The F.B.I. | Day-Time Nite-Time | Gemini | 1967

The F.B.I. – ’Day-Time Nite-Time’ / ’What Am I To Do’ (Gemini G-500 / G-501) May 1967

I enjoy trying to solve the mysteries behind obscure mid sixties groups and the records they left behind. Under my scrutiny at this moment in time is a combo called The F.B.I. a.k.a. Four Boys Inc. Just who were they? and where did they come from? This is my quest, my aim is to find out the accurate details because a complete lack of information exists online and the few scraps of data in a couple of music guides I have, give a conflicting picture.

It seems that The F.B.I. released ”Day-Time Night-Time” / ”What Am I To Do” on Gemini during May 1967 (according to Teenbeat Mayhem). Both songs were written by Dennis Tracy and both songs are simply wonderful examples of folk jangle, a genre of music that is my absolute favourite.

”Day-Time Nite-Time” owes a lot to The Byrds ”Eight Miles High” but this pastiche is no mere imitation. The beautiful jangle is frantic and earnestly flows throughout, the backbeat is simple and rhythmic with organ bursts, all culminating in a genius recording. The other side ”What Am I To Do” is one of the most delicate jangle ballads I’ve ever heard, the guitar rings out it’s gorgeous chime and the spoken mid-section is sublime and elevates the song to pure pop perfection.

The record label indicates a Universal City, California address and raises yet another question. Was that the location of The Four Boys Inc or the address of the Gemini record label?

The F.B.I. | Day-Time Nite-Time | Gemini | 1967

For whatever reason, the single was repressed with exact label details apart from the name of the group which was given as The Band Of Wynand. According to an online source the re-release occurred during October 1967. ”Day-Time Nite-Time” has been compiled on ”Fuzz, Flaykes & Shakes – Volume 1”, their liner notes suggest that the Band Of Wynand hailed from Los Angeles. More recently both songs from this 45 appeared on a CD only release ”The Cicadelic 60s – Volume 3” – I don’t have this so can’t compare the music but they may be demo versions according to ”Fuzz, Acid & Flowers”

Readers comments:

I suspect this is the same Dennis Tracy of the hard-prog-rock band Jump, who released a self-titled album in 1971. That Dennis Tracy also released a solo album “Show Biz” in 1974, and several singles (Coppenhagen, Dance With the Devil (arranged by Larry Carlton!). I would recommend looking into this Dennis Tracy and you might get some info about these 45s.

There is also another Dennis Tracy who is better known as an actor and casting agent in Hollywood, but who seems to have a musical background, too. He is associated with Star Trek: The Next Generation. He has an IMDB page and a personal website. These mention that he currently does work with a musical project called Recycleman & the Dumpster Divers. Something tells me this may be the same guy.