Bill Deal & The Rhondels 'May I'

Bill Deal & The Rhondels originally released "May I" in 1968 as the B-side to an instrumental version of "When A Man Loves A Woman". "May I" first appeared on the Beach label, however, shortly thereafter the band signed with the Heritage label and "May I" was re-released in early 1969, peaking at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

[blackprix]

Very underrated group, they did some good stuff that I still love in 2022 at 73 years old

[rickydc]

Why do their songs make me feel like i 'm at a happy carnival with lots of carefree folks of all ages all colors and backgrounds just having a good time!!! Thanx

[scottburton]

How could a great song like this only get to # 39?-That's ridiculous!

[mdillon]

Who wants this music playing on the radio again??? I definitely do!

[arlenem.loredo]

My oldest sister played this song for me once and I never forgot the name and I was only 9, today my sister is an Angel and every time I hear this song I can see her like the first time she played it for me, R. I. P. Sandra Maciel 🌹💜💋😪💯

[edwinwise]

Grew up in Virginia Beach home of the peppermint  beach club where these guys were the house band…. Brings back a lot of good times in a town that was a 24 hour party 3 months out of the year

[unspecifiedvee]

Grew up in Virginia Beach with these guys ♪ ♫

[suzannemascola]

I must have played this record 10 times a day back then. It never gets old

[jimb]

2024...Still so excellent. Such good vibes. Thank you.

[cindemcclurg]

I fell in love with this group when I was on a family vacation to Virginia Beach back in 1968. We were staying in one of the little bungalows at the boardwalk and my cousin actually was given a cymbal from the drummer! Years later, when I first got out of the NAVY, I lived in Norfolk and one of my favorite clubs was Rogues! I will always love the music of Bill Deal and the Rhondels!

[ThatBobGuy]

Just goes to show how timeless music really is. I'm in my car today (October 2021) when this song comes on the "60s on 6" channel on Sirius/SM. I'd heard it before, but like a lot of "oldies, " I'd never really **listened** to it closely. And so today I'm listening (loud) and I'm just blown away! This song kicks ass...it rocks! The horns, man...the horns! And that drummer...damn! Ammon had some energy, eh? That organ sounds great, as do the lead guitar riffs. And I mean, who singing lead? How many people are singing? Sounds like a bunch of them up there. And the band actually sings most of the lyrics while Ammon interjects his sporadic lines. Either way, the layering and harmonizing is simply unconventional, which makes it awesome. And what's with that weird beat...ska?

We can kind of understand how this song got buried/overshadowed and didn't become the huge international hit that it deserved to be. In 1968...holy cow, how much great music was being released! "May I" needed strong promotion to compete with the Beatles and the Stones - and didn't get it. Oh what could have been!

Even if it is lyrically a little "basic, " it really is an incredible song. It's lucky that i live alone, for I've had it on repeat (loud) since I got home this evening. Every time it plays, I hear something new. Whoever produced this song for this record really knew what he was doing.

[bubbalouie]

This music always take, me back to places I enjoy going to and Im 76 years young.

[RJMATTIE]

My Dad was a disc jockey for a show called “Teen Times” and helped these guys get their start by playing their music. To this day, he still loves their music and loves to dance to it... and he is 80 years old!!!

[dagnabbit]

Bill Deal and the Rhondells did the best shoop doobies in the business !

[poochie]

Had them at the Kings Inn in Roanoke twice a year----best times ever!!!

[JerryHaislip]

at 77 I still love this group...I was born in Norfolk area and the were our

[suzannemascola]

They played the heck out of this in New Jersey!

[deuceswild]

Sure wish they made music like this again ...

[YellowstoneBound]

Saw them play many times at The Peppermint Lounge, which was located at the southern end of Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach, Virginia. That was in the late 60s and early 70s. I will never forget them or The Peppermint Lounge.

[jefferybiggins]

I heard this wonderful song on my dad’s K-tel record as a kid at 8 or 9 years of age. Today with all the hip-hop, rap crap so-called music I hear on the radio and other sources that I don’t care much about, this song, May I, sounds fantastic along with other great tunes of the 60’s and 70’s. That musical period sure beats the junk I hear nowadays.