Running Faster Than an LP at 78 RPMs

On My Mind For 50 Years...and Counting!

I don’t know what were you doing 50 years ago, but August and September of 1965 were pretty big months in the life of this former 20 year old from Pomona who was then living his dream from a houseboat tied up near Sausalito on the San Francisco Bay. 

We Five’s hit single, “You Were On My Mind” was climbing the charts all across America and the ascent dropped us onto a merry-go-round spinning faster than a record played at 78 RPMs. In a period of about 8 weeks, We Five played concerts in Santa Clara with the Beach Boys, and in San Francisco with Herman’s Hermits and the Turtles. We flew south to tape several installments of “Where The Action Is” on the beach in Malibu, then appeared on Shindig, Shivaree, and Shebang further down Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. A PSA Electra Jet (remember those?) took us back to San Francisco to play a concert with Bill Cosby and to finish recording “Love Me Not Tomorrow.” It was the last song completed and the first track heard on our new album, We Five – You Were On My Mind. The album was released in September of 1965 with a reception at the Continental Hotel—while in Hollywood again for appearances at It’s Boss on the Sunset Strip. Since it was just down the street, we stopped in to Capitol Records to put the finishing touches on our 2^nd single, “(Let’s) Get Together,” in Studio B. 

 Exhilarating at the time, but 50 years later, I’m exhausted just thinking about it!

As the month ended, we were taping a live performance on the Hollywood Palace in a segment later memorialized with Fred Astaire’s introduction of us on YouTube: “A few weeks ago, five youngsters from San Francisco made a recording and just like that (Snap!), it became one of the top musical hits in the country.”

You can watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_f16t1JGHo, and for more backstories, check out my book, “Wounds to Bind – A Memoir of the Folk Rock Revolution” at www.woundstobind.com.

                                       

             

We Five at McCabes

WE FIVE Special McCabe’s Appearance

You Were On My Mind for 50 Years ….

It’s been 50 years since We Five came to LA from our houseboat in Sausalito to play at IT’S BOSS (now the Comedy Store) and do some TV shows like Where The Action Is, Shindig, and American Bandstand.

For those who have been waiting almost that long for us to play a show on the West Side, the time has come.  We Five will be at McCabe’s, the iconic guitar store and concert club in Santa Monica, for one show on Sunday, August 16. The doors open at 7:30 pm and the show starts at 8:00 pm.

Also on the bill that night will be Jeff Alan Ross with ‘Straight Up: The Songs of Badfinger.’

Should be a great night of music!

For more information and tickets, go to McCabe’s website at www.mccabes.com

Remembering BB

A lot has been written and said about BB King and his impact on music this week because of his passing. While I am certainly a fan on that front, one recollection of him will always stand out that had nothing to do with music. We were opening for him in Tahoe and our son Chris was standing alone watching his parents from the wings when BB King approached him. Chris was about 10 at the time and he was wearing a cowboy hat, boots and a fringe vest. BB was a very large man and dwarfed Chris as he bent over and said something then shook his hand and stood with a big hand on his shoulder to watch us. When asked later what BB had said, Chris's comment was, "Hey cowboy, where's your horse?" Above all else, I'll remember him as a good man who reached out to a young boy.

Fifty Years and Counting...

Hey, can you believe that it has been fifty years since we recorded You Were On My Mind? We are honored that you still remember that amazing time! Check out this this flashback on YouTube.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbuzEjEHso0