The Mendelsohn Quintette Club was a Howard County progressive rock band from the Simpsonville / Atholton High School area of Columbia. The group copped their unusual name from a rock magazine advertisement for JBL loud speakers.
Playing a mix of music covering such popular artists as Cream, the Animals, Iron Butterfly, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and even the Beatles, MQC consisted of singers Bill Dulaney and Bob Maccherone, Mark Weber on guitar, Doug Tennant on bass, and Mark Ash aka ‘Flip’ on drums. In their prime (circa 1967 to 1969) the group had gigs at local school auditoriums, won a ribbon for their performance on stage at the Howard County Fair, entertained at parties, and competed in a Battle of the Bands at Howard High School, where a spot-on cover of Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” won accolades from the crowd. Although the group had disbanded by about 1970, most of its members still play and still keep in touch – a tribute to the camaraderie and fervor instilled in the local bands of that era.
