The Human Beinz

The Human Beinz (/ˈbiː.ᵻnz/ BEE-inz) is an American rock band from Youngstown, Ohio. Originally known as The Human Beingz, the band initially featured John "Dick" Belley (vocals, guitar), Joe "Ting" Markulin (vocals, guitar), Mel Pachuta (vocals, bass) and Gary Coates (drums, later replaced by Mike Tatman.)

Early career

The Beinz started in 1964 as The Premiers, launching their professional career to build a local fan base. In 1966, they changed their name to The Human Beingz because they felt their old name did not fit with the feel of the late 1960s. They recorded covers of songs by Them, The Yardbirds, The Who and Bob Dylan. The group was also the first^[1] to record a cover of "Gloria" by Them, which became a hit for The Shadows of Knight, and covered "The Pied Piper", which later became a hit for Crispian St. Peters.

The group signed to Capitol Records in 1967 and at that time Capitol misspelled their name, leaving out the "g". The Beingz were told it would be changed on the next release if the debut single did not have any success. In September 1967 "Nobody But Me" was released and became their only Billboard Top 40 hit, which meant that Capitol would not correct the spelling. "Nobody But Me" (written and first recorded by The Isley Brothers in 1962) peaked at No. 8 in February 1968. The recording's two 31-fold repetitions of the word "no" fulfill Casey Kasem's "Book of Records" category of most repetitive word or phrase in a Hot 100 top 10 hit, besting the 26-fold repetition of "I know" in Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine". An album, Nobody But Me, followed.

The Beinz' next single, "Turn On Your Love Light," flopped in the United States (peaking at No. 80), but reached No. 1 in Japan.^[2] "Turn On Your Love Light", originally a hit for Bobby Bland in 1962, was later covered by Jerry Lee Lewis and the Grateful Dead. In 1968, Capitol released a second album, Evolutions. They also released the single, "Hold on Baby", exclusively in Japan, where it also hit the top of the charts. Despite their Japanese success, The Human Beinz broke up in March 1969, but due to contract obligations, had to undertake a tour there.

Their song "Dance On Through" was featured in an episode of The Addams Family.

Revival

In 2003, The Human Beinz were among the bands featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame exhibit "Hang on Sloopy: The Music of Ohio". On display were a white Fender bass used by Mel Pachuta and a black Edwardian jacket worn by Ting Markulin.

In 2004, Quentin Tarantino used "Nobody But Me" in his film Kill Bill: Vol. 1, although it did not appear on the movie soundtrack. The same song was on two compilation albums: ESPN's The Greatest Crowd-Rockin' Anthems Of All Time and J&R's Music World Presents Rock And Roll's Greatest Hits Of All Time. The song made yet another appearance in Martin Scorsese's 2006 film The Departed. It was also featured in the seventh-season premiere of the American comedy television series The Office.

The new lineup of the Human Beinz played the Hard Rock Cafe at Foxwoods Casino, Bodles Opera House, county fairs and other venues in the Northeast. The group featured their original leader Ting Markulin. The group has written and recorded two new songs, "McQ" (E. McCarthy, S. Crisafi) and "Coyotes & Rattlesnakes"(R. Iacovelli), for McQueen: An American Rebel (2007).^[3] The world premiere and gala were held at the Downing Film Center in Newburgh, New York. The Human Beinz with Markulin were in attendance, as were Barbara McQueen and author Marshall Terrill.

Markulin lives in Florida. The Human Beinz worked on an album of originals and 1960s cover songs in Pennsylvania, in May 2010. This effort was shelved and never released to the public. They appeared in concert at The Dome SUNY Binghamton Events Center in Binghamton, New York, in concert with Jay and The Americans and The Vogues, on May 8, 2010. On July 31, 2010, they appeared at "Night of 100 Rock Stars", as part of the Nat Rock Con Fan Fest at the Sheraton Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. This video "Nobody But Me performed by The Human Beinz" 'live'^[4] is from the Nat Rock Con Fan Fest that features some of the Human Beinz, as well as Danny and The Characters and Vince Martell of Vanilla Fudge, performing "Nobody But Me" live at a jam session show on July 31, 2010.

Present-day band members include Ting Markulin (rhythm guitar and vocals) Gene Szegedi (lead guitar), Sal Crisafi (keyboards, guitar and vocals), Ed McCarthy (bass), Rick White (lead vocals and percussion) and Mike Cerra (drums and percussion).

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

• The Human Beinz official website
• The Rock Con web page