The 2nd Thought from Duluth, Minnesota featured (from left to right above) Timothy (Tim) Koivisto on lead guitar, James (Jim) Johnson on bass guitar, Charles (Chuck) Cox on rhythm guitar, Dennis Robinson on drums, and Kerry Demeria on lead vocals and organ. The garage rock band was assembled by the remaining members of an earlier band called The DeVilles after their lead singer, Junior Thompson, left in 1966. Junior’s parents managed the DeVilles and claimed ownership of the name.
This song’s melody may sound familiar to you. I don’t know much about the composer and arranger, Peter Steinberg, except that he’d also produced a record for another garage rock band in St. Paul, Minnesota, who called themselves Men At Work (a couple decades before the Australian group with the same name). The melody of this song is actually a composite of two different tunes, the first one being He’s Got The Whole World (In His Hands), a very old and traditional American spiritual made famous in 1958 by England’s Laurie London and the Geoff Love Orchestra and Chorus.
The other part of the melody is considerably older, being composed originally by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and known to us as Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music).
Those are the ingredients. Now just mix them both together, sprinkle in some catchy lyrics, apply a little garage rock flavoring, and the musical magic comes out here!
I just think this is a really catchy tune and I never seem to get tired of hearing it. Here’s When I’m In Love by 2nd Thought on Gloria 777 from 1966:
Due to a couple of back-to-back medical emergencies I’ve fallen behind on new posts here. Somehow I managed to escape the Grim Reaper’s grip, so I’ll just have to wait to conduct my interviews with John Lennon, Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and the like. In the meantime, I’m back, and I swear I’ll get caught up with some really cool new MusicMaster Oldies for you to enjoy!
My Uncle, Jim Johnson was in the band..he passed away on Sunday..he would have loved to see this..thank you so much for having this online!
My uncle, Jim Johnson was in this group..another of their songs is also on Youtube..thank you so much for having this online! He passed away last week, we buried him yesterday.
You're welcome. Your Uncle helped make some great music. Sorry to hear about your loss. Thanks for checking in with us.
Thank you for this one, and for picking out the two songs the melody was derived from — that would have driven me crazy for a few days (at least).
Enjoyed being part of this group with Jim (called him Jimbo) and the rest of the crew…grateful that you have the name correct as The Second Thought (singular, rather than The Second Thoughts), which is what we decided to call the group after it emerged out of The DeVilles. One small correction: Junior (as I'm sure he'd agree) was our drummer, but never the lead singer =) — Chuck Cox
Awesome! Thanks for checking in, Chuck. I appreciate the added information.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, complete with the Beatles-inspired hair, which–alas!–was already starting to thin when the promo pic was taken. Blessings and a prayer for recovery from your health issues!