The Sunrays Biography

In 1965 Murray Wilson was fired as manager of the Beach Boys and sought a new US surf act. Carl Wilson, Murray’s son, had already introduced his father to Rick Henn, a talented singer, songwriter and drummer. Murray then persuaded Eddie Medora (lead guitar), Byron Case (rhythm guitar) and Marty Di Giovanni (piano) to join, each of whom were ex-members of the Snowmen, who had had a local hit in 1963 with ‘Ski Storm’. Bass player Vince Hozier was added to complete the line-up. Wilson secured a recording/production contract with the Los Angeles-based Tower label and was rewarded in the summer of 1965 when the Sunrays’ debut single, ‘I Live For The Sun’, reached the US Top 50. The song, which Henn wrote, gave Vanity Fare a UK Top 20 hit three years later. Two follow-up Sunrays singles, ‘Car Party’ and ‘Outta Gas’, were not successful, but ‘Andrea’ took them back into the US chart in 1966. It showed a marked Four Seasons influence. The quintet’s final hit was ‘Still’, after which Wilson lost interest in the group, preferring instead to record in his own right. The Sunrays split up soon afterwards.

Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.