Watertower West

Last updated

The Watertower West were an American band, based in New York, who were regular players at the Cafe Wha?, Greenwich Village [1] from 1966 to 1968.

The members were Carl Peachman (drums), Alan Merrill (lead guitar, vocals), Jake Hooker (second guitar), and James "Bucky" Hall (bass, vocals). [2]

Merrill and Hooker later formed Arrows in London, England. [3] Peachman went on to be an agent for the bands Big Brother and the Holding Company, [4] and Moby Grape. James "Bucky" Hall is currently playing with his long time Boston based band, The Moonlighters. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Animals</span> English rock band

The Animals are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The Animals are known for their deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon and for their gritty, bluesy sound, exemplified by their signature song and transatlantic number-one hit single "The House of the Rising Sun" as well as by hits such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life", "Don't Bring Me Down", "I'm Crying", "See See Rider" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". They balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm-and-blues-oriented album material and were part of the British Invasion of the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Springfield</span> Canadian-American folk rock band

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 British Invasion and psychedelic rock influences. 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.

Jimmy James and the Blue Flames was a short-lived American rock group that was fronted by Jimi Hendrix, who was then going by the name "Jimmy James". The band was Hendrix's first extended foray into the 1966 Greenwich Village music scene and included future Spirit guitarist Randy California. At various New York clubs, they played a mix of rock, blues, and rhythm and blues songs as well as early versions of songs that became part of the Jimi Hendrix Experience repertoire. It was at such a performance that the Animals' bassist Chas Chandler first heard their rendition of "Hey Joe" and decided to invite Hendrix to England and become his producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lovin' Spoonful</span> American folk rock band (1964–1968)

The Lovin' Spoonful is an American folk rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1964. The band was among the most popular groups in the United States for a short period in the mid-1960s and their music and image influenced many of the contemporary rock acts of their era. Beginning in July 1965 with their debut single "Do You Believe in Magic", the band had seven consecutive singles reach the Top Ten of the U.S. charts in the eighteen months that followed, including the number two hits "Daydream" and "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" and the chart-topping "Summer in the City".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chas Chandler</span> English musician (1938–1996)

Bryan James "Chas" Chandler was an English musician, record producer and manager, best known as the original bassist in The Animals, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He also managed the band Slade, and Jimi Hendrix, about whom he was regularly interviewed until his death in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Merrill</span> American musician (1951–2020)

Alan Merrill was an American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. In the early 1970s, he was one of the few resident foreigners to achieve pop star status in Japan. He was the writer of, and lead singer on, the first released version of the song "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was recorded by his band the Arrows in 1975. The song became a breakthrough hit for Joan Jett in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Lewis & the Playboys</span> American pop and rock band

Gary Lewis & the Playboys were a 1960s era pop and rock group, fronted by musician Gary Lewis, the son of comedian Jerry Lewis. They are best known for their 1965 Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "This Diamond Ring", which was the first of a string of hit singles they had in 1965 and 1966. The band had an earnest, boy-next-door image similar to British invasion contemporaries such as Herman's Hermits and Gerry and the Pacemakers. The group folded in 1970, but a version of the band later resumed touring and continues to tour, often playing for veterans' benefits.

The Arrows were a band based in London, England. The group, which formed in 1974 and disbanded in 1977, included American singer/bassist Alan Merrill, American guitarist Jake Hooker and English drummer Paul Varley. They had UK chart hit singles in 1974 and 1975 with "Touch Too Much" and "My Last Night with You", produced by Mickie Most on RAK Records. They wrote and recorded the original version of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", later covered by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cafe Wha?</span> Music venue

Cafe Wha? is a music club at the corner of MacDougal Street and Minetta Lane in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The club is important in the history of rock and folk music, having presented numerous musicians and comedians early on in their careers, including Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, the Velvet Underground, Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys, Kool & the Gang, Peter, Paul and Mary, Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Joan Rivers, Bill Cosby, and Richard Pryor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hall (New York politician)</span> American politician (born 1948)

John Joseph Hall is an American musician, songwriter, politician, environmentalist, and community activist. He was elected to the legislature of Ulster County, New York, in 1989 and the Saugerties, New York Board of Education in 1991, and he was the U.S. representative for New York's 19th congressional district, serving from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Hall also founded the rock band Orleans in 1972 and continues to perform with them.

<i>EP+6</i> 2000 compilation album by Mogwai

EP+6 is a compilation album by Scottish post-rock group Mogwai, released in Japan in 2000 through Toy's Factory, and later in the UK in 2001 through Chemikal Underground.

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

The Blues Project is a band from the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City that was formed in 1965 and originally split up in 1967. Their songs drew from a wide array of musical styles. They are most remembered as one of the most artful practitioners of pop music, influenced as it was by folk, blues, rhythm & blues, jazz and the pop music of the day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bucky Pizzarelli</span> American jazz guitarist (1926–2020)

John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli was an American jazz guitarist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Top Ten Club</span> Former music club in Hamburgs St. Pauli district

The Top Ten Club was a music club in Hamburg's St. Pauli district at Reeperbahn 136, which opened on 31 October 1960 and kept its name until 1994.

Lisa Kindred was an American folk and blues singer.

<i>Dont Look Back</i> (John Lee Hooker album) 1997 studio album by John Lee Hooker

Don't Look Back is an album released by blues singer-songwriter John Lee Hooker in 1997 that was co-produced by Van Morrison and Mike Kappus. Van Morrison also performed duets with Hooker on four of the tracks. The album was the Grammy winner in the Best Traditional Blues Album category in 1998. The title duet by Hooker and Morrison also won a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Jerry Mamberg, better known as Jake Hooker or Jake Hooker Richards, was a musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock/pop band Arrows.

The Doughboys are an American rock band from Plainfield, New Jersey, United States, who were active in the mid-1960s, and re-formed in 2000. They have been active ever since, and have cut three albums of newly recorded material since their reunion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Love Rock 'n' Roll</span> 1975 single by the Arrows

"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker and first recorded by the Arrows, a British rock band, in 1975. A 1981 cover version by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, released as the first single from her album of the same name, became Jett's highest-charting hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the No. 3 song for 1982. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing two million units shipped to stores. Jett's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016.

<i>Live at Cafe Au Go Go</i> 1967 live album by John Lee Hooker

Live at Cafe Au Go Go is a live album by blues musician John Lee Hooker with members of Muddy Waters Blues Band. It was recorded at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York City and released by BluesWay Records in 1967.

References

  1. "Water Tower West band, 1967, Cafe Wha? NYC" (JPG). Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  2. "In 1967 New York City there was a band called the Water Tower West and they played mainly at the Cafe Wha? In Greenwich Village and at the mid town Manhattan Palm Gardens at the Group Image acid freak out happenings". June 2015.
  3. "The Arrows File". Archived from the original (JPG) on 2016-03-27. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  4. "Carl Peachman Archives". 16 June 2012.
  5. "The Moonlighters - The Cape and South Shore's Best Dance Band". www.moonlighterslive.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07.