the Collegians / Upsetters

Ashland/West Salem, 1959-64

The Collegians chose a suitable moniker to note their status as (mostly) Ashland College students. The band started in 1959 and included band leader Paul Kopec on organ, Ken Markley on guitar,  David Henry on sax, and Rick Rickert on drums.

The band's most important legacy is they led to the creation of Hilltop Records and Andy Apperson's start in the music business. Apperson, who in 1959 was a senior at Ashland High School, was a fan of the band and wanted to be a part of it. He wasn't that great at playing an instrument, so he decided to help them make records, and started Hilltop.

The band released 3 45s on Hilltop from 1960 into 1961, they were the first three 45s on the lablel. All three are instrumental featuring the organ/guitar/sax sounds of the core members Kopec, Markley, and Henry, who shared writer credits on most of the band originals. Robert Young replaced Rickert as the drummer.

A year ot so later CJ Lindecamp joined the band on bass, and according to a newspaper story on him, they changed the name to the Upsetters (or Up-Setters). Lindecamp left in 1964, and Markley joined the military. 

The band's story after that is unclear. All the original members left but a band named the Upsetters played in the area thorugh 1967.

The band also backed up the Treytones on their first record ("Blind Date").

After Ken Markley got out of the miltary, he joined the Mark III and played with them for a couple years, and then switched to organ and contiuned to play into the 1970s

Discography:
Nodod / Fred's Boogie - Hilltop 1866, 1960 (red promo and green stock labels, A side lists 1311 as the record number)
The Saints, Pt. 1 / The Saints, Pt. 2 - Hilltop 1867, 1960 (two pressings, one omits the 1867 number)
The Happy Parakeet / Cookin' - Hilltop 1868, 1961