October Country was an American

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1967. For musician Michael Lloyd, the group was one of his earliest projects with him assuming the role of record producer. It also was another side-project, along with the Smoke, California Spectrum, and the Fire Escape, during a period in which Lloyd was absent from

the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band (WCPAEB) was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group created music that possessed an eerie, and at times sinister atmosphere, and contained material that was ...

. October Country recorded one self-titled album in 1968 and is best-remembered for the track "My Girlfriend Is a Witch". They are credited as the musicians for the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

short-film, ''

Amblin' ''Amblin is a 1968 American short film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. It was Spielberg's first completed film shot on 35 mm. The film is a short love story set during the hippy era of the late 1960s about a young man and woman who ...

''.

History

October Country was formed by siblings Caryle, also known as Carol, (vocals) and Joe De Fransa (vocals), who both started out singing in church choirs. In 1966, the Fransa family moved to Los Angeles, California, where the two hoped to engage themselves in the city's

scene. They recruited a full-fledged band consisting of Eddie Beram (drums), Marty Earle (lead guitar), Bruce Watson aka Bruce Wayne (bass guitar), and Bob Wian (keyboards) to attempt to fulfill their aspirations. October Country began performing at some dances and parties before finding moderate success on the Los Angeles club scene as a supporting act to

the Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and " Young Blood" in 1957, their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing ...

and

the Rivingtons The Rivingtons were a 1960s doo-wop band, known for their 1962 novelty hit "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow". The members were lead vocalist Carl White (June 21, 1932 - January 7, 1980), tenor Al Frazier (d. November 13, 2005), baritone Sonny Harris, and bas ...

. In 1967, filmmaker Denis Hoffman approached October Country with the idea of filming the group as they perform and live their daily lives. Serving as a demo video to record labels, an article on ''Dangerous Minds'' states that "Watching the band grappling with the concepts of hippie culture, lightshows and psychedelia while going about their basically boring lifestyles is quite amusing. They’re proud to be squares, which considering the era was probably not a great marketing concept". Nonetheless, the film succeeded in convincing company president Len Leny to sign October Country to

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

late in 1967. The band was teamed with musician and aspiring record producer Michael Lloyd, who had departed the

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band

earlier in the same year to work on side-projects such as the Rubber Band and California Spectrum. The group entered Columbia Records Studios to record their debut single, "October Country", a Lloyd-penned composition. Lloyd recalled his first time in the studio with the group: "It was an 8-track and one of those union places where you couldn't touch a thing. The first recording was their single "October Country" and on the B side, "Baby What I Mean." October Country written by Michael Lloyd. In 1968, the band immediately followed the release with the sophomore effort "My Girlfriend Is a Witch", from the album, receiving substantial radio play in Los Angeles. The song would later be done by Lloyd in

The Cattanooga Cats ''Cattanooga Cats'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired on ABC from September 6, 1969, to September 4, 1971. The show was a package program similar to the Hanna-Barbera/NBC show ''The Banana Splits'' ...

, an animated series from Hanna-Barbera, appearing on the self-titled album from the band, on the Forward Records label. Epic Records decided to finance October Country's self-titled album, which Lloyd composed all eleven songs for, and, for the most part, arranged all the instrumentals. Music critic Bryan Thomas noted the album's influences stemmed from the orchestration found on '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', and praised how Lloyd "always seemed to find interesting ways to incorporate various sophisticated instrumentation". October Country released one final single, "Cowboys and Indians", before disbanding later in 1968. Although commercial success eluded the band, it showcased Lloyd's potential as a producer, awarding him an opportunity to record with a studio group called the Smoke. The band released an album in 1968, featuring 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 "October Country". He later achieved wider acclaim for his work in the music industry. October Country's recordings have been placed on

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s over the years; however, their most prominent appearance is on '' Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets: 1965-1968'', which features "My Girlfriend Is a Witch".

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups disestablished in 1968 Folk rock groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles