Not to be confused with
Styx (band)
Butch Engle & the Styx was an American rock band formed in 1963 in
Mill Valley, California. Originally named The Showmen, the members were Butch Engle (vocals), Bob Zamora (lead guitar), Mike Pardee (organ), Harry "Happiness" Smith (bass), and Rich Morrison (drums). The band released three singles before breaking up in 1968. A
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
featuring all of the band's recordings, ''No Matter What You Say: The Best of Butch Engle & the Styx'', was released in 2000.
History
Butch Engle formed The Showmen—not to be confused with the 1960s pop group of the
same name— in 1963 after he took over and renamed an earlier incarnation of the band, whose roster had included
Bill Champlin
William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, musician, arranger, producer, and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the band Chicago from 1981–2009. ...
.
[
]
The group consisted of Engle, guitarist Bob Zamora, organist Mike Pardee, bassist Harry "Happiness" Smith, and drummer Rich Morrison.
[
]
In 1964 the Showmen released the
British Invasion
The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...
-influenced single "You Know All I Want".
The band changed their name in 1965 to Butch Engle & the Styx.
[
]
With the exception of their debut single, all material recorded by the band was written or co-written by
Ron Elliott of
The Beau Brummels
The Beau Brummels was an American rock band. Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the band's original lineup included Sal Valentino (lead vocals), Ron Elliott (lead guitar), Ron Meagher (bass guitar), Declan Mulligan (rhythm guitar, bass, harmo ...
.
According to Engle, "Ron, Sly Stewart
ater_known_as_Sly_Stone.html" ;"title="Sly_Stone.html" ;"title="ater known as Sly Stone">ater known as Sly Stone">Sly_Stone.html" ;"title="ater known as Sly Stone">ater known as Sly Stone [and Autumn Records executives] Tom Donahue (DJ), Tom Donahue and Bobby Mitchell would choose which songs would go on [a Beau Brummels] album, and then we could take what we wanted from whatever was left".
[
]
Butch Engle & the Styx released a single, "I'm a Girl", in 1966 on the
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...
subsidiary, Loma Records.
The band shortened their name to The Styx and released another single, "Hey, I'm Lost", in 1967,
[
]
before breaking up the following year.
In 2000,
Sundazed Records
Sundazed Music is an American independent record label based in Coxsackie, New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 2000, Sundazed had a staff of 15 and two mixing studios, including a vintage audio ...
released ''No Matter What You Say: The Best of Butch Engle & the Styx'', a compilation album which contained the band's three singles—including
B-sides
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
—along with 11 previously unreleased recordings.
[
]
"Hey, I'm Lost" appeared on the 2007 ''
Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965–1970''
box set
A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists and bands ...
.
[
]
Critical reception
Author and music journalist
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.
Life and writing
Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...
noted the two songs that comprised the band's first single were "performed rather sloppily",
and called the Elliott-composed material "weak by Elliott's own high standards and in fact were basically leftovers that were not deemed strong enough for the Beau Brummels to record". Unterberger said Butch Engle & the Styx were "lesser musicians and singers than the Beau Brummels, too".
He named "Hey, I'm Lost" as the band's highlight, describing the song as "a charging, slightly ominous and doubtful number with good vocal harmonies.
Band members
* Butch Engle – lead vocals
* Bob Zamora – lead guitar
* Mike Pardee – organ
* Harry "Happiness" Smith – bass
* Rich Morrison – drums
* Larry Gerughty – keyboards
* Barry Lewis – (Drums and Percussion) 1967–68
Discography
Compilation album
Singles
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butch Engle and The Styx
Musical groups established in 1963
Rock music groups from California
The Beau Brummels
1963 establishments in California