"Solomon Grundy" is a song written by Eric Allandale, a member of the English multi-racial group The Foundations. The song is loosely based on "Solomon Grundy", the 19th century children's nursery rhyme. It appeared on their 1969 Digging The Foundations album that featured the hit single "In the Bad Bad Old Days (Before You Loved Me)", and it was the B side of their minor American hit single "My Little Chickadee". The singer pronounces it "Solomon Grandy" throughout the song, even though it foils the rhyme. It was also released as a single by Hong Kong beat group Danny Diaz & The Checkmates and it was the song that first brought Polly Brown & Pickettywitch to notice when they appeared on ITV's Opportunity Knocks television talent show. [1] It was also the B side of Pickettywitch's 1969 debut single "You Got Me So I Don't Know". [2]
Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhood of Man (1975–1979). The label changed its name to PRT Records in 1980, before being briefly reactivated as Pye Records in 2006.
Geno Washington is an American R&B singer who released five albums with the Ram Jam Band between 1966 and 1969, and eight solo albums beginning in 1976.
The Foundations were a British soul band who were primarily active between 1967 and 1970. The group's background was: West Indian, White British and Sri Lankan. Their 1967 debut single "Baby Now That I've Found You" reached number one in the UK and Canada, and number eleven in the US. Their 1968 single "Build Me Up Buttercup" reached number two in the UK and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. The group was the first multi-racial group to have a number one hit in the UK in the 1960s.
Solomon Grundy may refer to:
The Remo Four were a 1950s–1960s rock band from Liverpool, England. They were contemporaries of The Beatles, and later had the same manager, Brian Epstein. Its members were Colin Manley, Phil Rogers, Don Andrew, and Roy Dyke (drums). Andrew and Manley were in the same class at school as Paul McCartney.
The Sorrows are a rock band formed in 1963 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, by Pip Whitcher, and were part of the British beat boom of the 1960s. They were a fixture in the English mod scene and are sometimes referred to as freakbeat.
Eric Allandale was a trombonist, songwriter, and bandleader. During the 1960s, he was in number of bands in various genres which included jazz pop and soul.
Danny Diaz & The Checkmates were a Filipino rock band, based in Hong Kong in the 1960s.
Pickettywitch was a British pop group. Fronted by singer Polly Brown, with Chris Warren as the secondary lead singer. The group became best known for its hit single, "That Same Old Feeling", which was written by Tony Macaulay and John Macleod. It reached number five in the UK Singles Chart in 1970.
Alan Warner is an English musician who has been active from around the mid 1960s. He was a member of groups such as The Ramong Sound, The Foundations, Pluto, and The Polecats.
Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band are an England-based soul band.
The Brook Brothers were an English pop duo composed of Geoff Brook and Ricky Brook.
The Montanas were an English 1960s and 1970s pop rock band from Wolverhampton, England. Though they never found significant success in their home country, they had one moderate hit in the United States.
"In The Bad Bad Old Days" was a hit for The Foundations in 1969. It was the fourth hit single for the group. It was written by Tony Macaulay and John McLeod. It went to #8 in the UK Singles Chart, #7 in Ireland, and #23 in Canada. It was also covered by Edison Lighthouse, and appeared on Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon's Soul Survivor album.
John Macleod is a Canadian-born English songwriter and musician. he co-wrote the hits "Baby, Now That I've Found You" for The Foundations, "Let the Heartaches Begin for Long John Baldry, "Heaven Knows I'm Missing Him Now" and many more.
"Born To Live, Born To Die" was the last charting single for The Foundations. It made it to number 46 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1969. It was written by Foundations trombone player Eric Allandale and The Foundations. The B-side was composed by the group's organist Tony Gomez.
My Little Chickadee is a song written by Tony Macaulay and John Macleod. It was a hit for The Foundations in 1969 and has been covered by Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band and other artists.
The Ferris Wheel were a British rock and soul band, who have been described as "one of England's great lost musical treasures of the mid- to late '60s" and as "one of the most popular club acts" of the time. They released two albums, Can't Break the Habit (1967) and Ferris Wheel (1970), the latter featuring singer Linda Lewis.
Trend Records was an English Record label which existed from the late 1960s until the early 1970s. It issued recordings by such notable artists and personalities as Consortium, The Foundations, Audrey Hall, Marcus Lipton, Julie Stevens, Warm Dust and Colin Young.
Digging the Foundations is the final studio album by English soul group the Foundations. The album includes two of the group's hits, "In the Bad, Bad Old Days" and "My Little Chickadee". The album was released in the UK on the Pye label in 1969. There would be various issues relating to the album that would be a cause of concern for the group.