THE VAN DYKES - I WON'T HOLD IT AGAINST YOU b/w NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

The Van Dykes were formed by lead singer Rondalis Tandy; after he was stationed in Fort Hood, TX during an army stint in the early 60's, he settled in nearby city Fort Worth. It was in Fort Wort where he met up with the group that became the Van Dykes (Wenzon Moseley and James Mays). Initially, the group had a fourth member (Eddie Nixon) who also sang in the high, Curtis Mayfield style (as did Rondalis) who left the group before this; their recording debut (initially released on a local label, and picked up for nation release by Mala, a subsidiary of Bell records that released all of their future discs).

"I Won't Hold It Against You" is a fantastic Impressions style groove, one which also shows off the songwriting abilities of Rondalis Tandy. The flip side ("No Man Is An Island") is a gorgeous, haunting ballad (also written by Rolandis) that was perfect for the civil rights movement, and was also technically the A side of the record upon its release. The single was a minor chart hit, but perhaps the group was just too derivative of the Impressions to stand alone; they kept releasing records up until 1967.

from 1965...

 THE VAN DYKES - I WON'T HOLD IT AGAINST YOU



b/w NO MAN IS AN ISLAND