The Dakotas

by Bruce EderThe Dakotas were most closely associated with Liverpool-born singer Billy J. Kramer. They had a history before that, however, as well as a striking line-up on their own, separate from the developments in Kramers career. The original group hailed from Manchester, and were put together as a backing band for Pete MacLaine. At that time, from 1962 thru January of 1963, they were comprised of Mike Maxfield (lead guitar), Robin MacDonald (rhythm guitar), Tony Mansfield (drums), and Ray Jones (bass). In early 1963, just as the Beatles were finished with their second single, Please Please Me, their manager, Brian Epstein, was looking for a backing band for his newest discovery, Billy J. Kramer. He had been playing and singing part-time with a band called the Coasters, but wanted to turn professional, at Epsteins insistence. The Coasters declined to follow him, and a new band was needed. Enter the Dakotas, who parted company with Pete MacLaine to sign with Epstein. He was not yet renowned as a world-beating success, but he did have two bands, the Beatles and Gerry & the Pacemakers, cutting records for Parlophone, one of which, Love Me Do, had already charted modestly. It was an attractive offer, and they became Kramers band. They were a very solid group, well able to adapt to the requisite Merseybeat sound not only as it had existed up to early 1963 but as the Beatles were altering it with their records and their success—rock n roll balladry, with room for smooth vocals and even harmonies, became obligatory, along with a band sound that left room for some elegance as well as a good attack. Kramer hit with his first five singles, and in the process of becoming a star, the Dakotas also got their chance in the spotlight. They scored a success with their instrumental version of The Cruel Sea and also saw some action on Magic Carpet. In July of 1964, the first major line-up change took place, as Ray Jones was pushed out on bass. Robin MacDonald, who had been playing rhythm guitar, shifted over to bass, and the Dakotas added a second lead guitarist in Mick Green. Green was a musician in a unique situation — he had never inaugurated a bands sound, tending to come into line-ups that already existed; when he did so, however, as in the case of Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, he inevitably boosted their sound by many decibels and punched up the virtuosity. He was among the first of a new generation of hot rocking British guitarists, separate from blues virtuosos like Eric Clapton, and able to attack his instrument with distinctive riffs and variations in several different idioms, all of which came out well in the studio and even better in concert. His arrival in the Dakotas line-up gave the group a unique double lead-guitar configuration that made them a power to contend with on stage, although ironically, he only played on one hit with Kramer, Trains and Boats and Planes. Kramers string of hits ended in mid-1965, but he and the Dakotas were still a major live act, in England and even more so in America, where Trains and Boats and Planes made the top 10. In August of 1966, Tony Mansfield left the band, and ex-Pirate Frank Farley joined on drums, lasting until September of 1967 playing the cabaret circuit after concert work disappeared. By that time, Kramers star had faded, and the Dakotas split in late 1967. Robin MacDonald and Mick Green became part of Engelbert Humperdincks backing band, while Kramer kept on working for a time with the Remo Four, perennial replacement band, having succeeded the Searchers as Johnny Sandons backing band. In the mid-1970s, Green and Farley became the core of a reformed Pirates, who have continued to perform and record into the 1990s.