1960s Stout garage band achieves collect-ability 50 years later
Way back in 1966 the rock-n-roll scene was, well, rolling, with songs from The Monkees, The Association, and The Mamas and the Papas topping the charts. While that was going on, a lesser known band from Menominee was trying to hit stardom. The Benders were formed by four members attending UW-Stout and they recorded “Can’t Tame Me” on a single 45-rpm record in hopes that they would break out. Paul Barry, Gerry Cain, Geno Jansen and Tom Noffke – then just 19 year-olds – would unfortunately have to wait almost another 50 years before their little-song-that-could would become iconic. “Can’t Tame Me,” may have not been popular during the ’60s, but now it’s become a rare commodity among collectors. One such collector was quoted saying that this unique single ranks as the 87th most rare 1960s garage band single out of 1000 US songs to come out at the time. Got all that? The collector says there may only be 20 records available worldwide, and it’s been known to go for as much as $2,000 online. While you may not be able to get your hands on one of the original records, the band has recently come back together for a reunion of sorts, and they re-recorded the song (as well as a few others), and it was released it this past fall.
Listen to Can't Tame Me
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