Johnny Gibson Trio


Toledo, late 1950s-mid 1960s

Johnny Gibson formed and led this group, who were very popular in Toledo and Detroit. The band for the most part included Johnny's brother Dwight on drums and Ron Harste. One of the interesting historical aspects of the group was that the Gibson brothers were black and Harste was white.

The band, like many other Toledo bands, were fans of Johnny and the Hurricanes, so they went to the Hurricanes' record company Twirl records and got a record released. The R&B instrumental song "Beachcomber" was a huge local hit and did pretty well nationally. The band moved to the Bigtop label (as did the Hurricanes) and released a few more 45s in the same style. The band played constantly along the I-75 corridor and other cities in the Midwest.

In the mid 60s the band released a 45 on their own GTM label, which featured a vocal by Gibson. It was the last 45 by Johnny Gibson and the band. Not long after Johnny moved to California and has remained active in music.

Discography:

Beachcomber / Swanky (Laurie 3256, RCA R4KM-0179/80)
Baby Let Me Know / Partly Cloudy (GTM 101)