The Gentlemen’s ‘It’s A Cry’n Shame’ gets a vinyl reissue

From left to right: Tommy Turner, Mike Kelley, Tim Justice (kneeling), Bruce Bland and Seab Meador. Cover art courtesy of Mark Prellberg.

The Gentlemen’s It’s A Cry’n Shame has recently been rereleased through Boy Wonder Records.

The Gentlemen was “a rock ‘n’ roll combo” that formed in our neighborhood in the ’60s, and has built a following over the decades for their work.

Tim Justice, former Oak Cliff resident and founding drummer of the group, said what started it all was The Beatles American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

“People were just blown away,” Justice said, who was 14 at the time. “Every kid my age was glued to the television, and it was just like ‘Wow. I want to be them.’ And I said that too.”

From that performance, he said all the kids went out and wanted equipment to start their own band. Justice did the same and the group that formed that same year.

The group was co-founded by Justice and Seab Meador on lead guitar and vocals. Justice spoke highly of Meador, describing him as “a prodigy guitar player.”

There were many interactions of the band, including Mike Kelley, Lonnie Taylor, Jimmie Randall, Bruce Bland, Tommy Turner, and Jimmie Vaughan (brother of Stevie Ray Vaughn) at different points.

The first couple years The Gentlemen had gigs at local venues, including The Box, LouAnn’s, Panther A-Go-Go, and The Studio Club. They also opened for Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, James Brown, The Beau Brummels and had one TV appearance on KTVT. 

“It led to lots of parties and things going on, and then the next thing that you do is try to get a record deal,” Justice said. “That’s the biggie. That’s the home run, and so we were thrilled when somebody, (label manager) of Vandan Records Tom Brown, showed up and said, ‘I’d like to record you guys.’”

The Gentlemen, then made up of Bland, Justice, Kelley, Meador, and Turner, recorded It’s A Cry’n Shame and You Can’t Be True for the label in November 1966 at Summit Sound Studios.

“The other song got some airplay, but nobody paid too much attention to It’s A Cry’n Shame until they did, and once they heard it, it really took off,” Justice said. “We sold I think 2,000 records that Tom Brown did, and which at the time (we) just locally distributed everything, and he got some accolades in some of the publications.”

Justice said the group was really thrilled.

“We were doing well, and the song was doing well,” he said. “And then we went over to Tom Brown’s house one day to talk to him, and there was an empty house with no furniture. Apparently, unbeknownst to us, this was his sort of last hurrah.”

The group disbanded in 1968, shortly after Meador officially left. Justice said you could tell Meador “had stardom in his eyes.” He went on to join The Hurricanes and The Werewolves.

Years later, Justice decided to look up Meador, who died of a brain tumor in 1980, to see if there was anything on his passing online.

“And so I look and it says something about ‘Seab Meador passed away of It’s A Cry’n Shame fame,’” he said. “And I said, ‘Cry’n Shame fame, what fame would that be?’”

That’s when Justice discovered the following his former group had built, specifically that the record itself had “become one that people sort of coveted.”

“There were a few records floating around, and the collectors would buy it online and on eBay, and so one sold for $400,” he said. “Another one sold for $600, $800. One sold for $5,500, and I was like, ‘What in the good god is this all about?’ It just was about the song that everybody liked.”

Boy Wonder Records’ black pressing of It’s A Cry’n Shame, with the booklet on the history of The Gentlemen. Photo by Victoria Hernandez.

Roughly sixty years after recording the song, Mark Prellberg of Boy Wonder Records released a 7-inch, 45 rpm vinyl with two versions of It’s A Cry’n Shame.

The record comes with a booklet on the history of The Gentlemen and is available in a black and limited translucent green pressing. The translucent green pressing also includes a full-color postcard of The Gentlemen.

“It’s beautiful. It has a book, and it’s really professionally done …” Justice said. “So you know that’s really a nice tribute, and there’s several others that are in the works.”

For those interested in finding their own copy of the Boy Wonder Records release, they can reach out to Prellberg at wrathandwroll@att.net, purchase on Discogs, or from two U.S. spots: Goner Records, which is based in Memphis, or Get Hip Records, located in Pittsburg.