The Crusaders was an American garage rock band, whose 1966 album Make a Joyful Noise with Drums and Guitars is considered one of the first gospel rock releases, or even "the first record of Christian rock". Band members Foundation members Daniel Leonard Altchuler (born 21 September 1946)—rhythm guitar (1966–1969) Fred J. Barnett (born 18 March 1950) -- lead guitar (1966–1969) Jeffrey Arlen Barnett (born 29 December 1949; died 13 May 1989 in Corvallis, Oregon)—drums, percussion (1966–1969) Walter M. Flannery (born 16 December 1947);—keyboards (1966–1969) Michael Craig Joyce (27 July 1948 – 14 February 2008) -- bass (1966–1969) Additions Lana Victoria Hale (born 5 October 1952)—vocals (1967) Bonnie Ruth Blunt (born 10 June 1951 in Los Angeles)—vocals (1967–1969) replaced Hale History The Crusaders was a five-member band that evolved out of surf bands Scope Unlimited and The Sidewinders who got together while attending Westchester High School, Los Angeles. Scope Unlimited, which included Fred Barnett, his brother Jeff Barnett, Dan Altchuler and Walt Flannery, played mostly at recreational centers in Westchester and school dances. According to lead guitarist Fred Barnett, he was taught how to play surf style lead guitar by Tom Stanton, the original guitarist of The Crossfires from the Planet Mars, another Westchester surf band, who became The Turtles in 1965. Scope Unlimited rehearsed for eight years in Barnett's parents' garage, played songs by Duane Eddy, Dick Dale, the Surfaris, and the Pyramids, and recorded a surf music "Square Dance" and a surf instrumental written by Fred Barnett. Freddy and the Fanatics While still students at Westchester High School, Altchuler and Flannery formed a new band called Freddy and The Fanatics, which included the Barnett brothers and Mike Joyce. According to Fred Barnett, "one of Walt Flannery's trademarks as our lead singer was to wear either a biker jacket or a monk's robe with chains on stage. Then when he would start to sing, usually a Rolling Stones song, he'd bite down on packets of ketchup so it would look as though he was spitting up huge amounts of blood". The Crusaders (1966-1967) By 1966 the band was signed by Tower Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records. and their name was changed to The Crusaders. While the band was described as: "five sincere young men ... who have chosen the Big Beat as the means of expressing the religious faith", Flannery and Joyce were both raised as Roman Catholics, while