Bob Abrahamian 0:00
Okay, you are tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago. You are listening to the Sitting in the Park show. Today is a special show, because I have in the studio and on the phone members of the Chicago group, The Dontells. We will be doing an interview and talking about the history of the group and playing their records for most of the show. So, first of all, I want to make sure that everyone can hear me. Art, can you hear me now?
Art Mitchum 0:44
Yes, I can.
Bob Abrahamian 0:54
Okay, great. You're on the air now. Can we have the people in the studio introduce themselves, and the person on the phone introduce themselves? Art, you can go ahead.
Art Mitchum 0:57
Yes, my name is Art Mitchum, and I'm one of the originators of the group that eventually came to be known as The Dontells.
Bob Abrahamian 1:01
And who's in the studio now?
Nate Pendleton 1:03
I'm Nate Pendleton.
Bob Abrahamian 1:07
What part of the city were The Dontells from?
Nate Pendleton 1:11
The Dontells were from the West Side, around Central Park Avenue, near the Sears complex.
Bob Abrahamian 1:23
So, Art, can you tell us how The Dontells formed?
Art Mitchum 1:46
Yes, the group formed from a few guys who were attending Wells Evening School. It was myself, Fred Alexander, and a few others. We started singing around '58 and '59. Over time, the group solidified with my brother Harvey, his friend James Dyson, and Gwendolyn Bradshaw.
Bob Abrahamian 3:00
And you initially called yourselves The Condors, right?
Art Mitchum 3:05
Yes, we were The Condors, but after a meeting with a record company, there was a misunderstanding, and we accidentally became The Dontells.
Bob Abrahamian 3:30
You recorded your first record, "Make a Change," on the Bell Tone label. How did you end up on that label?
Art Mitchum 3:35
We met a producer named Russ, who was associated with Bell Tone. He helped us record the song. The lineup on that was myself, Harvey, Gwendolyn Bradshaw, Sam Dandridge, and James Dyson.
Song Playing
Bob Abrahamian 8:11
That was The Dontells' first record, "Make a Change." Art, did that record get any airplay?
Art Mitchum 10:07
Yes, it got played locally in Chicago and the suburbs, but it didn’t get any national airplay.
Bob Abrahamian 12:00
Nate, how did you join the group?
Nate Pendleton 12:05
Art brought me in around 1964, after his brother Harvey left. I had sung in groups like The Gardenias and The Dale Rays before joining The Dontells.
Bob Abrahamian 16:00
You joined in time for the group to record "People Gonna Talk." That was a big hit, right?
Nate Pendleton 22:00
Yes, it got a lot of play locally. Manual Seal sang lead on that track.
Song Playing
Bob Abrahamian 24:58
That was "People Gonna Talk." After that, you recorded more songs on the Which label, right?
Art Mitchum 27:00
Yes, we recorded "People Gonna Talk" and "Lonely Boy" at the same time.
Bob Abrahamian 30:00
How did you end up signing with Vee-Jay Records?
Nate Pendleton 31:00
We brought some demos to Vee-Jay, and Chuck Barksdale from The Dells liked them. Calvin Carter signed us that night, and we were in the studio two days later.
Song Playing
Bob Abrahamian 36:22
That was "In Your Heart, You Know I'm Right," a song you wrote, Nate. Can you tell us more about it?
Nate Pendleton 38:36
I got the idea from a political sign during Barry Goldwater’s campaign that said, "In your heart, you know I'm right." I went home, wrote the song, and it became one of our biggest hits.
Bob Abrahamian 47:00
You later started your own labels, right?
Nate Pendleton 43:33
Yes, we started the Dante and Ambassador labels to release our own music, including "I Can't Wait" in 1971, our last Dontells record.
Song Playing
Bob Abrahamian 58:12
That was "I Can't Wait," the last record The Dontells released. Nate, thank you so much for sharing your stories with us today.
Nate Pendleton 1:01:18
Thank you for having me.