Royal Chessmen

Despite a scant recorded legacy, The Royal Chessmen were one of the more popular 60s bands of the Mid Ohio area. Originally named for their hometown the Dover Chessmen, or simply The Chessmen, were assembled in 1965 by 15 year-old David Bird along with Dover High classmates Ken Weigand on bass, Keith Whiddon on guitar, and Jeff Gintz on drums. By 1967, Rich Bellanco of rival band The Pendletons had replaced Gintz, and Dave's older brother Rodney Bird, a junior at Ohio State, was recruited on organ. As they began to pick up local gigs they added equipment manager Edward Hardesty. They were spotted by Robert Musselman (responsible for the Trey-Tones' "Nonymous") and a single was released in Feb 1968 on Night Owl. They also recorded two tracks at Akron Recording that remained unreleased. They made several TV appearances in Dover and Colombus, and opened for The Young Rascals, Vanilla Fudge and others. In summer 1968, Rodney Bird graduated and left the band, while Gary Croft was drafted and Rich Bellanco returned to the fold. The band continued through 1969 after changing their name for Flood & Fire.