Elizabeth was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

that were active from 1967 to 1970. They were based out of Philadelphia and known for their unique musical and sonic blend of

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

, classical,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

American rock American rock has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and country music, and also drew on folk music, jazz, blues, and classical music. American rock music was further influenced by the British Invasion of the American pop ...

British rock British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the develop ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, and

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

. Elizabeth's members were: Steve Weingarten (lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), who died in 2007; Bob Patterson (rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals); Jim Dahme (flute, lead and backing vocals); Steve Paul Bruno (bass, organ, backing vocals); and, Hank Ransome (drums).

History

In 1968, the band recorded and released their self-titled album on

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

(produced by

Sam Charters Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictio ...

). Vanguard's artist roster at the time included

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

Buffy Sainte-Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie, (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American ( Piapot Cree Nation) singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. While working in these ...

and Country Joe and the Fish. Elizabeth performed with

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

,"Elizabeth"
Retrieved on June 2, 2010

Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and ...

, Joni Mitchell,

Ritchie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar styl ...

The Chambers Brothers The Chambers Brothers are an American psychedelic soul band, best known for their eleven-minute 1967 psychedelic soul hit " Time Has Come Today". The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions w ...

and many other musical luminaries of that era. Some of the bands' many Philadelphia area performances included concerts and sets at:

The Main Point The Main Point was a small coffeehouse venue in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, that operated from 1964 to 1981. The venue hosted concerts by some of the top names in folk music, folk and traditional music, blues, rock music, rock ...

, The Second Fret, The

Electric Factory Franklin Music Hall is a concert venue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is in a converted building once part of the General Electric Switchgear Plant and opened in 1995. It has a capacity between 2,500 and 3,000 people. It is owned and operated ...

, and most Be-INs at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. As the band was starting to come together (nameless at that point), Steve and Robert " Stewkey" Antoni, bandmates from Newport, RI, made an unexpected stop in Philadelphia on their way to Florida. After a week in the City of brotherly love, they decided to forgo Florida and help form Elizabeth. Some interesting guitarists auditioned for the band, including future rock star

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

who was with Woody's Truck Stop at the time; and,

Nick Jameson Nicholas Jameson (born December 5, 1950) is an American actor, musician and producer, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Russian president Yuri Suvarov over three seasons on the show '' 24''. He currently resides in Reykjavík doing live c ...

, soon to be a founder and guitarist of The American Dream (both were Philly bands). Within a month or so of landing in Philadelphia, Stewkey left Elizabeth to join Todd's new band,

The Nazz ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. Of note,

Linda Cohen Linda may refer to: As a name * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) (born 1977), stage name of Svetlana Geiman, a Russian singer * Anita Linda (born Alice Lake ...

, a Philadelphia classical guitarist, was Elizabeth's first drummer (briefly). During the spring and summer of 1969, she teamed up with Michael Kac from

Mandrake Memorial Mandrake Memorial was an American psychedelic rock, psych/progressive rock musical group, band active between 1967 and 1970, known for their Baroque sound and unique songwriting. History The Mandrake Memorial formed in late 1967 when record prod ...

and, together, performed as a classical-pop fusion guitar-harpsichord duo. Linda died in 2009 of lung cancer. Mandrake Memorial and Elizabeth shared the stage many times.

Post-Elizabethan life

After Elizabeth disbanded in 1970, the band's members pursued various musical and non-musical endeavors. Hank went on to play with the group Good God. Steve began a recording/engineering career that kicked off at Vanguard and

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten we ...

. Bob moved to Florida and is quite active to this day as a Singer, Songwriter, Storyteller and Visual Artist. Linda Cohen recorded 3 albums (1971-1973) that were produced by

Craig Anderton PAiA Electronics, Inc. is an United States of America, American synthesizer kit company that was started by John Simonton in 1967. It sells various musical electronics kits including analog synthesizers, theremins, audio mixer, mixers and various ...

from Mandrake Memorial. Stewkey recorded 3 albums with The Nazz (1968-1971). The Elizabeth album was re-mastered from the original tapes and re-released on CD in 2000 by the Akarma Vanguard label. The release comes housed in a mini album-styled sleeve that perfectly reproduces the original records foldout cover graphics. The popular Elizabeth track, "You Should Be More Careful", appears on the 2010 Vanguard album release (2-disk vinyl set) entitle
"Follow Me Down: Vanguard's Lost Psychedelic Era (1966-1970)"
re
"Side B, Track 1. Elizabeth: You Should Be More Careful"
Retrieved on March 21, 2014 along with tracks by

The Vagrants ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

The 31st of February The 31st of February was a rock and roll band formed by Jacksonville, Florida natives Scott Boyer, David Brown, and Butch Trucks. All three were alumni of Englewood High School in Jacksonville, though they did not come together musically until Br ...

and other Vanguard artists.

Band members

*Steve Weingarten - lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals *Bob Patterson - rhythm guitar (6 and 12-string), lead and backing vocals *Jim Dahmne - flute, lead and backing vocals *Steve Paul Bruno - bass guitar,

Hammond B-3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...

, backing vocals *Hank Ransome - drums, percussion

Discography

Elizabeth

*LP =

VSD-6501, Stereo, 1968 *CD = Akarma Vanguard VMD-6501, Stereo, 2000, remastered from original tapes *Produced by

for

*Songs Written by Weingarten (1, 3, 4, 6); Patterson (2, 5, 8, 10); Dahme (9); Weingarten & Dahme (7)

References

{{Reflist American psychedelic rock music groups Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups disestablished in 1970 Progressive rock musical groups from Pennsylvania