In the beginning, 6 young musicians gathered to form a band. They were from the Chestnut Hill /Brookside Area of Newark, Delaware, USA. It was 1966 and they were 8th graders at Ogletown Jr. High School. Billy Stewart (Lead Guitar), Fred Van Name (Rhythm Guitar), John Kotch (Organ), Robbie Gehrmann (Bass), Ricky Scaviccio (Drums) and Tony Nastasi (Lead Vocals) were all stricken with the same bug that was going around the area: Get a band together and play the songs of the day at local dances.
In time, Steve Era replaced both John Kotch on organ and Tony Nastasi on vocals. Donnie Harris replaced Ricky Scaviccio on drums. With the lineup complete, they built a reputation of excellence as:
Steve Era: Vocals, Organ
Billy Stewart: Lead Guitar, Vocals (RIP)
Fred Van Name: Rhythm Guitar
Rob Gehrmann: Bass
Donnie Harris: Drums, Vocals
L-R: Robbie Gehrmann, Steve Era, Billy Stewart, Donnie Harris, Fred Van Name
“My best memories back then were the TABS dances in the Brookside Community Center and the battle of the bands [at the Aetna Firehall] in Newark when we beat out Johnny Neal [& The Shapes Of Soul] for the right to record our record in Washington DC. It was on the Echo label distributed by Del Star Records in 1966. Our signature break song was Heatwave. Our fathers used to drive our van to all of our gigs and help set up the equipment.” – Rob Gehrmann Other gigs included local fire halls, the Dover Air Force Base Officers Club, and Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Their single:”The Girl I Used To Love” b/w “Under My Thumb” gained cult classic status after the B-Side was included in the Pebbles Records series (Pebbles Vol 21, Side One, Track 7).
After four years of playing together and graduating from Christiana High School, (Billy Stewart joined the Marines), the band called it quits, but soon reformed into a new band.
The Everlovin’ Five were: Steve Era: Hammond B-3 Organ & VocalsRod Zimmerman: Lead Guitar, VocalsFred Van Name: Rhythm Guitar, Bass (Replaced Steve Walters on Bass)Mike Althouse: Drums, VocalsCharlie Gibbs: Sound & Photography (RIP) The new group played on into the early 70s playing some of the same venues as the previous line-up until they went their separate ways.
Rob Gehrmann – After graduating went to work at Ed Fine Oldsmobile, got Married in 1985, and had a son and 2 daughters. He’s still married to this day with 9 grandchildren, changed careers and became vice president at Goldsborough Realty Management and now retired, living in Landenberg PA.
Fred Van Name – In 1976 Fred put his Rock ‘n’ Roll days behind him to focus on building a family, pursuing his career in the Civil Engineering field and establishing his relationship with Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He continued with music as bassist for a worship team at Faith City Church (then he played with worship teams at several other churches) and later taught in the Children’s Church. He is blessed with 7 children (from 2 marriages) and 9 grandchildren. Today he is retired from music but continues to play acoustic guitar at home.
Bill Stewart – After being retired for nine years in Newark Delaware, Stewart passed away at age 69 on January 29, 2022.
Steve Era – After The Ever Lovin’ Five disbanded, Steve moved on to play country music in a band called Dallas & The Stillwaters. He is now retired and living in Middletown, Delaware. Special thanks to Fred Van Name, Steve Era, & Rob Gehrmann for their contributions to this article.