Features: 60s Garage Bands

The Legends

The Legends were a loose group of Winter Haven, Florida area musicians who played teen centers, sock hops, teen clubs, and battles of the bands from roughly 1961 to 1963. Originally the group was anchored by: Gram Parsons (lead vocal and rhythm guitar), Jimmy Stafford (lead guitar), Jim Carlton (stand-up bass), and Lamar Braxton (drums). Another early version of the band is pictured below.

 

During 1962, The Legends in it's longest lasting form were: Gram Parsons on vocals and rhythm guitar, Jim Stafford on lead guitar, Gerald "Jesse" Chambers on bass and harmony vocals and Jon Corneal on drums, This version of the group was appropriately named because each of these talented players would go on to leave their indelible marks on different areas of the national music scene.

The Legends (as a group) never made it big but earned a decent living for a high school band, getting plenty of work, both in and out of town. Gram's social connections also gave the combo access to the Country Club circuit around the state. It was also a prestigious group in that they were the first area band to have their own transportation. Instead of loading up the family station wagon with guitars and amps, the Legends had a Volkswagen bus (bought by Gram's step-father) with the group's logo painted on it's sides. They were also semi-regulars on Tampa Bay television's "High Time", a live weekly "American Bandstand" style dance show that aired each Saturday afternoon at 4:30 on channel 8.

  The Legends - Live 1962
on "Hi-Time" with Jack Stir - WFLA-TV - Tampa, FL
This is a live recording of the group. Although the red oxide on the original reel to reel tapes had started to flake off by the time they were finally copied, I have tried to edit them to make them as presentable as possible.

Unfortunately, after failing the eleventh grade at Winter Haven High School, Gram was sent to Bowles Academy in Jacksonville to repeat his junior year. Jim Stafford kept the group alive for a short time after Gram left in 1963 (see below) but eventually, without Parsons, the Legends dissolved.