Vanilla Fudge Biography
Vanilla Fudge was one of the few American links between psychedelia and what soon became heavy metal. While the band did record original material, they were best known for their loud, heavy, slowed-down arrangements of contemporary pop songs, blowing them up to epic proportions and bathing them in a trippy, distorted haze. Originally, Vanilla Fudge was a blue-eyed soul cover band called the Electric Pigeons, who formed on Long Island, NY, in 1965. Organist Mark Stein, bassist Tim Bogert, and drummer Joey Brennan soon shortened their name to the Pigeons and added guitarist Vince Martell. They built a following by gigging extensively up and down the East Coast, and earned extra money by providing freelance in-concert backing for girl groups. In early 1966, the group recorded a set of eight demos that were released several years later as While the Whole World Was Eating Vanilla Fudge, credited to Mark Stein & the Pigeons.
Inspired by the Vagrants, another band on the club circuit led by future Mountain guitarist Leslie West, the Pigeons began to put more effort into reimagining the arrangements of their cover songs. They got so elaborate that by the end of the year, drummer Brennan was replaced by the more technically skilled Carmine Appice. In early 1967, their manager convinced producer George "Shadow" Morton (who'd handled the girl group the Shangri-Las and had since moved into protest folk) to catch their live act. Impressed by their heavy, hard rocking recasting of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On," Morton offered to record the song as a single; the results landed the group a deal with the Atlantic subsidiary Atco, which requested a name change. The band settled on Vanilla Fudge, after a favorite ice cream flavor. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" didn't perform as well as hoped, but the band toured extensively behind its covers-heavy, jam-oriented debut album Vanilla Fudge, which gradually expanded their fan base. Things started to pick up for the band in 1968: early in the year, they headlined the Fillmore West with the Steve Miller Band, performed "You Keep Me Hangin' On" on The Ed Sullivan Show, and released their second album, The Beat Goes On. Despite its somewhat arty, indulgent qualities, the LP was a hit, climbing into the Top 20. That summer, Atco reissued "You Keep Me Hangin' On," and the second time around it climbed into the Top Ten. It was followed by Renaissance, one of Vanilla Fudge's best albums, which also hit the Top 20. The band supported it by touring with Jimi Hendrix, opening several dates on Cream's farewell tour, and late in the year touring again with the fledgling Led Zeppelin as their opening act.
In 1969, the band kept touring and released their first album without Morton, the expansive, symphonic-tinged Near the Beginning. After part of the band recorded a radio commercial with guitarist Jeff Beck, the idea was hatched to form a Cream-styled power trio with plenty of individual solo spotlights. Exhausted by the constant touring, the band decided that their late-1969 European tour would be their last. Following the release of their final album, Rock & Roll, Vanilla Fudge played a few U.S. farewell dates and disbanded in early 1970. Bogert and Appice first formed the hard rock group Cactus, then later joined up with Jeff Beck in the aptly named Beck, Bogert & Appice. Appice went on to become an active session and touring musician, working with a variety of rock and hard rock artists. Vanilla Fudge reunited in 1984 for the poorly received Mystery album, and have since reunited several more times, though only for tours. Their most recent incarnation features keyboardist Bill Pascali in place of Mark Stein. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Popular Biographies:
Vile Biography: Performing an unembellished blend of metal and stoner rock, New York City's obscure, short-lived Vile recorded just one self-titled album in 1998 before vanishing from sight. It featured...
Looptroop Biography: The brainchild of producer Scott Tinsley, the electronica project Looptroop debuted in 1998 with the LP The King of Disco'in, issued on the Different Drummer label. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music...
Moving hearts Biography: Together for only four years, Moving Hearts had a profound effect on the development of modern Celtic music. One of the first Irish folk bands to use electric instruments, after Horslips, Moving...
Dead or alive Biography: A British dance-pop group which found fame thanks to the antics of androgynous frontman Pete Burns, Dead or Alive formed in Liverpool in 1980. Burns first surfaced three years prior in the Mystery...
Butumbaba Biography: Argentinean ska/punk and reggae band Butumbaba got involved in the local scene in the early '90s, playing at small venues in Santa Fe, the band's base city. In 1997 the ten-piece act debuted with an...
Planet patrol Biography: Produced and organized by early hip-hop impresarios Arthur Baker and John Robie, Planet Patrol walked an intriguing line between electro and the classic Motown sound. The quintet of vocalists (led by...
Zap mama Biography: Zap Mama is an all-female a cappella quintet founded by Zaire native Marie Daulne. Daulne's father, a white Belgian, was killed during the revolution of 1960 while her mother was pregnant with her,...
Temple of sound Biography: Led by a pair of multi-instrumentalists, Neil Sparkes and Count Dubulah, Temple of Sound mixes exotic world music sounds with modern day dance beats. Both members got their start as part of the U.K....