive and popular
venue. They would back up the guest artists and
then play in the dance hall after the concert.
Some of the artists they backed up included The
Spinners, Don Julian & the Meadowlarks, and Freddy
Fender. Freddy Fender, who was at the height of
his success, came into the dance hall after his show and
sat in with Ronnie & the Casuals and had a great
time. (On a sad note, original
Ronnie & the Casuals lead singer, Charles Lett, who
Ronnie says "got in with the wrong crowd," was
shot to death over 20 years ago.) Ronnie stopped playing through the 80s, but
in the 90s put another band together and called it The
Casuals (returning to the original name before
"Ronnie" was added) and has been playing ever since.
The Casuals mainly play in the Riverside/San Bernardino area and
occasionally do gigs in East L.A., like at the popular
Quiet Cannon in Montebello. His daughters, Yvonne
and Melanie, are regular featured vocalists with the
band. Ronnie says they are phenomenal singers.
I haven't heard them yet, but with their pedigree, I
wouldn't doubt it. This year (2004), The Casuals
played a concert at Gent's Hall in San Bernardino on the
bill with Malo and Tierra. It was a benefit for
scholarships for young Latinos in the area.
My 60s band, Mark & the Escorts, shared the same
manager/producer, Billy Cardenas, with Ronnie & the
Casuals so we played with them on many
occasions on the Eastside circuit. In 1965, we
played with Ronnie & the Casuals at the CYO Hall,
Big Union Hall (twice), the Shrine Auditorium (at the
"West Coast Eastside Revue" concert),
Belvedere Park Auditorium, the Boulevard Theater, and at
a daytime outdoor concert in the Jonson's Market parking
lot. (You can see the flyers from all the above
shows on my "60s Eastside Flyers" page.)
There may have been other times our bands shared the
bill, but the aforementioned venues are documented by
the flyers. Ronnie & the Casuals were one of my band's favorite
groups. We liked their sound and style and enjoyed
playing with them. One time, Billy Cardenas
organized a rehearsal for Mark & the Escorts and
Ronnie & the Casuals at a church hall in
Pomona. I think it was in preparation for the West
Coast Eastside Revue concert at the Shrine
Auditorium. I remember rehearsing our set and
feeling pretty good about it. Ronnie & the
Casuals set up and started their rehearsal with "I
Wanna Do the Jerk." It sounded so powerful, with Charles Lett's big strong voice, the bari and tenor
saxes, and the seven piece band rockin' in the small empty
hall, I remember it being
a somewhat humbling experience. I
recently asked Ronnie about it and he doesn't remember
the rehearsal at all. Because of the power of that
moment, I never forgot it.
Ronnie & the Casuals' "Everybody Jerk"
album is still available on DelFi Records on CD
(DFCD-72112-2).
You can order it from DelFi's website, www.del-fi.com.
The album still sounds good today.
This
article is based on an audiotaped interview by Mark
Guerrero with Ronnie Duran on March 20, 2004.
Real
Audio Sound Byte
Real
Player Required- Download it here,
if needed
I Wanna Do the Jerk
Ronnie
& the Casuals 1964
Contact me at: info@markguerrero.net
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