THE ESQUIRES-JUDGMENT DAY-TEXAS 1966

      The Esquires were formed on a Saturday morning in the Spring of 1965 when Richard Thornbury and Charley Snellings got together for the first time to jam. Here is the band’s lineup: Chuck Snellings-Lead guitar, vocals, Richard Thornbury-Drums/vocals, Wes Horne- Rhythm guitar, vocals, Bill Lusby-Bass,1965, Terry Hall-bass 1966-1974, Jan Hergert- Farfissa Organ(1966-67).

    The Esquires first single was Loneliness Is Mine b/w Come On Come On (fast version) . It was recorded at PAMS studio in Dallas in the summer of 1965 . 500 records were pressed. Charley’s father , Weldon, was The Esquire’s manager and released the record on his own label, Texan Records . It was released as Texan 103. Texan Records was a country and western label and this was the first rock record released on it. The reason Come On Come came out on two labels was that Mr. Snellings had created a new label called Glenvalley which was for rock and roll and Texan 103 became Glenvalley 103. Come On Come On was written by Charley and Wes at a rehearsal on the spot a few days before the recording session at Pams Studio, just to fill a b-side. Come On Come On though ended up being the song everybody liked and so it was the one that received the airplay and was played live at their shows.
    The Esquires had a set of Vox Grenadiers, a 30-watt Bogen Amp and Guild Copycat Echo Chamber. Mr. Snellings bought the PA system for The Esquires. The bands who had a major influence on The Esquires sound were The Beatles, The Animals, Them, and The Rolling Stones. The Esquires gigged at local popular venues like the Jolly Time Skate Rink and Action A-Go-Go in Ft. Worth and just about every A-Go-Go in the Dallas Metroplex. They were the house band for awhile at Lou-Ann’s, then at The Studio Club, circa 1967. They also played many frat parties at North Texas State University in Denton, which is also where the band members all went to college.

    The next Esquires single was Glenvalley 104, Time Don’t Mean So Much/ Summertime. Mr. Snellings chose “Summertime” to fill the b-side but it became the a-side when it was deemed more popular on the air and in live concerts. It was released in 1966. Perhaps the popularity of “Summertime” was due to the hit version of the song by Billy Stewart.

    The next release by The Esquires was their most frentic and outrageous, released as Glenvalley 105 in the summer of 1966. The a-side, “These Are The Tender Years” was a folk-rock song. The b-side , “Judgment Day” was written by Wes Horne and Charley Snellings the music. It was a number to fill the b-side. The guitar solo was influenced by The Kinks. 1,000 copies were pressed up.  The Esquire’s third single was recorded at “Summit-Burnett Studios” in Dallas, in 1966. This single was quickly followed by another single listed also as Glenvalley 105 and it had "These Are The Tender Years" on it again as the A-side but the b-side was another version of "Come On Come On" in a slower tempo than the original done on Glenvalley 103. This fourth single would be the group's last.
"These Are The Tender Years" was also a different version than the Glenvalley 103.  Richard wanted to re-record them and the single was issued with a picture sleeve of The Esquires. The single was recorded at Robin Hood Brians studio in Tyler, Texas in 1967.

This version of  "THESE ARE THE TENDER YEARS"  had a fine solo rip by Mouse and The Traps lead guitarist Bug Henderson. It was The Esquires' biggest hit and was championed by Mark Stevens and became a KLIF King Klimber. One night shortly after the single’s release, Chuck’s girlfriend Pat Adams came running into his house during a band practice and said “turn on your radio to KLIF quick!”. The band stopped the rehearsal and listened to “These Are The Tender Years” being played. When it was over the DJ allowed for ten seconds of silence and then yelled “Fantastic!” and hit the instant replay button and played it again. This was the moment The Esquires thought they had made it and were going to be rock stars. The Esquires had a fan club that manufactured bumper stickers and promotional material . From the time of The Esquires last single till 1971 the band kept their name, but in 1972 they changed it to A Priori (same band members as The Esquires, just a updated name change) until 1974 when they broke up for good.