The Traits

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The Traits/aka Roy Head and The Traits, were originally formed by Roy Head and Tommy Bolton of San Marcos, TX in 1957. They would record and perform in the rockabilly, rock n roll and r & b styles for the next 9 years. The original group consisted of fellow high school students Roy Head (vocals), Tommy Bolton (rhythm guitar) (1941-2003), Gerry Gibson (drums), Dan Buie (piano), Clyde Causey (lead guitar), and Bill Pennington (bass). When Causey joined the military he was replaced by George Frazier (1941-1996) just before the band started their recording career at Tanner N Texas (TNT) Recording Company, owned by Bob Tanner and located in San Antonio, Texas. The Traits (Roy Head vcls) had several regional hits at TNT with songs such as "One More Time", "Live It Up", both released in 1959, and "Summertime Love" (1960), establishing themselves in the late 1950s and the early 1960s as one of the premier teenage Texas-based rock and roll bands while playing the concert, sock hop, college and university and dance hall circuits throughout Texas. It was during this period that the parents of The Traits turned down Dick Clark's invitation for the boys to appear on American Bandstand, which ABC had started broadcasting nationwide from Philadelphia in 1957. Given the way in which the Traits attacked their music, coupled with the remarkable showmanship skills of Roy Head, the adults were apprehensive about what might come of national exposure. At the time, all of the Traits were "minors

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