While Mount Airy is best known as the hometown of American actor Andy Griffith - and the prototype for the fictional town, Mayberry, it has always had an underground. Founded in 1948, hometown station WPAQ served as a sanctuary and tributary for the early bluegrass pickers that emerged from the surrounding hills and hollers. By the mid-1960’s, Mount Airy had a handful of record labels to circulate the sounds of regional artists. One such label, Tornado Records, holds the distinction of issuing “Thoughts of a Madman” by the Nomads, which became canon in the genre of garage rock.
Founded in the late 1960’s, the Brotherhood of Peace began as a rhythm section for the New Americans—a faith-based assemblage of vocally inclined Surry County high schoolers. Traveling through the Southeast with a repertoire of religious and patriotic standards, guitarist Dennis Tolbert would be encouraged by musical director and county sheriff Jim Taylor to contribute an original to the collective’s songbook. With its message of unity, Tolbert’s uplifting “Brotherhood of Peace” would give the power trio its enduring handle.
After striking out on their own in 1974, the Brotherhood of Peace started trafficking in heavier fare, finding a lane in the emerging Southern Rock movement being pioneered by breakout acts like Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band, and ZZ Top. After playing at Winston-Salem’s Rittenhouse Square in 1974, club owner Bobby Locke suggested the group meet with Don Dixon, bassist for the prominent Chapel Hill rock combo Arrogance and freelance engineer at Charlotte’s Reflection Sound. With Dixon at the controls, Brotherhood of Peace entered Reflection in October to assemble Cuttin’ Loose, a progressive mélange of power pop and Southern rock that put the Mount Airy group in a league of their own.
Lead singer and songwriter Dennis Tolbert still performs regularly throughout Western North Carolina.
by Jonathan Kirby, December 15, 2019
Tracks
1. Since You've Been Mine - 2:38
2. Holiday - 2:19
3. Mistreater - 4:23
4. Red Sun - 3:42
5. Candyland - 4:47
6. Little Sweet Kiss - 3:39
7. Ready To Go - 4:16
8. Before The Dawn - 5:21
9. Keep On Getting It On - 4:02
All songs written by Dennis Tolbert, track #8 co-written with Ronnie Smith
Brotherhood Of Peace
*Dennis Tolbert - Vocals, Guitar, Piano
*Ronnie Smith - Drums, Percussion, Congas, Vocals
*Robert Kirkland - Harmony Guitar, Vocals, Percussion
With
*Don Dixon - Piano, Synth, Percussion, Vocals
*Mike Arrington - Bass
*Rob Abernethy - Percussion
