The Neon Philharmonic (formed 1967) was an American

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

pop band led by songwriter and conductor

Tupper Saussy Frederick Tupper Saussy III (July 3, 1936 – March 16, 2007) was an American composer, musician, author, artist, and conspiracy theorist. His contemporaries describe him as a self-styled theologian, restaurant owner, ghostwriter of James Ea ...

and singer

Don Gant Donald W. Gant (October 24, 1942 – March 15, 1987) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. With Tupper Saussy, in the late 1960s he formed The Neon Philharmonic. Singing vocals, with Saussy on the keyboards, they recorded five ...

. They released their two albums ('' The Moth Confesses'' and the eponymous ''

The Neon Philharmonic The Neon Philharmonic (formed 1967) was an American psychedelic pop band led by songwriter and conductor Tupper Saussy and singer Don Gant. They released their two albums ('' The Moth Confesses'' and the eponymous ''The Neon Philharmonic'') i ...

'') in 1969, and they scored a Top 20

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100

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with "

Morning Girl "Morning Girl" is a 1969 song by Neon Philharmonic. It was a hit in Canada and the United States. The recording featured a chamber-sized orchestra of Nashville Symphony Orchestra musicians, and the project was headed by composer Tupper Saussy and ...

", which featured the

Nashville Symphony Orchestra The Nashville Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in Nashville, Tennessee. The orchestra is resident at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. History In 1920, prior to the 1946 founding of the Nashville Symphony, a group of amateur and ...

, when it hit the Top 40 in May of that year and rose to number 17 on ''Billboard'' and number 15 on the ''Cash Box'' chart. The band hit the chart again with "Heighdy-Ho Princess" in 1970. The group was produced by Saussy, Gant, and Bob McCluskey, and engineered by Ronald Gant, Don's brother. The group disbanded in 1975 after releasing numerous non-album singles. Although the first album stated "Borges Forever!" the group's

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

is really named Pierre Menard, and it is not a reference to the

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

story ''

Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote "Pierre Menard, Author of the ''Quixote''" (original Spanish title: "Pierre Menard, autor del ''Quijote''") is a short story by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges. It originally appeared in Spanish in the Argentine journal '' Sur'' in May 1939. ...

,'' Saussy was not conscious of the connection. The bulk of the group's output was released by Warner Bros./Seven Arts Records. In 1972, they moved to TRX Records and produced another single, "Annie Poor" / "Love Will Find a Way", after which the group disbanded. The Neon Philharmonic name was sold to producer David Kastle, who put out additional singles released by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

and

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

. At least one Saussy song, "Making Out the Best I Can", was recorded by this group and engineered by Ronald Gant. Along with its flipside recording, "So Glad You're a Woman", written by Ray Williams and Ron Demmans (MCA-40158 (MC 4810), 1975), the instrumentation was limited to synthesizers, guitar and drums. These later singles have no other connection to the original group.

Shaun Cassidy Shaun Paul Cassidy (born September 27, 1958) is an American singer, actor, writer, and producer. He has created and/or produced a number of television series including '' American Gothic'', '' Roar'' and ''Invasion''. Cassidy currently serves as ...

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

's younger brother, did a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "Morning Girl, Later" (simply titled "Morning Girl") in 1976, which did not chart in the US, but did well in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The song was also covered by

The Lettermen The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contempor ...

. The group is not to be confused with the German group The Neon Philharmonic Orchestra, which arranged many classical pieces in medleys in a similar style in the 1980s and 1990s, and covered

Walter Murphy Walter Anthony Murphy Jr. (born December 19, 1952) is an American composer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for the instrumental "A Fifth of Beethoven", a disco adaptation of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony which topp ...

's "

A Fifth of Beethoven "A Fifth of Beethoven" is a disco instrumental recorded by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band, adapted from the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. The record was produced by production music and sound effects recording pro ...

Discography

Albums

*'' The Moth Confesses'' WS-1769 (January 1969) *''

'' WS-1804 (September 1969) *''Brilliant Colors: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings'' (2003)

Singles

Warner Bros.

*"Morning Girl" / "Brilliant Colors" (Mono single versions) No. 7621 (January 1969) US Billboard Hot 100 #17, #2 Canada *"No One Is Going to Hurt You" / "You Lied" (Mono single versions) No. 7311 (July 1969) *"Clouds" / "Snow" No. 7355 (November 1969) *"Heighdy-Ho Princess" / "Don't Know My Way Around My Soul" No. 7380 (March 1970) *"Flowers for Your Pillow" / "To Be Continued" No. 7419 (July 1970) *"Something to Believe In" / "A Little Love" No. 7457 (January 1971) *"Got a Feelin' in My Bones" / "Keep the Faith in Me" No. 7497 (May 1971) Three additional songs, "Better Times," "Jody," and "Letters Crossing" were recorded around the fall of 1970 and remained unreleased until the 2003 collection.

TRX

*"Annie Poor" / "Love Will Find a Way" (TRX T-5039, 1972)

MCA

*"So Glad You're a Woman" / "Making Out the Best I Can" (MCA-40158 (MC 4810), 1975)

London

* "Long Distance Love Affair" / "Making Out The Best I Can" (L.2577) * "So Glad You're A Woman" / "Making Out The Best I Can" (L.2584) * "Bright Lights, Hard Nights" / "She Looked Like A Woman To Me" (L.2598) * "Lovin' You" / "Don't Look Back" (L.2608) * "Twice As Strong" / "Don't Look Back" (L.2636)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neon Philharmonic, The Psychedelic pop music groups American pop music groups Warner Records artists