Intrepid Album Discography
Of all the artists signed to the label, two were of note. Dennis Linde had three singles and an album,
none of which charted, but he was a wonderful songwriter who eventually (2001) made it to the Nashville
Songwriters Hall of Fame. He spent part of his youth in the St. Louis area, where he joined a well-known
band called Bob Kuban & the In-Men. He started writing songs to fill the boredom after he got his
driver's license suspended for too many tickets. He signed with Intrepid in 1969, and the Intrepid album
was his first real try for success as an artist and songwriter. On the album was his version of "Mornin'
Mornin," a song covered by Bobby Goldsboro in 1970 which made #78 on the national pop charts
(although oddly enough, it was not one of Linde's Intrepid singles). Later, he settled in the Nashville
area where he was known as somewhat of a recluse, even though his songs were well known. He wrote
dozens of country hits, such as "Burning Love" (done by Elvis Presley), "The Love She Found in Me"
(done by Gary Morris), "Callin' Baton Rouge" (done by Garth Brooks), "Bubba Shot the Jukebox" (done
by Mark Chesnutt), "Goodbye Earl" (done by the Dixie Chicks), and "The Talkin' Song Repair Blues"
(done by Alan Jackson). Linde died of a lung ailment in late 2006.
The other Intrepid
act of note was Underground Sunshine, a rock quartet based in Montello, Wisconsin. The members
were Berty Kohl (nee Egbert Koelbl, bass and vocals), Bert's brother Frank Kohl (nee
Koelbl, drums and vocals), Chris Connors (nee John Dahlberg, guitars and vocals), and Jane
Little (keyboards, vocals). According to Bert Kohl, "We, as a trio, (me, my brother Frank, and Rex — as
the Entrance To Sound) were in the studio once before we decided to go with the song "Birthday". We
went to Milwaukee [in May, 1969] and spent $400.00 on a producer (Tom Gress) and a little more for
studio time. "Birthday" and "All I Want Is You" (the flip side) were recorded, mixed and sent in for
pressing in one 4 hour session. While it was still on tape, we took it to WSPT in Stevens Point,
Wisconsin, and asked them to play it. And they did! WSPT was one of several stations in the country, at
that time, that Bill Gavins (The Gavins Sheet) listened to, and he gave it a bullet which landed it
on Billboard."
"Birthday," a Beatles song from their White Album of the year before, proved to be a "right place at the right time" kind of single. The song was a good one, but the Beatles showed no inclination to release it as a single. Although it was actually Entrance to Sound that recorded the record in the first place, by the time it was getting popular, the group had changed their name and evolved into the quartet that recorded the rest of the eventual album. The Underground Sunshine single of "Birthday" [Intrepid 75002] entered the Billboard "Bubbling Under" charts at #105 for the week ending July 12, 1969, made #100 the next week, then jumped to #76 and then #56 by the beginning of August. The group was invited to be on American Bandstand. By the week ending September 6, when the record topped out at #26, the record company management wanted an album. The group packed their equipment into a truck and trekked down from Wisconsin to Chicago, where they recorded at the Ter-Mar Studios.
Bert Kohl continues, "I believe we hold the world record for the fastest album ever recorded. From start (unloading equipment into the studio), recording the album, to finish (loading everything back into the truck) we did this in four 7-hour sessions, 28 hours total. We went in, set up and played each song live, overdubbed the vocals and sometimes Chris' lead and that was it. Mixing was done on the spot with no post production at all. The record company wanted an album NOW and they didn't care what was on it. That's why there were so many cover tunes. I had five more songs in my "originals" repertoire that within a couple of weeks could have had ready for the studio, but our so-called producer didn't care."
The Underground Sunshine's followup single was "Don't Shut Me Out" [Intrepid 75012], written by David Gates. Like "Birthday," it entered the "Bubbling Under" charts at #105, for the week ending October 11, 1969. The next week, it made it to #102, where it stalled for another week and then it was gone. Intrepid tried one more single early in 1970 ["9 to 5 Ain't My Bag"/"Rotten Woman Blues," Intrepid 75019, recorded in December, 1969, and issued with the group name changed to "U.S.A."], but that failed to chart at all. By that time, the group had pretty much called it quits.
Recording engineer Bob Huntington had this postscript to the recording of "Birthday" and the kind of studio where it was recorded: "In 1969, at the age of 19, I landed a job as a recording engineer/apprentice at the Dave Kennedy Recording Studio on north 3rd Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I got the high profile job of recording a series of organ lessons that were distributed on cassettes by a local piano and organ dealer. Finally, I got to work on a real rock recording (gasp!) which turned out to be the single "Birthday" by the Underground Sunshine. I was disappointed that I had to step away from the board to let the producer do the recording and mix, but I did a sterling job of turning on and off the 8 track machine we were using."
Other artists having singles for the label (household names all, no doubt) included The Dollar Question,
Tyrone Chestnut, Ron Marshall, Gene Kennedy, Smokey Johnson, the Leer Brothers, Playfil Pups,
Stone Ridge, Vinnie Canale, the Student Body, Bobby Newton & Tina Blount, Boys and Girls Together,
the Kindred Spirit, Ivory Junction, Choir, Burned, East Coast Left, Hanna & Phil, Brothers of Love, Long
Distance, and the Last Word.
The intrepid label was white on top and blue on the bottom, with the interface being a series of waves. The anchor logo was at the top, just left of center. Print was black.
We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with Intrepid Records or Mercury Records. Should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (which are all out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and Follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 2007 by Mike Callahan.
