Thomas Electric Bass Guitar Formerly Owned by Buck Ormsby

This circa 1967 Thomas Custom Guitars Riot King electric bass guitar was played by Buck Ormsby (1941-2016) as bassist for the Tacoma, Washington rhythm & blues and rock band the Wailers. It was built by Northwest inventor and luthier Harvey Thomas (1920-1987), who is best known for his eccentric guitar designs. 

Buck Ormsby was an American musician, best known for as a member of Little Bill and the Blue Notes, the Wailers, and Jr. Cadillac. During his time with the Wailers, he and his bandmates started Etiquette Records to release their own records as well as those by fellow Tacoma artists the Sonics.  

Rock and Rhythm & Blues performers came through the Pacific Northwest U.S. often, but a local Rock’n’Roll scene was virtually nonexistent in the late 1950s. The Wailers helped start one. Comprised of a group of high school friends, the Wailers practiced and honed their sound in garages and bedrooms and started playing to audiences at local venues. Their raucous approach to Rhythm & Blues was soon heard throughout the region with hits such as “Tall Cool One,” which reached No. 36 in 1959 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  

With their rising popularity, the Wailers were invited to play on the television dance show American Bandstand and radio's Alan Freed Show. In 1961 they formed Etiquette Records, and their first single was a cover of Richard Berry’s song “Louie, Louie,” (credited to Wailer’s vocalist Rockin’ Robin Roberts, but played by the whole band), which became a big regional hit (later popularized/infamized nationwide with the Kingsmen’s 1963 rendition of the song.) The Wailers eventually split up in 1969 but reunited for one-off concerts occasionally from the 1970s onward.