The Cherry Slush was an American garage rock band formed in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1965, when the group was known as the Wayfarers and later cut records first as The Bells of Rhymny.
They were one of the few garage rock bands of the era to have a single chart on the three major listings, Billboard, Cashbox, and Record World.
[1] The band formed as the Wayfarers when the members were all enrolled in the eight grade at Arthur Hill High School.
The remaining members proceeded as a quartet, covering songs from bands of the British Invasion in their live performances.
[4][5] In March 1966, the band earned a big break when Frank Patrick, owner of the regionally popular Daniel's Den, called Vivian Bruce to set up a concert at the venue.
It was a success, and the Bells of Rhymny played several more times at the Den, gaining notoriety in the area as a result of the appearances.
[2] The group returned in the fall of 1966 to record two more original songs called "Rich Man's Woman" and "Now I'm Free".
The single received extensive airplay in Michigan and propelled the group to regional fame in the area, which resulted in more gigs and, at the Den, the band opened for prominent musical acts including The Amboy Dukes and The Gentrys.
[4] The band signed Jim Leach as their co-manager.Leach for the past 37 years has known as The Real JIMMY HOLLYWOOD, now living in Los Angeles.
[10] The single was put on hold while the band went through personnel changes, and as Leach searched for a record deal.
To replace Burdick, the band included Charlie Woodward, previously of The Dignitaries, to join as the rhythm guitarist.
Woodward did not last long soon after as he enrolled in college, and was quickly replaced by Brian Bennett of The Sons of Sound.
[2] Leach found a small label company, Prophonics Records, to distribute the band's delayed single.
"Day Don't Come" was met with a positive response in the Michigan area, but USA filed for bankruptcy soon after its release.
[13] Leach recalls the band released the single under the name "The Slush", believing their usual name could potentially be confused as bubblegum pop.
After one last gig at the Den in 1969 and recordings among individual band members, The Cherry Slush disbanded as they saw no chance at signing to a major label.
[3][14] Dick Coughlin worked as an ER technician for the Saginaw General Hospital for 32 years until his retirement.
[15] The band released an eight-song compilation album called Looking Back in 2001, composed of all the A-sides and B-sides of their four singles.
Later in the year, Bruce and Wagner reformed the band for a final concert in front of 2,200 people in a park in Freeland, Michigan.