HISTORY OF SYRACUSE MUSIC - CHAPTER 28 - ED WOOL & THE NOMADS, SURE CURE, PINEAPPLE HEARD, WOOL

The CNY roots of the popular group Wool started with the Watertown High School band  "Tempest" but we know them under their most successful name Ed Wool and  The Nomads. They opening for the Rolling Stones at the War Memorial in Syracuse, October 30, 1965. They also backed up Monty Rock III that special October night.  Band members included Bill Crowder, Jack Ditch, Gary Flagg, Al Grant (drums). Mike Christie (bass in 1965-66 who had replaced Phil Udaskin and Ed Wool (guitar, vocals). They hit the CNY music charts with their  RCA Records single "Please, Please, Don't Go" b/w "I Need Somebody."

In 1967, the name changed to the Sure Cure and recorded the single "Anyway You Want" for the Cameo- Parkway Record label.  Then  changed there name to the Pineapple Heard (Ed & Claudia Wool, Peter Lulis, Dick Kissell & Bob Youngs). They ventured into Bell Recording Studio in New York on New Years Eve and recorded the song "Valleri."  It  was produced by Mike Joyce and released in 1967 on Diamond Records # D-231. It became a big hit throughout CNY. The downside of the story "Valleri"  was quickly covered by the Monkees and became a million seller.

A short time later Tom Haskell replaced Kissel on guitar and Ed Barrella took Youngs place on bass..Also during this time period (late 1968) drummer Mark Naussef was added.

With a publishing deal with  Armanda Productions (Neil Diamond, David Rosner, Margo Guryan & Tom Catalino) in place they recorded the self-titled WOOL album on ABC Records (1969), ABC released two singles "Combination of the Two" b/w "The Boy With the Green Eyes": (ABC # 11167 in  December 1968) and  "Love, Love, Love" Love" Love" b/w "If They Left Us Alone Now" (ABC # 11190 in March 1969). Then a  label shift to Columbia Records and three more single releases,  "Listen To The Music" b/w "The Witch" (Dec 1970)  followed by "It's Alright" b/w "Take Me to The Pilot" and finally "I Got The Feeling" backed by the Doug Thaler song'"In the Rest of My Life." (April 1972).

Ed  Wool graduated from Watertown High School in 1962. Through the years here are just some of the members that played with various Wool bands- Ed Barrella, Mike Christie, Tom Costanzo, Bill Crowder, Jack Ditch, Al Flagg, Al Garrison, Al Grant, Tom Haskell. Peter Hrabchak, Bob Kissell, Peter Lulis, Chuck Martuzes,  Mark Naussef, Terry Singleton, Phil Udaskin, Bob Watts, Claudia Wool,  Bob Youngs, there are many more..

Ed Wool and the Nomads can also heard on the various artists Cd "Mind Blowers- Psychedelic Passages- Volume 1 with their song "I Need Somebody." The WOOL album has been re-released on Cd.