Founding members of The Red Dogs, then called The Limits out of Oklahoma, were Steve Elliot and Doug Cunningham, and the group also included Johnny McBride.   During 1961-62 they played in the Northern OK and after high school through 1963-64 they played in the Kansas/OK area while band members attended colleges in both states.  1965 saw the edition of 5 musicians from Kansas - Butch Neese, Jack Blackett, Kent Leopold, Don Lindley, and Randall Brundy.

John Brown and Mike Murfin opened the Red Dog Inn in Lawrence, KS in January of 1965. They also started Mid-Continent Entertainment, a booking agency that eventually sent bands from Lawrence all over the Midwest and as far away as Japan.  In the spring of '65, Brown auditioned The Limits and immediately hired them to be the "house band" for the Red Dog Inn and renamed the band The Red Dogs.

With horns, organ, guitars, drums and well-choreographed routines, The Red Gods were a terrific and very popular show band.  By advertising from the 50,000 watt KOMA, they reached what has been estimated at three million listeners per night all the way from Oklahoma to the Canadian border and informed fans where the group would be playing in the coming nights in 14 states throughout the Midwest. 

They played every weekend, holidays and every day i the summers from 1965 to 1969.  During this time a number of original members graduated from college and left the music to get "real jobs", and new members Evan Johnson, Mike Hatfield, Jerry Knaack, Steve Dahl, Rob Barr, and Bob Meyerhoeffer joined the group.

In 1965 they received the National Ballroom Operator's Association award as the best dance band of 1966.  In 1967, The Red Dogs release their first 45 "Open Up" backed with "We're Gonna Hate Ourselves In The Morning".  Both songs made the national Billboard Charts, and "Hate Ourselves" reached #1 in Sioux Falls.

The group reunited for the 1st time in over 30 years to be inducted into both the Kansas and Iowa Hall of Fame's.  Our congratulations to the The Roarin' Red Dogs, and thanks for the wonderful memories!

Awards