Bravados Summer 1966, Riis Park, NY. From left to right: Larry Laufer, Gene Coggshall, Jeff Newman, Bruce Bergman and Mongo Booth

They were college graduates now and other things were on the horizon: Bruce would begin Fordham Law School in the Fall; Jeff, NYU Law School; Gene would return to Cornell to obtain his MFA; Mongo was at liberty.  But for that summer, Gene came down from Ithaca and was ensconced in a bungalow apartment in Far Rockaway, just before the whole area was leveled. Returning to the group from the 1961 version was Larry Laufer, now on the newly popular Farfisa organ. This was to become the most professional Bravados to ever play.

One particular success of that season were regular appearances at Glen Cove’s Do Drop Inn – for decades thereafter the well-known La Pace Restaurant at 51 Cedar Swamp Road.

The real celebration of that summer, though, was the previously mentioned Straw Hat on Jericho Turnpike in Mineola.  Owned by a St. John’s University alum, it attracted a large and loyal following of St. John’s University students and graduates.  The Bravados’ college fraternity party mien was perfect for the venue and the group was booked for Friday and Sunday nights.  Opposite them on Saturday nights was Billy Joel’s band, The Hassles.  Of course it wasn’t until years later that the boys knew the group was Billy Joel’s; back then Billy was just one of the young guys in his group. All they recognized at the time was that The Hassles were outstanding, which made for dynamic weekends of music with those two bands on the stand – precisely why crowds were there.

Every night was akin to a party, The Troggs’ “Wild Thing”, The Rascal’s “Good Lovin”, The Zombies’ “She’s Not There”, The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me”, The Outsiders’ “Time Won’t Let Me”  and James Browns’ “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag” being typical fare.  It’s what the patrons wanted and what The Bravados offered.  The “Monkey Waddle” was a big hit with the crowd too and the band hinted that there was a scatological version which the fans then waited for all summer.  On the very last Sunday of the summer run, the off-color version was finally played and everyone went wild.  It was a fitting conclusion for what was really the end of an era; college was over, the last joyous, carefree summer after college reached a finale, responsibility abruptly arrived, and neither The Bravados nor the music would ever be quite the same.

The Bravados Summer 1966, Belle Harbor, NY. From left to right: Mongo Booth, Bruce Bergman, Larry Laufer, Gene Coggshall, Jeff Newman.