“Ladies & Gentlemen...you think the
Beatles are exciting?
These fellas run over the Beatles!
Here they are…
Hub Kapp and the Wheels!”
—Steve Allen, 1964
Let's Really Hear It for Hub Kapp!
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Lets Really Hear It (For Hub Kapp)
Hub Kapp and the Wheels started out as a gag on the TV show, It’s Wallace, poking fun at the Beatlemania sweeping the country in the early 1960s…but ended up undoubtedly more than just a parody band.
Despite being clearly tongue-in-cheek, the group grew into a huge attraction in Arizona, scoring regional hits and even influencing the nascent rock scene in Phoenix. Among their fans was a young Vincent Furnier who would become the future superstar, Alice Cooper.
Pat McMahon, wearing an outrageous pompadour wig, long false eyelashes, fake eyebrows and sideburns, and a prop guitar he couldn’t actually play, personified the band’s star frontman so convincingly that audiences lost sight it was satire.
​
Pat remarked, "We certainly didn't consider ourselves pioneers or visionaries. We considered ourselves guys who were doing a comedy show… Hub Kapp was just one of a whole bunch of characters that we did."
​
A total tipoff that it was all a joke should have been the groups ‘backstory.’ Supposedly, Tony Evans (an actual popular disc jockey in Phoenix) was driving through Cotton Corners, Tennessee (not a real place) and needed some work done on his car. He discovered Hub Kapp and his backup guys the Wheels (Rip Kord, Ry Krisp, Ty Klipp, and Terry Kloth)* working at a gas station in the grease pit.
After their return to Phoenix, the group continued appearing on It’s Wallace and at various live venues, and they even made a few more recordings…but sometime in 1965, Pat and the guys decided it was time for Hub Kapp to take off the wig and eyebrows…and to retire the Wheels.
Let’s Really Hear It for Hub Kapp!
*(Rip Kord - Mike Condello, Ry Krisp - bassist Bob Dearborn, Ty Klipp - drummer Rich Post,
and Terry Kloth - keyboardist Ted Harpchak)
Buoyed by local television exposure, the band immediately began drawing huge audiences at public appearances. Their 1964 single Work, Work (written by Pat McMahon) became a No. 1 smash hit in Phoenix…shoving The Beatles off the top of the local charts for the first time. The regional success of Work, Work was substantial and eventually led to a contract with Capitol Records, the label of The Beatles.​
Several high-profile national TV appearances followed including guest spots on the Steve Allen, Joey Bishop and Woody Woodbury programs. "It was all beyond anything that anybody could ever plan," McMahon recalled. "If you could have been over in Los Angeles with us, you wouldn't have believed it."
After recording their second 45 record at the Capitol Tower in L.A., Pat McMahon, Mike Condello and the other Wheels (fully aware they were a parody and not a legit band) began feeling conflicted about pretending to be rock stars. Pat wondered, “How long could we possibly continue doing this charade?”
Eventually, they said goodbye to the Hollywood agents and record company executives and headed back to Arizona.
Hub Kapp and the Wheels
on the
Steve Allen Show!
[1964]
Hub Kapp and the Wheels
on the Steve Allen Show
with Guest Host,
Woody Woodbury! [1964]
Work, Work
Hub Kapp
in Retirement!
[1984]
Sixteen Tons
Hub Kapp and the Wheels
Official Discography
Work, Work (McMahon) / Let’s Really Hear It (for Hub Kapp) (Thompson/Condello/Dearborn)
Take Five 631, 1964
Recorded at Alectron Recording Co.
Phoenix, Arizona
Sigh, Cry, Almost Die (D. Everly/P. Everly) / Bony Maronie (Williams)
Capitol 5215, 1964
Recorded at the Capitol Tower
Hollywood, California
Little Volks (McMahon/Condello) / What You’re Doin’ To Me (Lennon/McCartney)
Framagratz F-101, 1965
Recorded at Audio Recorders of Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Sixteen Tons (Travis) / Don’t Put Me On (McMahon)
Unreleased Demo
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