Further reading
- Lawler, Kelly. "Crusaders Blazed the Way for Christian Rock". 11 August 2000. psacard.com
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
The Crusaders | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Psychedelic rock, garage rock |
| Years active | 1966–67 |
| Labels | Tower Capitol |
| Past members | Danny Altchuler Fred Barnett Jeff Barnett Walt Flannery Mike Joyce |
The Crusaders was an American garage rock band, whose 1966 album Make a Joyful Noise with Drums and Guitars is considered one of the first gospel rock releases, [1] or even "the first record of Christian rock". [2]
The Crusaders was a five-member band that evolved out of surf bands Scope Unlimited and The Sidewinders who got together while attending Westchester High School, Los Angeles. Scope Unlimited, which included Fred Barnett, his brother Jeff Barnett, Dan Altchuler and Walt Flannery, played mostly at recreational centers in Westchester and school dances. [10] According to lead guitarist Fred Barnett, he was taught how to play surf style lead guitar by Tom Stanton, the original guitarist of The Crossfires from the Planet Mars, [11] another Westchester surf band, who became The Turtles in 1965. [12] Scope Unlimited rehearsed for eight years in Barnett's parents' garage, played songs by Duane Eddy, Dick Dale, the Surfaris, and the Pyramids, and recorded a surf music "Square Dance" and a surf instrumental written by Fred Barnett. [13]
While still students at Westchester High School, Altchuler and Flannery created a new band named Freddy and The Fanatics, incorporating the Barnett brothers and Mike Joyce. [10] According to Fred Barnett, "one of Walt Flannery's trademarks as our lead singer was to wear either a biker jacket or a monk's robe with chains on stage. Then when he would start to sing, usually a Rolling Stones song, he'd bite down on packets of ketchup so it would look as though he was spitting up huge amounts of blood". [13]
By 1966 the band was signed by Tower Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records. [14] and their name was changed to The Crusaders. [15] While the band was described as: "five sincere young men ... who have chosen the Big Beat as the means of expressing the religious faith", [16] Flannery and Joyce were both raised as Roman Catholics, while Altchuler and the Barnett brothers were raised in liberal Jewish families. [17] The Crusaders were "one of the first on the scene with a “contemporary musical expression: The Beat”". [18]
The Crusaders' debut release was a single produced by the newly created No.1 Productions of veteran arranger-conductor Hank Levine, [19] who was previously the A&R director for Colpix Records, [20] who had produced songs for The Monkees' Davy Jones, [21] and psychedelic hard rock band The Other Half, [22] and record producer Larry Goldberg, [23] who had previously been Western sales manager at Hanna-Barbera Records, [24] featuring "The Little Drummer Boy" backed with "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (Tower 286), that was released in early November 1966. [25] A reviewer for Billboard magazine described the single as: "A new concept of the holiday material features a solid rock dance beat with a straight well done vocal. A controversial conversation piece that should prove a sales giant". [25]
Their debut album The Crusaders Make a Joyful Noise with Drums and Guitar, which was also recorded in 1966, and produced by Levine and Goldberg, [14] was released by the middle of November 1966. [26] The album's liner notes claim: "For the first time, God is praised in song through the most contemporary musical expression: The Beat!". [16] Jesus music historian David Di Sabatino indicates that "this album is important in establishing that there were a handful of artists performing 'gospel rock' music well before Larry Norman or any other of the Jesus music artists emerged in the early 1970s". [27] Kelly Lawler argues that "One of the very first releases that could clearly be considered a Christian Rock release, the Crusaders' Make a Joyful Noise with Drums and Guitars, stands as a landmark LP". [28]
Lawler describes the album: "By today's standards, the band really sounds quite subdued. Heavy emphasis on group harmony, and a reliance on Christian standards ... keep the LP from being heralded as an all-out Garage assault. However, they do whip up a snazzy rendition of "Little Drummer Boy" - no kidding. The rest of the material was apparently penned by the band with the exception of the Rodgers-Hammerstein composition, "You'll Never Walk Alone." With the just the right amount of fuzz-tinged guitar and bass, coupled with enticing organ, the band's Garage roots remain firmly planted, yet not quite the "rocking, muscular, explosive, sound-power" lauded in the LP's liner notes. ... One could certainly make a strong argument for the Crusaders blazing the trail. After all, who predates this LP as far as a straight rock band singing clearly religious music? Yes, Elvis Presley and Jack Scott both released Gospel LPs, but neither could be confused with a rock album. This and the overall quality of the music have contributed to the album's increased notoriety among collectors. Surprisingly the Crusaders had the backing of a label, Tower, with fairly broad distribution". [28]
Kenn Scott described the album as: "This one’s got the heaviest garage sound for the era, ‘Praise We The Lord’ probably being the closest Christian music ever got to the raw punk energy of early Who (it’s actually a rip-off of The Yardbird’s tune ‘You’re A Better Man Than I’). The irresistibly catchy twangy pop of ‘With The Lord At Our Side’ coupled with the Association-like title cut prove the band’s own compositions to be the best. Solidly electric sound throughout, plenty of riffs, solid drumming, some Duane Eddy-derived leads on beat interpretations of ‘Battle Hymn’ and ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ that probably caused a few stirs among the ecclesia. For beat sounds this side of the Big Pond, this one’s the top banana. Both stereo and mono versions exist with subtle differences (note the two entirely different guitar solos on ‘With The Lord At Our Side’)". [18] Another reviewer described this album: "While this was clearly a secular album (as far as I’m aware one of the first major label releases clearly intended to tap the youth market), the mixture of traditional hymns and handful of originals were cloaked in an extremely mid-1960s pop and garage vibe. While the band didn’t seem to have a true lead singer (most of the songs have ‘group’ vocals), they boasted an accomplished lead guitarist in Altchular (‘Praise We the Lord’ served as a nice showcase for his chops), with the rest of the band also quite good. It sounds kind of strange, but given the band’s earnestness and talent, if you could overlook the occasionally cringe-inducing lyrics (check out ‘What Is Man’), tracks like ‘Little Drummer Boy‘, ’God Lives’ and ‘Praise We the Lord’ could easily have been confused for something by their better known non-secular competitors (think Tower label mates The Standells). Elsewhere harmony-rich pop tracks like ‘You'll Never Walk Alone’, [29] ‘With the Lord On Your Side’ and ‘ Make a Joyful Noise’ bore more than a passing resemblance to The Association, while their covers of ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’ and ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ offered up a nice introduction to Duane Eddy-styled rock". [14]
In July 1967 Capitol Records released a single "Make a Joyful Noise", backed with "Praise We the Lord" (Capitol 72481), with both songs previously appearing on The Crusaders Make a Joyful Noise with Drums and Guitar. [30]
The Love Exchange | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | psychedelic rock, garage rock |
| Years active | 1967–1969 |
| Labels | Uptown Records Tower Records |
| Past members | Danny Altchuler Fred Barnett Jeff Barnett Walt Flannery Mike Joyce Lana Hale Bonnie Blunt |
By 1967 their manager Barry Kaye, who was "a real Hollywood creep ... [who] took every penny we made off of some real big gigs", [13] persuaded The Crusaders to change their name to The Love Exchange, [31] and moved to San Francisco, California. [32] According to Richie Unterberger: "The Love Exchange were a typical support-level Los Angeles band of the psychedelic era, right down to their name. [32] After experimenting briefly with 14-year-old Lana V. Hale, [33] the only daughter of actor Alan Hale Jr., [34] famous as the skipper on Gilligan's Island , as their female lead singer, [32] they replaced Hale with 16-year-old lead singer Bonnie Blunt, [15] described as "the group's strongest asset, giving them the competent vocals in the soaring, folky Mamas & the Papas/early Jefferson Airplane style", [32] and whose voice was described as "a heavenly hybrid of Grace Slick and Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane [that] burns bright as the sun". [15] Their sound was described as "the perfect soundtrack for a Griffith Park Love-In". [15] By 1967 they were signed by Uptown Records, a subsidiary of MCA Records. [35]
By late November 1967 The Love Effect released a single "Swallow the Sun" (written by John Merrill) (backed by "Meadow Memory") (Uptown Records 755), [36] which is described as the band's "chief claim to fame", and "a nice folk-rock-psychedelic tune that's emblematic of the time with its trippily optimistic lyrics, garage-like Mamas & the Papas female-male harmonies, and swirling organ". [32] "Swallow the Sun" was "a re-titled cover of 'Dark On You Now' (with some different lyrics) by the Peanut Butter Conspiracy", [32] which had previously been recorded by Merrill's previous band, The Ashes. [37] The song was anthologized on the Los Angeles portion of the Highs in the Mid-Sixties series, and also on the folk-rock volume of the vinyl Nuggets series on Rhino in the 1980s. [32]
The Love Exchange's eponymous 1968 album Love Exchange was recorded in one day at Leo de Gar Kulka's Golden State Recorders Studios at Harrison Street, San Francisco, [38] produced by Number One Productions of Larry Goldberg, [39] who "put his name on our songs", [13] and was credited with writing most of the songs, [40] with the exception of "the appropriately melancholy and ghostly 'Ballad of a Sad Man' (written by bassist Mike Joyce)". [40] In an act of "psychsploitation", Goldberg took some of the LP's backing tracks and used them on a soundtrack album for a musical titled How Now, Dow Jones , credited there to the Floor Traders". [32] These songs were "Step to the Rear" and "Live a Little", both with lyrics by Carolyn Leigh and music by Elmer Bernstein. The original soundtrack album "How Now, Dow Jones" was released by RCA Victor (RCA LSO-1142/ RCA LOC-1142) by January 1968. [41]
In April 1968 Love Exchange was released without the two Broadway songs, and received a favorable rating by Billboard magazine. [42] However, Richie Unterberger described this album: "In addition to featuring "Swallow the Sun," [it] had an assortment of minor-league psych-folk-pop crossover efforts, few of them written by the band. ... These were pretty shallow garage-psych-folk-rock efforts with their utopian rose-colored lyrics and organ-modal-guitar combinations, like a minor league Peanut Butter Conspiracy (who weren't such major talents themselves)". [32]
The Love Exchange played often in Los Angeles, including gigs at the Pandora's Box and other Sunset Strip clubs, the Los Angeles Sports Arena, and at some festivals, but broke up after appearing at the Newport '69 Pop Festival in June 1969. [32]
Charity | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | psychedelic rock, garage rock |
| Years active | 1969 |
| Labels | Uni Records |
| Past members | Jeff Oxman James Peters Walt Flannery John Cortinas Kent Henry |
After The Love Exchange disbanded, Walt Flannery moved to Los Angeles and became a member of a band called Charity. The other members of Charity were Jeff Oxman (vocals), James Peters, John Cortinas, and Kent Henry, [43] who later became a member of Steppenwolf, played guitar on this album. [44] In 1969 Charity was signed to Uni Records, managed by Barry Kaye, who also produced their only single: "Never Change Your Mind" (written by Oxman), backed by "I Still Love You" (Uni 55159). [45]
Their only album Charity Now (Uni 73061), which was released in 1969 by Uni Records, [46] contained songs written by members of The Love Exchange, although they "never received royalties for anything, though we wrote half of, what I admit, was total crap". [13] The Blossoms provided backing vocals for this album. [43]
Track list: Side 1:
Side 2:
Track listing: [55]
Bonus tracks on CD release (Sundazed SC 6113) (2001): [55]
Personnel: [58]
Track list:
Side 1:
1. "All My Life"
2. "Summer"
3. "I Still Love You"
4. "Hanging On To You"
5. "Scorpio"
Side 2:
1. "Never Change Your Mind" (Jeff G. Oxman)
2. "Please Stay"
3. "Roll With It"
4. "Freedom's Coming!"
Personnel:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands. Many bands who perform Christian rock have ties to the contemporary Christian music labels, media outlets, and festivals, while other bands are independent.
Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and 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 influences from the British Invasion and psychedelic rock. 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.
The Troggs are an English beat music band formed in Andover, Hampshire in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper "Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You" and "Love Is All Around", all of which sold over 1 million copies and were awarded gold discs. "Wild Thing" is ranked No. 257 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and was an influence on garage rock and punk rock.
Felix Albert Pappalardi Jr. was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain, whose song "Mississippi Queen" peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a classic rock radio staple.
Paul Revere & the Raiders were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolutionary War-style clothes in their attire.
The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, that formed in 1960. Their aggressive, hard-edged sound has been a major influence on punk and garage music worldwide, and they have been named inspirations to the White Stripes, LCD Soundsystem, Nirvana, The Hives, and other musical artists.
Strawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic rock band formed in 1967 with origins in Glendale, California, a city about ten miles north of downtown Los Angeles. They are best known for their 1967 hit single "Incense and Peppermints". Categorized as acid rock, psychedelic pop and sunshine pop, they charted five songs, including two Top 40 hits.
The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1966. The band is led by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles that are staples of classic rock radio, as well as several earlier psychedelic rock albums. Miller left his first band to move to San Francisco and form the Steve Miller Blues Band. Shortly after Harvey Kornspan negotiated the band's contract with Capitol Records in 1967, the band shortened its name to the Steve Miller Band. In February 1968, the band recorded its debut album, Children of the Future. It went on to produce the albums Sailor, Brave New World, Your Saving Grace, Number 5, The Joker, Fly Like an Eagle, and Book of Dreams, among others. The band's album Greatest Hits 1974–78, released in 1978, has sold over 13 million copies. In 2016, Steve Miller was inducted as a solo artist into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Standells are an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as a "punk band of the 1960s", and said to have inspired such groups as the Sex Pistols and Ramones. They recorded the 1966 hit "Dirty Water", written by their producer, Ed Cobb. "Dirty Water" is the anthem of several Boston sports teams and is played following every Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins home win.
The Tornados were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and US no. 1 "Telstar", the first US no. 1 single by a British group.
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.
Got Live If You Want It! is an album of mostly live recordings by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released in November 1966 by London Records in the United States. With its release, the label attempted to fill a marketing gap between the Stones' studio albums and capitalise on their popularity in the US market, which was heightened that year by a famously successful North American concert tour supporting their hit album Aftermath (1966).
The Wailers, often known as The Fabulous Wailers, were an American rock band from Tacoma, Washington. They became popular in the Pacific Northwest from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, performing saxophone-driven R&B and Chuck Berry rock and roll. Their biggest hit was "Tall Cool One", first released in 1959, and they have been credited as being "one of the very first, if not the first, of the American garage bands."
The Lollipop Shoppe was an American garage rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1966.
Joyful Noise is the third studio album by The Derek Trucks Band, released on September 2, 2002. It features an eclectic mix of music, ranging from gospel, blues, jazz fusion, Latin music, to East Indian music. Many of the songs feature special guests, including Trucks' wife Susan Tedeschi, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the nephew of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and a respected singer in his own right, and soul artist Solomon Burke. The album was produced by noted producers Russ Kunkel and Craig Street and was recorded at the Bearsville and Sunset Sound Studios. This is also the first album to feature the songwriting and musical talents of the band's newest member, Kofi Burbridge; keyboardist, flautist, and backing vocalist for the band, as well as brother to Oteil Burbridge, bassist in The Allman Brothers Band, with whom Derek Trucks is also a member.
"California Sun" is a rock song first recorded by American rhythm and blues singer Joe Jones. Henry Glover is credited on the original 45 rpm single as the songwriter, although Roulette Records owner Morris Levy's name sometimes incorrectly appears on re-issues. In 1961, Roulette issued the song with "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" as the B-side. The single reached number 89 on Billboard's Hot 100.
Evergreen, Vol. 2 is the second album from the Stone Poneys, released five months after The Stone Poneys. It was the most commercially successful of the Stone Poneys' three studio albums.
We the People was an American garage rock band from Orlando, Florida, that was formed in late 1965 and professionally active between 1966 and 1970. Although none of their singles charted nationally in the U.S., a number of them did reach the Top 10 of the local Orlando charts. The band are perhaps best remembered for their song "Mirror of Your Mind", which reached the Top 10 in a number of regional singles charts across the U.S. during 1966. The song has subsequently been included on several compilation albums over the years.
Vic Coppersmith-Heaven is an English sound engineer and record producer, best known for his production work with the Jam.
The Love Exchange was an American psychedelic rock band, best known for their single "Swallow the Sun", released in 1967. Sixteen-year-old Bonnie Blunt was the band's lead singer. They were signed by Uptown Records, a subsidiary of MCA Records.
