Dennis Craswell
Co-founder · keys, drums, vocals
Original Castaways drummer and co-writer of “Liar, Liar.” Later played with Crow. Still the showman who reads a room and keeps the dance going.
Music With That Island Groove
Original Castaways drummer and “Liar, Liar” co-writer Dennis Craswell with Logan Stewart — steel drums, trap set, keys, and the song that still fills a dance floor.
Who we are
The Original Castaways keep the spirit of Minnesota’s 1965 garage-rock hit Liar, Liar alive — then swing it toward the islands. Summers are northern Minnesota. Winters are the Rio Grande Valley and South Padre Island.
The mix is oldies, classic country, 50s and 60s rock & roll, and Trinidad steel drum. The closer is always the one everybody came to hear.
Co-founder · keys, drums, vocals
Original Castaways drummer and co-writer of “Liar, Liar.” Later played with Crow. Still the showman who reads a room and keeps the dance going.
Drums, lead steel drum, vocals
Detroit Lakes native. Trap set, lead steel, and vocals — the other half of the duo that takes the catalog from ballroom oldies to island groove.
Castaways’ history
The Castaways formed in the Twin Cities in 1963. One session at Kay Bank in 1965 produced a record that still gets played on the radio, in movies, and at every Original Castaways show.
The original lineup: Dennis Craswell (drums), Jim Donna (keys), Robert “Bob LaRoy” Folschow and Roy Hensley (guitars), Dick Roby (bass and vocals). First gig: Jerry’s Pizza in Richfield, Minnesota.
“Liar, Liar,” written by Jim Donna and Dennis Craswell, is cut at Kay Bank Recording Studios in Minneapolis for Soma Records. It reaches #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Folschow’s falsetto and Roby’s scream become the record’s signature.
Tours and bills with acts including the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, the Everly Brothers, and Sonny & Cher. TV on Hollywood A Go-Go and Dick Clark’s Where the Action Is. The band appears in the 1967 film It’s a Bikini World. The song later turns up in Good Morning, Vietnam and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
After the original group splits, Dennis plays with Crow and keeps working stages for decades — Midwest summers, South Texas winters, and a West Coast stretch in the early ’80s.
Dennis and Logan work as The Original Castaways: Holiday Inn patio dates in Detroit Lakes, dances and shows around northern Minnesota, and winter rooms on South Padre Island and in the Rio Grande Valley 55+ parks — including Margaritaville and Laguna Bob’s. Inducted with The Castaways into the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in 2025.
Event calendar
Summer home base is Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Winter home base is the Rio Grande Valley and South Padre Island, Texas. Dates move — this calendar is the live list.
Videos
A couple of stages, the same song. More clips live on the YouTube channel.
Liar, Liar — live at the Rusty Anchor, Ottertail, MN
The Original Castaways — live clip
Photos
Drop additional show photos into the images folder and we’ll extend this grid. For now, the picture that already belongs on the site.
Music With That Island Groove
Summers on the lake. Winters on the island.
The Original Castaways
Dennis Craswell
Email: craswelldennis@gmail.com
Phone: 218-841-4863
Summer: Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
Winter: Rio Grande Valley & South Padre Island, Texas
Available for patio shows, 55+ park dances, festivals, private parties, luaus, and sock hops — as a duo or with extra players when the room calls for it.
Call or email with the date, city, and whether you want early rock & roll, island, or the full mix.
Email the band