''Gloria'' is the first album by the
Shadows of Knight
The Shadows of Knight were an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, that played a version of British blues influenced by their native city. When they began recording in 1965, the band's self-description was "the Stones, Animals and th ...
, released in 1966 on
Dunwich Records
Dunwich Records was an independent American record label started by Bill Traut, Eddie Higgins and George Badonsky in Chicago in 1965. Dunwich was also a production company which licensed recordings to other labels, including Atlantic, Atco, Colum ...
666. The Shadows of Knight are primarily known for their hit version of the
Van Morrison penned
Them
Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to:
Books
* ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet''
* '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Welsh ...
band's
"Gloria", but the band today is regarded as one of the original
punk bands.
The band's association with "Gloria" has caused some to miscategorize them as
one-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...
s. One reviewer points out that their first album, and its follow-up, ''
Back Door Men'', represent far greater diversity: "(The ''Gloria'' album) positively rocks with a raw energy of a band straight out of the teen clubs, playing with a total abandon and an energy level that seems to explode out of the speakers. Equal parts
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
,
Yardbirds,
Who, and snotty little Chicago-suburb bad boys, the Shadows of Knight could easily put the torch to
Chess blues classics, which make up the majority of the songs included here. Their wild takes on "
I Just Want to Make Love to You," "Oh Yeah," and "
Got My Mojo Working" rank right up there with any
British Invasion band's version from the same time period."
Background
The band released the ''Gloria'' album in the summer of 1966, after releasing "Gloria" as a single backed by "Darkside" in December 1965. The single charted at #10 according to
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 ...
. Later in the year, "Oh Yeah" was released from the same album as a single backed by "Light Bulb Blues", and charted as high as #39. The album liner notes credit the album as "Produced for Dunwich Records" instead of crediting a specific producer.
[Liner notes]
Track listing
# "
Gloria
Gloria may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music
* Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise
* Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise
** Gloria (Handel)
** Gloria (Jenkins) ...
" (
Van Morrison) – 2:34
# "Light Bulb Blues" (Jerry McGeorge, James Alan Sohns, Joseph J. Kelly) – 2:32
# "I Got My Mojo Working" (
McKinley Morganfield) – 3:28
# "Darkside" (Warren Rogers, James Alan Sohns) – 2:00
# "
Boom Boom" (
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...
) – 2:28
# "
Let It Rock" (
Chuck Berry) – 1:52
# "Oh Yeah" (
Ellas McDaniel) – 2:45
# "It Always Happens That Way" (Warren Rogers, James Alan Sohns) – 1:52
# "
You Can't Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover" (
Willie Dixon
William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...
) – 2:37
# "
(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man
"Hoochie Coochie Man" (originally titled "I'm Your Hoochie Cooche Man") is a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954. The song makes reference to hoodoo folk magic elements and makes novel use of a stop ...
" (Willie Dixon) – 3:52
# "
I Just Want to Make Love to You" (Willie Dixon) – 3:49
Bonus tracks on LP and CD reissue, 1998
#
"Oh Yeah" (alternate version); (McDaniel) – 2:45
# "I Got My Mojo Working" (alternate version); (Morganfield) – 3:14
# "Someone Like Me" (single release not on original album); (David MacDowell, Rich Novak) – 2:18
Personnel
;Shadows of Knight
* James Alan Sohns – vocals
* Warren Rogers – lead guitar, backing vocals
* Jerry McGeorge – rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
, backing vocals
* Joseph J. Kelly – bass guitar
* Tom Schiffour – drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
;Technical
* Bob Kidder – engineer
* Jerry DeClercq – mastering
* Ron Fratell – art direction
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...
* Don Bronstein - cover photograph
Chart performance
Album
Singles
References
{{Authority control
1966 debut albums
Radar Records albums
The Shadows of Knight albums
Sundazed Records albums
Dunwich Records albums