Missing Lynx - Great Falls, Montana
rhythm guitar/vocals - Tom Groener
rhythm guitar/vocals - Dennis Lassila
lead guitar/vocals - Dean Snow
drums/vocals - Jerry Andersch
bass/vocals- Dennis Sparrow

In the fall of 1966, Sophomore year had just gotten underway at Great Falls High School. Dean Snow and Dennis Sparrow shared the same home room and Dennis was looking for a fill-in lead guitarist for his new band, The Mandarins. The previous year, Dennis had seen Dean play lead in a band with Rodney Maxwell and Norris Iverson called The Persuaders. Dennis invited Dean to fill in as the band’s lead guitarist for their upcoming gig at the Heidelhaus. Tom Groener played rhythm guitar, Dennis played bass, and Denny Lassila was the band’s lead singer and also played rhythm guitar. Every member of the Mandarins sang. Denny Lassila was the band’s leader.
It wasn’t long before Tom and Jerry came up with The Lynx, and then added Missing. The band practiced any chance they had. Dave Suteliffe became their manager and was a great addition, because he pushed and didn’t pull any punches when it came to the band playing. With Dave, gigs came in quick, and the band was improving more with every practice and dance they played. However, Jerry and Dean began writing songs and wanted to take the band in a different direction than performing covers. Denny eventually exited the band because of this change.
The Missing Lynx played gigs at VIPs A Go-Go in Havre, The Blue Hare in Kalispell, Monks Cave in Missoula, The Shanes and the Showboat in Great Falls, as well as gigs in Bozeman, and most towns inside that perimeter. While at a gig at Northern Montana College in Havre, the band was approached by Dale Ashby who said he was a talent scout with M.G.M. in New York. Dale expressed interest in recording the band, and two weeks later, the band got a call from Les Liedle at Valtron recording Studio in Helena. He said M.G.M. had contacted the studio for a set of 2 original and 1 cover song by “The Missing Lynx.” On September 12, 1967, the band recorded originals “To Be Like You” and “Live One Life,” but was unsuccessful in recording a cover of “Revolution” by the Beatles. M.G.M. told the band to come to New York to finish recording “Revolution,” but The Missing Lynx could never make it to the East coast to complete it.
In Great Falls, The Missing Lynx 45 went to #1 for many weeks on the KUDI Top 100 and was a big seller at the Hi-Fi House, having to be re-ordered twice through Valtron Recording in Helena/Century Studios, L.A. Their greatest success occurred when Dick Clark’s American Bandstand played their record on the “rate a record” portion of the show, and won.
After a while, Dennis Sparrow was replaced by Fred Nichols, who came from a band called The Living End, who actually covered “To Be Like You” in their live sets. By this point, the venues in Great Falls were getting crowded, so the Ag Building on the fairgrounds was where the band hung out the most. The only “bigger place” they played was the “McLaughlin Center” on the campus of the College of Great Falls where touring bands like Chad & Jeremy, Mitch Ryder and Lovin Spoonful would play. On September 13th, 1969, The Missing Lynx recorded their 2nd 45, but it was never officially released because the band broke up right after ordering the pressing.