The Enfields | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Wilmington, Delaware, United States |
Genres | |
Years active | 1964 | -1967
Labels | Richie |
Past members |
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The Enfields were an American garage rock and psychedelic band from Wilmington, Delaware who were active in the 1960s. They were led by guitarist and songwriter Ted Munda, and their style was highly influenced by the British Invasion and folk rock. They were considered the top group in Wilmington at the time and enjoyed several local hits, though they failed to reach a wider national audience due to poor management. The Enfields broke up in 1967, but Munda went on to form the group the Friends of the Family. Ted was also in the Blues Magoos, wrote for various Publishing companies in LA, was signed to Columbia Records in 1973 with group" Hotspur", and co-wrote "Blame It On Love" for Smokey Robinson in 1983–84 on Motown. He has several albums of unreleased produced material.
The Enfields were formed in 1964 as merger between two Wilmington, Delaware bands called the Playboys and the Touchstones. [1] [2] Ted Munda and Gordon Berl were members in the Playboys, and John Bernard, Bill Gallery, Robin Eaton, and Charles Jenner played in the Touchstones, a surf rock band. [1] Once the two bands merged, their lineup and roles were as follows: Charlie Berl on vocals, Ted Munda, Vocals and Guitar and John Bernard on lead guitar, Bill Gallery on bass, and Gordon Berl on drums, often with Ted Munda and Charlie Berl on harmonies. [3] [4] Mac Morgan and Robin Eaton were never members of the Enfields. They needed a name for the band and wanted to find something decidedly English, in keeping with the popular British invasion currently in vogue, so they chose the name the Enfields in honor of the famous British rifle named after the London Borough of Enfield. [1]
In 1966 they cut three singles released on the Richie label, beginning with their first "In the Eyes of the World," which became a big local hit, and was followed up with an even bigger hit with the folk rock-influenced "She Already has Somebody" b/w "I'm For Things You Do," both penned by Munda [3] [4] [5] [6] By this time, the Enfields had become the most popular group in Wilmington, however their local success failed to translate into wider national recognition. [1] [4] [2] Their next single featured a ballad on the A-side, "You Don't Have Very Far," b/w the harder and more compulsive "Face to Face." [1] [4] [5] In 1966, Bill Gallery left the band to go to college, and John Rhoads, from the Wrecking Crew, joined on bass. [7] In early 1967 they released their last single "Twelve Month Coming" b/w the fiery rocker "Time Card," but the single failed to chart. [1] [4] [5] When Charlie Berl was drafted the group broke up. [1]
Following the group's breakup, guitarist Ted Munda formed the Friends of the Family with John Rhoads and two musicians, Wayne Watson and Jimmy Crawford, who had played in another local outfit the Turfs. [1] [3] [4] [2] The new band had a jazzier and more progressive approach. [3] They went into Philadelphia's Virtue Recording Studios to record six demos, which came to the attention of Kama Sutra Records, but did not result in a contract. [1] On July 24, 1968, the Friends of the Family shared the bill with The Who, The Troggs, and Pink Floyd at JFK Stadium, but due to inclement weather the show had to be halted. [1] The line up changed and John Rhoads was replaced by Ray Andrews and Keyboards by Lindsay Lee. This is the lineup that played all the live shows and recorded 7 songs that are lost to history.
In the intervening years since their demise, the Enfields' work has come to the attention of garage rock collectors and enthusiasts and has appeared on several compilations such as Classic Sounds of the 60s assembled by Get Hip Records. [4] The Enfields' complete recordings have been anthologized on The Enfields/and early Friends of the Family, put out by Distortions Records. [4] [8] [2] [7]
(Updated by Ted Munda 4/15/2017)
The Blues Magoos are an American rock group from The Bronx, a borough of New York City, United States. They were at the forefront of the psychedelic music trend, beginning in 1966. They are best known for the hit song "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet", their only single to reach the Billboard top fifty.
Episode Six were an English rock band formed in Harrow, London in 1965. The band did not have commercial success in the UK, releasing nine singles that all failed to chart, but they did find minor success in Beirut at the time. Group members Ian Gillan and Roger Glover left in 1969 to join Deep Purple, while drummer Mick Underwood founded Quatermass and later collaborated with Gillan.
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 Magic Mushrooms were an American psychedelic garage rock band in the 1960s. The Magic Mushrooms were originally composed of five students from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. They were:
The Leaves were an American garage rock band formed in the San Fernando Valley, California, in 1964. They are best known for their version of the song "Hey Joe", which was a hit in 1966. Theirs is the earliest release of this song, which became a rock standard.
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The Litter was an American psychedelic and garage rock band, formed in 1966 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. They are best remembered for their 1967 debut single, "Action Woman". The group recorded three albums in the late 1960s before disbanding, but they re-united in 1990, 1992, and again in 1998, when they recorded a new studio album consisting of both old and new material. All of their Minneapolis recorded material was produced by Warren Kendrick, who owned the Scotty and Warick and Hexagon labels.
"You're Gonna Miss Me" is a song by the American psychedelic rock band the 13th Floor Elevators, written by Roky Erickson, and released as the group's debut single on Contact Records in 1966. It was reissued nationally on International Artists, in May 1966. Musically inspired by traditional jug band and R&B music, combined with the group's own experimentation, "You're Gonna Miss Me" with its Stacy Sutherland and Tommy Hall-penned B-side "Tried to Hide" was influential in developing psychedelic rock and garage rock, and was one of the earlier rock compositions to use the electric jug. Accordingly, critics often cite "You're Gonna Miss Me" as a bona fide garage rock song and a classic of the counterculture era.
Kenny and the Kasuals were an American garage rock band formed in Dallas, Texas in 1964. The band played at various venues, including the Studio Club, with a repertoire that consisted of material taken from the British Invasion and R&B standards. Over time the band began experimenting with early elements of psychedelic music and are often cited as one of the first groups to play in such a style. Kenny and the Kasuals released several singles including their best-known song, "Journey to Tyme". A live album, Impact, was also recorded in 1966.
Bohemian Vendetta was an American garage rock and psychedelic band from Long Island, New York, who were active from 1966 to 1968. In addition to recording two officially released singles and several previously unissued demos, they cut a self-titled album, Bohemian Vendetta, released by Mainstream Records in 1968.
The Index were an American garage rock/psychedelic rock band from Grosse Pointe, Michigan who were active from 1966-1969 and are known for a sound characterized by droning guitars, as heard on their two albums, both released in 1968. Though they remained largely unknown for a number of years, since the 1980s they have come to the attention of garage rock collectors and fans.
Harbinger Complex was an American garage rock/psychedelic rock band from Fremont, California, who were active in the mid-1960s. In the years since their breakup, their work has come to the attention of garage rock fans and collectors and has appeared on several retrospective compilations including the Nuggets 4-CD box set. They are best-remembered for their 1966 song, "I Think I'm Down."
The Groupies were an American garage rock-psychedelic rock band from New York City who were active in the 1960s and are known for an innovative approach to primal blues-based rock exemplified in such songs as "Primitive". They were a popular fixture in the New York club scene and recorded for Atco Records, later venturing to Los Angeles. Due to their uncompromising stance the Groupies failed to attract a wider audience outside of their local enclaves. They have come to the attention of garage rock and psychedelic enthusiasts and their work has been included on various compilations such as the 1998 Nuggets four-CD box set, which was released on Rhino Records. Their material has been re-issued on other garage rock and psychedelic compilations such as the Pebbles, Volume 10 LP.
The Penthouse 5 were an American garage rock band from Oak Cliff, Texas, a suburb of Dallas and were active from 1964-1967. The band's style was highly influenced by popular British acts like the Beatles and the Kinks, as well as the folk rock of the Byrds. In 1967 they shortened their name to the Penthouse and also began to play occasional gigs with a horn section as a soul outfit under the name of Dr. William’s Soul Emporium.
The Lost was an American garage rock and psychedelic band from Plainfield, Vermont who were active in the Boston rock scene 1960s. They were initially an interracial rock band, one of the few at the time, and, along with the Remains and the Rockin' Ramrods, later became one of the most popular live acts in Boston, landing a contract with Capitol Records. In spite of having a regional hit with their first record, they were unable to find greater commercial success and broke up in 1967. In the intervening years their work has come to the attention of garage rock collectors and enthusiasts with the release of the anthology, Early Recordings and Lost Tapes, on Arf! Arf! Records.
T.C. Atlantic was an American garage rock/psychedelic rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota who were active in the 1960s. They were one of the most popular groups in the Twin Cities, but failed to break nationally. In the intervening years since their breakup, their recordings have attracted the interest of '60s music collectors and enthusiasts, and they are particularly remembered for their 1966 fuzz-tinged song, "Faces", which has been mentioned as one of the earliest garage rock songs to display psychedelic characteristics.
Public Nuisance was an American rock band from Sacramento, California who were active from 1964-1970, first as Moss & the Rocks, then later as Public Nuisance. In 1965 they recorded the song "There She Goes" as Moss & the Rocks for a single released on the local Icon label. After changing their name to Public Nuisance in 1967, they began to incorporate psychedelic elements into their sound and a series of mostly unreleased songs recorded at various sessions from 1968-1969 that went for years unissued, but finally saw the light of day in 2002 with the release of the Gotta Survive anthology. Since then, their work, both as Moss & the Rocks and Public Nuisance, has attracted the attention of garage rock and psychedelic enthusiasts worldwide.
Lawson and Four More were an American garage rock/psychedelic rock band from Memphis, Tennessee, who were active in the 1960s. The group was led by Bobby Lawson and was known for their hard, blues-based sound which, as they evolved, increasingly incorporated esoteric psychedelic elements. The group regularly worked with musician, songwriter, and producer Jim Dickinson and cut the first rock release for Memphis label, Ardent Records. As a side-project, they briefly recorded under the name The Avengers, as a Batman-themed takeoff group in 1966.
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The Oxford Circle was an American garage rock and psychedelic rock band from Davis, California, near Sacramento, who were active from 1964 to 1967. They became a popular garage rock act with a proto-punk sound influenced by Them and other blues-based bands of the British Invasion, that, in addition to heavy guitar feedback, came to encompass psychedelia. The group began to make appearances in San Francisco, where they became a top draw in venues such as the Avalon Ballroom. They taped a show at the Avalon in 1966 and, after lying in the vaults for years, it was rereleased in 1997 on the Nuggets from California: Live at the Avalon 1966 anthology. In 1967, they released the single, "Foolish Woman" b/w "Mind Destruction", which is also included, along with several other studio outtakes, on the Nuggets from California compilation. In 1967, drummer Paul Whaley left to play in pioneering heavy rock act Blue Cheer. Lead vocalist and guitarist Gary Lee Yoder and bassist Dehner Patten left to form Kak, who recorded for Epic Records. Yoder subsequently went on to join Blue Cheer in one of their later configurations.