Beverly Bivens
We Five's first single, from their debut album of the same name, was a reworked version of Sylvia Tyson's song "You Were On My Mind". It became one of the first folk-rock hits, reaching number three in the "Billboard" "Hot 100" in August 1965. Tyson (then Sylvia Fricker) says that she was unaware that her song had been covered until she heard We Five's version on a car radio while driving on Highway 101 in California. One consequence of We Five's success was that Tyson's song, which, until then, had been unavailable in sheet form, was published by Witmark of New York, with a photograph of Bivens and We Five on the cover. However, with the so-called "British invasion" at its height, We Five's recording had only limited international success, having been covered reluctantly, though successfully, in Britain by Crispian St. Peters.
The W's
The W's discovered a break when a mutual friend from Eugene, Aaron James (employed at the time by Five Minute Walk Records), offered them a spot opening for Five Iron Frenzy in Concord, California. Following the CD release party for Five Iron Frenzy's "Our Newest Album Ever!" in November 1997, they signed with Frank Tate's Five Minute Walk Records. Within a year they produced their first album, "Fourth from the Last". The album was released when neo-swing was popular. In its opening week it sold almost 9,000 units, representing over half of the total stock that had been manufactured. This was the highest-selling band debut to date of any album for Five Minute Walks's distributor, Chordant. This also placed "Fourth" at the No. 4 spot on both "Billboard's" Heatseekers and Top Contemporary Christian charts.