The Hudson Brothers were an American musical group formed in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, consisting of brothers Bill Hudson,

Brett Hudson Brett Stuart Patrick Hudson (born January 18, 1953) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was the youngest member of the musical group the Hudson Brothers, which was formed by his older brothers, Mark and Bill, in 1965. He is now a ...

and Mark Hudson. They were discovered by a record producer while recording music at a local studio, and offered a recording contract. After releasing several

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

singles in the late 1960s as The New Yorkers, the group began releasing material under the names Everyday Hudson, and Hudson. They garnered fame as

teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia East Asia possess ...

s in the 1970s after their primetime series debuted as a Summer replacement for The ''

Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of husband and wife Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. The pair f ...

'' Comedy Hour in 1974. The resulting popularity led to their Saturday-morning half-hour sketch comedy series for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, ''The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show'', which ran from 1974 to 1975. They also released numerous hit singles during this time for producer Bernie Taupin, including "So You Are a Star" (1974), "Rendezvous" (1975), "Lonely School Year" (1975), and "Help Wanted" (1976).

History

1965–1972: Formation and early singles

The Hudson Brothers had their beginnings as a trio composed of teenage brothers

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

and

in the early 1960s. The three brothers had been raised in

, by their

Italian American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...

mother who was also a singer and encouraged the boys to play music. Early on, the three brothers had formed a band known as the My Sirs. After winning several local "battle of the bands"-type contest, the group recorded several songs at a local recording studio, where they received the attention of a local promoter, who offered them a contract promoting

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

automobiles. They were subsequently renamed The New Yorkers, after the Chrysler model of the same name. In early 1967, their song "Things Are Changin'" was issued on a promotional-only 45 for the Chrysler 1867 Go Show (b/w a song by another group, the Fury 4), after which they signed with Scepter. Their first Scepter 45 was issued in the spring of 1967, "When I'm Gone" b/w "You're Not My Girl" (SCE-12190) on

Scepter Records Scepter Records was an American record company founded in 1959 by Florence Greenberg. History Florence Greenberg founded Scepter Records from the $4,000 she received after she sold Tiara Records and the Shirelles to Decca Records. When the Shire ...

, which became a radio hit in the Pacific Northwest. This was followed in August 1967 with the single "Seeds of Spring" b/w "Mr. Kirby" (SCE-12199). The B-side was favored by DJs and became a top 10 hit in the Portland area and did well in other regional markets but did not chart nationally. Their final Scepter 45 was "Show Me the Way to Love" b/w "Again" (SCE-12207) in autumn, 1967. To support the singles, the group toured with several popular music acts, such as

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", rele ...

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

Johnny Nash John Lester Nash Jr. (August 19, 1940October 6, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter, best known in the United States for his 1972 hit " I Can See Clearly Now". Primarily a reggae and pop singer, he was one of the first non-Jamaican artists ...

, and

The Buckinghams The Buckinghams are an American sunshine pop band from Chicago. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top-selling acts of 1967, charting their only five top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed ...

. By October 1968, ''The New Yorkers'' had switched to Jerry Dennon's Pacific Northwest label Jerden Records and issued "Adrianne" (#906), following that up with "Land of Ur" (#908) in March 1969. Later in 1969 The New Yorkers also recorded the

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...

song "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" (#32569) for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

. The Scepter and Jerden recordings, excluding "You're Not My Girl" but including the previously unissued "Lazy Meadow," were included on the 1978 "cash-in" album, "TV's The Hudson Brothers," issued on the First American label. (The "New Yorkers" which recorded "Lonely" for Warner Bros. is not the same group.) On Decca Records they changed their name to Everyday Hudson in early 1970, releasing "Laugh, Funny Funny" (later revived for their 1974 CBS summer replacement series) b/w "Love Is the Word" (#32634). For the release in spring 1971 of "The World Would Be a Little Bit Better" bw "Love Nobody" on Lionel Records (L-3211), their name was shortened to Hudson. They had one further release on Lionel issued only in Canada, "Straight Up and Tall" (an early version of the song they later re-recorded for the Rocket label) b/w "Enough." This name was also used in 1972 after switching to the newly re-activated

Playboy Records Playboy Records was an American record label, based in Los Angeles, California, and a unit of Playboy Enterprises. Artists recording for the label included Al Wilson (singer), Al Wilson, Barbi Benton, Blue Ash (band), Blue Ash, Bobby Taylor & th ...

, with the release of "Leavin' It's Over" (P-50001), (

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 ...

Bubbling Under Chart #110). The single made the top ten in some local markets, including Omaha, where it reached #8. When the group's self-titled debut album was released in 1972, the song was re-titled on the lyrics inside the LP as "Leave and It's Over". It was later reissued when Playboy was acquired by CBS. One further Playboy single was released only in Canada, with "Lovely Lady" as the A-side.

1972–1979: Teen idols

One of the group's earliest appearances on television as The Hudson Brothers, was in the summer of 1972, for the television game show ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

'' In 1973, the group received the attention of producer Bernie Taupin, who signed them with

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 ...

's record label,

The Rocket Record Company The Rocket Record Company was a record label founded by Elton John, along with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon, Steve Brown and others, in 1973. The company was named after the hit song " Rocket Man". The label was originally distributed in the ...

. Under the name Hudson, the US Rocket label released "If You Really Need Me" (MCA-40141), which was recorded in France and produced by Taupin and mixed by Andy Scott. The B-side featured two songs, "America" and "Fight Back," and the record was issued in an attractive full-color picture sleeve. In the UK, the same sleeve was used for a different A-side, "Straight Up and Tall," b/w "America" and "Fight Back." After the group's 1974 success on the Casablanca label, their complete 1973 Rocket LP, "Totally Out of Control," was issued, and another single was issued, "Be a Man" b/w "Sunday Driver" (MCA-40317), which bubbled under in Billboard. The LP did not include "America" or "Fight Back." Hudson Brothers Bob Keeshan 1975

After the group appeared as guests of ''

The Sonny Comedy Revue ''The Sonny Comedy Revue'', starring Sonny Bono, was a variety show that aired on ABC in 1974 for one season. It was his first solo effort after the end of his marriage to Cher and the resulting cancellation of their variety show ''The Sonny & C ...

'' on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

in early 1974, noted producer

Chris Bearde Chris Bearde (June 18, 1936 – April 23, 2017) was a British-born comedy writer, producer and director best known for his work as a writer on ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' and for co-writing and producing television specials for Elvis Presley, ...

was impressed by the brothers' stage presence and offered them their own variety hour on the

network for the summer slot vacated by

The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour ''The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour'' was an American variety show that starred American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was ...

. ''The Hudson Brothers Show'' aired Wednesday nights on CBS from July 31 to August 28, 1974. The show was so successful that CBS devised ''The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show'', which aired on Saturday mornings, from September 7, 1974, to August 30, 1975, in a half-hour format. The group's television exposure resulted in the brothers becoming

s. Their first release as The Hudson Brothers came in September 1974 with their single "So You Are a Star" on

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently f ...

(NES 0108), which peaked on the Billboard charts at #21 in November 1974. The group's second studio album, ''Totally Out of Control'' (1974), was released through The Rocket Record Company, and charted at #179 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

in December 1974. Their third studio album, ''Hollywood Situation'' simultaneously peaked at #174. They subsequently released the single "Coochie Coochie Coo" (NES 816) in 1975, which peaked on the Bubbling Under Chart at #108. The song was taken from the "Hollywood Situation" LP, but the single version featured added percussion and was backed with the non-LP track, "Me and My Guitar." They then re-signed wit Rocket and scored another hit with "Rendezvous" (#26 U.S. Billboard Hot 100) from their fourth studio album, ''Ba-Fa''. John Rockwell of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', reviewing one of the group's summer shows in 1975, wrote: ''Ba-Fa'' charted on the Billboard 200 at #176 in January 1976. The follow-up single, "Lonely School Year," charted in Billboard at #60, but their next Rocket single, "Spinning the Wheel (With The Girl You Love)," failed to chart. They then signed 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 ...

in 1976. Their first Arista single, "Help Wanted," peaked at #70 on the Billboard charts. It appears that a follow-up single, "She's a Rebel" (a remake of the Crystals' "He's a Rebel" with the genders switched), was planned for release, as they promoted it on several TV appearances, but the 45 was never released. A second Arista single, "I Don't Wanna Be Lonely," failed to chart and was backed with the non-LP track, "Pauline," which the Hudsons wrote and produced. Their final Arista 45, "The Runaway," also failed to chart. The three then starred alongside

Bob Monkhouse Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', '' Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'. Ear ...

in ''

Bonkers! ''Bonkers!'' is a British television variety show from ATV, and distributed by ITC Entertainment in the United States for syndication during the 1978–79 television season. The show aired later in 1979 on ITV in the United Kingdom. A total o ...

'', a half-hour syndicated comedy show in 1978, produced in Britain by ATV (

Jack Burns John Francis Burns (November 15, 1933 – January 27, 2020) was an American comedian, actor, voice actor, writer, and producer. During the 1960s, he was part of two comedy partnerships, first with George Carlin and later with Avery Schreiber. ...

was its American producer) and distributed by ITC. The same year, they each appeared together in the comedy film ''

Zero to Sixty ''Zero to Sixty'' is a 1977 American comedy film directed by Don Weis and starring Darren McGavin, Sylvia Miles, Joan Collins, Denise Nickerson, and Dick Martin. The film was released on June 23, 1978 and was later reviewed by ''TV Guide'', wh ...

'' (1978).

1980–1981: Final album and dissolution

In 1980, the group reverted their name back to ''Hudson'' after they signed with

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. (The "Hudsons" which recorded for Columbia in 1983 is not the same group.) They engaged in a promotional tour for their debut Elektra single, "Annie," but it did not chart, nor did their final Elektra single, "Afraid to Love," despite featuring a Linda Ronstadt duet vocal which was not credited on the label. The brothers guest-starred on an episode of ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pac ...

'' in 1980 ("Not So Fast, Gopher; Haven't We Met Before?/Foreign Exchange"). Their final studio album, ''Damn Those Kids'' (1980), was released by Elektra. In 1983, the three brothers appeared in '' Hysterical'', a horror-comedy film.

Legacy

Richard Unterberger of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote of the group: "Those that remember the Hudson Brothers usually think of them as a

bubblegum Bubble gum or bubblegum is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Bubble gum flavor While there is a bubble gum "flavor" – which various artificial flavorings including esters are mixed to obtain – it ...

act of sorts, due to the fact that they hosted some comedy-variety TV shows in the mid-'70s. But they were in fact a real group, extremely Anglophile in orientation, with heavy debts to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

, and occasional hints of

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

." The long introduction to ''The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show'' was featured in 2021 in the ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'' episode " And Then There's Fraud".

Discography

Members

Principal * Bill Hudson

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 ...

, vocals *

bass, vocals * Mark Hudson

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 ...

keyboard 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 ...

s, vocals * Kent Fillmore guitar * Bob Haworth guitar Backing band * Barry Pullman synthesizers * Phil Reed guitar * Michael Parker keyboards *

Craig Krampf Craig Krampf (born October 22, 1954) is an American drummer, percussionist, arranger, record producer and songwriter. The majority of his notable credits are as a studio drummer. Since the 1970s, he has played on albums by other artists ranging f ...

, percussion

Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:225 PlotArea = left:115 bottom:60 top:05 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1964 till:01/01/1981 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:Lead value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:Rhythm value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_album Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1964 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1964 LineData = at:01/01/1972 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1973 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1974 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1975 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1978 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1981 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Bill text:"Bill Hudson" bar:Brett text:"Brett Hudson" bar:Mark text:"Mark Hudson" bar:Kent text:"Kent Fillmore" bar:Bob text:"Bob Haworth" PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Bill from:01/01/1964 till:01/01/1981 color:Vocals bar:Bill from:01/01/1964 till:01/01/1981 color:Rhythm width:3 bar:Brett from:01/01/1964 till:01/01/1981 color:Bass bar:Mark from:01/01/1964 till:01/01/1981 color:Drums bar:Kent from:01/01/1964 till:01/01/1967 color:Lead bar:Bob from:01/01/1968 till:01/01/1970 color:Lead

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

* *
Hudson Brothers
at TV Party! {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson Brothers 1965 establishments in Oregon 1981 disestablishments in Oregon American pop rock music groups Musical groups established in 1965 Musical groups from Portland, Oregon Hudson family (show business) Sibling musical trios Arista Records artists Casablanca Records artists Columbia Records artists Decca Records artists Elektra Records artists Rocket Records artists Scepter Records artists Warner Records artists