Musician’s Notebook

Okay … we already know the effects of the Beatles’ first appearance in America, right (hey … if not, how long were you under that rock?)?
And, natch, there were thousands of stateside boys who began puttin’ together groups in hopes that, somehow, some of JPG&R’s success would rub off on them.

The first group that successfully copied the British Beat was The Beau Brummels. These guys had all the elements: harmony, strong rhythm, good backbeat, and cool stage presence. To this day, Sal Valentino — the leader of the group from the get-go — is performing with the same cool sounds he made way-back-when. It’s a real relief from the crazy, slap-together “music” found everywhere nowadays. (Waitaminnit.  The dude provides relief by singing his group’s old tunes? Does that make him a “BRUMMEL-Seltzer”?)

But the US group that made the most lasting impact was probably The Monkees (WHAT?!? Has the man lost his everlovin’ mind?? Read on, oh shocked ones …)  Okay, it’s true: the “preFab Four”  only sang on their first records, while a different group did the music. But, eventually, they got really ticked off about not being allowed to play their own instruments (remember Mike putting his fist through a wall?) and forced the producers’ hands to let ‘em do it.

And, rockers, that’s when change started to happen. Lemme give ya just a taste of the impact these four guys had:

• They introduced the Moog Synthesizer (the predecessor to today’s computerized keyboards) to rock audiences (they had the second one here in America. The first went to Buck Owens’ C&W group).
• They pretty much sacrificed their career to promote a guy who joined them on tour back in ‘67. Although he didn’t last through the entire tour due to his wild and eccentric playing (having been booed off stage by the teenyboppers who came to see the main act), Jimi Hendrix went on to superstardom in his own right.
• Another band needed a hand in financing their stage act, and the Monkees were quick to oblige. The fact that they were three guys backed with a tremendous wall of sound intrigued them. So they scraped up their nickels and dimes, and Three Dog Night became a mega-hit of the late Sixties to the mid-Seventies.
• Of course, where would the Relic be if he didn’t mention Michael Nesmith? His collaboration with Todd Rundgren (he of the Nazz) and inspiration from the videos done on the Monkees TV show gave them the germ of an idea: take the $26 million his mom left him (she created Liquid Paper), invest it in a TV production company that would specialize in rock-related videos!
  Thus, MTV was born (The Nesmith company that it grew from was Pacific Arts Video).

And there ya have two of the most influential US groups … one fab, one prefab … both instrumental (pardon the pun!) in the construction of the group-rock scene, USA-style …

QUIZTIME: Okay … here’s the Relic’s Q-without-the-A for ya: Although they sang, The Monkees didn’t perform their own music on the first two LPs they released. For 1,000 points (I don’t wanna put this thing in Jeopardy, though!), What was the name of the group that did the actual MUSIC? First one that answers right gets a mention on the blog. If no one gets it, I’ll publish the answer in about a week, right here.
So, that’s it for now. ‘Til next time, remember: Keep your eyes on the skies, your feet on the ground, your heart with the music … and I’ll see ya on the flip side!