The Myddle Class

Last updated
The Myddle Class
The Myddle Class.jpg
Background information
Origin Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, United States
Genres
Years active1964 (1964)-1969 (1969)
Labels
Past members
  • Dave Palmer
  • Rick Philp
  • Danny Mansolino
  • Chris Irby
  • Charles Larkey
  • Michael "Myke" Rosa

The Myddle Class was an American garage rock band from Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, which was active in the 1960s. Signed to Tomorrow Records which was owned by the songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King, they were one of the most popular live acts in the New Jersey/New York region during the 1960s and released several singles, enjoying hits in various local markets such as Albany. In the late 1960s, band members became involved in college and other musical projects. Charles Larkey, who joined the Fugs in late 1967, later married King, following her divorce from Goffin, and played bass guitar on some of her recordings in the 1970s. The Myddle Class intended to record an album in 1969, but was thwarted due to the murder of the guitarist Rick Philp. The band broke up shortly thereafter. The singer, Dave Palmer, later joined Steely Dan in the 1970s and sang on King's hit "Jazzman".

Contents

History

Origins

The band was formed as the King Bees in 1964 made up of high school students from suburban Passaic Valley townships that border the Interstate 78 corridor in New Jersey. [1] [2] [3] The King Bees' initial lineup consisted of Dave Palmer on lead vocals and Rick Philp on guitar, Chris Irby on bass guitar, Danny Mansolino on organ, and Mike Rosa on drums. [2] [4] Palmer and Philp were from Warren Township and were students at Watchung Hills Regional High School. [2] [5] Mansolino from North Plainfield attended North Plainfield High School and had played accordion, but Philp asked him to join on organ. [2] At first, Chris Irby played bass guitar, but when he decided to quit, drummer Rosa from Berkeley Heights brought in Charles Larkey, a friend of his at Governor Livingston High School. [2] Larkey was only just learning the bass when he joined, but he had good stage presence and dressed in all of the latest mod fashions from his father's store Larkey's in Newark. [2] According to Palmer:

I'd always sung in choir and "folk" groups but when the Rolling Stones hit in the '60s and I discovered it was a wonderful way to "get" women (not being of the "jock" or award winning Mr. popular student type myself) I devoted myself full time to pursuing a career in music… [5]

The King Bees became known for their exciting live shows, which included songs such as "Shout", "She's Not There" and the original, "It's the Season". [2] After a show at the Berkeley Heights CYO in December 1964, the band met the New York Post columnist Al Aronowitz, who was friends with Bob Dylan and arranged his first meeting with The Beatles at the Delmonico Hotel in New York, in which Dylan allegedly introduced the fab four to marijuana. [2] [6] [7] Aronowitz heard about the King Bees through his babysitter and despite his lack of experience in the business side of music, became the group's manager. [2] His house in Berkeley Heights became the group's base of operations. Aronowitz introduced them to Carole King and Gerry Goffin, the well-known husband-and-wife song writing team, who were then living nearby in West Orange. They agreed to write songs and produce the group. In fall 1965, the King Bees changed their name to the Myddle Class to distinguish themselves from Danny Kortchmar's King Bees (band) who just had just released a record on RCA Victor. [2] In October, Goffin and King signed the Myddle Class to their new label, Tomorrow Records, to be distributed by Atlantic-Atco. [1] [2]

Recording

Their first single, "Free As The Wind", backed with a full-band rendition of Bob Dylan's "Gates of Eden", was released on Tomorrow in December 1965. [1] [8] [9] "Free as the Wind" combined Goffin and King's commercial flair with garage-informed folk rock. [1] [3] Billboard reviewed "Free as the Wind" in its December 1965 issue stating, "New label, new group and new Goffin-King material has smash hit possibilities. Folk rocker is a powerhouse!" [2] The song became a hit in Albany, New York, but despite the glowing Billboard review, it failed to catch on outside the region. [1] [2] Gaining popularity, the Myddle Class played at many of New York's leading clubs, such as the Night Owl and Cafe Au Go Go. [1] [2] On December 11, 1965, the Myddle Class headlined a concert at the Summit High School Auditorium with opening acts the Forty Fingers and the Velvet Underground. [2] [3] [10] Aronowitz produced the show and had booked all of the bands including the Velvet Underground, who used the name "Velvet Underground" for the first time this night. [2] It was also their first live performance with Maureen Tucker on drums. [2]

In 1966, the Myddle Class released a follow-up single, "Don't Let Me Sleep Too Long", which the band took from a demo by the Blues Project that later became their hit "Wake Me Shake Me" — a song covered by many acts. [1] [2] [3] [8] [9] This hard-rocking single more accurately reflected the Myddle Class' live sound, and reached #2 on the Albany charts, but like their first single did not reach a wider market. [1] [2] It was backed by "I Happen To Love You", subsequently covered by the Electric Prunes. [1] [3] [8] [9] In 1966, Myddle Class opened for the Blues Project. [2]

Goffin and King's distribution deal with Atco fell apart. They were able to sign a deal with Cameo-Parkway to distribute the Tomorrow label. [2] The first release on the reconfigured Tomorrow label was by the Bach's Lunch, a female singing group, whose ranks included singer Darlene McCrea of the Cookies and the Raelettes. The Myddle Class provided the instrumental backing on both sides. The A-side was a remake of Goffin and King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", backed with Philp and Palmer's song "You Go On" on the B-side. The band enjoyed regional successes, and were welcomed by enthusiastic crowds in Montreal and Boston. They did a residency at Ungano's on the upper West Side of Manhattan, and a played a show to over 3000 people in Smithtown, Long Island, which was promoted by DJ Scott Ross. The band encountered a number of discouraging setbacks around this time. They had a successful audition with producer Tom Wilson for MGM Records, but apparently Al Aronowitz did not allow the deal to go through. In February 1967, they opened for the Animals, but their set was marred by technical problems in the microphones and public address system, resulting in poor reviews for the band's performance. [2]

In April 1967, the Myddle Class released one last single. [2] The A-side "Don't Look Back" was a cover of a Temptations song and was self-produced by the group. [1] [2] [8] [9] On the B-side was the song "Wind Chime Laughter", a song written by Philp and Palmer, but credited jointly to the Myddle Class and Goffin. [2] [8] [9] In August 1968, Allen Klein took over Cameo-Parkway and ousted the band's representatives at the label, including Neil Bogart (who later founded Casablanca Records), leaving their new single without any promotion. Some members of the Myddle Class posed anonymously as models in photographs taken by Richard Avedon intended for advertisements. One of Avedon's photographs of Larkey appeared on the cover of Esquire in September 1967. Larkey joined the Fugs in late 1967 for a series of shows at the Players Theater. [2]

Late period

By late 1967, with some of the band's members either away at college or pursuing other musical ventures, the Myddle Class was rarely performing live. What little active time they had was used to record demos for Goffin and King songs intended for other artists. They are rumored to have recorded and arranged demos of "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and "Porpoise Song" for the Monkees, as well as "Snow Queen" and "Fun and Games", but none of these pieces have ever been released to the public. Among the demos that do exist are "Goin' Back", which became a single for the Byrds in October 1967 and was included on their Notorious Byrd Brothers album, as well as "I Can't Make It Alone" released by Dusty Springfield on Dusty in Memphis . Among the other demos from the sessions are "An Angel Walks Beside Me" and "Who Does He Love". Palmer and Philp signed a publishing with Screen Gems-Columbia, the same publishers representing Goffin and King at this time. But, a promise from Don Kirshner to sign the group to Colgems never materialized, nor did he attempt to have other artists record their songs. The Myddle Class recorded demos of some of these Palmer and Philp songs, such as "Man on the Bridge". [2]

Goffin and King divorced and separately relocated to California in early 1968. Larkey and King began an intimate affair that would eventually lead to marriage. [2] Philp and Larkey spent summer that year in Los Angeles working up arrangements with King for songs that to appear on Now That Everything's Been Said , the album by her group the City. [2] David Palmer co-wrote the song "Paradise City" with King, which appeared on that album. [5] Danny Kortchmar replicated Philp's guitar parts for the Myddle Class' last recordings, released in 1969. In fall 1968, Mansolino, Palmer and Philp were residing in Boston and collaborated on songs with pianist Lloyd Baskin. In March 1969 they recorded a number of songs in the studio, including a new Goffin and King composition "Mr. Charlie", and a couple by Palmer and Philp, "Redbeard" (their nickname for Al Aronowitz) and "Keys to the Kingdom". [2] An album was planned for the band to record in the summer of 1969, but any future chances of the band re-activating were dashed when guitarist Philp was murdered by his former roommate in Boston in May. [2] [3] By this point, the band's enthusiasm had long receded, and they broke up shortly thereafter. [2]

Post-breakup

After leaving Cameo-Parkway and joining Buddah Records, Neal Bogart posthumously reissued "Don't Let Me Sleep Too Long" b/w "I Happen to Love You" on a single for Buddah in mid-1969, but it had little impact. [2] An unreleased song, "Lovin' Season" originally titled "It's the Season" dated back to 1965, appeared on a Buddah sampler LP Rock And Roll With Buddah distributed at the National Entertainment Conference in Memphis in February, 1970. Mansolino and Rosa joined Jake and the Family Jewels for two Polydor albums in 1969 and 1970. [2] They brought in Palmer as vocalist on a 1971 album as the Quinames Band cut for Elektra Records, where Rosa was now a staff producer. [1] [2] The Quinames Band's ranks included Ken Pine, who had played alongside Charlie Larkey in the Fugs, and Jerry Burnham. [2] Palmer joined Steely Dan and was featured as a vocalist on their early records and sang on King's 1974 hit "Jazzman". [1] [2] [3] [5] Larkey and King married in September 1970, just as she was beginning to establish herself as a top recording act in the early 1970s. [1] [2]

The Myddle Class's work has come to the attention of garage rock collectors and enthusiasts. Their songs have been included on several compilations such as Mindrocker: the Complete Series Volumes 1-3 , issued by Past & Present Records, and Boulders, Volume 3, put out by Moxie. [11] [12] [13]

Membership circa 1965-1967

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carole King</span> American singer-songwriter and musician (born 1942)

Carole King Klein is an American singer-songwriter and musician. One of the most successful songwriters in American history, she wrote or co-wrote 118 pop hits appearing on the Billboard Hot 100 over the latter half of the 20th century. King also wrote 61 hits that charted in the UK, making her the most successful female songwriter on the UK singles charts between 1962 and 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerry Goffin</span> American lyricist (1939–2014)

Gerald Goffin was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", "Take Good Care of My Baby", "The Loco-Motion", and "Go Away Little Girl". It was later said of Goffin that his gift was "to find words that expressed what many young people were feeling but were unable to articulate."

David Palmer is an American vocalist, songwriter and photographer best known as a former member of Steely Dan and as the lyricist of the Carole King #2 hit "Jazzman".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Cotton</span> American blues singer-songwriter (1935–2017)

James Henry Cotton was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Kortchmar</span> American musician

Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. His work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, Graham Nash, Neil Young, Steve Perry, and Carly Simon helped define the signature sound of the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Jackson Browne and Don Henley have recorded many songs written or co-written by Kortchmar, and Kortchmar was Henley's songwriting and producing partner in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Goldberg</span> Musical artist

Barry Joseph Goldberg is an American blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. Goldberg has co-produced albums by Percy Sledge, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, and the Textones, plus Bob Dylan's version of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready".

<i>The Carnegie Hall Concert: June 18, 1971</i> 1996 live album by Carole King

The Carnegie Hall Concert: June 18, 1971 was American musician Carole King's first concert performance in front of an audience.

<i>Underground</i> (The Electric Prunes album) 1967 studio album by The Electric Prunes

Underground is the second studio album by the American garage rock band, The Electric Prunes, and was released in 1967 on Reprise Records. It would be the final album of any materialized input by band members until the 1969 "New Improved" Electric Prunes were formed. The album was a moderate chart hit, but, without a hit-ready single, the band could not repeat their past success.

<i>Love Makes the World</i> 2001 studio album by Carole King

Love Makes the World is the 16th studio album by Carole King, released in 2001. Distributed by Koch Records, it was her first release on her Rockingale Records label. As of 2024, it is her most recent album of new material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will You Love Me Tomorrow</span> 1960 single by the Shirelles

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow", sometimes known as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It was first recorded in 1960 by the Shirelles; released as a single that November, it became the first song by an African-American girl group to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It has since been recorded by many other artists, including King on her 1971 album Tapestry.

<i>Rhymes & Reasons</i> (Carole King album) 1972 studio album by Carole King

Rhymes & Reasons is the fourth album by American singer-songwriter Carole King. Released in 1972, the album features a single "Been to Canaan", which topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number 24 on the Pop chart. The album itself also became a hit, reaching number two on the Billboard 200 chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Bring Me Down (The Animals song)</span> 1966 single by the Animals

"Don't Bring Me Down" is a song composed by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and recorded as a 1966 hit single by the Animals. It was the group's first release with drummer Barry Jenkins, who replaced founding member John Steel as he had left the band in February of that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pleasant Valley Sunday</span> 1967 single by the Monkees

"Pleasant Valley Sunday" is a song by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, recorded and released by the Monkees in the summer of 1967. Inspired by their move to West Orange, New Jersey, and named for a street there, Goffin and King wrote the song about their dissatisfaction with life in the suburbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Griffin (musician)</span> American session musician and pianist (1937–2000)

Paul Griffin was an American pianist and session musician who recorded with hundreds of musicians from the 1950s to the 1990s.

<i>Clarke, Hicks & Nash Years: The Complete Hollies April 1963 – October 1968</i> 2011 CD box set by The Hollies

Clarke, Hicks & Nash Years: The Complete Hollies April 1963 – October 1968 is a 6-CD box set released in the United Kingdom by EMI Records in 2011. As the title suggests, it encompasses, in chronological order by recording date, almost every song The Hollies have released to date that was recorded between April 1963 and October 1968, when Graham Nash left the band. Included were 14 previously unreleased tracks such as French-language versions of hit songs, alternate stereo mixes and a live set from the Lewisham Odeon recorded 24 May 1968. Besides various mono and stereo mixes of tracks, previously released material excluded from the set were the alternate version of "Stay" from the 1988 UK The Hollies: Compacts for Pleasure CD and the longer Take 9 of "Poison Ivy" from their first Australian LP.

Al Gorgoni is an American guitarist, composer, arranger, and producer, known for his work as a studio musician during the 1960s and 1970s.

<i>The Monkees: Original Album Series</i> 2009 box set by The Monkees

The Monkees: Original Album Series is a CD set by The Monkees which includes the first five albums by The Monkees. The CD set was released in 2009 as a slipcased box set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harbinger Complex</span> American garage/psychedelic rock band

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."

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

The Liberty Bell was an American garage rock/psychedelic rock band from Corpus Christi, Texas who were active in the 1960s. They specialized in a blues-based brand of proto-punk influenced by British groups such as the Yardbirds. The band failed to reach wider audience in the time, but have come to the attention of garage rock collectors and enthusiasts in the intervening years since their breakup, with their work appearing on several compilations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wasn't Born to Follow</span> 1968 song by The Byrds

"Wasn't Born to Follow", also known as "I Wasn't Born to Follow", is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Goffin wrote the lyrics and King provided the music. The song was first recorded by the Byrds on their 1968 album, The Notorious Byrd Brothers. King's short-lived band the City also recorded the song for their 1968 album, Now That Everything's Been Said. It has also been covered by many other artists, including the Monkees, the Lemon Pipers, Dusty Springfield, and as a solo recording by King. The Byrds recording was featured in the 1969 film Easy Rider and was released as a single in the UK and Germany in the same year as a result.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "The Myddle Class: Artist Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Bishop, Chris (July 14, 2005). "The Myddle Class". Garage Hangover. Garage Hangover. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hayden, Jack. "Mid-Atlantic Spotlight: The Myddle Class - Don't Let Me Sleep Too Long / I Happen To Love You". On the Flip Side. On the Flip Side. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  4. ↑ Cianci, Bob (2006). Great Rock Drummers of the Sixties (Second ed.). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 214. ISBN   0634099256.
  5. 1 2 3 4 DiCorcia, Bob (January 1, 1997). "David Palmer: Q & A". The Steely Dan Reader. The Steely Dan Reader. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  6. ↑ Harrison, Andrew (August 27, 2014). "When Dylan Met the Beatles – History in a Handshake?". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Bob Dylan Turns The Beatles on to Cannabis". The Beatles Bible. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Markesich, Mike (2012). Teen Beat Mayhem (First ed.). Branford, Connecticut: Priceless Info Press. p.  170. ISBN   978-0-9856482-5-1.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Myddle Class - Discography". 45cat. 45cat Website. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  10. ↑ "December 11: The Velvet Underground at Summit High School". Jewish Currents: Activist Politics & Art. Jewish Currents. December 10, 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  11. ↑ Deming, Mark. "Mindrocker: The Complete Series, Vols. 1-13". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Various – Mindrocker". Discogs. Discogs®. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Various – Boulders Volume 3". Discogs. Discogs®. Retrieved January 10, 2016.

A memoir written by girlfriend to Rick Philp and friend to the group, and particularly to Carole King

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.