The Grodes "Uh Huh, Girl"/"I Won't Be There" Tri-M Records 1001, 1965 (yellow label)
The Grodes "Uh Huh, Girl" one sided promo Tri-M Records 1001, 1965 (white label)
Recorded in Phoenix, "Uh Huh, Girl" is a moody, riff-driven garage classic, while the B-side, "I Won't Be There" is an uptempo rocker, both topped with memorable, melodic vocals from guitarist and group leader Manny Freiser. The record was pressed by Monarch in Los Angeles; the delta number, 58286 scribed in the dead-wax, dates the pressing at August 1965.
"To release our first record, I formed a label with L.A promotion man Mike Borchetta and a friend of his, actor Cass Martin. We called it Tri-M Records (Manny, Mike, and Martin), and we were to put up $100 each to press the records. I found out later that they had conned me, the entire cost was $100 to press the records, I had paid it all!" Freiser said. The record hit #35 on KTKT's September 24, 1965 survey, in-between "You've Got Your Trouble" by The Fortunes and the debut of "Do You Believe in Magic" by The Lovin' Spoonful. It went down to No. 40 on October 8, then fell off the survey. Despite its short chart appearance, it got the group "hooked on making records while at the same time hooking us up with KTKT program director/DJ Dan Gates who would later become our manager, producer, and mentor," Freiser said. This was the first of several records by Manny Freiser; with Tucson's The Grodes, Spring Fever, and as a writer and producer for other local releases, plus solo and other efforts after he moved to Los Angeles at the end of the decade.
