Best remembered for their garage-rock perennial "Liar Liar,"
the Castaways formed in 1962 around the nucleus of guitarist
Roy Hensley, bassist
Dick Roby and drummer
Denny Craswell; originally founded simply to perform at a fraternity party, the group proved such a smashing success that it remained an ongoing concern, expanding to a quintet with the subsequent additions of lead guitarist
Bob Folschow and keyboardist
Jim Donna.
The Castaways' lone hit, "Liar Liar" was written by
Donna and released on the Soma label in 1965, reaching the number 12 slot on the U.S. charts on the strength of its inimitable echo-drenched vocals and wheezing keyboards. A series of follow-up efforts flopped, however, and despite an appearance in the 1967 film It's a Bikini World,
the Castaways' career ground to a halt, although the band often performed live in the decades to follow.
–
Jason Ankeny, Rovi