#27: Better Watch Out by McKenna Mendelson Mainline
City: Hamilton, ON
Radio Station: CKOC
Peak Month: August 1969
Peak Position in Hamilton ~ #4
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “Better Watch Out”
Lyrics: N/A
Toronto-born, Mike McKenna (1946) and Joe Mendelson (1944), grew up fans of the blues, and both emulated their idols early in life while learning to play guitar. McKenna was with Luke & The Apostles from 1963 to 1967. That band played with Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead at Nathan Philips Square on July 23, 1967. Briefly, McKenna was a member of The Ugly Ducklings. McKenna placed a newspaper ad seeking musicians to form a new band. Joe Mendelson, then a student at the University of Toronto, responded. After McKenna and Mendelson teamed up, they hired former Paupers bassist Dennis Gerrard and former drummer with The Spastics, Tony Nolasco (born 1950 in Sudbury, Ontario).