History:

The Hi-Notes were a rock band from Silver Spring, Maryland. The group was founded in 1961. They performed locally during their early years but didn't produce any material until 1965. 

In 1965, the lineup at least consisted of lead vocalist Kenny Kaplan, organist Bob Yesbek, and drummer Bob Johnston. The group also had a guitarist and bassist. The band hit the studio and recorded a single on the independent Stroidon label. The A-Side "Without You Darling" was penned by Kaplan and Yesbek. This song is a legendary garage punk tune that has been featured on many compilations. The B-Side is a ballad written by drummer Johnston. 

The band continued to perform mostly cover material playing lounges and hotels in and around Maryland. Their main residence was at the Hideaway Lounge in Ocean City, Maryland. Johnston and Yesbek would open Omega Studios in 1970 as a separate venture. The first recording the studio produced was The Hi-Notes first album titled “Rock Sounds Of The Hi-Notes”. 

The album features Kaplan and Yesbek but also features guitarist Rick Measell and bassist and singer Paul Dunlap. Johnston did the engineering and recording but was replaced on drums by Boothe Norton. The album, known for its minimalistic cover art and homemade vibe, features six lengthy covers of hard rock, psychedelic rock, and top 40 hits of the late 60’s. It was released in late 1970 as a promotional item only to showcase to club owners. The pressing appears to be pretty limited, most likely less than 100 copies were made.

The lineup on the front cover contains some errors. Kaplan is credited for saxophone but he did not play any sax on the album. Kaplan actually played percussion on a few tracks. It's also likely that Johnston played percussion on at least "On The Bayou". Norton was also exclusively on drums, as the songs sound like they were recorded live in the studio. 

The Hi-Notes splinter off after this point. It’s unknown why, but everyone on the aforementioned album left the band and Johnston returned to the kit before 1972. The duo played lounges all over the east coast and made three more albums together as an organ and percussionist duo. Apparently they still play together in a lounge band to this day. 

In their spare time, the two continued recording other groups as engineers. Omega Recording Studios would become a popular destination for artists in Maryland and across the country. They recorded over 500 titles and operated the studio as a school for recording arts. Popular users of the studio include Roger Waters, Bad Brains, Prince, Elliot Smith, Chuck Berry, Elton John, Little Richard, Biz Markie and many many others.  In 1992, the studio and school were purchased by Edward Petersen.