The Barbarians

The rock quartet — Bruce Benson, Jerry Causi, Jeff Morris, and one-handed drummer Victor “Moulty” Moulton (a silver hook held his left drumstick) — formed in and around Provincetown, MA., in 1963-64, performing raw original tunes as well as covers, including “House of the Rising Sun,” “Memphis,” and “I’ve Got a Woman.” But their originals scored them radio hits: the wry and driving “Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?” and the truly odd autobiographical “Moulty”, in which Moulty was backed by, not his fellow Barbarians, but The Band. The Barbarians also gained acclaim when they were picked to play in The T.A.M.I. Show in California in 1964 alongside Chuck Berry, James Brown and the Rolling Stones. Unable to capitalize on their T.A.M.I. Show appearance, the Barbarians subsequently broke up, but Causi, Benson, and Morris moved to California and went on to form Black Pearl with Bernie “BB” Fieldings, Tom Mulcahy and Oak O’Connor of the Tallysmen in 1967.
(by Ed Symkus)