Elf was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band founded in 1967 by singer and bassist Ronnie James Dio, keyboardist Doug Thaler, drummer

Gary Driscoll John Gary Driscoll (18 April 1946 – 8 June 1987) was an American R&B-style rock drummer who performed in a number of successful bands from the 1960s until his unsolved death by murder on June 10, 1987. He first entered the music scene when ...

, and guitarists Nick Pantas and David Feinstein (Dio's cousin). The band was originally called the Electric Elves, but was shortened to the Elves in 1968 and finally Elf in 1972. Elf disbanded in 1975 after recording three albums and after most of the lineup had been absorbed into the newly formed Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow.

History

The band was formed in 1967 when the members of Ronnie Dio and the Prophets transformed themselves into the Electric Elves and added a keyboard player, Doug Thaler. In February 1968, the band was involved in an automobile accident which claimed the life of Nick Pantas. The accident forced a shuffling of the band member roles as original keyboardist Thaler moved to guitar (after recovering from his injuries) and the group hired

Mickey Lee Soule Mickey Lee Soule (June 6, 1946 in Cortland, New York) is an American musician. He was the keyboard player for New York hard rock band Elf and a founding member of Rainbow. Soule had a band in the mid-1960s until he was drafted into the army. A ...

to take over keyboard duties. Upon leaving the group in 1972, Thaler moved to New York and got a job as a booking agent — Elf was one of the bands he booked. Elf's self-titled debut album was produced by Deep Purple members

Roger Glover Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945) is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the member of the hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. As a member of Deep Purple, Glover was inducted into the Rock and R ...

and

Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only membe ...

, who happened to see Elf auditioning in 1972. For the next few years, the band enjoyed mild success as an opening act for Deep Purple. Dio both sang and played the bass guitar until, following the release of Elf's first album, Craig Gruber was asked to join as bass guitarist. In August 1973 Feinstein quit the band and was replaced by Steve Edwards. In 1974, Elf released its second album, ''

Carolina County Ball ''Carolina County Ball'' is the second studio album by the rock band Elf, released as an LP in 1974 on the MGM label. It was released in the United States and Japan as ''L.A.59''. The album is the first to feature Craig Gruber on bass. Tra ...

''. That same year Dio was asked by Glover to sing on his solo album, ''

The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast ''The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast'' is a concept album and subsequent live rock opera appearing in 1974 and 1975 respectively, based on the children's poem of a similar title. The album cover design is from Alan Aldridge's desig ...

''. Dio's voice gained the attention of Deep Purple guitarist

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guita ...

, who was beginning to tire of Deep Purple and was looking for musicians to record a solo album. Asides guitarist Steve Edwards and drummer

Mark Nauseef Mark Nauseef (born June 11, 1953), in Cortland, New York, is a drummer and percussionist who has enjoyed a varied career, ranging from rock music during the 1970s with his time as a member of the Ian Gillan Band and, temporarily with Thin Li ...

, he decided in early 1975 to use the musicians in Elf for this album, and the band

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

was soon formed. Though Elf had been writing and recording its third album, ''

Trying to Burn the Sun ''Trying to Burn the Sun'' is the third and final studio album released by American rock group Elf, released in 1975. Track listing Personnel Elf * Ronnie James Dio - lead vocals * Steve Edwards - lead guitar * Mickey Lee Soule - keyboards ...

'' at the same time, following the completion of that album and the Rainbow album, Elf was no more. ''Trying to Burn the Sun'' was eventually released in the U.S. in June 1975. In 1980, Feinstein formed the heavy metal power trio The Rods Beginning in the late 1980s, some of the former members of Elf speculated about a potential reunion of the band, however nothing formal ever took place. Three of the band's members have also died: Driscoll in 1987, Dio in 2010, and Gruber in 2015.

Discography

Singles

* "Hey, Look Me Over" / "It Pays to Advertise" (1967) – as ''The Electric Elves'' * "Walking in Different Circles" / "She's Not the Same" (1969) – as ''The Elves'' * "Amber Velvet" / "West Virginia" (1970) – as ''The Elves''

Studio albums

* ''

Elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

'' (1972) * ''

'' (1974) (US title: ''L.A.59'') * ''

'' (1975)

Compilations and bootleg recordings

* ''Live at the Beacon'' (1971) – as ''The Elves'' (bootleg) * ''Live at the Bank'' (1972) – as ''The Elves'' (bootleg) * ''Live! And My Soul Shall Be Lifted'' (1973) (bootleg) * ''

The Gargantuan Elf Album ''The Gargantuan Elf Album'' compiles Elf (band), Elf's second and third albums, ''Carolina County Ball'' and ''Trying to Burn the Sun'', with the exclusion of the song "Happy". Track listing # "Carolina County Ball" - 4:46 # "L.A. 59" - 4:21 # ...

'' (1978) compilation of 1974 & 1975 albums * '' Ronnie James Dio: The Elf Albums'' (1991) compiles 1974 & 1975 albums * ''And Before Elf... There Were Elves'' (2011) – as ''The Elves'' features 12 songs from 'Live at the Bank' bootleg.

Personnel

* Ronnie James Dio – lead vocals (1967–1975), bass (1967–1973; died 2010) *

– drums, percussion (1967–1975; died 1987) * David Feinstein – lead guitar (1967–1973) * Doug Thaler – keyboards (1967–1972), rhythm guitar (1968–1972) * Nick Pantas – rhythm guitar (1967–1968; died 1968) *

Micky Lee Soule Mickey Lee Soule (June 6, 1946 in Cortland, New York) is an American musician. He was the keyboard player for New York hard rock band Elf and a founding member of Rainbow. Soule had a band in the mid-1960s until he was drafted into the army. A ...

– keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1968–1975) * Craig Gruber – bass (1973–1975; died 2015) * Steve Edwards – lead guitar (1973–1975) *

– percussion (1975) Timeline

References

External links

Unofficial Elf biography
on dio.net * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elf American blues rock musical groups Hard rock musical groups from New York (state) Dio (band) Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups disestablished in 1975 1967 establishments in New York (state) 1975 disestablishments in New York (state)