The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath
October 1966 - September 1969

Stuart Wood, bass & vocals * Steve Whitehurst, drums & Vocals * Brent Burns, Vocals * Mike Whitehurst, guitar & vocals * John Hesterman, Organ & Vocals
While The Britons struggled for their fair share of high school parties, church socials and dive bars, Ron and I made a point of checking out the local competition as often as possible. It was during one of these outtings that we heard the Grapes of Wrath. The Grapes were a giant step forward, and I knew right then I wanted to be part of that. I was stunned a few weeks later when I received a phone call from Brent Burns asking me to come around for an audition. He didn't pull any punches, he said "you have a Vox organ and we want one." I auditioned in the Whitehurst living room, December of 1966 and was hired the same day. This made things a little tense for me because I was still the leader of The Britons. For about 6 months, I worked in both bands until I was forced to decide between the two. The choice was obvious and I said goodbye to Ron, Sheldon and Mark.

Recording HAVE A GOOD TIME ON ME @ Audio Recorders, 1968

Recording HAVE A GOOD TIME ON ME @ Audio Recorders, 1968

Within a month, the Grapes had been signed by Bacak Productions (Ray, Tony & Ashley), who were making a name for themselves with artists like The Four Dimensions and Duane Eddy. We went into Studio A at Audio Recorders and cut our first single for Storm Records, Not A Man, written by Steve and Stuart, and If Anyone Should Ask written by Steve and Tony. Both local top 40 radio stations, KRIZ and KRUX, added the record to their play lists, and it wasn't long before we had a local hit. The Grapes of Wrath joined the ranks of bands like The Spyders (later Alice Cooper), The Young Men, The Caravelles, The Bittersweets, Floyd & Jerry & The Counterpoints, Condello and P-Nut Butter playing top venues all over the city and later the state.

The Grapes @ Maryvale High 10th Reunion, 1979

The Grapes @ Maryvale High 10th Reunion, 1979

Mike, John & Stuart @ Garcia's after a recording session reunion, 1985

Between 1966 and 1973 the Grapes recorded often, both live and in the studio. Studio projects were reserved for original material only, written by Steve alone, Steve and Stuart or Steve and me. The bulk of this material was released worldwide by Gear Fab Records during 1999 and is currently available at Amazon.com, CDNow.com, BestBuy.com, BarnesandNoble.com as well as the Gear Fab and the Grapes of Wrath web sites.

Brent

The Grapes of Wrath have maintained a close relationship through the years with regular reunion sessions and recording projects. June, September and December of 2000, The Grapes of Wrath recorded four new selections which will be released as bonus tracks on a new album that chronicals the remainder of older material. Steve Whitehurst and I currently co-own 5 Grapes Music Company, established to publish the older Grapes material and the new music we are writing seperately and together.