'Time is right:' Chinese Bandits calling it quits after 50 years

Aug. 11—CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Chinese Bandits, one of the area's most popular music groups, is calling it quits after 50 years of entertaining.

The band, which still features original members Terry Workman on keyboards and bass guitarist Dick Mongold, played its first show in 1973 at the Appletree Inn in Hancock.

"I hate to give up, but the time is right to call it quits," Workman said.

The four members of the band, which includes drummer Marty Sine and guitarist Ed Harvey, are all around 70 years old.

"It's been a great run," Sine said, "but age and health are all playing a factor. We are all not getting any younger. Terry has had health issues. He started the band in 1973 and it is kind of hard to go on without him. Terry covers so much music on his keyboards."

"I started having these health problems with my legs," said Workman, "so there wasn't a lot I could do. We decided to call it quits. We have one more job to go on Aug. 13 for Ed Mullaney and then that's it; we'll be done."

That final performance will be a fundraiser for the Bishop Walsh Alumni Association from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at Bishop Walsh School.

Rocking start

The Bandits got their start playing rock 'n' roll and Billboard Top 40 hits from the 1950s through the 1980s. They later specialized in oldies, upbeat dance songs and ballads for slow dancing.

The connection between Workman and Mongold extends back 10 years before the Bandits formed, when they were just teenagers.

"I started out when I was about 13 singing in talent shows with my older brother Dave," Mongold said. "I was singing Everly Brothers, Dion and Elvis Presley. Terry was doing talent shows, too."

"My uncle Frank Workman played a lot of boogie-woogie piano," Terry Workman said. "I loved to watch him when I was a kid. I could never get enough of it. It got me started."

Mongold, who graduated from Valley High School in 1966, was in a band called Dick and the Roamers in 11th grade. "Then Terry and I started a band called The Envaders with Gary Orndorff and Charlie Maddy," he said.

"We did well," said Workman. "We played the University Snack Bar in Frostburg ... and played at the Hi-Lan Roller Rink and it was packed every Saturday night. We had 1,700 kids in there. We took the gate. I was making more money than my parents."

However, war in southeast Asia was getting started and Mongold, like many others, was drafted into the U.S. Army and found himself in Vietnam. The young men never lost their passion for music. Mongold returned from the Army and Workman finished college and became a school teacher.

'The name just stuck'

The pair hooked up with Charlie Maddy on guitar, Greg Green on saxophone and Paul Gallagher on drums and they started playing music again.

When they began performing in 1973 they had not decided on what to call the group. The band members met with a club owner who asked them to play and needed a name for a newspaper ad.

"We didn't have a name picked out," Mongold said. "Paul, out of the blue, said Chinese Bandits."

Gallagher, a football fan, was familiar with the nickname of the backup defensive unit of the late-1950s LSU football team, also Chinese Bandits.

"We had to tell them something," Mongold said. "Terry went along and said, 'OK we will use it for now and change it later.' We never did change it. The name just stuck."

The band began playing nightclubs such as My Place, in Ridgeley, West Virginia, and The Toll House in LaVale. "It took off," Mongold said. "We played proms for Allegany, Fort Hill, Beall ... it was all the schools. We were the go-to band. We did weddings and reunions. It kept us pretty busy."

The band has undergone numerous personnel changes. "I think we've had seven drummers," Mongold said. "I remember Jimmy Taylor played drums for quite awhile. We've had several guitarists."

Sine joined the band in the 1990s. "We played five or six nights a week," he said. "We always worked on stuff to keep it fresh. We spent a lot of time working on vocal harmonies."

'Bread and butter'

After awhile, the band discontinued late night work.

"About 20 years ago I decided we weren't going to play in the bars anymore and all we were going to do was just private stuff," Workman said. "It was the smartest move I ever made. It's a lot more fun to do private stuff. When you play private events you don't have to stay as late and you see a whole different group of people."

"Our bread and butter has been private events — class reunions, weddings, festivals, car shows," Sine said.

The members said one of their biggest inspirations was playing for the oldies legends that were brought to Allegany High School auditorium by the Tri-State Concert Association.

"We were fortunate to be a big part of that," Sine said. "I got to work with people like Gary Puckett, B.J. Thomas and Chubby Checker. One of the highlights was when we got to back up the original Jordanaires, who were Elvis Presley's background singers. They brought the Jordanaires to town to play behind Matt Lewis, an Elvis impersonator. We were the band. That was an honor."

Sine said the most inspirational moment was playing for a room full of Vietnam veterans when they stood when up when we played "God Bless America."

'It's pretty special'

Sine said the group has played for several generations during its 50 years.

"We have entertained five generations of some of these families," Sine said. "There are a bunch of them. They'll come up and say, 'You played for my dad's prom.' It makes us feel old. But really, it's pretty special when you think about it."

"To do this day I have people come up to me and say, 'You played a dance we had at Braddock Middle School,'" Workman said. "We played for a lot of kids."

"When you look back ... it's true," Mongold said. "You have people coming up to you and say you played for my parents wedding. But you can't remember ... you wish you could. We've done so many."

"I'm going to miss going out and playing," Workman said.

"It's been difficult," Sine said. "The friendships with these incredible musicians and sharing the joy of making music together. My take away is nothing but positive and pride-filled to of had this journey."

Greg Larry is a reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. To reach him, call 304-639-4951, email glarry@times-news.com and follow him on Twitter.