Even during the time of the British Invasion nearly ever college town boasted a strong folk scene and Lexington was no exception. A genre largely disregarded by collectors these days, local acts once packed our clubs nightly. Dig deeper and there are always interesting stories to find – like Avo and Ray… enjoy! [2023 Shawn Chambers / Lexingtunes]
The Lennon-McCartney moment for Avo Kiviranna and Ray Chafin came during the Labor Day holiday in ’64. Avo was holding court outside of Holmes Hall entertaining any and all passersby with his acoustic guitar and his repertoire of classic folk tunes as well as his smattering of Estonian songs from long ago. By chance, Ray caught the sound and was able to borrow a guitar and join in the fun. It was quickly apparent that the two young men paired well in voice and style and they spent hours strumming and singing together. Despite the simple Avo and Ray origin story, the path to reach that moment was anything but.
The elder of the two, Ray Chafin (b. 1940) hailed from the Williamson, West Virginia, area – just a swim across the Tug Fork River from the Kentucky border. As a high schooler, Chafin dreamed of continuing his football career at the University of Kentucky playing for Blanton Collier, but the legendary coach dismissed him with a curt “come back in a year when you’ve gained some weight.” This would be just one of many times when Chafin’s plans were altered in a way that sent him off into an entirely different course in life. In this case, he soon joined the Army and was shipped abroad.
Chafin had the luck to be stationed in Hamburg, Germany, during the incredible early ‘60s rock scene there. Of course, his band The Barracudas faced competition from dozens if not hundreds of acts on the various club scenes. The band could hold its own, though, and once even appeared on a triple billing with another upstart band – The Beatles!
Any working rock musician at the time in Europe could feel the groundswell of a whole new era in rock and Chafin was no exception. With family back home in the Cincinnati area, Ray tried to draw interest from Harry Carlson at Fraternity Records in an attempt to cash in early on this new sound. The small label with an even smaller budget had to pass.
Meanwhile in Long Island, New York, Avo Kiviranna was well established on the regional folk scene. He teamed up with the Conlin brothers – Andrew and James – to form a trio first dubbed the Kivilin 3. They placed second at an area talent show in 1962 and soon after dropped the portmanteau band name and became the Ambletown 3, which ultimately recorded a full-length album for Bell’s budget subsidiary label Hi-Life. A cover of mostly classic folk tunes, Avo did pen two cuts on the LP in “I Wish You Were Here” and “On the Town.”
By at least one contemporary account Avo was born in Czechoslovakia during his parents’ flight from their native Estonia. Their war-torn country was occupied by the Soviets following WWII and the Kiviranna clan kept on the move. Following Avo’s birth in 1945, they were in Germany before finally emigrating to the United States in 1949.
Clearly Kiviranna understood from an early age that broad moves are necessary to pursue a dream. In Avo’s case, his ambition in life was to simply own and operate his own horse farm. What better place to study towards that goal than the heart of horse country and the University of Kentucky?
From their formation, Avo and Ray were both immersed in the college experience. They joined the UK Troupers who were an informal campus group of entertainers comprised of an ever-shifting array of dancers, singers, tumblers, and clowns. Between random Troupers performances and their own bookings, the two were busy. Oh, and don’t forget actual classwork thrown in the mix with Avo as an Agricultural Sciences major and Ray studying Radio & TV. It is probably a good thing the two buckled down that Fall Semester. In 1965 Avo and Ray would break big and classes would (at least for a time) probably seem like an afterthought.
Chafin had been busy penning songs during the previous year and despite his earlier inability to score a deal with Fraternity Records, he pushed again. This time Carlson was fully on board and the duo’s record was released in January and would include two original compositions from Ray: “College Life” and “Little Love Maker.”
From the time the needle drops until the fadeout “College Life” delivers two minutes of pure fun. The rapid-fire lyrics are delivered with great enthusiasm and for the two young singers it is easy to believe that at least some of the tongue-in-cheek phrasing had some roots in reality. The boys are true to their school and bookend the lyrics with a nod to the University of Kentucky, while also broadening the appeal to a wide college crowd with mentions of many other regional and even national colleges.
The flip-side “Little Love Maker” sounds like it could have been recorded in the late ‘50s. A sincere delivery with the boys harmonizing nicely it could also have garnered some airplay if the disc jockeys weren’t so busy on the A-side. Typical of ballad sides at the time its chances for action were limited, but it is a solid song that was likely well received during their numerous live appearances.
The popular Cincinnati AM station WSAI was big fans of the duo and “College Life” cracked their Top 40 survey in early February. Within two weeks it had moved into the twenties, no doubt helped by their local appearance at the Plaza Theater in Norwood where they opened for the new comedy film Get Yourself a College Girl.
Back home, WLAP gave them high billing at their first Bluegrass Festival at Clay-Wachs Arena alongside such acts as J.D. Crowe, the Joslin Brothers, and the Bluegrass Valley Boys. Riding on the popularity of “College Life” the station’s hottest jock Big Bill Love approached Avo and Ray for a radio promo and in no time the two worked up a short Lexington-centric version for airplay.
Another trip up I-75 in late March found the duo at a packed Cincinnati Gardens battling it out on the undercard with regional stars Kenny Price and the Casinos as well as Billy Joe Royal before the curtain lifted on the heavyweight champs – The Beach Boys. In a space of just six months the two had gone from an impromptu Holmes Hall sidewalk serenade to appearing before 7500 music fans.
Avo and Ray were big fans of folk/country singer (and former Berea College student) Billy Edd Wheeler. His song “Ann” was heavy in their rotation at live performances and now they had the chance to open for him at Transylvania University. In addition to Avo and Ray, the other opening acts were a true Who’s Who of the local folk scene with Ben Story, Pat (Horine) & Preston (Webber), and Susan Knox all having a chance to shine.
Back on campus, their friends in the Troupers were working up a night of entertainment dubbed (you guessed it) College Life, which would trace the trials and tribulations of a new student across four years at UK. Singing their hearts out as part of the performance were Avo and Ray, of course.
Plans were in the works for a full length LP with a working title of Campus Life and the boys had several other folk novelties ready and waiting including a reworking of “She Was Only the Dean of Men’s Daughter” and “Campus Rules.” Sadly, it was not to be. Despite all the local and regional airplay and shows, the small Fraternity label just didn’t have the clout to break the two nationally. Somewhere along the way someone must have gotten nervous and the funding disappeared.
REAL college life came crashing back, but there were no hard feelings. Kiviranna smoothly settled back into academic life, but the stars were in Chafin’s eyes and he sensed a future elsewhere.
Ray took a tip from Horace Greeley and as a young man went West. Later the same year and summoning his memories from his Hamburg years, he penned another novelty “I’m Better Than the Beatles,” which was released by Brad Berwick on a small Hollywood label. This inauspicious start would quickly give way to better opportunities.
As a hired gun, Chafin brought his writing talents to Liberty, Imperial, and Capital. He formed writing partnerships with Hyle King, Dobie Gray, and Bread’s Jimmy Griffin. Beyond having his songs appear on other people’s releases, Chafin was still behind the mic as well.
He cut sides for Tower in 1966 that yielded two 45s and during the Summer of Love had another release on Imperial. Settling nicely into a sunshine pop sound, Chafin would rework “Girl With the Flower Smile” for a newly revised Chancellor. First released by his co-writer as the Hyle King Movement for Liberty, Ray’s version earned him enough attention to land an appearance on American Bandstand in 1968. The track was released internationally by Festival to the Australian and New Zealand markets and remains arguably his best-known cut.
One of his last stabs as a performer came with Lee Hazelwood Industries. Darker in tone, his “Emmy” is a sad-tinged affair of a lost love. Tantalizingly the promo 45 states “From LHI Album – Home Grown: West Virginia Soul,” but in shades of Avo and Ray the requisite number of singles were not sold apparently and an LP never materialized.
Chafin carried on and continued a healthy output of songs for others. In the early ‘80s he launched Centaurus Records to release some Jimmy Griffin material and his Wraysong Records has tirelessly released archive material from Griffin’s estate. Ray Chafin lives in Mississippi.
While Ray was on the west coast waiting, Avo Kiviranna graduated from UK in 1968. With his studies finished, he is known to have joined the Clyde Foley Trio for a series of shows at the Boom Boom Room that same year. This is one of the last documented performances from Avo before he embarked on his ongoing fifty plus year career with horses.
Kiviranna moved back to New York in the early 1970s and was a professor in equine science at SUNY Delhi, but the lure of the Bluegrass State would draw him south once more. An expert on “least resistance horsemanship,” Avo settled in the Versailles area and had his own farm. In 2011 he joined Midway College as an appointee to the Equine Studies Division Chair. Kiviranna is known to have settled in Florida and is believed to still make his home in the Sunshine State.
Discography:
Fraternity 939 College Life / Little Love Maker 1965
Avo Kiviranna:
Hi-Life 68 Ambletown 3 (LP) 196-
Ray Chafin:
Tower 238 Crystal Romance / Summer Wind 1966
Tower 272 California Kisses / You, Baby 1966
Imperial 66250 Good Time Girl / Life Is A Winner 1967
Chancellor 1202 Greenwood Township / Girl With The Flower Smile 1968*
LHI 18 Emmy (Mono) / Emmy (Stereo) 1969
*released as Ray Chayfin
Wonderful article on Avo and Ray. Brings back great memories of that time. Ray is my younger brother, so I was there, a UK graduate, married and living in Cincinnati. Ray is 83 now and still into his music. I have forwarded your article to all the family which will bring smiles and remembrances that we were young and carefree once upon a time.
What an awesome article. It brings back such wonderful memories. Thank you!!
Ray is my neighbor! It is awesome for me to learn about his music career! What a great guy!
You go back a long way with Griffin. Nice to read how that came about. Ever run into the late Gordon Lightfoot back in the day?
Such a great article! and such handsome fellas!