Elephant's Memory (also billed as Elephants Memory, without the apostrophe) 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 formed in New York City in the late

1960s File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong and Buzz ...

, known primarily for backing

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

from late 1971 to 1973. For live performances with Lennon and Ono, the band was known as the Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band.

History

Formation and early career (1967–1972)

Elephant's Memory was formed between 1967 and 1968, by Stan Bronstein (

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

, and

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

) and Rick Frank Jr. (

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s). In 1968, they briefly added

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

as a vocalist. By 1969, the line-up had expanded to include John Ward ( bass) who originally performed with

Danny Adler Danny Adler (born 1949) is an American blues-rock guitarist. Adler was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. After playing with leading Cincinnati musicians, such as Bootsy Collins, Slim Harpo, H-Bomb Ferguson and Albert Washington, in the ea ...

(The Roogalator) in the Blues Doctors (1964-1966), Chester Ayers (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

), Myron Yules (bass trombone), R. Sussmann (

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

), Michal Shapiro (vocals), Guy Peritore (guitar and vocals), Danny Adler (The Roogalator) (guitar and keyboards), David Cohen (guitar, keyboards, and vocals), and Michael Rose on guitar. Two of the band's songs, "Jungle Gym at the Zoo" and "Old Man Willow", appeared on the 1969

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to the film ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama (film and television), drama film, based on the 1965 Midnight Cowboy (novel), novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars ...

''. Elephant's Memory received a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

for their contribution to the soundtrack. In 1970, the band had a minor

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

with the song "Mongoose" on Metromedia Records, peaking at #50 on the Hot 100 on October 17, 1970 but at #5 on Chicago's WCFL on November 23, 1970 and reaching #1 in Pittsburgh on

KQV KQV (1410 AM) is a non-commercial radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and covering the Greater Pittsburgh Region. Owned by Broadcast Educational Communications, the station simulcasts FM 88.1 WKGO in Murrysville and airs an easy liste ...

. In Canada, "Mongoose" reached #71 on September 26, 1970. Between 1970 and 1973, the line-up remained more or less constant around Bronstein and Frank, together with guitarists Wayne "Tex" Gabriel, keyboardist Adam Ippolito and bassist Gary Van Scyoc.

Work with Lennon and Ono, and later career (1972–1976)

Known around the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

area as a politically active street band, Elephant's Memory backed Lennon and Ono on their album ''

Some Time in New York City ''Some Time in New York City'' is a part-studio, part-live double album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as Plastic Ono Band that included backing by the American rock band Elephant's Memory. Released in June 1972 in the US and in September 1972 in ...

'' during recording sessions in March 1972. The album was released in June 1972 in the United States, and in September 1972 in the UK. Later in 1972, they were billed as the Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band and performed with Lennon and Ono on various TV shows, albums and concerts. On August 30, 1972, with the addition of John Ward on bass and Jim Keltner on drums, the band played with Lennon and Ono at the famous One to One Concert organized by

Geraldo Rivera Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the liv ...

, to benefit the

Willowbrook State School Willowbrook State School was a state-supported institution for children with intellectual disabilities located in the Willowbrook neighborhood on Staten Island in New York City from 1947 until 1987. The school was designed for 4,000, but by 1965 ...

for children with intellectual disabilities. The concert was filmed and recorded, later released in February 1986 as the album '' Live In New York City''. On September 4, they played live again with Lennon and Ono at the '' Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon'', performing "

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

", " Now or Never" and "

Give Peace A Chance "Give Peace a Chance" is an anti-war song written by John Lennon (originally credited to Lennon–McCartney), and recorded with the participation of a small group of friends in a performance with Yoko Ono in a hotel room in Montreal, Quebec, C ...

". In April and May 1972, the band recorded their second self-titled album, produced by Lennon and released on the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mar ...

label, together with an accompanying single "Power Boogie." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' called it a "selection of good, strong unpretentious rock." It also contains various contributions by Lennon himself on guitar and vocals. This album has never been re-issued on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

. From October to November, the band recorded material for Ono's double album ''

Approximately Infinite Universe ''Approximately Infinite Universe'' is a double album by Yoko Ono, released in early 1973 on Apple Records. It represents a departure from the experimental avant garde rock of her first two albums towards a more conventional pop/rock sound, wh ...

'', released in January 1973. On September 5, 1973, the band appeared at the

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...

"Pirate Party" held on the SS ''Bay Belle'', together with a band featuring

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

. This performance was later featured in the 1983

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

''Hells Angels Forever''. The line-up of Elephant's Memory included at various times, Daria Price on

castanets Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a similar ...

, Davey 'Crabsticks' Trotter on

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

, Robert O'Leary on bass, and John La Bosca on piano. However, the line-up that recorded ''Angels Forever'' in 1974, was Stan Bronstein and Richard Frank, plus Gary Van Scyoc on bass,

Chris Robison Chris Robison was an American musician, songwriter and recording artist. He toured with the New York Dolls, Steam and John Lennon’s backing band, Elephant's Memory. He died in December 2021, at age 73 Elephant’s Memory Robison sang back ...

and Jon Sachs. In 2010, Van Scyoc and Ippolito appeared in '' LENNONYC'', a documentary about John Lennon for the PBS

American Masters ''American Masters'' is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and those who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the ...

series. In May 2010, guitarist Wayne "Tex" Gabriel died at the age of 59.

Discography

*''Island in the Sky'' (1968, album by The Tuneful Trolley) **several members of Elephant's Memory performed the brass heard on the LP. *''

soundtrack'' (1969), songs "Jungle Gym At The Zoo" and "

Old Man Willow In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy ''The Lord of the Rings'', Old Man Willow is a malign tree-spirit of great age in Tom Bombadil's Old Forest, appearing physically as a large willow tree beside the River Withywindle, but spreading his influence throug ...

" *''Elephant's Memory'' (1969) *''Take It to the Streets'' (1970) *''

'' (1972), John Lennon & Yoko Ono album, Elephant's Memory did session work *''Elephant's Memory'' (1972), produced by John Lennon & Yoko Ono *''

'' (1973), Yoko Ono album, Elephant's Memory did session work *'' Bio'' (1973), with

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

*''Angels Forever'' (1974) *''Our Island Music'' (1976), credited to Stan Bronstein/Elephant's Memory Band *'' Live in New York City'' (1986), with John Lennon, recorded in 1972

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Plastic Ono Band American pop music groups Apple Records artists John Lennon Plastic Ono Band members