[2] The Grandaires repertoire consisted primarily of covers of Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, and other hits of the day, but they broke up shortly thereafter.

A pivotal moment for Slocum was when he watched the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show which convinced him to start playing in a rock band.

[2] Kirby, Slocum, and Ford started practicing together informally during their eighth grade year and played in a number of talent shows.

[2] Not long after Richey joined the band, they decided to change their name to a moniker suggested by one of their classmates at Grand Ledge High, Toby Bates, who was also a member of the local group the Beaux Gens, who would later record "She Was Mine".

[2] Through Richey's cousin, the band enlisted the services of a young artist named Dennis Preston to design a cartoon logo of an Indian carrying a hatchet to paint on the bass drumhead of Tom Kirby's Ludiwg oyster pearl drum set.

[2] Their first live performance as Tonto and the Renegades as was at the Grand Ledge High School Senior Prom held in the spring of 1964.

[2] Tonto and The Renegades became a regular fixture at The Sceen, a teen nightclub located about twelve miles from Grand Ledge at the intersection of Michigan Highways 43 and 50.

[2] The Sceen attracted large teenage crowds from surrounding small farming communities such as Woodbury, Sunfield, Muliken, Needmore.

[2][4][5] Eventually Gary Richey switched to playing bass, augmenting Terry Slocum and Bill Ford on guitars and Tom Kirby on drums.

[2] Tenfry was able to land numerous gigs for the band, which included venues such as the Hullabaloo in Lansing, Daniel's Den in Saginaw, and the Club Ponytail in Harbor Springs.

[2][4] Tonto and The Renegades appeared there on several occasions, opening for popular acts such as the Beach Boys and Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels.

[3] In 1966, the band decided to add a keyboard player providing them with the flexibility to play a greater variety of material, including popular Motown songs.

[2] They distributed them to Marshall Music and all the record stores in Grand Ledge, and then drove to various radio stations bringing copies to DJs in the hopes of receiving airplay.

[2] Both sides of the single got extensive airplay, especially at WJIM-AM out of Lansing, which was at the time the most popular Top 40 station in Southwest Michigan.

[2] "I Knew This Thing Would Happen" was the bigger hit of the two at the time, but the fuzz-drenched "Little Boy Blue" would later become a favorite of garage rock enthusiasts, and is now regarded as a classic in the genre.

[2] Wagner's more sophisticated and experiential production techniques required more recording time and the band spent a whole eight-hour day in the studio to complete the sessions.

[2] Wagner contributed a fuzz-drench guitar line to "Anytime You Want Some Lovin'" and brought in Donny Hartman, a fellow member from his new band, Frost, to play on the track.

[2] Wagner eventually went back to Richey's initial bass line when his new idea didn't pan out, and also brought in Donny Hartman, his new Frost bandmate, to play on the track.

[2] Hartman added harmonica to the final recorded version of the song; a fine mid-tempo rock ballad featuring gorgeous band harmonies.

[2] The second single, like the first, was released on Trefry's Sound Of The Sceen label and both sides became hits the Lansing area, with WJIM providing a big push of the record.

[2][8] Tonto and The Renegades made their first television appearance on Swing Lively, a teen music program on Channel 6 in Lansing.

[2] Just as national record labels began to express interest in the band and their latest single, the prospect of the Vietnam War draft became a pressing issue.

[2] With the success of the new single, the band was earning $1,000 per night and receiving offers from major record companies such as Capitol, Columbia, Decca, and the U.S.A. label who had recently signed Saginaw's the Cherry Slush.

[2][6] Gary Richey and Tom Kirby knew they were also facing the prospect draft but preferred to concentrate on the record deal offers coming in for the band.

[2][6] After Tom Kirby received his draft notice in 1969, he left the band and quickly volunteered for the Navy to avoid field combat, but still ended up serving three consecutive tours of duty in Vietnam aboard the Destroyer U.S.S.

[2] In 2009 he started a two-man band with Jim Hall called Trail's End, and they often play at Mija's Grey Wolf Inn in Grand Ledge.

[2] Although Tonto and the Renegades broke up in 1969, the subsequent reissues of their songs in the intervening years have sparked a renewal of interest and the band—gaining them at last a worldwide following.