Not to be confused with Styx (band)
Butch Engle & the Styx | |
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Also known as | The Showmen, The Styx |
Origin | Mill Valley, California, United States |
Genres | Pop rock, folk rock, garage rock |
Years active | 1963–1968 |
Past members | Butch Engle Rob Zamora Mike Pardee Harry "Happiness" Smith Rich Morrison Larry Gerughty Barry Lewis |
Butch Engle & the Styx was an American rock band formed in 1963 in Mill Valley, California. Originally named The Showmen, the members were Butch Engle (vocals), Bob Zamora (lead guitar), Mike Pardee (organ), Harry "Happiness" Smith (bass), and Rich Morrison (drums). The band released three singles before breaking up in 1968. A compilation album featuring all of the band's recordings, No Matter What You Say: The Best of Butch Engle & the Styx, was released in 2000.
Butch Engle formed The Showmen—not to be confused with the 1960s pop group of the same name— in 1963 after he took over and renamed an earlier incarnation of the band, whose roster had included Bill Champlin. [1] The group consisted of Engle, guitarist Bob Zamora, organist Mike Pardee, bassist Harry "Happiness" Smith, and drummer Rich Morrison. [2] In 1964 the Showmen released the British Invasion-influenced single "You Know All I Want". [1] The band changed their name in 1965 to Butch Engle & the Styx. [3] With the exception of their debut single, all material recorded by the band was written or co-written by Ron Elliott of The Beau Brummels. [3] According to Engle, "Ron, Sly Stewart [later known as Sly Stone], [and Autumn Records executives] Tom Donahue and Bobby Mitchell would choose which songs would go on [a Beau Brummels] album, and then we could take what we wanted from whatever was left". [4] Butch Engle & the Styx released a single, "I'm a Girl", in 1966 on the Warner Bros. Records subsidiary, Loma Records. [2] The band shortened their name to The Styx and released another single, "Hey, I'm Lost", in 1967, [5] before breaking up the following year. [4] In 2000, Sundazed Records released No Matter What You Say: The Best of Butch Engle & the Styx, a compilation album which contained the band's three singles—including B-sides—along with 11 previously unreleased recordings. [6] "Hey, I'm Lost" appeared on the 2007 Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965–1970 box set. [7]
Author and music journalist Richie Unterberger noted the two songs that comprised the band's first single were "performed rather sloppily", [1] and called the Elliott-composed material "weak by Elliott's own high standards and in fact were basically leftovers that were not deemed strong enough for the Beau Brummels to record". Unterberger said Butch Engle & the Styx were "lesser musicians and singers than the Beau Brummels, too". [6] He named "Hey, I'm Lost" as the band's highlight, describing the song as "a charging, slightly ominous and doubtful number with good vocal harmonies. [6]
Year | Album details |
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2000 | No Matter What You Say: The Best of Butch Engle & the Styx
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Year | Song |
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1964 | "You Know All I Want"
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1966 | "I Like Her"
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1967 | "Hey, I'm Lost"
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The Beau Brummels was an American rock band. Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the band's original lineup included Sal Valentino, Ron Elliott, Ron Meagher, Declan Mulligan, and John Petersen (drums). They were discovered by local disc jockeys who were looking to sign acts to their new label, Autumn Records, where Sylvester Stewart—later known as Sly Stone—produced the group's early recording sessions. Initially, the band's musical style blended beat music and folk music and typically drew comparisons to the Beatles, while their later work incorporated other music genres such as psychedelic rock and country rock.
"Laugh, Laugh" is a song by American rock group The Beau Brummels, written by guitarist Ron Elliott and produced by Sylvester Stewart, later known as Sly Stone. Released in December 1964 as the band's debut single, the song reached number 15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart the following February. "Laugh, Laugh" was the first hit single to come out of the emerging San Francisco music scene in response to the British Invasion. The song was later included on the band's first full-length album, Introducing the Beau Brummels, released in April 1965.
Sal Valentino is an American rock musician, singer and songwriter, best known as lead singer of The Beau Brummels, subsequently becoming a songwriter as well. The band released a pair of top 20 U.S. hit singles in 1965, "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little". He later fronted another band, Stoneground, which produced three albums in the early 1970s. After reuniting on numerous occasions with the Beau Brummels, Valentino began a solo career, releasing his latest album, Every Now and Then, in 2008.
"You Tell Me Why" is a song by American rock group The Beau Brummels, from the band's second album, The Beau Brummels, Volume 2. The song was written by guitarist Ron Elliott and produced by Sylvester Stewart, later known as Sly Stone. "You Tell Me Why" was released as the album's lead single, and peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1965. The band revisited the song and included it on their 1975 eponymous album. The original version later appeared on the band's 1987 compilation album The Best of The Beau Brummels 1964–1968.
Triangle is the fourth studio album by American rock band The Beau Brummels. Produced by Lenny Waronker and released in July 1967, it was the band's first album to include songs that vocalist Sal Valentino and guitarist Ron Elliott composed together. The band incorporated fantasy elements and surreal characters into the album's song titles and lyrics, and worked with a variety of session musicians to create Triangle's psychedelic musical style. The Beau Brummels were reduced to a trio—Valentino, Elliott, and Ron Meagher—at the time Triangle was recorded, as former group members Don Irving (guitars) and John Petersen (drums) left the band following the release of the group's previous album, Beau Brummels '66.
"Just a Little" is a song by American rock group The Beau Brummels. The song is included on the band's debut album, Introducing the Beau Brummels, and was released as its second single, following "Laugh, Laugh". "Just a Little" became the band's highest-charting U.S. single, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1965. It also reached the top 10 of the charts in Canada and Australia.
"Don't Talk to Strangers" is a song by American rock group The Beau Brummels, released as the second single from the band's second album, The Beau Brummels, Volume 2. The song later appeared on the band's 1987 compilation album The Best of The Beau Brummels 1964–1968. The single peaked at number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1965; its relatively low chart placement possibly being the result of the band's label, Autumn Records, verging on collapse at the time. The song reached number 16 on the Canadian singles chart.
The Beau Brummels were an American rock band that formed in 1964 and originally consisted of singer Sal Valentino, lead guitarist Ron Elliott, bassist Ron Meagher, rhythm guitarist Declan Mulligan and drummer John Petersen. Local radio disc jockeys Tom Donahue and Bobby Mitchell discovered the band at a club near San Francisco. They signed the Beau Brummels to their fledgling Autumn Records label, and their house producer, Sylvester Stewart, later known as Sly Stone, recorded the band's early sessions.
The Beau Brummels, Volume 2 is the second studio album by American rock group The Beau Brummels. Released in August 1965, the album contains the U.S. top 40 hit "You Tell Me Why" and follow-up single "Don't Talk to Strangers."
"Good Time Music" is a song originally recorded by American pop rock band The Lovin' Spoonful in 1965. Written by John Sebastian, it appeared on the 1966 Elektra Records compilation What's Shakin'. The song has been described as "a sort of manifeseto of the group's optimism in its jaunty rhythms and celebration of the return of good time music to the radio."
Ronald Charles Elliott is an American musician, composer and record producer, best known as songwriter and lead guitarist of rock band The Beau Brummels. Elliott wrote or co-wrote the band's 1965 U.S. top 20 hits "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little". In addition to reuniting with the Beau Brummels on occasion over the years, Elliott released a solo album in 1970, and has played on and produced albums by a number of other artists.
Beau Brummels '66 is the third studio album by American rock group The Beau Brummels, and their first on Warner Bros. Records. The album consists of twelve cover songs and no originals. Autumn Records, the band's previous label, had sold the band to Warner Brothers in early 1966. Warner Brothers, however, did not control the publishing rights, and opted to have the band record an album of covers, including songs originally performed by The Beatles and Bob Dylan, as well as recent hit singles by such acts as The Mamas & the Papas and Simon & Garfunkel. Lead vocalist Sal Valentino explained, "When we went to Warner Brothers, they were just anxious to get a record out, to capitalize on the success we had. That record was the wrong one to do at the time."
"Here We Are Again" is a song by American rock group The Beau Brummels. It was released in 1966 as the band's second single on Warner Bros. Records, following their cover of Bob Dylan's "One Too Many Mornings," released earlier that year. "Here We Are Again" was the first Beau Brummels' A-side written by lead vocalist Sal Valentino.
"Magic Hollow" is a song by American rock group The Beau Brummels, from the band's fourth album, 1967's Triangle. The song, written by guitarist Ron Elliott and lead singer Sal Valentino, was released as the album's first single. The song appeared on the band's 1987 compilation album The Best of the Beau Brummels 1964-1968, and "Magic Hollow" also served as the title of the band's 2005 four-disc box set.
The Beau Brummels is the sixth studio album by the American rock band of the same name. Released in April 1975, the album features the work of all five original band members for the first time since the band's debut album, 1965's Introducing the Beau Brummels. The album peaked at number 180 on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart in 1975.
Live! is a live album by American rock group The Beau Brummels. The album, released in August 2000 by Dig Music, was recorded in February 1974 near Sacramento, California, shortly after it was announced that the band had reunited. The album includes a mix of performances of their most commercially singles, including "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little," as well as then-new material, some of which would be recorded for the band's 1975 eponymous studio album.
The Best of the Beau Brummels 1964-1968, sometimes titled The Best of the Beau Brummels: Golden Archive Series, is a compilation album by American rock band The Beau Brummels. Released in 1987 by Rhino Records, the album features 18 songs, including the band's biggest hit singles—"Laugh, Laugh", "Just a Little", "You Tell Me Why", and "Don't Talk to Strangers"—as well as songs which never appeared on an album before this collection, such as the 1967 single "Here We Are Again".
San Fran Sessions is a box set compilation which collects 60 demos, outtakes, rarities and unissued performances recorded by The Beau Brummels from 1964 to 1966. The three-disc set, released by Sundazed Records on June 11, 1996, includes alternate takes of the band's singles "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little", as well as early versions of songs that were likely targeted for their never-completed third album on Autumn Records.
From the Vaults is a compilation album by American rock band The Beau Brummels. It was released in 1982 by Rhino Records, and reissued in 1999 by One Way Records. The album contains 14 songs, including rare or previously unreleased material recorded by the band between 1964 and 1966.
Donald Jay Irving is an American musician, best known as a guitarist for rock band The Beau Brummels. He was a member of the band for their Beau Brummels '66 album and joined a revamped lineup for a 2002 concert tour.