Afton -

Afton was an American rustic-rock band that released the 1977 album First Day of Summer on local-press Lark Records, followed by the 1979 single “Cowboy Song” on self-press Lancer.

Members: Dane “Do Do” Williams (electric guitar, vocals), Jim Dooley (keyboards, saxophone, acoustic guitar, vocals), Donnie Hughes (bass, vocals), Robert Campbell (drums, percussion, vocals), Skipper (percussion, vocals), Jeff K. Baldwin (string arrangements, keyboards, vocals)

Background

Afton formed in spring 1977 in Danville, Virginia, when singer-guitarist Mike Ketchum approached drummer Bob Campbell with a set of original songs. Campbell recruited bassist Donnie Hughes, guitarist Dane “Do Do” Williams, and keyboardists Jim Dooley and Jeff Baldwin from musicians he knew through the Danville band circuit. Percussionist Skipper completed the lineup assembled for the album.

Ketchum was born Paul Michael Ketchum in April 1953 in Paw Paw, Michigan, to Bud Nyle Ketchum and Pauline Juanita Gauldin Ketchum.

Several Afton members came from Star, a Danville group managed by promoter and disc jockey Jim Hill. Star included Campbell, Hughes, Williams, and Baldwin; they played regional venues in Virginia and North Carolina. Williams joined the group through Carney Hill, where he played guitar from 1974, while other future Afton members crossed paths in Leevi Whiz and related Danville groups.

Ketchum first rehearsed his songs with a loose local lineup that played a date at Ballou Park. Afton then spent roughly two months rehearsing at Episcopal Church of the Epiphany on Main Street, where minister Doug Girardeau provided use of the parish hall stage and storage space. Ketchum booked Major Recording Company and Studios in Waynesboro for a June 1977 session that produced the eight songs for First Day of Summer.

Discography: