Profile: All female band formed at Mt Holyoke College in 1965. Band members include: Phyllis Hess (organ) Beverly Rodgers (lead guitar) Alisa Damon (bass guitar) Kathie Ross (drums) Pamela Brandt Gretchen Pfeifer Pamela Brandt and Gretchen Pfeifer went on to form the band Arial with Helen Hooke, Anne Bowen and Beverly Rodgers. Brant, Bowen and Hooke then went on to form The Deadly Nightshade. Posters An appearance at Columbia University Free concert at the University of Pennsylvania's Houston Hall. Ticket Stubs 1966 - Columbia University, Wollman Auditorium Amherst College Look Magazine This is a full feature article on the group published in Look Magazine THE MOPPETS College ladies of rock When is a Rock ’n’ Roll group not any number of long haired, yowling boys and tight chino pants? Answer: When the rock ‘n’ roll group is four young ladies from Mount Holyoke College in the well-groomed hills of western Massachusetts. They call themselves the Moppets, obsolete English for fools, which they are not. These bright girls from left to right Phyllis Hess, Beverly Rogers, Alicia Damon and Kathie Ross, quickly recognize that sloppy attire does not necessarily make a group unique. When they appear at Columbia University, Pennsylvania and other big boys’ schools, they dress like ladies, they act like ladies and they play - like with it. Response from their audience is glazed amazement followed by solid, swinging, dance approval . It was Beverly Rogers, the leader, who organized the Moppets back in October, 1965. And it was her father who jokingly suggested the group’s name. To get around, they bought a 1957 hearse for $400. In it, they have ample room for themselves and their several hundred pounds of amplifiers, speakers and instruments. They called their pop buggy the “Giraffe” because, insists Alisa Damon “it has such a long neck.” The girls loved the black monster and the lavish care on its looks whenever they’re not deep in studies, college activities or practice, but they often ignore flashing low-oil signals and spark plugs. Moppet music surges through the circuit of Northeastern boys’ colleges. The girls have been booked almost every weekend since the beginning of the year, sometimes driving hundreds of miles from one days date to the next. This exhausting schedule worries some of their parents but they haven’t slowed their charge one bit. And it’s paying off. They have signed with the William Morris Agency. There is also talk of recordings, concert bookings that could make them big names. Certainly, their gromed appearance, contrasted with that wild sound, already fascinates audiences. One listener at Penn spoke for many, “Now that I’ve seen them, I believe it, but I won’t tomorrow .” The New York Times 1966 Four Girls Travel in a Hearse to Play for Fun and Finance by Joan Cook special to The New York Times Ithaca, New York, February 13th – Four girl students from Mount Holyoke College, armed with two electric guitars, an electric piano, a set of drums, three microphones are carrying the liveliest music of the year to colleges throughout the Northeast - in a 1957 Cadillac hearse. They were at Cornell last night. Called the Moppets, the lissome undergraduates strummed, thumped, pounded and shouted their way through an evening of rock ‘n’ roll at the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity house, 777 Stewart Ave. From the time they arrived shortly after 8:00 P.M., to 1:00 o’clock this morning the girls provided the beat for 150 fraternity brothers, new pledges and their dates who danced the Boston Monkey, the Philly and a variety of individual improvisations at a party celebrating the end of Rush week on campus . Beverly Rogers, ‘66, lead guitar, Alyssa Damon, ’66, bass guitar, Kathy Ross, ‘68, drums and Phyllis Hess, ’68, electric piano, their gear neatly stowed in the back of the old hearse had been moonlighting since last year, entertaining at Brown, Cornell, Wesleyan and Amherst. They and other groups are part of the new musical order that is sleeping through women’s colleges throughout the Ivy League. G-Stringers at Vassar Vassar has its G-Stringers seven girls who sing to their own guitar accompaniment , who have entertained at Yale, Cornell, Trinity College and the Rochester Institute of Technology and travel about in a Volkswagen station wagon. At Smith, the Smiffenpoofs, a time honored vocal group originally formed by girls who dated Yale men , have added guitar accompaniment to get into the swing and a new one called The Big Things, three juniors with a guitar, piano and recorder, have already entertained at Harvards ‘s Winthrop House. A third group the Rhinestones temporarily disbanded when one girl dropped out of school recently and another married. Even Wesley, which clings to its traditional vocal groups, broke down and opened Room F last fall, an on campus espresso house for guitar fans who play individually on Tuesday nights, have hootenannies on Fridays. And Bryn Mawr, an enterprising group called the Sinners, five girls who sang and strummed in the stairwell after supper , (“it’s great for echoes”) teamed up with the Harerford Monks, a boys rock and roll band who will perform jointly at the Collegiate Sound, a music festival March 12 in Hartford, Conn. For Fun and Finance The girls explain that they do it for fun in finance . “At first we had just our instruments and we had to rent a scrounge equipment until we saved enough to buy our own,” Beverly Rogers the Moppet’s originator, explained. At first the girls performed in black turtleneck shirts in stockings in brief, hip riding gold skirts. “Somehow, I feel they look more like Providence townies than Holyoke honeys,” a Brown man is alleged to have said while a chaperone on the premises gaped and gasped, “I don’t believe it… I don’t believe it “ But, whatever the reason. They have since switched to “more feminine attire,” soft black crepe dresses with sheer black stockings and high heels. At Cornell the boys thought they were great. “They’re groovy: everybody’s having a real groovy time,” said John S. McLaughlin, social chairman of the Psi Epsilon, who had dropped by with his date to see what the opposition was doing. “We like the fact that they’re girls.” Thomas Bowden, Alpha Delts social chairman said. “It’s a cute gimmick.” Mr Bowden who engaged the group, heard about them through his roommate, “who is a friend of Bev Rogers,” and promptly engaged them for the party. The Moppets received $150 for the evening, plus travel expenses if the distance is great, an overnight accommodations in a college dorm. As insurance they travel with their manager Joan Kershaw whom the girls called Banshee and Allen Rogers, Beverly’s brother who is their technician. In general, they are well received wherever they go, the girls report, save for an occasional late-night dunk. And save for James Todaro a freshman, it all checked out. James was frankly disappointed “I thought they’d be wearing pants and sweat shirts,” he said. Mount Holyoke News - February 25, 1966 Ivy Shakes As Moppets Go-Go by Patty Roth '68 Carrie Nation brandished an ax, Susan B. Anthony wore a pair of bloomers-but the newest crusaders for the female cause carry band instruments and dress in black crepe. Call the Moppets this all girl rock and roll group has suddenly skyrocketed to fame as their music and their message spread through the Ivy League. The tunes are a la Animals and Stones and what they have to say is simply that, even at wholesome Mount Holyoke (quote the Vasser newspaper), this is what’s happening baby! As the Moppets stole the show last Saturday night at Torrey, as a highlight of Snowball Weekend, their “polished- sloppy” beat and obvious showmanship spoke little of the group’s long road to success. Things weren’t always all roses. Last spring when Bev Rogers, ’66, lead guitar organized the band, with Elisa Damon, ’66, bass guitar, Kathy Ross ’68, drums and Phyllis Hess, ’68, electric piano, as its members the group had no reputation and no equipment. All the girls had were their instruments while such things as amplifiers had to be rented or “scrounged” according to Bev. By this summer, though, jobs were frequent, and the group was solvent enough to buy what it needed. Costumes too had to be considered. At first the girls decked out in black tights and turtlenecks, with skimpy gold skirts in between. Whether this apparel was the reason or not, Bev reports that their first audiences refused to dance: they just stood and gawked. Needless to say, the time worn MGT image was given a few knocks. For instance a certain Brown man commented:” Somehow I feel they look more like Providence townies than Holyoke honeys.” The group costumed in white-ruffled black crepe, heels, and white gloves, is now pushing the subtle, feminine approach. Their unbeatable combination of sex appeal and go-go beat has become so popular that the Moppets are booked solid till June. Past jobs have included jaunts at Cornell, Wesleyan, Brown and Amherst. To take them hopping from campus to campus, the girls have have proved themselves far more original than the Vassar G-Stringers who drive a conventional VW bus. The Moppets, complete with instruments, equipment, and technician Chaperone, Allan Rogers (Bev’s brother) rides in style in a 1957 Cadillac hearse. The Moppets started as unknowns, now they are as popular as anything novel that appeals to contemporary fancy . The history of the publicity that brought the group to such faddish fame is as interesting as the girl’s own story. From a slightly obscure skew by the Vassar Miscellany (whose news editor happened to catch the Moppets swinging at Brown) the word was slipped to Joan Cook of The New York Times. Life Magazine showed up next with photographers, and a Stockholm, Sweden magazine plans to do a whole spread on the group. Rumors have even abounded that the master showman himself, Ed Sullivan, called up, but Bev declares this is nonsense. Still there is no telling what will come next. As they continue their Beatle-like zoom to fame, the Moppets are doing wonders for females in general and for Mount Holyoke females in particular. No longer will an undergraduate male, upon hearing the phrase “Mount Holyoke”, imagine a country blossom (wallflower variety) or even a sweat-shirted lass on a skateboard. Now it’s the girl who IS all girl and swings too. She’s ye-ye-ye and go-go-go-and, most of all, to quote John S. McLaughlin of Cornell, she’s female, and that is “a cute gimmick.” HHB Mixer to Open Skimmer Ticket Sale Houston Hall Board will kick off its Skimmer ticket sales campaign with a mixer featuring the Moppets today from 3 to 5 p.m. outside of Houston Hall , promotions manager Andrew Bamber announced. Tickets for Skimmer concert on Friday night, April 22 will go on sale today at the Houston Hall Information Desk. Price of tickets is $3 till April 8 and $3.50 after then. Ticket holders will also receive free copy of Skimmer magazine published by Punchbowl and H.H. Board, Bamber said. The Muppets, group of four Mount Holyoke coeds were recently featured in The New York Times . They’ve played at Amherst, Brown and Cornell and were enthusiastically received the Times reported . The mixer will be held in West Lounge and Houston Hall if it rains, Bamber reported. Skimmer Weekend will feature a Skimmer Olympics on Friday afternoon, April 22 on Hill Hall Field. Fraternity, Sorority and independent groups will participate in the games and races. Beer and other prizes will be given to the winners. The Friday night concert at Franklin Field will present the Temptations, the Isley Brothers, Martha & the Vandellas and the Shirelles. Saturday there will be a greased pig race probably on Locust Walk, Byron said. Time to be announced. Senior Society and H. H. Board members will hold an informal crew race on the Schuykil that afternoon following the Freshman races. “Everyone is invited to the mixer this afternoon,” Bamber concluded To hear the songs above, go to the Last FM website An article on the Moppets on the blog named Bubblegum Soup. Some of the members later became The Deadly Nightshade. Info on them at Historical Albums Database webpage.