The Music Futurist: 02/29/16

Psychedelic Daze Part Eleven:
"The Bands (Part 2)"

by Don Robertson

This is Part 11 of my 12-part series on the San Francisco countercultural movement of 1965-1969 that created a revolution in music and culture. I was a part of that movement, recording my album Dawn for Mercury Records in San Francisco in 1969.

Living With The Animals, by Mother Earth

Mother Earth was an eclectic American blues rock band formed in 1967 in California, fronted by Tracy Nelson, who sang the blues/gospel number "Down So Low" on their 1968 Album Living With The Animals. Nelson, who hailed from Madison, Wisconsin, began her career as a solo artist, but formed the Mother Earth ensemble after moving to San Francisco. The group performed at the Fillmore West in the late 1960s alongside Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Burdon and was included on the soundtrack to the 1968 film Revolution.

Creedence Clearwater Revival, by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater Revival is the debut studio album by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released in 1968. The reissue liner notes state that while "Susie Q" proved to be a hit, the band had played for years as "The Golliwogs" in the early 1960s, releasing numerous singles before achieving success in the pop world. While the band did gain success with their chart debut, critics initially denied the band respect.

Creedence Clearwater Revival "Bad Moon Rising" (1969)

The Ace of Cups

The Ace of Cups was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1967. It has been described as one of the first all-female rock bands.

Photo by Kenneth Loh

This is their 1968 single entitled "Simplicity" from West Pole, a vintage television special that aired in 1968 on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) predecessor, National Educational Television (NET):

"Simplicity," by the Ace of Cups

Frumious Bandersnatch Performing Hearts To Cry

The San Francisco band Frumious Bandersnatch was a San Francisco psychedelic band. This is "Hearts to Cry" from their 1968 EP recording.

"Hearts to Cry," by Furious Bandersnatch

Children of the Future, by Steve Miller Band

Steve Miller Band's Children of the Future was a San Francisco Anthem of the first order that was released in 1968 by Capitol Records. The album was produced by notable British record producer/engineer, Glyn Johns, who recorded it in London.

Children of the Future, by the Steve Miller Band

Quicksilver Messenger Service

This self-titled album was Quicksilver Messenger Service's first, although they had already produced two songs for the soundtrack of the 1968 movie Revolution. The album displays the group's jam sound amidst lighter pop-oriented songs. Unlike contemporaries like the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver's jams were highly planned, as can be heard by comparing the studio versions of songs with those from bootleg live performances.

Quicksilver Messenger Service

This is a film of the Quicksilver Messenger Service band playing at Sonoma State College just North of San Franciscos in 1969:

It's a Beautiful Day

For me, the song "Whitebird" by the group It's a Beautiful Day sums up the spiritual "vibe" of what was really happening in San Francisco... the undercurrent.

For some background about this group, Wikipedia says:

It's a Beautiful Day is an American band formed in San Francisco, California in 1967 that featured vocalist Pattie Santos along with violinist David LaFlamme and his wife, Linda LaFlamme, on keyboards.David LaFlamme, a former soloist with the Utah Symphony Orchestra, had previously been in the band Orkustra, and unusually, played a five-string violin. The other members of It's a Beautiful Day in its early years were Hal Wagenet (guitar), Mitchell Holman (bass) and Val Fuentes (drums). Although they were one of the earliest and most important San Francisco bands to emerge from 1967's social phenomenon called by the media the "Summer of Love," the band never quite achieved the success of contemporaries such as Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Santana, with whom they had connections. The band created a unique blend of rock, jazz, folk, classical and world beat styles during the initial seven years it was officially together.