The Vanguards (Mendota)

The Vanguards were five teenagers from Mendota, Illinois: Tony Martin, vocals; Jack Wagner, lead guitar; Jim Larkin, rhythm guitar; Benny Sutton, bass guitar; and Gary Fitzgerald, drums.  All were students at Mendota High School.

The combo formed in 1964 and got their start playing at the local youth center, the Mendota Kanteen.  

By 1966, the group was performing throughout the northern half of Illinois, including gigs in DeKalb, Dixon, Princeton, Ottawa, Streator and even Chicago.   

In early 1966 the group travelled to the Universal Recording Studio in Chicago for a recording session.  The end result was a single which the band self-released in the summer of that year.

The 45 included "What's Wrong With You," an original written by Martin and Fitzgerald, along with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven" on the flip side.  (The audio in the YouTube videos below was transferred directly from the master tapes not from a record.)

 

The band also made several other recordings which were never released at the time.  They included covers of "Bulldog," "Hi-Heel Sneakers" and "Kansas City,' as well as two originals:

"Cool Richie" & "Peachtree"

  

Informal live recordings done at the Mendota Kanteen in 1966 show the band doing a number of Rolling Stones' covers (Paint It Black, Satisfaction, As Tears Go By, Get Off My Cloud & The Last Time) as well as songs by as the Kinks, the Turtles and the Animals.   Their sets included a number of Ventures-inspired instrumentals as well, such as “Pipeline,” “Diamond Head,” "Walk Don't Run" and “Perfidia.”

The group continued to perform through the summer of 1967 including gigs in nearby Compton and Amboy.  By 1968 however the members had all graduated high school and went their separate ways (i.e. Vietnam), bringing an end to the band.

Fast forward to 2010, when singer Tony Martin and his wife were involved in a car accident which left him with serious spinal injuries.   A benefit was planned for Martin in January 2011.  The day before the event, all of the members of the Vanguards joined Martin at his bedside.  It was the first time in 43 years they were all together again.

Around the same time, a Vanguards CD was produced and sold to help raise money for Martin.  Incredibly, the band members were still in possession of the master tapes and acetates from their '66 sessions.  The CD included "remastered" versions of the single along with unreleased tracks (see above YouTube videos).

Tony Martin passed away in 2014.  In the 40+ years after the Vanguards he continued to sing, performing with multiple area bands such as the Old News Band, Rum and Chowder and Lonwolf.

Guitarist John "Jack" Wagner continues to write and perform music in Texas to this day.  You can listen and purchase his latest release HERE.   He also writes musical stage plays.  His most recent, Dream Catcher: The Ray Scott Story, is currently being produced by the Mystic Cat Society in Houston.