Sonny Flaharty Collection

At the young age of eight, Sonny Flaharty already was singing in taverns for money. At age fourteen he put together his first group, Sonny Flaharty and his Young Americans Band. The group travelled throughout the Midwest, opening for top musical acts such as The Four Seasons, The Rolling Stones, Bobby Vinton, Johnny Tillotson, and The Crystals. It was during this time period when he recorded “My Baby’s Casual.”

After the Young Americans, Sonny Flaharty joined the Mark V. The Mark V (1963-1967) played numerous club dates and were a regular fixture at Dayton Ohio’s Diamond Club, where they opened for Little Richard, Neil Diamond, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bo Diddley, The Ohio Players, The Orlons, Bobby Rydell, et al. They were signed by and did eleven recordings for Phillips Records and later, Counterpart, and Warner Brothers Records. “Hey Conductor” would be their most well-known song with “You Bring These Tears to Me” on the “b-side” of the “Hey Conductor” 45 rpm record. “Hey Conductor” was eventually banned from the radio due to its controversial lyrics. http://www.garagehangover.com/sonnyflaharty/

Flaharty’s continued his musical career with bands like Soul Inc. (1968), Application, Outrage (aka Mark V), the Grey Imprint (1970-1977) and finally Outrageous (1977-1981. The Grey Imprint toured the United States extensively. Sonny still makes music today from his home in Northern California. His latest album titled Old Stray Dogs Like Us, was released in 2014.