Mike Brewer (musician)

Last updated

Brewer in 1971 Mike Brewer (musician).jpg
Brewer in 1971

Michael Brewer (born April 14, 1944, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is an American musician. He and Tom Shipley were the popular music duo Brewer & Shipley.

Brewer formed a duo in Los Angeles during early 1966 named Mastin & Brewer with singer/songwriter Tom Mastin. The group recruited drummer Billy Mundi and bass guitar player Jim Fielder for live performances, opening for The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield during spring 1966. When Mastin ended his employment abruptly during sessions for an album, Brewer enlisted his brother Keith and the pair recorded a lone single 45 for Columbia Records company, "Need You", backed by "Rainbow" (written by Tom Mastin and Brewer before the former's departure). Mundi became employed with The Lamp of Childhood and then The Mothers of Invention while Fielder had also joined The Mothers of Invention (and later Buffalo Springfield and Blood, Sweat & Tears). After recording the single, Brewer met his old friend Tom Shipley and they initiated a duo together.

During 1983, Brewer released an LP, Beauty Lies, to which Dan Fogelberg was the producer. The album has never been released on CD.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Springfield</span> Canadian-American folk rock band

Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by the Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and the American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", released three albums and several singles from 1966 to 1968. Their music combined elements of folk music and country music with British Invasion and psychedelic rock influences. Like contemporary band the Byrds, they were key to the early development of folk rock. The band took their name from a steamroller parked outside their house.

<i>Buffalo Springfield Again</i> 1967 studio album by Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield Again is the second album by Buffalo Springfield, released on Atco Records in October 1967. The album features some of the group's best-known songs, including "Mr. Soul", "Bluebird", "Expecting to Fly" and "Rock & Roll Woman", all of which were released as singles. In contrast to the band's hastily made debut album, recording for Again took place over a protracted nine-month span and was fraught with dysfunction, with each member eventually producing his own material largely independent of one another.

<i>Absolutely Free</i> Album by The Mothers of Invention

Absolutely Free is the second album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on May 26, 1967, by Verve Records. Much like their 1966 debut Freak Out!, the album is a display of complex musical composition with political and social satire. The band had been augmented since Freak Out! by the addition of woodwinds player Bunk Gardner, keyboardist Don Preston, rhythm guitarist Jim Fielder, and drummer Billy Mundi; Fielder quit the group before the album was released, and his name was removed from the album credits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Wilson (record producer)</span> American record producer (1931–1978)

Thomas Blanchard Wilson Jr. was an American record producer best known for his work in the 1960s with Bob Dylan, the Mothers of Invention, Simon & Garfunkel, the Velvet Underground, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Eddie Harris, Nico, Eric Burdon and the Animals, the Blues Project, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richie Furay</span> American musician (born 1944)

Paul Richard Furay is an American musician and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member. He is best known for forming the bands Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin, and Poco with Jim Messina, Timothy B. Schmit, Rusty Young, George Grantham and Randy Meisner. His best known song was "Kind Woman," which he wrote for his wife, Nancy.

<i>Buffalo Springfield</i> (album) 1966 studio album by Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield is the debut album by the folk rock band Buffalo Springfield, released in December 1966 on Atco Records. Band members Stephen Stills and Neil Young wrote all the material on the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">For What It's Worth</span> 1966 single by Buffalo Springfield

"For What It's Worth " is a song written by Stephen Stills. Performed by Buffalo Springfield, it was recorded on December 5, 1966, released as a single on Atco Records in December 1966 and peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1967.

<i>Mothermania</i> 1969 compilation album by the Mothers of Invention

Mothermania (1969), subtitled The Best of the Mothers, is a compilation album by the Mothers of Invention. While the songs were previously released on Freak Out!, Absolutely Free and We're Only in It for the Money, it contains unique mixes or edits made specifically for this compilation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Messina (musician)</span> American musician

James Messina is an American musician, songwriter, singer, guitarist, recording engineer, and record producer. He was a member of the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield, a founding member of the pioneering country rock band Poco, and half of the soft rock duo Loggins and Messina with Kenny Loggins.

<i>Rural Space</i> 1972 studio album by Brewer & Shipley

Rural Space (1972) was the fifth album released by Brewer & Shipley.

<i>ST11261</i> 1974 studio album by Brewer & Shipley

ST11261 (1974) was the sixth album released by Brewer & Shipley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brewer & Shipley</span> American folk rock duo

Brewer & Shipley are an American folk rock duo who enjoyed their peak success in the late 1960s through the 1970s. The duo consisted of singer-songwriters, Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley. They were known for their intricate guitar work, vocal harmonies, and socially conscious lyrics which reflected the concerns of their generation – especially the Vietnam War, and the struggles for personal and political freedom. Their greatest commercial success was the song "One Toke Over the Line" from their 1970 album Tarkio. They had two other singles on the Billboard charts: "Tarkio Road" (1970) and "Shake Off The Demon" (1971). They continue to perform, both separately and together, usually in the Midwest United States.

Jim Fielder is an American bassist, best known for his work as an original member of Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Billy Mundi was an American drummer best known as a member of The Mothers of Invention and Rhinoceros. He also worked as a session musician. He sometimes used the name Tony Schnasse.

Rhinoceros was an American rock band established in 1967 through auditions conducted by Elektra Records, rather than organic formation by musicians. The band, while well respected in many circles, did not live up to the record label's expectations. It was also poorly received by fans, producing a slow selling debut album and two even less successful LPs before breaking up. One reviewer commented, "Despite the fact that the band could not live up to the expectations that were raised by Elektra Records' publicity machine, Rhinoceros' contributions to rock still deserve more credit than subsequent rock histories give it."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dewey Martin (musician)</span> American drummer

Dewey Martin was a Canadian rock drummer, best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Expecting to Fly (song)</span> 1967 single by Buffalo Springfield

"Expecting to Fly" is a song written by Neil Young and performed by Buffalo Springfield. The song appeared on their 1967 album, Buffalo Springfield Again. It would reach #98 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Poor (American band)</span> American rock band

The Poor were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California who were active in the 1960s. Included in their roster were Randy Meisner, who went go on to achieve fame with the Eagles and Poco in the 1970s, as well as Allen Kemp and Pat Shanahan, who later joined New Riders of the Purple Sage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing</span> 1966 single by Buffalo Springfield

"Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" is a song by the Canadian-American folk rock band Buffalo Springfield, released as the group's debut single in 1966. Neil Young wrote the song in Yorkville in 1965 shortly after returning from a series of performances in Toronto, during a period when his bid at a solo career had been met with little positive response. The lyrics reflect metaphorically on Young's frustration toward his stalled career in music, and was inspired by Ross "Clancy" Smith, an aberrant classmate who incited awe in his school. Commentators recognize "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" as one of Buffalo Springfield's signature songs, as well as a milestone in Young's progression as a songwriter.

The Au Go Go Singers were a nine-member folk group formed in New York City in 1964, and best remembered for featuring Stephen Stills and Richie Furay two years before they formed Buffalo Springfield.

References

    Mike Brewer at AllMusic