The Dimensions – Tates Creek’s Teen Rockers

By the mid-1960s several of Lexington’s record labels boasted at least one young performer: Little Jacky Wayne for REM, Little Lambsie Penn (a Miranda Records discovery), and Terry & Jerry Lester of Sun-Ray. All were preteen singers, but each of them was backed by adult musicians. At the time of their recording, the teens that formed the Dimensions held the distinction of being the youngest self-contained combo to hit the studio in the central Kentucky area and most likely the entire state. [2020 Shawn Chambers / Lexingtunes]

The Dimensions were forged by best friends Ben Ferrell (b. 1953) and Dan Philpot (b. 1953). The two boys were neighbors on Edgemoor Drive and attended the same schools (first Glendover Elementary and later Tates Creek Jr High). Both took a strong interest in music from an early age and certainly had a supporting family.

Ben’s older brother Paul was already playing guitar in a loose-knit group. It wasn’t long before the younger Ferrell had his own guitar – a Sears Silvertone. Like thousands of other youngsters he first emulated the Beatles and Beach Boy songs blasting from the family radio, but it wasn’t long before he wanted to be part of a real band. Enter Dan.

Dan Philpot was certainly no stranger to showmanship and working with crowds and equipment. Literally, the “son of a preacher man” his father, Ford Philpot, had already established himself as a revival preacher and was known throughout Kentucky and the South. The elder Philpot had the first color religious television broadcast in the nation called “The Story.” This program debuted on WLEX-18 in 1958 and in 1966 it was even broadcast in Japan.

Philpot had learned lead licks on his stylish Kent guitar and was not afraid to borrow a PA from his father even at a young age. With fellow classmate Terry McCormick (b. 1951) on bass and the recruitment of Earl Stayton (b. 1953) on drums – The Dimensions were ready.

The road was not easy for the youngsters. One memorable practice session in the Ferrells’ driveway was attracting an appreciative crowd, but an unknown party dropped a dime on the boys and the cops came to politely ask them to stop playing.

 

Despite their youthfulness, the Dimensions sought an air of professionalism. A classmate, Gary Halladay, was roped into a managerial role and business cards made. Although a copy hasn’t surfaced at this time, the band had photos made with their instruments while perched in Dan Philpot’s mother’s new Mustang. Clearly there were efforts at promotion and gigs did happen. Philpot remembers at least two that stood out:

A memorable gig was playing for the grand opening of a Gulf service station. Cars and their passengers only stayed for a couple songs, so we just repeated everything we knew. A lady in one car asked us to play “Hanky Panky”. I still remember her request. ‘Play the Hanky Panky for me.’ Probably only 3 chords, but we didn’t risk it, not knowing how it started or stopped. They soon drove away with their free balloons and coffee mugs…but no “Hanky Panky”!

Another strange gig was an elementary school mixer, maybe after the PTA. I had watched Hullabaloo on TV, not knowing that they lip-synched everything and weren’t really playing. So I decided we would spread out with one guy up on stage, another on a box or something, and I think I was off in the corner. Ridiculous. We couldn’t hear each other and it looked crazy. Afterward some PTA lady said, ‘You should stand closer together like a real band.’

Like most bands the desire was to make a record, but the cost to the teens was prohibitive. Earl Stayton had a close family friend in Lexington business man “Big” Earl Gayheart and with no pressure Big Earl agreed to foot the bill. The studio at Lemco was the obvious chose as Cecil Jones offered an attractive package deal of studio time with the resultant 45s pressed on his label. Most importantly Jones took the teens seriously.

He was nice to us. I think he really liked us. He took his time and probably some more time we didn’t even pay for. – Ben Ferrell

The A-side “Louie Louie” seems like a great choice with its simple chord structure and instant familiarity to any listener, but the boys did not settle for some straight cover. It is well-remembered that the Kingsmen version (itself a cover) was investigated by the FBI as possibly possessing obscene lyrics, but they found the record free from any such obscenity. That report and many other sources do freely acknowledge the existence of “alternate” lyrics (many with very adult content) in circulation, however. Certainly the Dimensions version is more closely based upon these modified verses than the simple romance song of the Kingsmen.

FBI? Deciphering the Dimension’s version would probably also require the CIA and perhaps toss in Interpol as well. Ferrell (although a freshly minted teenager) was savvy enough to obfuscate the verses to avoid any hint of parental trouble. Still what emerges shows the potential for shenanigans from the Little Lothario. Snippets emerge “…my girl I do what I want…at night at ten I’m with her again…” And just WHAT is that second line in the second verse? Ferrell’s occasionally marble-mouthed delivery served the purpose and nearly 55 years later the lines are not certain. No need to sweat the lyrics anyway as the fun of Philpot’s guitar work and solo coupled with the rhythm section set the stage for the listener to sing along with his or her own version of the cut.

The flipside was not such an easy time. Disagreements set in about which song to perform. Philpot remembered a favorite Trenchmen’s instrumental and felt like it was a great choice. Ben Ferrell, however, felt differently. Philpot recalls that “because Ben’s brother Paul was in the Trenchmen, Ben felt like this was stealing the song and he didn’t want anything to do with it and so he stormed out of the studio. Just us three recorded it”. In all fairness, the Dimensions did their best to credit the Trenchmen songwriters Ray Current and Ben Bransom although both surnames ended up misspelled on the label.

Their version of the quasi-surf tune clocked in at just under two minutes (shorter than what Ray Current recalled the Trenchmen’s version being), but still gave Stayton plenty of time to work out his Ludwig kit behind Philpot’s lead. With no known song name, the Dimensions paid homage to the Yardbirds dubbing it “The Paste of Things”.

Armed with handfuls of 45s and the optimism of youth, the Dimensions took the unconventional approach of selling their record door-to-door. The pressing likely numbered around 300 copies and the sales figures from their direct selling efforts are lost to time, but it has become a scarce find in the Lexington area.

There was no real reason for the dissolution of the Dimensions, but Ben and Dan slowly began to drift into acoustic / folk revivalist music and started appearing at many of the Ford Philpot revivals and on his television broadcasts.

The two buddies traveled throughout high school and college to big revivals and with the larger crowds (often numbering several thousand) came a larger band. First Bob Breeden was added and later keyboardist Keith Brown. Breeden had formerly played in The Carpenter’s Crew and the boys liked that name so they dubbed the new group The Shepherd’s Staff in a similar vein. Operating as a faith-based group, the material typically included big hits like “Bridge Over Troubled Water” mixed with religious or semi-religious material. They continued even after Breeden left to join the Air Force.

While playing, Ben Ferrell also moved permanently to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to attend Oral Roberts University in 1971. After completing his education he took another swing at music and travelled to Nashville and recorded a full-length solo album in 1976 – “Talkin’ Bout Kentucky.” The LP featured a Who’s Who of country music studio star musicians: Charlie McCoy, Buddy Harman, Johnny Gimble, Pete Wade, Pet Drake, and more. Released on Caravelle Records it was also later distributed by EMS in Australia.

His music came to the attention of Pat Boone who encouraged him to move to California and “get found.” Ferrell moved to Santa Monica, but never got the break he hoped for and after a couple of years he left and went back to Tulsa.

The Bluegrass region had not heard the last from Ben either. In 1978 he returned to Lemco Studio and released a 45 featuring a UK Wildcats basketball tribute song “The Kentucky NCAA Champs” and backed it with a new recording of “Talkin’ ‘Bout Kentucky.” A non-credited Jimmy Pennington (of Exile fame) appeared on the session. This release on his namesake “Ferrell Records” was pressed in quantities numbering in the thousands and is commonly found in the area.

Back in Tulsa, Ben felt his calling once more and became an early figure in the praise worship movement. He launched his own television show “The Worshipper”, which was broadcast on the Christian Broadcast Network nationwide.

Branching into recording, in 1983 Ferrell purchased Leon Russell’s old studio. Dubbed “The Church” Leon had first sold it in 1977 to the Tulsa Indian Council on Drug Abuse (who continued to lease space even after Ferrell’s purchase). From The Church, Ben started Castle Records and the studio itself was dubbed Greystone Studios. He sold the property in 1987.

Ferrell continued to record and has released at least half a dozen Christian albums. He still resides in Tulsa and is the CEO of BMCFerrell a Christian based advertising/media agency.

Dan Philpot followed in his father’s footsteps graduating first from Asbury University and then from Asbury Theological Seminary. He also holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. He served as a United Methodist Pastor for 25 years both in Kentucky and Georgia. He currently works in sales and resides in the Atlanta area.

Following his graduation from Henry Clay High School, drummer Earl Stayton continued on his own musical journey in and around Lexington. In the 1970s he played with Pat Horine in at least one incarnation of the Rockcastle River Company and later drummed for Greg Austin and appeared on his 1980 LP “Three Time Losers”.

Music was not Stayton’s full-time career and he spent years working in the electronics and computer field. Family commitments and a bad motorcycle accident in the early 80s probably both contributed to his retirement from touring and live performances. Stayton passed away from cancer in 2004 at the age of 51.

Efforts to reach bassist Terry McCormick’s family were unsuccessful. He was a former member of the US Air force and worked for the IRS in northern Kentucky and was also a one-time Lexmark employee in Lexington. Terry died in a car accident in 2005 at the age of 54.

The legacy of the Dimensions lives on.

Discography:
45s:
Lemco
1004  Louie, Louie  / The Paste of Things 1966