The Cryan' Shames

The Cryan' Shames formed in Hinsdale, Illinois, as The Travelers, with founding members Tom Doody ("Toad"), Gerry Stone ("Stonehenge"), Dave Purple ("Grape"), Denny Conroy, Jim Fairs, Jim Pilster ("J.C. Hooke"), so named because he was born without a left hand and wore a hook), and Bill Hughes. In 1966, upon learning that another band already had the name The Travelers, they needed to find another name; J.C. Hooke remarked that their difficulty in doing so was "a cryan' shame," and thus named the band. After signing with Destination Records, their first hit single was If I Needed Someone, which was not released in the US. It was soon followed by Sugar and Spice, a song that was a hit in 1963 for the English group The Searchers. The Shames' version reached #49 in the USA while reaching #4 on local radio station WLS. The Shames signed to Columbia in 1966, and while they never were to become a national success, their singles and albums continued to sell well in the Chicago area. The group disbanded in December 1969, but reunited again and continues to tour. Jim (J.C. Hooke) Pilster and Tom (Toad) Doody are the only remaining original members in the current lineup. Two members of The Cryan' Shames have since died: bassist Dave Purple in June 2001, and his replacement Isaac Guillory, on December 31, 2000.