Elton Duck was an American

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

band from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. They played southern Californian stages in the period 1976 – 1981, a time described by Bud Scoppa as when new wave and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

launched "countless bands that filled clubs from the beach towns to the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

with devoted fans and label A&R reps in search of the next big thing."Bud Scoppa's liner notes from ''Elton Duck's'' album booklet (2012)

History

The band was founded by Mike McFadden and Mike Condello, earlier friends in their native

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

area. The first lineup featured another Phoenix native, Dave Birkett, on bass. Afterwards, Andy Robinson, the former Horsefeathers drummer, stepped in after being introduced by Birkett, at that time a coworker at Studio Instrument Rentals. Robinson was invited for an audition, being welcomed to the band almost immediately afterwards. After a short period with this line-up, Birkett decided to quit the band to focus more on life outside music. He was subsequently replaced by

Michael Steele Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American political commentator, attorney, and Republican Party politician. Steele served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007; he was the first African-American ...

, former Runaways and later Bangles bass player. The final and official lineup was Mike McFadden (lead guitar and vocals), Mike Condello (rhythm guitar and vocals), Andy Robinson (drums,

dulcimer The word dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

and vocals) and

(bass and background vocals). The original name came from their musician friend Ed Black, inspired by McFadden's nickname Duck and also because at that time McFadden, balding and wearing glasses, in his solo performing was reminiscent of

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

. The group performed live in important

rock clubs and cafés such as Doug Weston's

Troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

, Madame Wong's, Club 88,

Hong Kong Café The Hong Kong Café was a Los Angeles restaurant and music venue that was a part of the Los Angeles punk rock scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s when the club was owned and operated by Barry Seidel, Kim Turner and Suzie Frank,followed by ...

and others. In 1980 after a deal with

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

by the veteran A&R executive Bud Scoppa, the band recorded a twelve-track album at Rumbo Studios, the songs mostly written by McFadden, except Robinson's song "Flame" and Bill Spooners' "Only a few Days". The track list also featured "She Won't Answer the Phone", "Runaways", and "Ordinary Guy", all recorded with the help of

Earle Mankey Earle Mankey (sometimes misspelled "Earl" in credits) (born March 8, 1947, in Washington, United States) is an American musician, record producer and audio engineer. He was a founding member and guitarist for the band Halfnelson, later called Sp ...

. The band name "Elton Duck" was not well received by Arista, so the band joined the label under the less distinctive name The Decoys. Before the album could be released, however, Arista head

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

decided to shelve it. His reasons are unknown, although Bud Scoppa speculates that his apparent change of heart "may have been motivated by the fresh commercial failures of albums by similarly poppy L.A. faves (and Arista labelmates) The Pop and

The BusBoys The BusBoys is an American rock and roll band known for its association with Eddie Murphy and performing in the film ''48 Hrs.'' Formed in Los Angeles in the late 1970s, the original lineup featured brothers Brian O'Neal (keyboards, vocals) and ...

." The band continued playing live gigs after this disappointment with another bassist, but had broken up by 1981.

Legacy

After its initial shelving, ''Elton Duck'' was a difficult album to obtain, yet quietly celebrated as an overlooked power pop classic by musicians such as

Robbie Rist Robbie Rist (born April 4, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for playing Cousin Oliver in ''The Brady Bunch'', Martin in '' Grady'' and "Little John" in ''Big John, Little John''. Rist is also known for voicing assorted characters in te ...

. In 2012, the album was officially issued for the first time after over thirty years, for a non-commercial use to benefit the Mike Condello Music Scholarship Fund. In this crowd-funded reissue it contained remastered sound, liner notes from journalist Bud Scoppa and all three surviving band members (Condello committed suicide in 1995), and the bonus tracks "Xmas" (a 1979 single) and a cover of

The Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their eponymous 1975 debut album included the single "White Punks on Dope," while their 1983 single "She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the early day ...

' 1975 song "White Punks on Dope". Initial copies came autographed by McFadden, Robinson, and Steele. The band's music served as something of a bridge between 1970s New Wave and 1980s

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

music, with chiming

12-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

s, ironic lyrics and a melodic sound. The album was well received upon its release, with Popshifter's

Cait Brennan Wendilyn Marielle Caitlin Brennan (born February 14, 1969), better known by her stage name Cait Brennan, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and screenwriter. Brennan's musical style contains elements of glam rock, psychedelic s ...

declaring the album to be "a great time capsule of inventive, melodic, muscular rock, with an epic sense of drama and great vocal performances ��a record full of powerful, affecting tunes and amazing performances from four very talented musicians." As of 2013 the album is out of print.

References

{{Reflist

Discography

# Xmas (12" single) (1979) # Elton Duck (1980 / released in 2012)

External links

Elton Duck Interview
on Michael Steele website
Phoenix Union Foundation for Education
American power pop groups