The Echos were six teenagers from Mattoon, Illinois: Gerald (Gus) Pedigo, Roger Pedigo, Bob Perry, Mike Perry, Ron Lass and Bill Phillips. The group's business manager (pictured in back) was Gene Clark - another high schooler from Mattoon.
The band formed in May of 1959. An early version of the group performed at a Future Homemakers of America dinner at Mattoon High School. According to the Mattoon Journal-Gazette and Commercial-Star, they played "I've Had It" (presumably the Bell Notes song) and an original, "Louise," written by Ron Lass and Mike Perry.
By that summer, the Echos was performing at local dances and area events. They also appeared multiple times on a local television program for teens.
On May 6, 1960, almost exactly one year after forming, the band released their one and only single on Sage Records out of Hollywood, California. Both sides were instrumentals.
How exactly a group from Mattoon ended up on a California label is a mystery. Other than a mention in the local newspaper the record got no real promotion or press. The band doesn't seem to have lasted past 1960. Several of the members would graduate high school that year.
By 1963, Gus Pedigo would go on to lead another Mattoon rock 'n' roll band, the Continentals. Roger Pedigo, Gus Pedigo and Bob Perry were also members of the Artistics from Mattoon at one time or another in the 1960's. Along with Mitch Easter of nearby Charleston, Illinois, the Artistics recorded several singles for the Cha Cha label out of Chicago.
In the photo below, Bob Perry is shown playing bass and Gus Pedigo is on the far right, playing guitar.
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| The Artistics performing at the Blackhawk Village Lounge, Jacksonville, Illinois, 1966 |
By the late 1960's and into the early 1970's, Gus Pedigo and his brother Roger were two-thirds of the Gus Pedigo Trio which played mostly around eastern Illinois but also performed in Florida on occasion.
Gus Pedigo would eventually move to Florida where he would continue to write songs and play music for the rest of his life. He passed away in 2019.
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The artist bio for Gus on ReverbNation and other online sources paint a much more colorful musical career. Pedigo claimed to have played guitar for Faron Young at the Grand Old Opry in the 1960's as a member of Young's backing band, The Country Deputies. He also claimed to have worked as a studio musician at Owen Bradley's Barn outside of Nashville. Even more incredibly, his bio included playing with J. Frank Wilson and The Cavaliers "during Last Kiss" and allegedly performing with Country Joe and The Fish at Woodstock on one song.