The Marc Tanner Band was a west coast rock band fronted by Marc Tanner, that released two albums on the Elektra label. They had a small hit with the song "

Elena Elena may refer to: People * Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician * Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet Geography * Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...

" in 1979.

Background

During their time the band released two albums, '' No Escape'' in 1979 and ''Temptation'' in 1980.Blue Desert.
West Coast Music, Marc Tanner Band
/ref> They released two singles in 1979, " Elena" bw "Lady In Blue" and "She's So High" bw "Never Again". They released two more the following year which were, "Hold Your Head Up" bw "Don't Say No (Surrender)", and "Hot And Cold" bw "Temptation" in 1980.45Cat
The Marc Tanner Band - Discography
/ref>

Career

By February 1979, the group's debut album ''No Escape'' was released on Elektra, supported by the single "Elena".''

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 ...

, February 17, 1979
Page 1
/ref>West Coast Music In France, June 16, 2010

/ref> Among the musicians that appeared on the album were

William "Smitty" Smith William Daniel "Smitty" Smith (August 30, 1944 – November 28, 1997) was a Canadian keyboardist and session musician. Background He had been playing together with Steve Kennedy, Eric Mercury, Eric "Mouse" Johnson, Terry Logan and Diane Brooks ...

, formerly of the group Motherlode and

Vanetta Fields Venetta Lee Fields (born 1941) is an American-born singer, musical theater actress and vocal coach. She was a backing vocalist for American and British rock and pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s, including Ike & Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, Humble P ...

. For the week ending April 7, 1979, their single "Elena" had moved up from previous weeks position of 53 to 45, with "

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 as the second single from her sixth album, '' Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. A top-selling song, it is a popular di ...

" by

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor ( née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" ( ...

at no 1. Also in April that year with a line up that had been together for two months, the band appeared at the Golden Bear in

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...

, playing a 51-minute set. ''Billboard'' reviewer Eliot Tiegel commented on the intensity of the band with the bass, 2 guitars and drums drowning out the other instruments,''Billboard'', April 7, 1979
Page 49 Talent In Action, MARC TANNER BAND, ''Golden Bear, Huntington Beach, Calif'' - ELIOT TIEGEL
/ref> with a suggesting that this promising band should respect the beauty of its instruments rather than concentrate on the wattage output.''Billboard'', April 7, 1979
Page 93 *''Continued from page 49'', Talent In Action, MARC TANNER BAND, ''Golden Bear, Huntington Beach, Calif'' - ELIOT TIEGEL
/ref> In May 1979, ''Billboard'' had recommended "She's So High" as a top single pick. Towards the end of May their record label was wrapping up a promo for the band's album ''No Escape''. The marketing ploy had given out ten thousand tie clips in the form of handcuffs. There were also requests for the items from the nontraditional outlets, usually retail stores and radio. These were restaurants and night clubs. There was also an agenda to promote "Never Again" as a single. It was reported in the September 29 issue of ''Billboard'' that the group were working on a new album. The group's second album ''Temptation'' was more towards band album in comparison to the previous which leaned towards a Marc Tanner solo album. The band was managed by Lewis Kaplan who also managed

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

's daughter

Louise Goffin Louise Goffin (born March 23, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and producer of the 2011 album ''A Holiday Carole''. Signed by record executive Lenny Waronker to DreamWorks in 1999, Goffin released ''Sometimes a Circle'' in 2002. She wen ...

Later years

Tanner has since embarked on a career in production and songwriting and is currently executive producer of a broadway play. "Elena" is featured on the 4 CD compilation ''California Groove II'', released in 2010.Amazon France
California Groove 2 (Coffret 4 CD) Compilation
/ref>

Members

* Marc Tanner - vocals * Linda Stanley - vocals * Steve Mann - flute, saxophone * Stephen Lyle - keyboards * Michael Stevens - lead guitar * Irvin Kramer - guitar * Ronny Edwards - bass *

Joe Romersa Joe Romersa is an American musician, composer, voice actor, and music producer. Romersa started his career career as a drummer, but early on he branched out into sound engineering. As Romersa tells it, "After a tragic early tour I did at age 19 ...

- drums

Discography

References

{{Authority control Rock music groups from California Musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1980