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Sagittarius was an American sunshine pop [1] studio group formed in 1967, devised by record producer and songwriter Gary Usher. [2]
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2010) |
Sagittarius was an American sunshine pop [1] studio group formed in 1967, devised by record producer and songwriter Gary Usher. [2]
Usher had been involved with music as a songwriter since the early 1960s (including writing lyrics for some of Brian Wilson's earliest songs), and soon branched out into production work. After considerable success as a producer,[ citation needed ] he eventually became a staff producer for Columbia Records. It was at this position that, during 1967, he produced Chad & Jeremy. They had played him several songs, which he felt lacked any commercial potential. He had heard a demo around that time for a song called "My World Fell Down" (also recorded by the British pop group The Ivy League), [2] and he played it for them, thinking that it was a sure-fire hit. They balked at the idea of covering the song, and Usher felt that he would do it himself. [3]
He brought in Los Angeles session musicians, as well as drafting friends such as Beach Boys touring alumni Glen Campbell (who did the lead vocal on the track) [3] and Bruce Johnston and singer-turned-producer Terry Melcher for vocals. [2] He finished the recording by adding a musique concrète bridge. [3] He presented it to Columbia executives under the group name Sagittarius, named after his astrological sun sign. [3]
The single reached number 70 in the Billboard Hot 100. [3] When there was pressure from Columbia for the group to tour, it was revealed that a group did not exist. [3] Usher did, however, start working on an album for Columbia under the Sagittarius name. [3] Most of this work was done in conjunction with Curt Boettcher. [3]
Usher had met Boettcher when he was working with a group that he led and produced called The Ballroom. They were signed to Warner Bros. Records, and they recorded an album which was not released at the time. Usher, however, was impressed enough by Boettcher's talents that he utilized him as a songwriter, musician, and producer (two of the album's tracks were the same recordings made for the unreleased Ballroom album, though they appeared in stereo) throughout the album.
Prior to releasing an album, another single appeared, with the song "Hotel Indiscreet" as the A-side. The B-sides for some of the Sagittarius singles consisted of instrumentals that Usher had originally recorded for another studio project. As was the case with "My World Fell Down", the bridge featured an unrelated comedy bit by The Firesign Theatre, another Usher discovery, but unlike the previous single, it failed to chart.
In 1968, the Present Tense album was released. [3] Because Clive Davis disliked the usage of musique concrete in the two singles, Usher removed these segments from the album versions. The album version of "My World Fell Down" featured a few bars of additional music between the first and second verses, that did not appear in the single version, and both were mixed in stereo for the album. The single "Another Time" [4] written and sung by Curt Boettcher was released from the album and charted in some markets.
However, in 1969, Usher left his job at Columbia Records in order to start his own label, Together Records. Usher started work on another Sagittarius album, The Blue Marble , but this time, he contributed more as a musician, particularly as a vocalist. [2] As he had done with the Byrds album The Notorious Byrd Brothers , Usher made extensive use of a Moog synthesizer throughout the record. Boettcher contributed lead vocals on two songs, "Will You Ever See Me" and a cover of the Beach Boys song "In My Room", but his involvement was otherwise minimal. "In My Room" was issued as a single and became a minor hit, peaking at number 86 on the Hot 100. However, the album failed to chart. Several more non-album singles were released by Together Records, before the end of the label.
Both Sagittarius albums have been reissued on CD, and both contain bonus tracks (including single versions of Sagittarius songs, which in some cases differ from the album versions).
The Association is an American sunshine pop band from California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts and were the lead-off band at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival. They are known for intricate vocal harmonies by the band's multiple singers.
Curtis Roy Boettcher, sometimes credited as Curt Boetcher or Curt Becher, was an American singer, songwriter, arranger, musician, and record producer from Wisconsin. He was a pivotal figure in what is now termed "sunshine pop", working with the Association, the Millennium, Sagittarius, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Tommy Roe, Elton John, Gene Clark, Emitt Rhodes, Tandyn Almer, the Beach Boys, and others.
The Music Machine was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1966. Fronted by chief songwriter and lead vocalist Sean Bonniwell, the band cultivated a characteristically dark and rebellious image reflected in an untamed musical approach. Sometimes it made use of distorted guitar lines and hallucinogenic organ parts, punctuated by Bonniwell's distinctively throaty vocals. Although they managed to attain national chart success only briefly with two singles, the Music Machine is today considered by many critics to be one of the groundbreaking acts of the 1960s. Their style is now recognized as a pioneering force in proto-punk; yet within a relatively short period of time, they began to employ more complex lyrical and instrumental arrangements that went beyond the typical garage band format.
The Millennium were an American sunshine pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1967.
William George "Lee" Mallory was a singer, songwriter and guitarist who was part of bands including The Millennium and Sagittarius. His most successful single was a cover of the Phil Ochs/Bob Gibson song "That's the Way It's Going to Be". The song, produced by Curt Boettcher, reached No. 86 on the charts and was a surprise hit in Seattle. A CD by the same name was released in 2002, with many songs and demos Mallory had recorded during the 1960s. Lee Mallory helped start the California Sound of the 1960s.
Younger Than Yesterday is the fourth studio album by the American rock band the Byrds, released on February 6, 1967, on Columbia Records. It saw the band continuing to integrate elements of psychedelia and jazz into their music, a process they had begun on their previous album, Fifth Dimension. In addition, the album captured the band and record producer Gary Usher experimenting with new musical textures, including brass instruments, reverse tape effects and an electronic oscillator.
The Notorious Byrd Brothers is the fifth album by the American rock band the Byrds, and was released in January 1968, on Columbia Records. The album represents the pinnacle of the Byrds' late-‘60s musical experimentation, with the band blending together elements of psychedelia, folk rock, country, electronic music, baroque pop, and jazz. With producer Gary Usher, they made extensive use of a number of studio effects and production techniques, including phasing, flanging, and spatial panning. The Byrds also introduced the sound of the pedal steel guitar and the Moog modular synthesizer into their music, making it one of the first LP releases on which the Moog appears.
Gary Lee Usher was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer, who worked with numerous California acts in the 1960s, including the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and Dick Dale. Usher also produced fictitious surf groups or hot rod groups, mixing studio session musicians with his own troops. These bands included The Super Stocks, the Kickstands.; The Hondells with their No. 9 US Pop Single "Little Honda"; and others.
Michael Fennelly is an American musician known for his work as a singer and songwriter in the 1960s and 1970s, notably in The Millennium and Crabby Appleton.
Begin is the sole studio album released by the American music group The Millennium released in July 1968 on Columbia Records. The group first appeared after members from various Los Angeles pop groups such as The Ballroom, Sagittarius and The Music Machine decided to collaborate on an album.
Magic Time is an extensive three-disc compilation album containing music from the sunshine pop bands The Millennium, The Ballroom and Sagittarius and the artist Curt Boettcher. It was released in 2001.
The Goldebriars were an American folk quartet in the early 1960s, most notable for including a young Curt Boettcher as a guitarist and vocalist. The group also included two sisters, Dotti and Sheri Holmberg, with Ron Neilson as lead guitarist and banjo player.
Present Tense is the first Sagittarius album, released in 1968 by Columbia Records. Though the record was basically a Gary Usher solo project, he enlisted many top LA session musicians, and heavily utilized Curt Boettcher as a songwriter, musician, vocalist, and producer. The album also contains the recording "My World Fell Down", which had no Boettcher involvement, albeit the LP version was edited, with the musique concrète bridge from the single version being excised. The single "Hotel Indiscreet" also had a similar fate when it reached the LP.
Tandyn Douglas Almer was an American songwriter, musician, and record producer who wrote the 1966 song "Along Comes Mary" for the Association. He also wrote, co-wrote, and produced numerous other songs performed by artists such as the Beach Boys, the Purple Gang, the Garden Club, and Dennis Olivieri. In the early 1970s, he was a close friend and collaborator of Brian Wilson, co-writing the Beach Boys' singles "Marcella" (1972) and "Sail On, Sailor" (1973).
John Nicholas Shakespeare, known as John Carter, is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer.
And Then... Along Comes the Association is the debut studio album by the Association, released on Valiant Records in July 1966. It became one of the top-selling albums in America, peaking at number five, and remains the Association's most successful album release, except for their Greatest Hits compilation. The album's success was primarily credited to the inclusion of their two U.S. hits "Along Comes Mary" and "Cherish", which peaked at number seven and number one respectively on the Billboard Hot 100; "Cherish" was number one on Billboard's Top 40 list for three weeks starting in September 24, 1966.
"Lady Friend" is a song by the American rock band the Byrds, written by band member David Crosby and released as a single on July 13, 1967. The single reached number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100, but failed to chart in the United Kingdom. "Lady Friend" is the only song penned solely by Crosby to appear on the A-side of a Byrds' single.
Preflyte is a compilation album by the American folk rock band the Byrds and was released in July 1969 on Together Records. The album is a collection of demos recorded by the Byrds at World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles during late 1964, before the band had signed to Columbia Records and become famous. It includes early demo versions of the songs "Here Without You", "You Won't Have to Cry", "I Knew I'd Want You", and "Mr. Tambourine Man", all of which appeared in re-recorded form on the band's 1965 debut album.
The California sound is a popular music aesthetic that originates with American pop and rock recording artists from Southern California in the early 1960s. At first, it was conflated with the California myth, an idyllic setting inspired by the state's beach culture that commonly appeared in the lyrics of commercial pop songs. Later, the sound was expanded outside its initial geography and subject matter and was developed to be more sophisticated, often featuring studio experimentation.
"My World Fell Down" is a song written by John Carter and Geoff Stephens, and first recorded by the English pop rock band the Ivy League, on Pye Records, in 1966. The song was covered a year later by the American sunshine pop group Sagittarius, whose version charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sagittarius's version of the composition has remained highly sought after among record collectors for its close resemblance to the Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys.
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