Acres of Grass

A.k.a. The T.S.U. Toronadoes. House band for Skipper Lee Frazier's label, Ovide. Group members included Cal Thomas (guitar/vocals), Will Thomas (guitar/vocals), Peter Newman (bass), Darryll Busby (saxophone), Clarence “Creeper” Harper (trumpet), and Nelson Mills (horns). The band (named after the school where they were students, and their favorite car, the Oldmosbile Toronado) slowly gained a reputation on campus and in Houston as a tight unit. As well as doing gigs on their own, the band would often be the backing band to national acts such as Jackie Wilson, Barbara Acklin, and Etta James, who would be in town to play in the Houston area. But it was their backing of Archie Bell & The Drells from which they gained their notoriety.