1969 The Rugbys – You, I – What Was Left In

1969 The Rugbys – You, I

Louisville, Kentucky, became an active home to several bands in the mid-sixties. In 1965, five local musicians who had possibly been members of The Misfits and/or The Oxfords formed a new band. They started wearing rugby shirts on stage and changed their name to The Rugbys. The band issued two singles in 1968.

The first single featured a song written by Doug Sahm of the Sir Douglas Quintet, Walking the Streets Tonight.

The band’s guitar player, Steve McNicol, wrote both sides of their second single, Stay With Me and You, I. While they failed to find much traction with Stay With Me except on local charts, the band felt the b-side of their second single had some promise.

The band got the single re-released with a focus on the b-side, and the single reached the top of the charts on the two local radio stations. That caught the attention of Shelby Singleton, who owned the Amazon Record label in Nashville (no relation to the Amazon Internet company!) Shelby signed the band to a recording contract and distributed the single nationally.

Some promotions followed that helped push the single to #24 on the Hot 100 in 1969.

The band toured in the Midwest and Northeast. They supported several different bands, including the Grand Funk Railroad, the James Gang, and Bob Seger.

Their record label then seemed to lose interest in the band. They issued another single, Wendegahl the Warlock, which was far more progressive. Perhaps t00 progressive for the time; it failed to even reach the Hot 100.