Dear Sun Spots: I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your information you gave to E.C. of Turner in the Dec. 6 column was not The Malibus who played at the Country Way Restaurant in South Paris.

I know because my wife, Alice, and I danced every Saturday night at the Country Way. In fact, I have three long-playing record albums of The Malibus, which consists of four members. One of the albums is signed by the band members.

Following is a short biography of each member:

Wendell Bickford Jr., was the lead vocalist and also played bass guitar. At the time he lived in Windham.

Bob Parritt played lead guitar. He also sang lead and harmony vocals. He lived in Gorham.

Bob Barnes played electric guitar, acoustic guitar and chromatic harmonica and also sang backup vocals. At the time he lived in Buxton.

Neil Gibson played drums and percussion and added falsetto harmonics to the group. He was born in Portland then went to Boston for a time, returning to Maine.

There also was another member named Rick Masters who was not with the band when my wife and I first met The Malibus.

Now if E.C. of Turner would like one of the records, I have a duplicate album that she can have free of charge. I can be reached at (207) 784-2536. – Joseph Unnold, Lewiston.

Dear Sun Spots: In regards to the inquiry about the Country Way and The Malibu Band, I don’t believe your answer had anything to do with it.

This was a country band that played at the original restaurant, which was located on the corner of Main and Alpine streets in South Paris where Rite Aid now sits. The restaurant was owned by Henry and Barbara Paradis. The Malibus was a really great dance band, which played mostly good country music. I would guess that this was also in the ’70s. – Hazel Cole, Greenwood, Maine

Answer: Thanks to these alert readers, Sun Spots has learned some of the fascinating history surrounding this Maine group. Based on the information Joseph Unnold provided, Sun Spots had great joy in speaking with Bob Barnes who was very happy to share some fond memories of a time of compassion and joy.

Barnes says the group started playing the bars in the 1960s, although they weren’t called The Malibus then. They disbanded in the early ’80s after almost 18 years. He describes the group as playing contemporary rock, which was considered regular rock ‘n’ roll back then. Among their most requested songs were “Proud Mary” and some Jim Reeves’ songs. Sad to say, lead singer Wendell Bickford died in a bike accident. However, Barnes says he and Bobby Parritt continue to hold jam sessions together often. While Barnes says the group never thought of itself as great, they recorded three singles and two LPs. They played around central and southern Maine. They started with a twice-a-week gig at the Country Way but ended up pulling in such a crowd, it became three nights a week. Barnes says these were some of the group’s best years.

“It was a beautiful place,” he said. “It was a time for us and a great time for the people.”

Sun Spots also spoke with Wendell Bickford III, who said he could go on for hours about The Malibus and his father. He says, although born in 1969, he went to all the shows before the group disbanded in the early 1980s. He recalls his mother sitting him down in a chair so he could hear his father and the group play. The group wrote a lot of their own songs, easy listening, Bickford says, among them a tribute to Elvis, “Always Elvis,” by his father, another gentleman and the band. Bickford, who does country singing, says the group was like family and it’s thanks to his father’s interest that both he and his sister got involved in theater and music themselves.

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