The Ashes of Dawn formed in late 1967 on the campus of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. The six students that made up the pop group were mostly from the Chicagoland area but included a few members from downstate.
- Fred Walker, vocals (Harrisburg)
- Rob Little, lead guitar (Rantoul)
- Douglas Haas, 12-string guitar (Wheaton)
- Howard Williams, bass (Kankakee)
- Tom Parnell, electric organ (Chicago)
- Richard Wittosch, drums (Chicago)
By March of 1968 the "psychedelic orchestra" was performing around Carbondale and the surrounding areas. In August the group signed a recording contract with Brave Records of Harvey, Illinois. The Ashes of Dawn were the first "contemporary rock" group to be signed by the label which typically featured country and western music. They reportedly had a contract to record six singles and possibly an album.
The group's first single was released on September 7, 1968. It included two originals, "Yesterday's Dream" and "See The Light." The music for both songs were written by Douglas Haas. Haas also wrote the words for "See The Light." The lyrics for "Yesterday's Dream" were written by Fred Walker.
An article from December 1968 mentions the band was recording in Nashville. If true, nothing came of the sessions. The band never released another single. In June 1969, the group performed on Kaleidoscope, a weekly variety television show produced in Carbondale by WSIU-TV. The show was carried by 20 different stations throughout the Midwest. The band doesn't appear to have stayed together much longer however. Several of the members graduated from SIU in the spring of 1970.
Additional notes:
Prior to the Ashes of Dawn, Fred Walker had been the singer in the Scarabs, a popular teen group from Harrisburg. Other members of the group included Ed Thurmond, Joe Potts, Gary Brantley, Dennis Wilson and Curt Williams.
Before attending SIU, organ player Tom Parnell had been a member of the Exterminators and the Dimensions back in Chicago.
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