Classic rock acts where you can name all the members.

"It was the early '80s. I went with Pete Townshend, who always wanted to catch the first whiff of those about to unseat us, to a club in London. There they were: A young Bono -- single-handedly pioneering the Irish mullet; (laughter) the Edge -- what kind of name was that?; Adam and Larry. I was listening to the last band of whom I would be able to name all of its members. U2 had an exciting show and a big, beautiful sound. They lifted the roof. "  -Bruce Springsteen inducting U2 into the rock and roll hall of fame. 

Certainly it's true that nowadays that you usually can't name all the members of any given  band  if you are a casual fan of group.  I can name the lead singer of Coldplay, of Maroon Five, and of Imagine Dragons but I can't name any of the other  members of these bands.  I think the last recent  group  that I can name all the  members of would be the Spice Girls and they started up in the last century.

 Back in the height  of the classic rock era of the 1960's and 1970's rock fans would  be intimately familiar with all the members of a group-even for groups they didn't follow. This  started with the Beatles. The whole world can  name all the members of the Beatles.   Their producer, George Martin originally tried to pick one of the groups members to be main singer of the group-but then he realized it was impossible to  pick between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. And yet, despite having two world class talents in one band-Martin would agree to  let the two other  slightly lesser members of the band -sing lead vocals also.  The formula typicall on  British Beatles album was to let  John and Paul handle  ten of the songs, give George two songs, and let Ringo sing one song. George and eventually Ringo also wrote songs.  Musically- Paul and John were always stronger and more important-but George  and Ringo also contributed greatly to the band.  When the Beatles broke up-all the group members all four members had successful solo careers.  So this became the model for other classic rock groups .  Have some leading members but  also have a willingness to let others contribute and also a willingness to give the lesser members the spotlight on occasion.

The Rolling Stones sort of flouted this idea a little. The group's arrogant  leaders,  Keith Richards  and Mick Jagger  wouldn't encourage the other members to sing  vocal leads or write songs (partly because the others really  didn't have the talent to do so.) But even so all the  others would make key  musical contributions and on rare occasions they would even  help with songwriting (always uncredited!).

In writing this article- I was wondered  which of the group's of this era had the most equally talented band.  I think I came to the conclusion that it would be sort of tie between The Who, Led Zeppelin and Queen.  The Who's  three instrumentalists were all lead players. They had  Keith Moon, a lead drummer , John Entwhistle, a lead bassist and  Pete Townsend- a lead guitarist.  Many of the best moments on Who records came from Keith Moon's antic drumming.  Lead singer, Roger Daltry sometimes got lost in all this talent  in the early days, but he soon proved to be a virtuoso singer as well.  All four sang as well, though Moon only as a novelty singer. The only imbalance in the group was that Townsend wrote most of the group's material (occasionally spelled by Entwhistle).

Led Zeppelin also had three virtuoso instrumentalists . John Bonham was probably the best rock and roll drummer ever. Jimmy Page was one  of the best electric guitarists ever, and John Paul Jones was a solid bassist/ multi-instrumentalist/arranger. None of these three instrumentalists sang very well, so singer Robert Plant had to handle all  of lead and most of backing singing by himself-which he did quite well.  All four contributed to the songwriting with Page taking the lead musically, and Plant lyrically. Page also produced. Led Zeppelin was a well balanced band.

Queen might have been a half a step down instrumentally from Led Zeppelin, and The Who-but all four  members could write songs individually. They are the only group to  have four members individually write a US or UK number one song  for their own group.    Although lead singer, Freddie Mercury sang most of the lead vocals-Roger Taylor and Brian May also sang.  The only imbalance here is that master showman, Freddie Mercury would have stood  out  in any group of individuals regardless of how talented they were.

Many other groups of the time- had a similar democrat approach -the Moody Blues had four lead singers  and all of the members wrote  songs . The only imbalance for the Moodies  was  that Guitarist Justin Hayward's  songs were always a cut above-as were his vocals. This only became a problem  for balance in the band when keyboardist and  /singer, Mike Pinder left the band at the same time  as Ray Thomas and Graeme Edge took on a lesser role. So the band basically became a Justin Hayward/John Lodge vehicle after the 1970's.   The same problem occurred with the horn group Chicago. The classic version of this  group had three lead singers, as well as  multiple successful songwriters, but by the late 1970's one member, Peter Cetera became the group's main singer and songwriter. By the mid eighties, it had become so unbalanced that Cetera  left the band to form a solo career.

What groups could put the most lead singers on the radio?  Aside from the forementioned Beatles, the two groups that put the most solo lead  vocalists on the radio were the Beach Boys (5)   and the Eagles (4). The Beach Boys had a clear leader in the 1960's with vocalist/songwriter/bassist Brian Wilson.  But his two brothers, Carl and Dennis, his cousin, Mike Love, and family friend, Al Jardine also all sang solo lead vocals on top ten singles.  Another group member, Bruce Johnston  also sang on their hits, and Blondie Chaplin ( a later replacement member) sang lead on one  of the most notable songs, "Sail On Sailor".

The Eagles followed the  Rolling Stones model of having two dictators running the band. Founding members and so called "Gods". Glenn Frey and Don Henley had a notably bad reputation for mistreating other members-and three of the groups' ultimate total of  seven  members were run out of the band due to conflict with "The Gods".  However, unlike the Rolling Stones, the other guys and the band could not only play their instruments, but they could sing and write songs as well.  The Eagles are the only group to have seven   different members "really" co-write a top ten hit song. (Some acts give all members credit for writing a song even when they don't  play a key role in writing lyrics or melodies.)  All seven members  sang solo lead vocals on Eagles records ( though Don  Felder wasn't  a very good singer  and only sang one song). Four of the group members sang lead vocals on a top ten hit.

One other group should mentioned in this conversation. That would be the Temptations-although they were a Soul/pop group  and  not a rock  group they operated during the same era and were notable for having a number of great vocalists in their lineup.  The group had two main  lead singers in their classic 1960's  lineup -David Ruffin, and Eddie Kendricks both of whom  sang lead on many classic recordings. When Ruffin  left  the group he was replaced by a another lead singer, Dennis Edward.  When Dennis Edwards joined the group started recording a number of songs (such as "Cloud Nine)" that would feature solo spotlights for all the members of the group all on one recording-usually these recordings had Edward doing the main lead vocal.  Thus another five members of the group would end  up being heard singing solo leads on their songs throughout the seventies. Finally, a ninth member of the Temptations-Ali -Ollie Woodson would sing on two later hits. Thus the Temptations  are probably the group that had the most different vocalist sing a solo  lead on a top 40 record.

Some other groups where many people can name all the original members are the Police, Pink Floyd, CSNY, Cream, CCR, The Band, the Bee Gees,  the Mamas and the Papas, the Clash, Traffic, R.E.M, Rush, Kiss, Nirvana, Journey, Yes, The Cars, Deep Purple and Journey.


Published may 2019

FANNY- AIN'T THAT PECULIAR.

This is a 1972 BBC TV performance by the American band,  Fanny. Fanny is  said to be  the first all female rock group to hit the American Top 40. As you can see these ladies can really play-and even today rank as the one of the best female rock combos. The group's Philippine born  guitarist (June Millingon) is top notch on her instrument.  Her sister, Jean Millington played bass, Nickey Barclay played keyboards, and Alice du Buhr is in back on the drums.

Their first album came out in 1970, they had been picked up for Reprise records by renowned producer, Richard Perry, who had been looking for  a female band to produce.  He dropped the group's original  lead singer, which forced the  group to divvy up the vocals amongst all the members.  Like many other people I can't say I that ever recall having  heard of this group   before now-though perhaps I heard the name before.   Why didn't the become more renown? Well- not having a really world class singer (like say Ann Wilson of Heart) or a great songwriter (like say Joni Mitchell) in their band probably sealed their fate.  Having a stand out commercial hit song has always been the key to getting on the radio. But they never hit it big-and two groups-the Runaways and the Go-Go's generally are publicly recognized as the first major successful all female rock bands.    They may have never made it big but most of their material  is pretty solid-and I recommend checking them out.

"Charity Ball" their first hit...

A Buffalo Springfield cover.. called "Special Care"...

And this lastly, "Summer Song"

(Published March 2, 2019 by J.C.Bernhardt)

Fanny Hill, their excellent 1972 album.

Review of Fanny Hill From That Devil Music blog
Fanny rocks-official site

Originally posted March 2019 by J.C.Bernhardt

Soundalike songs- Lauren Daigle-Artists that sound similar to other acts.

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Musical artists sometimes through no fault of their own sound like other singers.  The recent hit, "You Say"  is a perfect example of the phenomena.  When your hear this song for the first time-right away you think,  "Is that a new song from Adele?"  Well no, it is the   Christian crossover artist, Lauren Daigle. The piano on the record just makes it sound  even more  like Adele-it because it sounds a  bit like the piano on Adele's "Someone Like You".

Recent  COPYCATS

A playlist of ripoffsongs...

Other copycats
When you first hear a song-you don't always know who the artist is-which makes for an interesting guessing game. The 1971 America  hit -"A Horse with No Name"  sounds a little  like Neil Young's "Heart of Gold". But it's Dewey Bunnell  of America doing the lead vocal.   The song was America's  first single-so it wasn't like  people would say, " Oh that sounds like America." Oddly enough, these two songs both hit #1 on the American charts in March 1972 one after the other.

Sometimes an artist just tries to copy an arrangement style. The most notorious  example of this is "Blurred Lines" which was a 2013 song written mostly by Pharrell Williams and performed primarily by Robin Thicke. The song is clearly inspired by Marvin Gaye's 1976 party record, "Got to Give It Up". Though to be fair, it's only the bass line and the percussion arrangement that seem to match up. But it was close  enough match that a judge awarded Gaye's estate a significant share of the profits from the song.

Here is  a TV theme inspired by the sound of  Outkast it is sung by Chaka Blackmon.
A more subtle example of the "inspired by" phenomena is Lenny Kravitz's "It Ain't Over Till It' Over". which beautifully recaptures the laid back soul  vibe of 1970's artists like Earth, Wind and Fire.

David Crosby, is a fan of Steely Dan, and his son wrote and helped him perform this perfect Steely Dan, style backing track on his 2017 song, "She's Got to Be Somewhere".

Then there is copying yourself. Using vocal devices, Lionel Ritchie recaptured his own mid 1970's Commodores  vibe  on his  1996 solo song "Don't Want To Lose You ".  John Fogarty managed  to recapture   the CCR sound with his solo record, "The Old Man Lives Down The Road". So much so that he got sued by his own (nefarious) song publisher.

During the 1960's British invasion many artists try to duplicate the Beatles vocal sound. A notable example of this is  the Dave Clark Five's "Because".

Two  final examples of the copy cat phenomena come from the 1980's.

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown's "On the Darkside"  sounds a lot like Bruce Springsteen and the East Street Band- almost  more for the imitation of Roy Bittan's bright staccato keyboard sound then for the full throated vocals. The song was released in 1983 but didn't become a hit till 1984.

Finally comes the  George Michael soundalike record, "Don't Forget Me When I Am Gone".   It was a 1986 record by the Canadian act, Glass Tiger which features the lead vocals of Alan Frew . To further confuse matters Bryan Adams also sings on the song -and apparently the song  was actually inspired by Tears for Fears, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". 

Why Lauren Daigle was inspired by Adele (People magazine).


originally posted February 2019 by J.C.Bernhardt

Laura Nyro:Her originals vs. The covers

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"Stoned Soul Picnic" by Laura Nyro (1968)and a #3 hit by The Fifth Dimension (1968)

Laura  Nyro (1947-1997) was a  singer songwriter from  New York City. Although Nyro made many great recordings-her songs found much greater success when done by others.  She was kind of a  unique vocal stylist (she would go off on odd tangents)  and lyricist (She would create neologisms) but she combined those idiosyncrasies  with  soulful tuneful melodies that one might not normally  expect would come from a white girl. Nyro was a sort of what fellow New Yorker, Lady Gaga would have been  if Lady Gaga was shy. 

Nyro was good  enough that she attracted the attention of David Geffen and Clive Davis -two of the most successful men in the music industry-but even their support would not make  her a singing star. Instead she became the writer of many top ten hits for others.  I enjoyed many of  her songs in their cover versions for  years before I actually heard her singing them herself.  I just assumed that Laura  didn't have good singing voice and that's why you would  never would hear her on the radio.  I was wrong about that.  She has a great voice-but   her versions of her songs  are lacking in the TOP 40 commerciality that is found in the remakes. 

 I believe that at least  eight of her songs hit the top 40, including one #1 "Wedding Bell Blues" which was done by The Fifth Dimension. She never  had a top 40 hit herself as an artist. Still, time has probably been kinder to Laura's original versions-then the hit versions.   For whatever reason-none of the acts that made hits of her songs are in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, but Laura Nyro is. Interestingly, Laura largely  withdraw from the entertainment business and ended up living with painter, Maria Desiodario.  She died in 1997.

"And When I Die", a #2 hit  by Blood, Sweat and Tears (1969) and from Laura Nyro (1967). This song probably benefits the most from having somebody older  then Laura singing it.

"Wedding Bell Blues" by Laura Nyro  (1966) and a Fifth Dimension #1 hit (1969). It is odd coincidence that the  name Bill was in the original version, yet also the name of Billy Davis, Jr. who actually married fellow Fifth Dimension member, Marilyn McCoo.

Stoney End by Laura Nyro (1967)  and by Barbara Streisand (1971) #6 hit. This song was Streisand's first attempt at rock-pop music.

"Eli's Coming"  A #10 hit by Three Dog Night (1969)  and by Laura Nyro (1967)

Finally, "Save The Country" (1968) just by Laura Nyro. A rare TV performance by her.


An interview with Laura Nyro

Also on Felpin's Pond
 Copycat songs-Lauren Daigle, Blurred Lines, Glass Tiger and others...

Legend of a Girl Child Linda, Mimi Farina

OK this post is about a modern folk song called "Legend of a Girl Child Linda".
It was written by Donovan... Donovan Leitch-the eccentric but successful Scottish singer/songwriter. The song  was released on   his 1966 Sunshine Superman album, and was written about a women named Linda Lawrence, who become  Donovan's spouse and remarkably has remained  since 1970.

The song was covered in 1967 by Joan Baez, Judy Collins and Mimi Farina.  The 1967 live recording from the Newport Folk Festival was only available on a obscure charity album, Save The Children until it was finally re-released on the second disc of Joan Baez' s 1993 box set called Rare, Live and Classic.

  I don't why the track wasn't better known , though back in the sixties and the seventies record companies were reluctant to let their artists work with other successful artists. Especially if they were on a different label.While most people should know who Joan and Judy are, many don't remember Mimi Farina.  Mimi was Joan's younger sister. Mimi worked in a duo with Richard Farina and also did solo work, she died in 2001. This song features Mimi on the main lead vocal, but Joan and Judy sing lead parts as well. I love the song-the weird lyrics, the harmonies, the shared  lead vocals.

The video shows a picture of three of them (Mimi in the middle)  but sadly doesn't feature a motion picture performance of the song. 

Joan Baez and Mimi Farina rarely worked together but also played a duet of Donovan's "Catch the Wind" in the same concert. Joan Baez of course, was widely regarded as having the perfect voice-and Mimi couldn't compete with that-and so with Richard Farina she actually took up an instrument and was better known for that intially.

Richard and Mimi  Farina

However, sadly Richard Farina died in motorcycle crash-and Mimi Farina had to continue on and front her act on her own.  Joan Baze also played together in the this  second song on this video taken at a prison concert.

More about Linda Lawrence, the subject of the song...
Born Late:Legend of a Girl Child Linda

Originally posted February 15, 2013

Linda Lawrence with her son.

The Dead South - In Hell I'll Be In Good Company [Official Music Video]

 This is  the viral video smash by the Canadian "bluegrass" group-The Dead South.  They have been described as Mumford and Sons' Evil Twins.   Yeah- the same idea- roots music sort of updated for modern sensibilities.  The first thing you notice about the group is the pioneer style clothes-but quickly you are also quite enthralled  by  the musicianship  and lead singer's scratchy voice.

The fellow in the beginning of the video is Danny Kenyon. Kenyon fingers his cello to achieve something like the sound of a bass-he occasionally sings as well.  The second fellow over (with the thick beard)  is Scott Pringle, he typically plays mandolin and is the group's main backing singer-and secondary lead vocalist.  The lead singer is Nate Hilts-this  guy looks the part of some old western character. He also plays guitar.  The fellow on the banjo is  Colton "Crawdaddy"  Crawford.  He had to leave the band for a couple of years-but is back in the band.  He was replaced during that  time by the  excellent Canadian banjo player-Eliza Maria Doyle. Also on occasion, Eric Mehlson filled in for Danny Kenyon, who sometimes took time to work his day job in Regina  as a engineer. In August 2020, Kenyon left the band for a time, due to accusations of sexual misconduct while he was in high school. However, he has been reinstated.  The group is very popular in Europe as well as Canada and the USA.

Dead South with the two fill in members, cellist Eric Melhson (on left), and  banjo player, Eliza Mary Doyle.

The video for "In Hell I'll Be In Good Company" was , directed by Zach Wilson of Two Brothers Films  and was   filmed in numerous locations many  around Regina,  Saskatchewan and other parts of Canada. Among the over thirty  locations were the Trafalgar Fountain in Regina, Vintage Vinyl & Hemp in Regina, near the  CN Tower in Toronto, and  the Great Western Brewery in Saskatoon.  There  are  about 400 different shots in the video.    The  group was   actually  physically there in all these places. There are-no green screens  used.  What a continuity nightmare for whomever had them stay in their marks.

 The farm country   around  Regina  is quite beautiful. It always seemed strange to me that this  part of the world in the middle of Canada is one of the world's bread baskets-considering how up far north it is. Anyway, "In Hell I'll Be in Company"  is from the album,  Good Company  which  was recorded with the help of Orion Paradis, a producer  at SoulSound Studios in Regina.  The album was released in April 2014.

As much as the song sounds like it was written long ago-it is in fact an original song  by the group, written  mostly by Nate Hilts. The group has also shot  other  videos with  Two Brothers. One was the  story video for "Boots", a song from their 2016 album, Illusion and Doubt.  That video  was filmed mostly around Wadena, Saskatchewan.   I believe  that the women  portraying the siren in the video is actually Nate Hilts' real life significant other. The video for "Boots" follows.

The  group put out their most recent  album Sugar and Joy in 2019. A new EP came in 2021.

The fan video for "In Hell" that came in 2020.
Originally published January 2019

A short personal history of Upper Chevy Chase in Washington, D.C.

In the early part of my life  I lived in  Chevy Chase,  a neighborhood in the northern part of  Washington, D.C. ( There are also villages  on the other side of D.C. border in the Maryland suburbs that  are referred to collectively as  Chevy Chase, MD). Technically, the part I lived in is now called Upper Chevy Chase-a  name assigned by the city to differentiate  this  neighborhood from the parts of Chevy Chase closer to Connecticut Avenue. 

In the mid-1800's much of  the northern parts of Washington D.C. were still  forest and farmlands. It took many decades  for the city to develop beyond it's  beginnings as L'Enfant's downtown original grid.  It was the  development of the street car  around the turn of century that  made it much easier for people to live further away from downtown D.C yet still work there. In the mid-1800's the urban street  grid had not been filled in parts of Northwest DC and the major  avenues named after various states such as Wisconsin Ave., Connecticut  Ave.and Utah Ave.  either did not exist or went under different names.  Dirty old country roads such Rock Creek  Ford Road , and Milkhouse Ford Road were the main roads.

Chevy Chase D.C before it was developed.  The Rock Creek Ford Road was eaten by the grid-but the Broad Branch road survived. 

Much of the development of Chevy Chase both in D.C. and in Maryland  was facilitated by the Chevy Chase Land Company which had been founded in 1890.  As  developers built new blocks  they were asked by the city to try maintain Washington D.C grid system.  This meant mostly straight line roads. The east- west roads ascended the alphabet and the north south roads were numbered.   Diagonal avenues were named after  the states. Some of the old country roads retained their old names-however, some of these old roads were wiped off the map -since they no longer fit the grid. Upper Chase was mostly farms in 1890  was slowly developed over the next 50 years.

Above: Upper Chevy Chase before it was fully developed about 1909.

29th street in 1919

In the early 1900's  -the Chevy Chase Sanitarium still existed in the neighborhood -and it would be  soon be replaced by houses.  Two  large estates-  Knollwood and Bonnie Brae bordered Rock Creek Park.  They would replaced by the Army Distaff House in 1962  and the Unicorn Lane developments in the 1970's.

Bonnie Brae

I lived on 29th Street, NW adajacent to the Army Distaff House which  is now the Knollwood Military Retirement Community. The western section of the street was built first, because  it all been owned originally by one property owner (Alexander Matthews). The  eastern section of the street was owned by multiple parties. After the street was filled in one of the older houses from the old owners  on 29th Street remained.  Years later at the end of the century,  this older house was replaced by a much larger house that it worth almost two million dollars today.  The house I lived was built in 1935   in the final section of the development of 29th street.   The  twelve houses in this  tract were packed in a unbuilt triangle that was so small that there was not enough backyard for each house-so the houses were restricted by covenant from building fences to allow some semblance of a common area to make up for the small yards. A further projected continuance of 29th street wasn't built and so 29th street  stopped right at Tennyson St.

The wedge between 29th Street and Tennyson Street. 

It was a wonderful neighborhood to live in. Most of the houses had  sunny front yards with   large trees in  the backyard.  The houses were all different.  Rock Creek Park was nearby, as were the Maryland suburbs, and the commercial district of Connecticut Avenue.  The people who lived there were often professionals sometimes of a slightly nerdy bent.  We lived next to a congressman, and nearby lived Frank Wilson, the treasury agent who nailed Al Capone on tax evasion.  We went  to Lafayette Elementary School and attended church at Blessed Sacrament.  People who lived there at  time often talked about Chico the tennis coach, or Curly the grocery deliveryman at the Broad Branch market.  They  would speak fondly of   the Lafayette Annual School Fair.  At the Blessed Sacrament church there  was Father Jennings who was "hip to the young people".  TOn Connecticut avenue there was a  People's Drug Store and the Avalon movie theater. In the early 1970's  they had just built  a  new  library and community center.

Eventually, for a variety reasons my parents decided in the early 1970's to move to  a newly built house in Rockville, MD.    Surprisingly, the  Upper Chevy Chase neighborhood really hasn't changed too much in the almost 50 years since I lived there. It's a little more multi-cultural and the property values have skyrocketed but the actual changes to the neighborhood are mostly cosmetic -the stores have different names, the trees even taller.  Lafayette is bigger -it's once  black top playfields  are  now covered with school room additions even as the original brick structure of old school  remains.  One thing that  did change was the playground in  the Lafayette Park.  At the time I lived  there - there were large concrete pipes to play on and big wooden storage boxes that you could  climb on top of. Those  have all been  demolished, but typically the small summer camp building next to the tennis courts still remain as does the ballfield  oval on the  Lafayette school  grounds.  I still think of this area fondly.

Summer Camp Building at Laftayette

Related links:
Historic Chevy Chase DC
Baist's DC real estate atlas, 1919
Hidden clues reveal Old Roads in Chevy Chase D.C. An article by Eric Fielder
History of Rockshire Development 

Originally written/published January 2019 by J.C.Bernhardt