The Immortals

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On September 15, 1966, Jack Wray(guitar), Jack Lawson(bass) and Richard Cowles(drums) rehearsed together for the first time at York Academy. They knew immediately that the three of them would make a good band. They were soon joined by Bruce Dawson on rhythm guitar. This teenage quartet, with image and style not unlike The Beatles, played through the summer of 1968 under the name of The Immortals. They recorded 2 original songs in late 1967 and appeared with local radio and TV personalities at Kilmarnock's Spring festival. They were the first group to have a record at York Academy in 1968. During the sixties, The Immortals played more than 75 gigs. Five years later, Jack Lawson(bass), Jack Wray(guitar) and Richard Cowles(guitar) would return as a band in Richmond Virginia. With drummer Wayne Moore they played gigs during 1973 and 1974. They added updated material and a variety of late sixties Beatles' songs to their repertoire. Jeff Wray, Jack's brother, started playing bass in 1974. He picked it up quickly and played onstage in 1975 with Jack(guitar), Richard(drums) and keyboardist Alan Benke. A ten year break for the Immortals happened starting in Spring of 1976 as Richard Cowles went on the road with other rock groups. After a couple of jam sessions together in 1986, the three original Immortals decided to make their return thru reunion shows. The first was at a party on the Chickahominy River in 1987. Lawson, Cowles and Wray performed two full sets of their old music featuring Chris Link on the drums. Jeff Wray and Bruce Dawson also made the scene and sat in on a few songs at this reunion. Inspired, this group of old friends began making time to review the great music of the sixties again. In 1988, they played twice as The Immortals at private parties. They decided to start semi-regular rehearsals and add some more songs. This encourged the multi-track recording of a 10 song demo tape. Jeff Wray became The Immortals' permanent bassist. Richard was now on guitar or keyboard. Jack Lawson retired from bass guitar and was now strictly the front lead singer with tamborine. Jack Wray remained as lead guitarist and harmony vocalist. With Chris Link as their drummer, this updated line up replaced the original version of The Immortals. They played dates at receptions, celebrations, weddings, reunions and private parties all thru the nineties. The group performed in 2005 at the York Academy school reunion held at the Marriott Hotel in Williamsburg. Jack Lawson, Jeff, Richard, Jack Wray and drummer Bobby Q were on stage as the Immortals entertaining more than 650 people. The Immortals also performed at Yeardley on the James and was special guest group at Ned Christian's 50th birthday bash. The Immortals played two sets in Charlottesville in December of 2007 for a Christmas party. This group continues to accept opportunities to perform and is available with advance notice. Lawson, Wray and Cowles have recently been writing together and plan to record again as The Immortals sometime in the near future. The Immortals are now celebrating 43 years! Hail Hail