The Volcanos

This name is shared by at least three bands. Currently, the second band has streamable music available at last.fm. (1) Philadelphia soul quintet the Volcanos formed in 1964, originally teaming lead vocalist Gene Jones, vocalist Steve Kelly, guitarist Stanley Wade, his bassist brother Harold "Doc" Wade, keyboardist John Hart, and drummer Earl Young. According to e-zine Funky 16 Corners, within months of their formation the group signed to the local Arctic label, and as the year drew to a close issued their debut single, "Baby," the lone ballad in the Volcanos canon. (The flipside, "Make Your Move," would appear on no less than three of their nine total singles). In mid-1965 the Volcanos returned with their biggest hit, "Storm Warning" -- a showcase for Jones' soaring falsetto, the single reached Number 33 on the national R&B charts and remains a Northern soul favorite to this day. Future Philly soul legends Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff composed the follow-up, the upbeat stomper "Help Wanted," and the Volcanos closed out the year with the Motown-inspired "(It's Against) The Laws of Love," another classic given new life on the Northern Soul circuit. They did not release their next Arctic effort, "A Lady's Man," until the following summer; the single failed to return the group to the charts, and after one last entry for the label, the Eddie Holman-penned "You're Number 1," Arctic terminated their contract. The Volcanos then landed with the Harthon imprint for two superb 1967 singles: "It's Gotta Be a False Alarm" and "Take Me Back Again." Jones left the group sometime in 1968, rechristening himself Gene Faith and beginning a solo career on the Virtue label. In 1970, he resurrected the Volcanos moniker for one last single, "No Trespassing" -- by that time, the original lineup had long since dissolved, with the brothers, Harold and Stanley Wade going on to found the Trammps, the band best-known for its classic "Disco Inferno." (via Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide) (2) Detroit, MI-based surf quintet, personnel: Rick Mills - guitar; Chris Flanagan - guitar; Bill Bowen - drums; Mark Brainerd - bass; Dave Fragale - former bass player. "Started in 1994, the Volcanos set out to create a high-energy reinterpretation of classic '60s surf music. Chris and Rick had previous experience playing surf in the Zombie Surfers. After cooking up a few originals, the band put out two 45s on their Neurotic Bop label. The records were greeted favorably by the then-swelling, post-Pulp-Fiction surf music scene. The boys then hooked up with Estrus Records for a series of 45s, LPs and CDs. At live shows the band mixes their original instros with surf and garage vocal tunes. They've played Garage Shock 97, Surfari USA and the Las Vegas Rockaround, as well as being regulars on the Detroit scene. " (via band's myspace page) 3) Valcanos is a St. Louis band oh large proportions. They play fast, grooving dubstep influenced dance punk. They are LARGE! Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.