the Mark III


Mansfield, c. 1961-68

The Mark III were big in mid-Ohio's nightclub scene during the mid-late 1960s. The band was a trio, therefore the name Mark III. The band lineup was either guitar/organ/drums or sax/organ/drums. The sax player was none other than world famous Grover Washington Jr. Washington was not from the area, but had joined a band in Columbus before jumping to the Mark III. This was long before he became famous, of course. He's only on the "Ska At the Ski Lodge" LP. Other members included founding member Bob Altomonte on drums and Keith McAllister on keyboards. After Washington left, Ken Markley joined on guitar and plays on the 2nd LP

The Mark III recorded two LPs, both done live. A 45 featuring their vesion of a doowop song "Cherry Pie" and the funky Bill Doggett like "Jawbreaker" were pulled from the "Swingin' Free" LP.

There is no connection between this band and the Mark III Trio who recorded similar sounds for Atco and In records.

Discography
(LP) Let's Ska At The Ski Lodge (Downhill No #, MG 267-10Ha, Oct '64)
(LP) Swinging Free With The Mark III (Night Owl 1045) 1967 (paste on front cover)
Note - label reads "Dig! The Mark III" - it's not known if this was an alternate title or not.
Jaw Breaker / Cherry Pie (Night Owl 108) 1967