- The Flamin' Groovies
Infobox musical artist
Name = The Flamin' Groovies
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Origin =San Francisco
Genre =Rock,protopunk
Years_active =1965–1992
Label =Epic, Kama Sutra, Sire
Associated_acts =The Barracudas
URL = [http://www.flamin-groovy.com/ flamin-groovy.com] (Chris Wilson)
[http://www.cyriljordan.com/ cyriljordan.com] (Cyril Jordan)
Current_members =Cyril Jordan ,Roy A. Loney , Tim Lynch, George Alexander, Chris Wilson,Ron Greco , Danny Mihm, James Farrell, Dave Wright, Michael Wilhelm, Paul Zahl, Jack Johnson, Mark Dunwoody
Past_members =The Flamin' Groovies were an American
rock music band of the 1960s and '70s. They began inSan Francisco in 1965, founded by Ron "The Ripper" Greco,Cyril Jordan andRoy A. Loney . The Flamin Groovies' early recordings reveal a debt toThe Lovin' Spoonful . Their first album, 1969's "Supersnazz", was marred by unsuitable production [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:n95k8qxtbtc4 Allmusic.com] ] , and stylistically was something of a mixed bag, containing as it did both re-creations of 1950s rock and roll and more melodic, somewhat rueful songs that anticipated thepower pop movement of the 1970s—a genre to which the Flamin' Groovies would eventually contribute significant work.Their second album, 1970's "Flamingo", was a considerably stronger effort and revealed a band with a sly sense of humor and a musical approach that continued to draw upon '50s rock and roll as well as upon the work of
the Beatles and theRolling Stones . It has been claimed that "Flamingo" is notable also as the only album by the group to feature an apostrophe after "Flamin" (all the others credited to "The Flamin Groovies"), but the LP covers and labels of "Sneakers", "Teenage Head", "Shake Some Action", "Now", and "Jumpin' In the Night" feature such apostrophes, too. The last (officially released) album with Roy Loney, "Teenage Head", is perhaps their most mature effort with this line up and is in many ways the culmination of all their previous work. The band only rarely managed to achieve this level of consistency on an album again, although they still managed to produce the occasional classic single.In 1971 Roy Loney left the Flamin Groovies, and was replaced by singer and guitarist Chris Wilson (born
10 September 1952,Waltham, Massachusetts ), who, along with Jordan, began to move the group in a more overtly power-pop direction. Between 1971 and 1976, very little was heard of the group except their 1972 anti-drug song "Slow Death" (co-written by Loney). In 1976, they teamed up with British producerDave Edmunds , and recorded an album entitled "Shake Some Action". This LP and the following effort, "Now", are good examples of their somewhat self-conscious attempt to revive the sound of the classic mid-'60s pop groups; the song "Shake Some Action" is perhaps their best-known and most emblematic recording. As Cyril Jordan told an interviewer, "The time that we were personifying had died in America years before. We were trying to put it into a capsule." The Groovies continued in the same style until the early 1980s. The Groovies were the only band besidesThe Grateful Dead from the 1960s San Francisco scene to survive into the 1980s. After some inferior re-recordings of their older material featuring only Jordan and bassist George Alexander from the original band, the Groovies disbanded in1992 [ [http://www.cyriljordan.com/cj-music.html The Music of Cyril Jordan ] ] .There has been some talk of a Groovies reunion in the 2000s, but as of December 2007 no plans for shows or recordings have materialized.
Cyril Jordan since2005 has founded a new bandMagic Christian withClem Burke from Blondie on drumsEddie Munoz fromThe Plimsouls on bass andPaul Kopf on vocals.Discography
* "Sneakers" (1968)
* "Supersnazz " (1969, Epic BN 26487)
* "Flamingo" (Kama Sutra KSBS 2021, 1970)
* "Teenage Head" (Kama Sutra KSBS 2031, August 1971)
* "Slow Death " (June 1972)
* "Still Shakin' " (Buddah Records BDS 5683, 1976)
* "Shake Some Action " (Sire Records, June 1976)
* "Flamin' Groovies Now! " (Sire Records , April 1978)
* "Jumpin' in the Night " (Sire Records, 1979)
* "One Night Stand" (July 1987)
* "Groovies Greatest Grooves " (August 1989)
* "Rock Juice" (1992)
* "Rockin' at the Roundhouse " (1993) (live recordings from 1976 and 1978)
* "Bucket of Brains " (1995) (the original 1972 Rockfield sessions plus the original version of Shake Some Action)
* "Flamin' Groovies At Full Speed - The Complete Sire Recordings" (2006 compilation)
* "The Flamin' Groovies In Person " (1971 live recording) (2006)Notes
* "Sneakers" was a 17:10 12" ep.
* "Flamingo" was released in Germany as "This Is the Flamin' Groovies".
* Half of "Still Shakin" was reissued from "Flamingo" & "Teenage Head".References
External links
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:emf4zfdheh3k~T1 Flamin' Groovies bio at allmusic.com]
* [http://www.flamin-groovy.com/ www.flamin-groovy.com - Chris Wilson Official Site with Flamin Groovies timeline, news and biog]
*http://www.myspace.com/flamingroovies
*http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/FlaminGroovies/ fan exchange group
*http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=flamin_groovies biography
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