The Monks

The Monks originated in 1964 in Gelnhausen, West Germany, when American servicemen Gary Burger and Dave Day expanded their Rhythm Rockers duo into the 5 Torquays. They enlisted organist Larry Clark and a German drummer named Hans. Eddie Shaw, a jazz trumpeter from Carson City, Nevada, bought a bass guitar for his audition and joined the quintet. Burger came from Bemidji, Minnesota, and reached the Gelnhausen artillery post in 1962. The musicians briefly employed singer Ernie “Zack” Zachariah before settling into a five-piece lineup with drummer Roger Johnston.

A Frankfurt booking agent encouraged the Americans to remain in Germany after their military discharge. The Torquays worked clubs around Stuttgart and Munich with American R&B, surf instrumentals, and British beat covers. They named themselves after “Torquay,” an instrumental by the Fireballs. Burger and Day developed originals during monthlong engagements across southern Germany. In Heidelberg, the quintet financed a two-track session for “There She Walks” (b/w “Boys Are Boys”) and pressed roughly 500 copies on the independent SCH label. Clark sold the singles at club performances.

During a 1965 residency at the Rio Bar in Stuttgart, the musicians encountered German graphic designers Walther Niemann and Karl-H. Remy, who offered management and proposed a new musical identity. They joined the quintet in a lengthy overhaul of the repertoire, with shorter lyrics, repeated figures, and greater rhythmic emphasis. Day exchanged rhythm guitar for a six-string banjo with built-in microphones. Johnston reduced cymbal work in favor of tom-tom patterns, while Burger developed guitar feedback and fuzz effects. The musicians condensed their originals into confrontational songs with minimal text and sustained rhythmic tension.

Niemann and Remy also guided the visual transformation. The quintet adopted the Monks name with black clothing, rope ties, and shaved tonsures. Clark initially resisted the name because his father was a priest. Drummer Johnston prompted the others to adopt larger tonsures than originally planned. Their managers arranged photographs by Charles Wilp for publicity and record-company presentations.

In September 1965, the Monks cut ten demos at Tonstudio Bauer in Ludwigsburg, including early versions of “Monk Time,” “Boys Are Boys,” “I Hate You,” and “Higgle-Dy-Piggle-Dy.” The sessions also yielded “Pretty Suzanne” and “Hushie Pushie,” two originals omitted from the eventual LP. After unsuccessful approaches to Philips and Ariola, Niemann and Remy secured a Polydor contract with producer Jimmy Bowien. The musicians entered a Cologne studio after nightly engagements at Storyville, where Bowien supervised the late-1965 sessions for Black Monk Time.