The Sons of Adam

Last updated
The Sons of Adam
Origin Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Genres Garage rock, rock and roll, proto-punk, hard rock, surf rock
Years active1965 (1965)–1967 (1967)
Labels Decca, Alamo
Past members
  • Randy Holden
  • Joe Kooken (Jac Ttanna)
  • Mike Port
  • Michael Stuart
  • Craig Tarwater
  • Randy Carlisle

The Sons of Adam (earlier the Fender IV) were an American garage rock band. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, they relocated to Los Angeles and became a regular fixture on the Sunset Strip music scene during the mid-1960s. [1] The band released several singles for the Decca and Alamo labels, which included the songs "Saturday's Son", "Feathered Fish" (written by Arthur Lee) and "Baby Show the World". They included guitarist Randy Holden, later of The Other Half and Blue Cheer, and drummer Michael Stuart, later of Love. [1] Although the band, with Randy Holden, played "Feathered Fish" in clubs before it was recorded, Craig Tarwater played the guitar on the studio recording since Holden had left by then. [2]

Contents

History

Origins

The band, from Baltimore, Maryland, was founded in 1962 as The Iridescents, by guitarist Randy Holden, who had previously played in other local rock and roll bands, and bassist Mike Port. [1] By 1963, they had enlisted Sonny Lombardo on drums, then adding Joe Kooken (later known as Jac Ttanna) on guitar, to complete the original lineup. [1] They were originally a surf rock and instrumental group. Holden, then a fan of Duane Eddy, [1] stated:

My band was more rock or hard rock-oriented. To define that, you’d have to say Duane Eddy was ‘hard rock’ back then... I wanted to do surf music, because—well, actually it wasn’t called surf music yet. I liked the instrumental vein...” [1]

By the end of 1963, the band's repertoire had become completely dominated by surf influences. They changed their name to The Fendermen, and made arrangements to relocate to Southern California, in hopes of riding the crest of the then-current surf rock craze to find success in Los Angeles, which was becoming a center of the recording industry. [1] The band departed in a Volkswagen bus and drove to California, and arrived there in November 1963, shortly before John F. Kennedy's assassination. [1] [3]

The Fender IV: California

As drummer Sonny Lombardo was unable to accompany them to California, the band recruited a new drummer, Bruce Miller. [1] Unlike in Maryland, the drinking age in California was 21, so the band members went to Tijuana, Mexico and had fake IDs made in order to be able to play gigs at nightclubs and bars. [1] They were eventually able to get steady work playing gigs at the popular night-spot, Gazzarri’s. [1] In 1964 they changed their name to The Fender-Menn IV, [3] and later The Fender IV, a move partially motivated by a deal they made with Fender to provide the group with free equipment, and to avoid confusion with another group called Irridescents, from Santa Barbara, who would later become Thee Sixpence and eventually Strawberry Alarm Clock. [1]

They signed with managers Bill Doane and Ozzie Schmidt who were familiar with surf and the West Coast scene. Doane and Schmidt knew music biz mogul Russ Regan, who arranged for the group to be signed to the Imperial label. In the summer of 1964, they recorded two singles (as The Fender IV) at Los Angeles' Gold Star Studios, the home of many of Phil Spector’s recordings at the time. [1] Several months before they recorded this first single, The Beatles had appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and the British Invasion had swept the music industry. So the flip side of the record, "You Better Tell Me Now", would be a Mersey-inspired vocal track, which would point to the direction of their later work as the Sons of Adam. With the British Invasion in full effect, the band members of The Fender IV began to feel the pull, but at least initially Randy Holden was reluctant to make the full switch away from instrumental music. [1] However, after having a chance to meet and "jam" with Brian Jones and Bill Wyman a while before The Rolling Stones' performance on the Hollywood Palace TV show, and getting to know members of other L.A. rock acts such as The Turtles, Holden's reluctance to embrace vocal rock subsided. He and the group began to favor R&B-flavored rock and started including covers of Stones' songs in their sets. [1]

In 1964 drummer Bruce Miller was drafted into the Army, so they found Keith Kester to take his place. [3] Perhaps as a result of their previous time as an instrumental band, they became highly respected amongst L.A. bands for their musical prowess, and were considered one of the better live acts in town. [1] They became a frequent attraction at clubs on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, and were able to land a residency at Ciro’s. [1] By 1965, the band's musical direction had shifted dramatically to a Beat group orientation. [1] The popularity of surf music waned, and their style changed to vocal-based R&B and rock songs. [4] They were seen by Dewey Martin, who had been performing as the leader of Sir Raleigh & The Coupons, and recruited the band to back him at shows in Seattle and Juneau. As Sir Raleigh & The Coupons, they recorded a single, "Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day", on the Jerden label. [3]

The Sons of Adam

Back in Los Angeles, they resisted Martin's attempts to replace Holden with Neil Young, and continued to perform as The Fender IV, with Kester, whose personality and image differed from that of other group members, being replaced by drummer Michael Stuart (later Stuart-Ware). [3] It was during this time that they changed their name to the Sons of Adam, which was suggested by record producer and impresario Kim Fowley. They replaced The Walker Brothers as resident band at Gazzarri's, and became noted for their loud volume, Holden repeating the mantra "Never turn down". [3] Holden later claimed he was approached around this time to replace Jeff Beck in The Yardbirds. [3]

After auditioning for producer Gary Usher, they secured a recording contract with Decca Records. [1] [4] [3] They made a brief appearance playing in a nightclub scene in the 1965 movie The Slender Thread starring Anne Bancroft, [5] [6] though the music was later overdubbed by session musicians. [3] The group recorded their first single with Gary Usher producing, "Take My Hand", released in mid-October 1965. [1] The song failed to gain any traction on the charts. [1]

By the end of the year, disappointed in lack of record sales, the band broke off connections with Bill Doane and Ozzie Schmidt. [1] They entered into an unwritten agreement with Dick St John (of Dick & Dee Dee) and Mike Post. [1] In 1966 they returned to the studio with producer Gary Usher and engineer David Hassinger to record "Saturday's Son," an anthem of alienation, featuring Randy Holden on lead guitar and vocals; it appeared on a single, along with their version of "You're a Better Man Than I," previously recorded by The Yardbirds, as the flipside. [4] The band believed that they had a strong record that had a chance to break them in the charts, but the single failed to catch on. [1] Around this time the band hired a new manager, Howard Wolf, to conduct their affairs. [1]

As the year progressed, Holden's behavior, and emphasis on volume, [3] became increasingly erratic, and his relationship with the other band members became strained. The band pushed him out, a decision they later regretted, and replaced him with Craig Tarwater (aka John Simmons), on lead guitar. Holden joined The Other Half. The Sons of Adam continued to play and record, releasing another single on Alamo records, featuring "Feathered Fish", written by Arthur Lee of Love, who was attempting to convince drummer Michael Stuart to join his band, and the flip side "Baby Show the World." [7] [8] [9] [10] However, without Randy Holden the band lost much of its former musical chemistry. Michael Stuart, after Arthur Lee's constant requests, finally decided to join Love as their drummer just in time for the recording of the seminal Forever Changes ; [1] he was replaced in the Sons of Adam by Randy Carlisle from The Yellow Payges. [3] Craig Tarwater soon left to join The Daily Flash. [1]

By June 1967, the Sons of Adam had disbanded. [1] After the band broke up, Kooken and Port formed a new band, Genesis, but it soon collapsed and Port left the music industry. He experienced homelessness and drug problems before his death in 2014. [3] Kooken, later known as Jac Ttanna, died in Thailand in 2022. [11]

Band members

Discography

Singles

[10] [12]

CDs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Haley & His Comets</span> American rock and roll band

Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band, founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group placed nine singles in the top 20, one of those a number one and three more in the top ten. The single "Rock Around the Clock" became the biggest selling rock and roll single in the history of the genre and retained that position for some years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love (band)</span> American rock group

Love is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965. Led by frontman and primary songwriter Arthur Lee, they were one of the first racially diverse American rock bands. Their sound incorporated an eclectic range of styles including garage, folk-rock, blues, jazz, and psychedelia. While finding only modest success on the music charts, peaking in 1966 with their Top 40 hit "7 and 7 Is", Love would come to be praised by critics as their third album, Forever Changes (1967), became generally regarded as one of the best albums of the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Surfaris</span> American surf rock band

The Surfaris are an American surf rock band formed in Glendora, California, United States, in 1962. They are best known for two songs that hit the charts in the Los Angeles area, and nationally by May 1963: "Surfer Joe" and "Wipe Out", which were the A-side and B-side of the same 45 rpm single.

Surf music is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is instrumental surf, distinguished by reverb-heavy electric guitars played to evoke the sound of crashing waves, largely pioneered by Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. The second is vocal surf, which took elements of the original surf sound and added vocal harmonies, a movement led by the Beach Boys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ventures</span> American instrumental band

The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the 1960s. While their popularity in the United States waned in the 1970s, the group remains especially revered in Japan, where they tour regularly to this day. The classic lineup of the band consisted of Wilson, Bogle, Nokie Edwards, and Mel Taylor (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Wilson</span> American singer, songwriter, lead guitarist: Beach Boys (1946–1998)

Carl Dean Wilson was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's de facto leader in the early to mid-1970s. He was also the band's musical director on stage from 1965 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Left Banke</span> American rock band

The Left Banke was an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. They are best remembered for their two U.S. hit singles, "Walk Away Renée" and "Pretty Ballerina". The band often used what the music press referred to as "baroque" string arrangements, which led to their music being variously termed as "Bach-rock", "baroque rock" or "baroque pop". The band's vocal harmonies borrowed from contemporaries such as the Beatles, the Zombies and other British Invasion groups.

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. Today Dave Watts has his own version of the band.

The Sentinals were a surf rock band from San Luis Obispo, California (1961–1965). The band is notable for a Latino influence in some works, such as "Latin'ia" (1962). Notable band members included Tommy Nuñes, drummer John Barbata and Lee Michaels on keyboards.

The Challengers were an instrumental surf rock band started in Los Angeles, California, in late 1962. They represented a growing love for surf music and helped make the genre popular. Their debut album, Surfbeat, was the biggest-selling surf album of all time and helped bring surf music from California to the rest of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hondells</span> American surf rock band

The Hondells were an American surf rock band. Their cover of the Beach Boys' "Little Honda" went to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964.

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, with the hot-rod song "Midnight Run", and the Kickstands.

The Bel-Airs were an early and influential surf rock band from South Bay, Los Angeles, active in the early 1960s.

The Royale Monarchs were a Southern California surf band of the late 1960s, signed by radio personality Bob Eubanks as house band at his Cinnamon Cinder night clubs, regulars on his Hollywood Dance Time and The Cinnamon Cinder television shows.

Dan Anthony is an American recording artist, songwriter and musician. He played with the surf-rock guitarist Dick Dale, and was the founder of the late 1960s California surf band Royale Monarchs. He also played in the house band for Bob Eubanks' Cinnamon Cinder night clubs. Regularly appearing on his Cinnamon Cinder and Hollywood Dance Time television shows. Later under contract at MCA/Universal, Decca Records where Gary Usher produced Dan's new group The Forte' Four. He was an original member of the Marin County based folk-rock group AnExchange in the early 1970s.

The Fender IV were an American surf rock band of the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Holden</span> American musician

Randy Holden is an American guitarist best known for his involvement with the West Coast acid rock group Blue Cheer on their third album, New! Improved! (1969). Additionally, he is a painter. His album Population II from 1970 is considered to be one of the earliest examples of doom metal.

The Other Half was an American psychedelic garage rock band, based in San Francisco, and active in the mid-to-late 1960s. The band gained interest after one of the Nuggets compilations in the 1980s included their single, "Mr. Pharmacist".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Organ</span> American musician, songwriter and producer

Thomas LeRoy Organ, Jr., known professionally as Tommy Organ or Tommy "O", is an American musician, songwriter and producer.

Randy Nauert was an American surf music and culture entrepreneur. He started in the music business as a bass player who played with The Bel-Airs and took his experience to broader appeal with The Challengers who were in the forefront of the surf music explosion in southern California. He also worked as a composer, arranger, music manager, producer and music publisher. He is well known as being one of the first pioneers of surf music.

References

  1. 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 Provost, Greg & Stacks, Mike (January 8, 2014). "The Sons Of Adam | UglyThings Magazine". Ugly-things.com. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  2. ↑ admin. "The Sons Of Adam | UglyThings Magazine" . Retrieved 2019-12-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Martin Ruddock, "Never Turn Down!", Shindig!, Issue 130, August 2022, pp.46-51
  4. 1 2 3 A history of the "Sons of Adam" is published in Ugly Things Music Magazine, No. 26 (2008)
  5. ↑ "Hollywood rockers, Sons of Adam, LOVE, Blue Cheer, Hendrix,Michael Stewart-Ware, Michael Port, Rolling Stones". Hollywoodagogo.com. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  6. ↑ "The Sons of Adam". Bryanmaclean.com. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  7. ↑ "The Love Group's Michael Stuart, Drummer on Da Capo and Forever Changes, Pegasus Carousel". Pegasuscarousel.com. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  8. ↑ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  9. ↑ "Rhinoceros - Daily Flash". Rhinoceros-group.com. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  10. 1 2 A. Palao in liner notes to Where the Action Is: Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968. Rhino, 2009
  11. ↑ "Sad Fender IV News", Surf Guitar 101, August 22, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022
  12. ↑ "The Sons Of Adam Discography - All Countries". 45cat.com. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  13. ↑ "The Sons of Adam - Saturday's Sons: The Complete Recordings 1964-1966 Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic . Retrieved 2 September 2022.
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.