Prior to Sundazed Music's anthology of Ronny & the Daytonas' classic recordings, there was no compilation of the Nashville-based band. They reached the Top 40 twice, first in 1964 with the number four standing of the hot rod anthem "G.T.O." (aka "Little G.T.O.") and again two years later when "Sandy" peaked at number 27 during January of 1966. "Ronny" was actually John "Bucky" Wilkin, and he came by his ostensibly innate abilities honestly, as his mother, Marijohn Wilkin, had penned "P.T. 109," "Waterloo," "Long Black Veil," "Take This Heart," "Cut Across Shorty," and "One Day at a Time," among countless others. She was able to convince her business associate and publishing partner, Bill Justis (of "Raunchy" fame), to find "Bucky" an outlet for his compositions. It didn't take too much finagling before "G.T.O." -- a song banged together by the hopeful talent on an acoustic guitar -- was brought to the attention of Bell Records subsidiary Mala. Regardless of the fact that Wilkin's native digs happened to be the landlocked state of Tennessee, the cut convincingly rivals California contemporaries the Rip Chords and Beach Boys. Even as the majority of "one-hit wonders" were little more than lucky cover combos, Wilkin's strong originals are indicative of his undeniable aptitude for pop music. Particularly inspired are the uptempo raucous rockers "California Bound," the overhaul of Jerry Smith's "Antique '32 Studebaker Dictator Coupe," and "Tiger-A-Go-Go" -- the latter credited to the duo of "Buzz & Bucky" (Buzz Cason and Bucky Wilkin, that is). Perhaps following the model set by Brian Wilson, Wilkin also displays a clear affinity for fine-tuned vocal harmonies, as heard on "Sandy," "Goodbye Baby," and most pointedly "If I Had My Way." One sidebar of interest to collectors and potential consumers: this assemblage contains audio restored from master tapes that were previously unusable due to severely debilitating water damage. However, Sundazed's own Bob Irwin was able to revive them, resulting in the best sound to have ever been available from Ronny & the Daytonas' earliest platters. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
