Salem County Music Scene

Rock & Soul of the 60s & 70s

We are proud to announce our newest documentary feature:

Salem County Music Scene – Rock & Soul of the 60s & 70s .

This film will detail the music culture that thrived in Salem County during the 1960’s to late 1970s. From smoky VFW halls to high school gym dances to bars and clubs and even the Cowtown Rodeo stages, Salem County produced some of the most passionate and talented musicians of the region.

Through intimate interviews with surviving musicians, rare footage and photos, as well as studio and live recordings, the film will capture the energy, the joys, the heartbreaks and the lifelong friendships from that wonderful time in Salem County.

Expect stories of garage bands trying to turn pro, rivalries, fleeting fame, Vietnam-era stories, and the pure sound and dreams of young musicians looking to find their place in the big US music business world and their voice in their own small-town.

The Salem County Music Scene celebrates the unsung heroes of music from Salem County.

It’s more than a music documentary — it’s a love letter to a generation, a place, and a sound that still resonates today.

Currently in active production — interviews underway and

archival material being collected.

Why This film Matters

Time is running out. Many of the musicians who filled Salem County’s VFW and Eagles halls, high school gyms, clubs and bars in the 1960s and 1970s are now in their seventies and eighties. Their stories — of forming basement and garage bands, chasing professional dreams, living through the turbulent decades of the 60’s and 70s, facing the shadow of Vietnam, and building lifelong friendships through music — exist mostly in memory, some fading photographs, and scattered cassette and reel-to-reel tapes. If these voices are not recorded soon, an important chapter of local history will disappear with them.

Salem County’s rock and soul scene was never isolated. It was part of the larger South Jersey and Philly area music world. Whether it was a club gig in Wildwood, dance party on the Delaware River Booze Cruise, a house party in Penns Grove or a wedding at the Salem Country Club there was a network of regional bands of ambitious young players who looked toward the bigger venues and recording contracts all the while remaining rooted in their hometowns. Looking back at these young musicians we see that they were the bold dreamers who kept the music alive in the small towns of Salem County even when the money was tight, the gigs were hard and late, the friendships were strained and that “big break” kept being just one more gig away.

At its heart, this film is about small-town voices finding their power through music.

Salem County Music Scene – Rock & Soul of the 60s & 70s is a race against time.

By preserving these stories now, we honor the people who made the music — and give future generations a chance to hear what their community once sounded like.

Currently in active production — interviews underway and

archival material being collected.

The Musicians In The Film

Daryl Howard of the Nu’ Rons

“My relatives were called the Emeralds; they were doo-wop group that would sing with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes and Frankie Vallie, all the old-school guys. They would practice at our house, and we would listen to them, and that’s when we got interested. We would listen to them and imitate them.”

Jim Emmons of the Neutral Spirits

“Neutral Spirits: For 10 years we did everything that was popular that came along. We all liked Chicago, and we had the horns, so we did it. But they’re the guys that pushed me to do things that I wouldn’t do normally. They pushed me to Tom Jones stuff.”

Dave Weldin, Dave Layton, Jeff Shaw, Bobby Alleger, Alan Belcher and Allen Sattler of Slayer

“We played the Liberty Bell and The Crescendo, and we played Phil and Eddies’ Surf Club all summer long, 5 nights a week, and then we would practice one night a week, and that gave us one night a week to do our laundry.”

The Rain Makers – (L to R) Dale Harris, Wayne Elmer & Tim Elmer

“Back then, the microphones were always the problem because Timmy was the lead singer, so he had a microphone. Dale and I had to share a microphone, so I had to go back there by his drums and lean over and sing into his mic. You do what you have to do.”

Eddie Sultonel – Shabocca & Steam

“I got my interest in music from church. My grandfather was the pastor, and my grandmother played the piano. She was a concert pianist and started me out. She seen the gift and bought me my first guitar. By the time I was 12, I was playing R&B, gospel, and country boy music.”

Terry Buckner of the Robert Mule Band

“In 1964, me and my brother Benny were both sitting on our living room floor watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. From then on, we had to have a guitar. My dad went out and bought me a Silvertone bass and my brother a Silvertone guitar.”

Rich Watson of The GT’s

“We had a nice setup in the basement, and we would just practice; it was fun, it was a good time. Neighborhood kids would sit at the window and hear us play. People would hear us practicing, and people would show up, and it would turn into a dance at night.”

Paul Harwood of The GT’s

“Richie was the best thing that could happen to us as a drummer. But Richie was drafted and sent to Vietnam for two years. So we had a two-year lapse; we tried other drummers but just did not work. We just kept waiting for him to come back. When he came back, he bought that new set of drums, Ludwigs. He said these are better than Ringo’s. I’ll never forget that comment. We just got back together, and that’s when we got busy.”

Terry Wright of The Manhattans and The Roadrunners

“60 years ago, the drummer for Jim Simpkins’s band, the Manhattans, was retiring, and Don Locke told Jim I was a drummer and to give me a call. I got a call, and on my first job with them at the Rock n’ Chair in Avalon. I told my parents I’d be home around 1 but rolled in about 4:30, and they were not very hot with me being in a band.”

The Bands

315 London, Dynasty, Gospel 5, Jade, Neutral Spirits, Opus, Paradox, Post No Bills, Robert Mule Band, Seven Hits And A Miss, Shabocca, Slayer, The Alternators, The Buka Bros., The Capris, The Chevelles, The GTs, The Friedles, The Funky Riders, The Manhattans, The Nu’ Rons, The Rainmakers, The Roadrunners, Steam, The Semanons