#14: Break Away From That Boy by the Newbeats

City: Regina, SK
Radio Station: CJME
Peak Month: February 1965
Peak Position in Regina ~ #1
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #8
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #40
YouTube: “Break Away (from That Boy)”
Lyrics: “Break Away (from That Boy)”

The Newbeats were a vocal trio formed in 1964 with the lead vocalist Larry Henley. As children, brothers Dean Mathis (born in 1939 in Hahira, Georgia) and Mark Mathis (born in 1942 in Hahira, Georgia), were taught to play guitar by their mother. They subsequently learned to play piano, bass guitar, and drums. They both played in a band at Bremen High School, in Bremen, Georgia. After finishing their public education, they decided on a career in the music industry. At the age of 17, Dean Mathis joined Paul Howard’s Western swing band in 1956 as pianist. Next, Dean joined Dale Hawkins’ band, where brother Mark soon joined as a bass player. They stayed with Dale Hawkins’ band for two years, including on the 1957 Top 30 hit single “Susie Q”.

Benefiting from their ties to Dale Hawkins and Stan Lewis, the brothers were also allowed to record on their own for the Chess labels. With their high voices, they tried to emulate the Everly Brothers sound. Their first record came out in October 1958 on Argo. Co-written by Dale Hawkins and Dean Mathis, “Lazy Susan” was recorded in NYC with Roy Buchanan on lead guitar and credited to “The Brothers”. It charted on WJJD in Chicago.

The Mathis brothers recorded together as Dean & Marc with Chess Records. In 1959, their recording of “Tell Him No” entered the Billboard Hot 100  and peaked at #42. They were overtaken by Travis and Bob who had a #7 hit on the Hot 100 with the tune. However, Dean & Marc’s version of “Tell Him No” climbed to #2 in Montreal. 

Dean and Marc started their own eight-piece band and played in their new base of Shreveport, Louisiana. It was there that they met Larry Henley, who auditioned for the band. Henley was born in Odessa, Texas, in 1937. His mother was part of a country music group of sisters. Larry Henley had originally planned on an acting career before becoming a singer and songwriter. He was a friend of Roy Orbison, who lived 20 miles away from Henley, and was one of the inspirations for getting him into music. The only instrument Larry knew how to play was the violin, which he learned as a child and never played after his childhood. Before getting into music, at the age of twenty, Larry Henley worked for the Philips chemical company. Phillips 66. He appeared in “Rent-a-Gent”, an Australian film shot in Honolulu. After winning a talent show in San Diego, Larry Henley got a job as an opening act for The Johnny Otis Show. After a few years of performing in California, lack of money and disillusionment with the music business led to Henley getting a job in the oil fields near Shreveport.

After forming a trio for awhile, there was a parting of the ways between the Mathis brothers and Larry Henley. This took place when Henley tried his luck as a solo artist, and the brothers worked as a duo, both recording independently for Wesley Rose. After about 18 months they jointly made a demo of a song titled “Bread and Butter”, and sent it to Hickory Records. They were subsequently asked to record the track. Henley’s memorable falsetto voice came by accident. He told a reporter, it was “just something I discovered I could do. I’d sing along with Ray Charles and Raelettes singer Margie Hendricks records. I could do the Ray Charles part and then I could do the Margie Hendricks part. Everybody thought that was cute so I’d sing a few Ray Charles songs like that, and people started saying, ‘You should record like that, that’s a real interesting voice.'”

“Bread and Butter” topped the pop charts in Canada, climbed to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 in Australia, and #15 in the UK. A follow up release, “Everything’s Alright” reached #6 in Canada, and #16 in the USA. A third release was “Break Away (from That Boy)”.  

“Break Away (from That Boy)” was credited to Louis Al and Marcus F. Mathis. Dean Mathis’ birth name is Louis Aldine Mathis, and so the pseudonym ‘Louis Al” was created as a shortened version of his first and middle name. While Marcus Felton Mathis was the birth name of Marc Mathis. In summary, the song was co-written by the Mathis brothers – two-thirds of the Newbeats.

“Break Away (from That Boy)” is a song from the perspective of an adoring guy who sees a female he cares about being treated badly by her boyfriend. The boyfriend is “out with a new girl every night.” Meanwhile, the girlfriend is “crying” all the time. The narrator urges “break away from his arms and come to mine.”

Mark (sometimes Marc) Mathis also wrote songs recorded by Roy Orbison, Bob Moore and his Orchestra, Bobbie Gentry, Billy Joe Royal, Frank Ifield, the Trashmen, Dale & Grace, and Sue Thompson.

“Break Away (from That Boy)” reached #1 in Regina (SK), and Visalia (CA), #2 in Columbia (SC), #3 in Calgary, and Columbia (SC), #4 in Toledo (OH), #5 in Nashville (TN), San Bernardino (CA), and Greenville (OH), #6 in Providence (RI), and Springfield (TN), #8 in Klamath Falls (OR), Vancouver (BC), Wilmington (DL), Twin Falls (ID), and Gaithersburg (MD), #9 in Buffalo, Detroit, Rockville (MD), and Syracuse (NY), and #10 in Atlanta.

In 1965, the Newbeats toured Australia and New Zealand with Roy Orbison, Ray Columbus and the Invaders, and the Rolling Stones on the “Big Beat ’65” tour. Later in 1965, the Newbeats had their third Top 20 hit “Run, Baby Run (Back Into My Arms)”. It climbed to #4 in Canada and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their sixth single to crack the Hot 100, “Shake Hands (And Come Out Crying)”, stalled at #92. Though in Vancouver (BC) the single climbed to #17.

The Newbeats released eleven consecutive singles between 1966 and 1969 that failed to crack the Hot 100. Three of these were covers of early pop hits: “Bird Dog” by the Everly Brothers, “So Fine” by the Fiestas, and “Thou Shalt Not Steal” by Dick and Dee Dee. A final appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 was with “Groovin (Out on Life)” which stalled at #82 in the summer of 1969. Though in Kirkland Lake (ON) the song peaked at #3.

The Newbeats dissolved in 1974, after releasing a half dozen more singles between 1970 and 1974.

Larry Henley was a friend of Bobby Goldsboro. It was due to Henley’s urging that Goldsboro recorded the song “Honey”. Henley had a solo album, Piece a Cake, released in 1975. Henely co-wrote with Red Lane “Til I Get It Right” a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles for Tammy Wynette in 1973. In 1975, Tanya  Tucker had a chart-topping country hit Larry Henley co-wrote titled “Lizzie and the Rainman.” And in 1983, Janie Fricke had a number-one country hit with Henley’s “He’s a Heartache (Looking for a Place to Happen)”. That year Lynn Anderson had a Top Ten country hit Henley wrote titled “You’re Welcome to Tonight”. While Randy Travis had a number-one hit in 1989 with a song Henley co-wrote titled “Is It Still Over?”. However, Larry Henley’s biggest success was writing “Wind Beneath My Wings” for Bette Midler. It was featured in the film Beaches. It earned Larry Henley and Jeff Silbar a Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

Larry Henley died in 2014 from Lewy Body Dementia. He had been suffering from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. He was 77 years of age.

In the mid-70s, Dean Mathis and business partner Stan Shulman has success re-recording tracks for K-Tel and Gusto Records. Marc Mathis has owned Variety Plus, a karaoke business in Nashville.

Dean is 86 (and will turn 87 on March 17, 2026), while Mark Mathis turns 84 years of age on February 9, 2026. (FYI: Wikipedia states Dean Mathis was born in 1939, though Blackcat.nl states he was born in 1937. While Wikipedia states Marc Mathis was born in 1942, Blackcat.nl states he was born in 1940).

February 9, 2026
Ray McGinnis

References:
Robert K. Oermann, “Award-Winning Singer-Songwriter Larry Henley Passes,” MusicRow.com, December 18, 2014.
Dik de Heer, “Dean and Marc Mathis,” Blackcat.nl.

Young At Heart Chart – CJME 1300-AM Regina (SK) |March 5, 1965