History of Blue Crystals

The following was written by George Gell ,who is a 1960’s Rock Historian, after he interviewed George and other former members of the Blue Crystals in 1995. George Gell made many contributions to the Book and e-book Fuzz Acid & Flowers, by Vernon Joynson, an extensive guide to Psych and garage music 1964 – 1972 The book contains band histories and musical analysis of over 5,400 US acts of that era of which the Blue crystals (Listed Baron Thomas and the Blue Crystals), were included. George Gell makes his home today in IIssaquah, Washington, but is originally from Cleveland and is an authority on Ohio Rock ‘n’ Roll History of the 1960’s.

1st record lineup:   Recordings
George Anderson Lead Guitar  
Don Kite Rhythm Guitar Hey Baby (Bruce Channel) (45rpm)
Roger Rauch Bass Be Bop A Lula (Gene Vincent) (45rpm)
Don Harris Drums “Garage Punk Unknowns” (Vol#1) LP
Joe Dill Lead Vocals  
2nd record lineup:    
George Anderson Lead Guitar Tension (George L. Anderson,) (45rpm)
Don Hite Rhythm Guitar We’ll be Thru Forever
Doug Maas Bass (George L. Anderson) (45rpm)
Don Harris Drums "Highs in the Mid '60s” (Vol#21) sLP
Baron (Byron) Thomas Lead Vocals  

One of Northwest Ohio's best groups was this Bowling Green based combo. The roots of the Blue Crystals goes back to 1961, when friends George Anderson and Robert Neal Johnson started practicing guitar. Their inspiration, besides the great early rockers like Elvis, Chuck Berry, and the Ventures, was Bowling Green guitarist Billy Shaner, of the Columbus-based Bill Strickland and the Monterays. Adding another friend on bongos, they dubbed themselves the Fury's and played after-skating shows at Munn's skating rink in Bowling Green. The guys continued to practice and improve and eventually played some sock hops and the Miracle Ball Room in Toledo.

By 1963, the group had changed the name to the Citations and added a bass and true drummer. In this line-up, Neal played lead and George rhythm. The Citations' sound was still based around the rock-and-roll standards of the time.like Buddy Holly, Elvis, etc. The group played many record hops for WFOB in Fostoria and the J&M Club in Custar, OH. The highlight of the Citations was in providing backup for Ohioan Bobby Bare at the Swanton Coliseum in Swanton, OH, when his record ‘Detroit City’ was released.

In late 1963 or early 1964, differences between Neal and George resulted in Neal leaving the group and George taking over on lead - guitar and band. Over the next few months, some more personnel changes took place as the group re-established themselves. The group got a manager, James Farringer, who decided a gimmick was needed to get the group to a higher level - so one day, he bought a case of blue hair spray, and the Citations became "the Band with the Blue Hair" - the Blue Crystals.

The blue-haired look debuted at a Fremont, OH club called the Glass Bar. Farringer had advertised in the Fremont paper and radio in advance, and when the group arrived, there was a line outside the club like a major movie premiere. The place was packed, and stayed packed, and the Blue Crystals were on their way. The notoriety of the new look even allowed George Anderson to escape a traffic ticket when a Fremont cop, after pulling George over, recognized him and let him go!

After a few months the blue hair was dropped but by then the group was a hot act at many Bowling Green and area clubs, such as the Circus Club, the Canterbury Inn, and the Glass Bar in Fremont, and the Metropole in Napoleon. These clubs were all over-18 places, as most of the guys were out of high school, but the group also did the usual record hops and teen dances. The group featured a professional, clean-cut look, but their sound was energetic rock-and-roll with the appropriate slow numbers for dancing. All the group members were from Bowling Green except Don Hite, who was from Neapolis, a small community nearby.

In mid 1965, the group made their first recordings at Bob Brown's Courier studios in Fremont. The two songs, Gene Vincent's "Be Bop a Lula", and Bruce Channel's "Hey Baby", were chosen as audience and group favorites. These were the only songs recorded at this time. The group financed and promoted the record themselves, and local radio stations like WFOB gave "Hey Baby" strong airplay. The 45 sold out its 1st 1000 copy pressing, and this moderate success helped to increase the group's already strong local following.

Riding the wave of the record's success, the Blue Crystals were offered the pre and post-show slots for a touring version of the then-hot Shindig TV show. The show took place in August, 1965 at the Wood County (containing Bowling Green and outskirts of Toledo) fair, and featured show regular Bobby Sherman.

After several more months of success and constant bookings, the group underwent two personnel changes. Roger Rauch, who was married with young children, couldn't keep up with the grind of work and often 5 band performances a week, left to be replaced with another Bowling Green resident Doug Maas. Joe Dill left over personal differences, and the band needed a new front man. After many frustrating auditions, they found Toledo native "Baron" Thomas, and as George put it, "we came out smelling like a rose. Baron was fantastic".

The group debuted their new lineup on May 6, 1966 at the Circus Club and quickly gained increased their already strong popularity. They continued to play every weekend throughout the summer and fall of 1966. The group only had four weekends off all year, and those were by choice.

In late 1966 the group recorded their second 45. George Anderson had already written two songs, "We'll Be Thru Forever" and "Tension" earlier in the year. They went back to Courier, but with a difference - studio owner Bob Brown was in the service, so a substitute engineer did the recording. The group spent 9 hours in studio (George recalls from 6PM to 5AM) and when they were finished, a masterpiece had been created. Despite some technical flaws in the recording (too much ride cymbal and echo) the group sounds really strong and definitely delivers the goods. Most 60's rock fans will go for the pounding power of "Tension1 - dig the driving bottom, George's ringing leads, and Baron's intense vocal workout - but the ballad "We'll be Thru Forever" is an excellent performance in the style, well arranged and sung. "We'll be Thru Forever" is was intended for the A-side, but both sides got good fan reaction. The record was pressed by Sound Studios in Chicago , and sold most of its 1000 copy pressing upon release in early 1967. The few that didn't sell were eventually passed out by George over the years.

In 1967 the group made another personnel change. Doug Maas left and Don Hite switched to bass, and for the first time the group added a keyboardist, Dave Brown, who featured a Hammond B3 organ with Leslie speakers. Dave, who came over from another local combo, also played sax. George Anderson felt this was the best Blue Crystals yet.

Just as it seemed the group was reaching its peak, in March of 1968, the draft nabbed George and a couple other members, and much to everyone's disappointment the group was forced to disband. After serving his hitch, George relocated to the Columbus, OH area. Baron resides in Toledo, and the other former members live in Ohio and other areas of the country. In the words of George Anderson- "I have been in numerous part time bands, since then, but nothing has ever rivaled the Blue Crystals".Blue crystals

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