Pearls Before Swine was an American

psychedelic folk Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelia that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of folk, but adds musical elements common to psychedelic music. Chara ...

band formed by

Tom Rapp Thomas Dale Rapp (March 8, 1947 – February 11, 2018) was an American singer and songwriter who led Pearls Before Swine, an influential psychedelic folk rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Described as having "a slight lisp, gentle v ...

in 1965 in Eau Gallie, now part of

Melbourne, Florida Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando. As of th2020 Decennial Census there was a population of 84,678. The municipality is the second-largest in the county by both size and population. ...

. They released six albums between 1967 and 1971, before Rapp launched a solo career.

Early years, 1965-68

With high school friends

Wayne Harley Wayne may refer to: People with the given name and surname * Wayne (given name) * Wayne (surname) Geographical Places with name ''Wayne'' may take their name from a person with that surname; the most famous such person was Gen. "Mad" Anthon ...

(banjo, mandolin), Lane Lederer (bass, guitar) and Roger Crissinger (piano, organ), Rapp wrote and recorded some songs which, inspired by

the Fugs The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver (musician), Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy ...

, they sent to the avant-garde

ESP-Disk ESP-Disk is a New York-based record company and label founded in 1963 by lawyer Bernard Stollman. History Though it originally existed to release Esperanto-based music, beginning with its second release (Albert Ayler's ''Spiritual Unity''), ESP b ...

label in New York. The group took its name from a Bible passage: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine ...." (Mat. 7:6, KJV), meaning: do not give things of value to those who will not understand or appreciate them. They were quickly signed up, and recorded '' One Nation Underground'' (1967), featuring songs of mysticism, protest, melancholia, and some controversy in the case of "Miss Morse", which spelled out an obscenity in

Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...

. The album eventually sold some 200,000 copies, although management and contractual problems meant that the band received little reward for its success. On working with the label

, Rapp has said that "We never got any money from ESP. Never, not even like a hundred dollars or something. My real sense is that he (

Bernard Stollman Bernard Stollman (July 19, 1929 – April 19, 2015) was an American lawyer and the founder of the ESP-Disk record label. Biography He was born to a Jewish family in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and grew up in Plattsburgh, upstate New York, where ...

) was abducted by aliens, and when he was probed it erased his memory of where all the money was". The strongly anti-war themed ''

Balaklava Balaklava ( uk, Балаклáва, russian: Балаклáва, crh, Balıqlava, ) is a settlement on the Crimean Peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol. It is an administrative center of Balaklava Raion that used to be part of the Crim ...

'' (1968) followed, inspired by the

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to se ...

. Rapp has said "The first two albums are probably considered the druggiest, and I had never done any drugs at that point. I smoked Winston cigarettes at that time, so these are all Winston-induced hallucinations."Sleevenotes to ''Jewels Were The Stars'' box set. The album covers featured paintings by Bosch and Brueghel, while the records themselves included interpretations of the writings of

Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

and

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

as well as archive recordings from the 1890s, with innovatively arranged songs using an eclectic variety of instruments.

Reprise period, 1969-72

The band signed for

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

in 1969, although by this time the other original members had left and the band name now referred to Rapp and whichever musicians he was recording or touring with, one of whom, Jim Fairs, was previously a member of

The Cryan' Shames The Cryan' Shames are an American garage rock band from Hinsdale, Illinois. Originally known as The Travelers, the band was formed by Tom Doody ("Toad"), Gerry Stone ("Stonehenge"), Dave Purple ("Grape") of The Prowlers, Denny Conroy from Pos ...

. The five albums on Reprise were generally more conventional in sound, but contained a unique blend of humanistic and mystical songs, with some whimsical touches. Some were recorded in New York and others – particularly ''

The Use of Ashes ''The Use Of Ashes'' was the fourth album made by American psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine, and the second on Reprise Records after their move from ESP-Disk. Background After recording the 1969 album ''These Things Too'', the other ...

'' and '' City of Gold'' - in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

with top session musicians including

Charlie McCoy Charles Ray McCoy (born March 28, 1941) is a Grammy-winning American session musician, harmonica player, and multi-instrumentalist. In 2009, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Based in Nashville, McCoy's playing is heard on r ...

Kenny Buttrey Aaron Kenneth Buttrey (April 1, 1945 – September 12, 2004) was an American drummer and arranger. According to Country Music Television, CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history". Buttrey was born in Nashvi ...

, and other members of

Area Code 615 Area codes 615 and 629 are area codes in Tennessee serving Nashville ( Davidson County) and the 12 surrounding counties. 615 is the main area code, while 629 is an overlay covering the same area that began service in 2014. Murfreesboro, Frankli ...

. Several also featured Rapp's then-wife Elisabeth on vocals. The oddly upbeat "The Man", from ''City of Gold'', was sung by David Noyes and recorded at A&R Studios in New York City during the summer of 1970. Noyes' friend, Jon Tooker, took his position when the band toured Europe that fall. In his teens, Rapp lived close to

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and watched the rockets take off. The song "Rocket Man", on the album ''The Use of Ashes'' - written the day

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. ...

landed on the moon - was credited by

Bernie Taupin Bernard John Taupin (born 22 May 1950) is an English songwriter, singer and visual artist. He is best known for his long-term collaboration with musician Elton John, a songwriting partnership that is one of the most successful in history. Tau ...

with inspiring his

hit song A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

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 ...

of the same title. Quote : "We didn't steal that one from Bowie, we stole it from another guy, called Tom Rapp..." Many of the other songs of this period reflected Rapp's interests in mysticism, his relationship with his alcoholic father, and his experiences of living for a time in (and marrying a native of) the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. "Rocket Man" was based on a story by Ray Bradbury. In 1971, Pearls Before Swine toured for the first time, the group then comprising Rapp, Mike Krawitz (piano), Gordon Hayes (bass) and Jon Tooker (guitar). Around this time, Rapp often referred onstage, not quite seriously, to the group as "the house band for the SDS." A live album from this period, ''Live Pearls'', recorded at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, was released as a download in December 2008. The final Reprise album, '' Familiar Songs'', consisted of newly conceived, arranged, and produced recordings of some of Rapp's earlier songs, along with a few new and unreleased, featuring his then-current band, Morrie Brown (bass, guitar, mandolin and vocals), Robby Merkin (piano, organ, synth, bass and vocals), and

David Wolfert 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 ...

(acoustic and electric guitar, 12-string, Dobro and vocals) along with drummer

Billy Mundi Billy Mundi (born Antonio Salas, September 25, 1942 in San Francisco – March 29, 2014) was an American drummer best known as a member of The Mothers of Invention and Rhinoceros. He also worked as a session musician. He sometimes used the name To ...

, formerly of The Mothers Of Invention. Without Rapp's knowledge, the label released it not as a "Pearls Before Swine" album, but under his name alone.

Later years

Two further albums followed, released under Rapp's own name on

Blue Thumb Records Blue Thumb Records was an American record label founded in 1968 by Bob Krasnow and former A&M Records executives Tommy LiPuma and Don Graham. Blue Thumb's last record was released in 1978. In 1995, the label was revived and remained active un ...

. The first, ''Stardancer'', was again recorded in Nashville, followed by ''Sunforest''. The bandby that time comprising Rapp, Art Ellis (flute), Bill Rollins (bass, cello) and Harry Orlove (guitar, banjo)toured until 1974, with Rapp from then performing solo until a final appearance in 1976 supporting

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...

. After this, Rapp retired from music and, after graduating from

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

, became a civil rights lawyer. After being contacted by the magazine ''

Ptolemaic Terrascope {{Infobox magazine , image_file = pto.png , image_size = , image_caption = ''Ptolemaic Terrascope'' logo , editor = Phil McMullen (1988–2005) Pat Thomas (2005-07) , editor_title = , staff ...

'', he re-appeared in 1997 at

Terrastock Terrastock is a music festival organised periodically by Phil McMullen, formerly editor of the ''Ptolemaic Terrascope'' and since 2005 the publisher of the Terrascope Online website. The event typically features independent bands playing psyche ...

, a

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, with his son's band, Shy Camp, and began recording again with 1999's ''A Journal of the Plague Year''. Tom Rapp appears on the

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

2 CD tribute ''This Note's For You Too'' with the song "

After the Gold Rush ''After the Gold Rush'' is the third studio album by the Canadian-American musician Neil Young, released in September 1970 on Reprise Records, catalogue number RS 6383. It is one of four high-profile albums (all charting within the top fifteen) ...

" on Inbetweens Records. Original member Roger Crissinger left the group in 1968, joining San Francisco band One (1) led by Reality D. Blipcrotch. Lane Lederer is now a member of the

Florida Orchestra The Florida Orchestra is an American orchestra based in the tri-city area of Tampa, Clearwater, Florida, Clearwater and St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida. It was founded as the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony upon the 1968 merger of the ...

. Bass guitarist Morrie Brown became a record producer in R&B music. He was responsible for mentoring up and coming songwriters and producers

Paul Laurence Paul Laurence (aka Paul Lawrence Jones III) is an American songwriter, producer and keyboardist. He had several number one R&B hits Freddie Jackson's "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)," "Jam Tonight," "Tasty Love," "Hey Lover," "Do Me Agai ...

and

Kashif Kashif (also spelled Kaashif, Kaşif, Khasif or Kashef, ar, کاشف) is an Arabic word, commonly used as a male given name in the Muslim world. Its meaning is close to the "revealer", "discoverer", "uncoverer" or "pioneer", "explorer". When use ...

. Brown collaborated with Kashif and Laurence on creating hit singles for B.T. Express and

Evelyn "Champagne" King Evelyn "Champagne" King (born July 1, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. She is best known for her hit disco single "Shame", which was released in 1977 during the height of disco's popularity. King had other hits from ...

- the latter of which Brown produced her biggest hits " I'm in Love", "

Love Come Down "Love Come Down" is a song written by American musician Kashif. It was recorded by American singer Evelyn King for her fifth album '' Get Loose'' (1982). "Love Come Down" was released in July 1982 by RCA Records as the lead single from ''Get Lo ...

" and " Betcha She Don't Love You" - as well as Howard Johnson's 1982 hit " So Fine". Since 1992, Brown has been the owner and founder of the printing software company PrintPoint. Guitarist David Wolfert also became a record producer, as well as session musician. Wolfert worked on albums by

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

Don Covay Donald James Randolph (March 24, 1936 – January 31, 2015), better known by the stage name Don Covay, was an American R&B, rock and roll, and soul singer-songwriter most active from the 1950s to the 1970s. His most successful recordings incl ...

, and the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the ...

, where he would produce the song "

I Believe in You and Me "I Believe in You and Me" is a song written by Sandy Linzer and David Wolfert in 1982. The song was first recorded and released by the R&B group The Four Tops, who released it as a single from their album '' One More Mountain'' (1982). While it fa ...

" which would later be covered by

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

. Wolfert also produced the solo debut '' Out of Control'' for

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

drummer

Peter Criss George Peter John Criscuola (born December 20, 1945), better known by his stage name Peter Criss, is a retired American musician, best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss. Criss establi ...

. In recent years, Wolfert composed the music for the English language version of the anime, ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

''. Jon Tooker died in a motorcycle crash in 2008. Art Ellis died on November 2, 2017. Tom Rapp died on February 11, 2018, after suffering from pelvic cancer. PBS have been cited as a key influence by various musicians including

The Dream Academy The Dream Academy were a British band consisting of singer/guitarist Nick Laird-Clowes, multi-instrumentalist (chiefly oboe, cor anglais player) Kate St John, and keyboardist Gilbert Gabriel. The band is most noted for their 1985 hit singles ...

Damon and Naomi Damon & Naomi are an American dream pop/ indie folk duo, formed in 1991 by Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang, formerly of Galaxie 500. History After Galaxie 500 completed a tour of the US supporting Cocteau Twins, guitarist and vocalist Dean Wareh ...

the Bevis Frond The Bevis Frond is an English rock band formed in 1986 in Walthamstow, London, England. The band is fronted by Nick Saloman and has recorded many singles and albums on various independent labels. Information Saloman was originally in a band kno ...

This Mortal Coil This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating ...

, and the Japanese band

Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

. Three tribute albums have been released by Secret Eye Records.

Membership

(1965–74) * Wayne Harley (1965–69) * Lane Lederer (1965–68) * Roger Crissinger (1965–67) * Jim Bohannon (1968) * Jim Fairs (1969) * Elisabeth Joosten Rapp (1969–72) * Mike Krawitz (1971) * Gordon Hayes (1971) * Jon Tooker (1971) * Morrie Brown (1971) * Robby Merkin (1971) * David Wolfert (1971) * Art Ellis (1971–74) * Bill Rollins (1971–74) * Harry Orlove (1971–74)

Discography

Studio albums

* '' One Nation Underground'' (1967, ESP-Disk); 50th Anniversary re-issue (2017, Drag City) * ''

'' (1968, ESP-Disk); 50th Anniversary re-issue (2018, Drag City) * ''

These Things Too ''These Things Too'' is the third album by American psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine, and their first for Reprise Records. It was released in 1969. By early 1969, the original line-up of Pearls Before Swine - which had only ever perfo ...

'' (1969, Reprise) * ''

'' (1970, Reprise) * '' City of Gold'' (1971, Reprise), (Thos. Rapp / Pearls Before Swine) * ''

Beautiful Lies You Could Live In ''... Beautiful Lies You Could Live In'' was the sixth album credited to American psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine, and their fourth on Reprise Records. It was released in 1971. Like its predecessor '' City of Gold'', the album was c ...

'' (1971, Reprise) (Tom Rapp / Pearls Before Swine) * '' Familiar Songs'' (1972, Reprise) (Tom Rapp) * '' Stardancer'' (1972, Blue Thumb) (Tom Rapp) * '' Sunforest'' (1973, Blue Thumb) (Tom Rapp / Pearls Before Swine) * '' A Journal of the Plague Year'' (1999, Woronzow) (Tom Rapp)

Live albums

* ''Radio Pearls'' (recorded 1971, released 2006, ESP-Disk) * ''Live Pearls'' (recorded 1971, released 2008, WildCat Recording download) * Tom Rapp ''Live @ Yale U'' (2CD recorded 1973, released 2013, WildCat Recording download) * PBS> ''Anderson Theater NYC '71'' (recorded 1971, released 11/11/2016, Rox Vox) * PBS&Tom Rapp Vinyl 7" 33 1/3rpm 5-track EP> ''Discontinuity--Live Recordings 1972-3 & 1999'' (released 2017, Sordide Sentimental)

Compilations

* ''Pimps Toe Accelerator'' EP (1993, Ptolemaic Terrascope Magazine POT 15) (3-artist vinyl 7" 33 1/3rpm flexi-disc 5-track) ** "Translucent Carriages" (alt. version) ** "Macbeth"/"The Cowboy Who Ate Vietnam" (unreleased) ** "Ring Thing" (alt. version) * ''Constructive Melancholy'' (1999, Birdman) (CD compilation of 1969-72 Reprise tracks) * ''Jewels Were The Stars'' (2003, Water) (4 CD

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

of first four Reprise albums) * ''The Wizard of Is'' (2004, Water) (2 CD collection of live recordings, out-takes etc.) * ''The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings'' (2005, ESP-Disk and WildCat) (the two ESP albums on one CD) * ''Hi-Five'' (2006, Rhino) (5-track EP Reprise tracks) * ''The Exaltation of Tom Rapp'' (2022, Fire) (vinyl LP, mostly of unreleased demo recordings)''The Exaltation of Tom Rapp''
Retrieved 19 May 2022

Singles

* "Morning Song" / "Drop Out!" (1967, ESP-Disk) * "I Saw The World" / "Images Of April" (1968, ESP-Disk) * "These Things Too" / "If You Don't Want To" (1969, Reprise) * " Suzanne" / "There Was a Man" (1969, Reprise) * "The Jeweller" / "Rocket Man" (1970, Reprise) * "Marshall" / "Why Should I Care?" (1972, Blue Thumb)

References

External links

A tribute to Tom Rapp and Pearls Before SwineLane Lederer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearls Before Swine American folk musical groups Psychedelic folk groups American psychedelic rock music groups Musical groups established in 1965 Musical groups disestablished in 1974 1965 establishments in Florida 1974 disestablishments in Florida American folk rock groups ESP-Disk artists Fontana Records artists Reprise Records artists Blue Thumb Records artists Drag City (record label) artists Musical groups from Florida