Originated as a teen British rock cover band in 1965 known as the Shamrox, then as the Soundsations, and finally the Devonshires. Early members included John ‘Buzz’ Grimes (guitar), Tom Godwin (guitar), Greg Reisz (bass), and Tom Baumiller (drums).
The group played many teen clubs (Gray Manor, Rosedale…), CYO’s, Bluesette… and for about a year in late ‘60s employed go-go girl dancers. In November 1966 the Devonshires opened for Neil Diamond at the Annapolis Armory, or according to Buzz, “Neil Diamond closed for The Devonshires.” The Devonshires also backed up vocal duo Jennie and Jay on several recordings.
Around 1972 Jay (Joe) Ritter recruited the Devonshires to record demos of some songs he had written. For these recordings the group was known as Jay & the Devonshires. According to Joe “Jay and the Devonshires never had a release on a label. All the recordings were demos of songs Jennie and I had written. We went to N.Y. with those demos and Roulette Records gave us a conditional contract for of our song “Lonely Letter,” which was about a soldier writing a letter to his wife back home, it was, of course, during the Vietnam era. The contract read that Roulette Records had the rights to the song for a period of one year. They told us that they planned for Jimmy Rodgers to record the song. As it turned out, Roulette did not record the song and thus it became our property again, oh well, we tried.”
Grimes later played in group Main Street, and duo Buzz & Mike – The Music You Like. In the mid-’70s he began teaching guitar at Yeager’s Music School. He went on to become a sought-after piano technician working for Jordan Kitt’s Music, Baldwin Piano & Organ Company, as well as his own independent piano service.
