Rising Sons was an American,
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
-based
blues rock and
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
band, which was founded in 1965.
Their initial career was short-lived, but the group found retrospective fame for launching the careers of singer
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
and guitarist
Ry Cooder.
History
The original lineup was a 17-year-old
Ry Cooder (vocals, six- and 12-string guitar, mandolin, slide and bottleneck guitar, dobro),
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
(vocals, harmonica, guitar, piano),
Gary Marker
Gary "Magic" Marker (May 23, 1943 – December 8, 2015) was an American bass guitarist and recording engineer, best known for his involvement in various psychedelic rock bands of the 1960s.
A bass player with jazz leanings, who had studied at Ber ...
(bass), Jesse Lee Kincaid (born Nick Gerlach, vocals and guitar) and
Ed Cassidy
Edward Claude Cassidy (May 4, 1923 – December 6, 2012) was an American jazz and rock drummer who was one of the founders of the rock group Spirit in 1967.
Biography
Ed Cassidy was born in Harvey, Illinois, a south suburb of Chicago on May 4 ...
(drums).
Cassidy left in 1965 after injuring his wrist playing a monumental version of "
Statesboro Blues
"Statesboro Blues" is a Piedmont blues song written by Blind Willie McTell, who recorded it in 1928. The title refers to the town of Statesboro, Georgia. In 1968, Taj Mahal recorded a popular blues rock adaptation of the song with a prominent sli ...
" with the band. He was replaced by
Kevin Kelley.
The group often played at the Los Angeles clubs
The Troubadour and
The Ash Grove
''The Ash Grove'' ( cy, Llwyn Onn) is a traditional Welsh folk song whose melody has been set to numerous sets of lyrics. The best-known version was written in English by Thomas Oliphant in the 19th century.
History
The first published version ...
(which burned down in 1973 and was not rebuilt). They were signed by Columbia Records.
Their only album, produced by
Terry Melcher
Terrence Paul Melcher (born Terrence Paul Jorden; February 8, 1942 – November 19, 2004) was an American record producer, singer, and songwriter who was instrumental in shaping the mid-to-late 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements. His ...
, was not issued at the time.
One single, "Candy Man" backed with "The Devil's Got My Woman", was released. The group disbanded in 1966.
They were contemporaries of the famous Los Angeles band
The Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
; fans wondered which band would be the bigger success, until the Byrds' album ''
Mr. Tambourine Man'' became a hit. Recordings by Rising Sons were widely bootlegged and nearly three decades later were released by
Columbia Records under the title ''Rising Sons Featuring Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder'' (1992).
"We were the problem," remembered Marker later. "We had difficulties distilling our multiple musical agendas down to a product that would sell. We had no actual leader, no clear musical vision.... I think
elcherwent out of his way to make us happy – within the scope of his knowledge. He tried just about everything he could, including the live, acoustic session that produced '2:10 Train.'"
After Rising Sons
Mahal went on to become a prominent solo blues and folk performer.
Cooder and Marker played with
Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band.
Cooder went on to become a prominent
session musician,
recorded numerous albums under his own name, and scored several soundtracks. Kincaid attended the
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...
on a classical guitar scholarship and left the United States for six years in Europe. His music album, ''Brief Moments Full Measure'', and his book, ''Ibiza Chronicles'', were released in 2014. He currently resides in
Mill Valley, California. Cassidy founded the band
Spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
. Kelley became a member of his cousin
Chris Hillman
Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of and one of the original members of the Byrds, which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby and Michael Clarke.
With freque ...
's band
The Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
in 1968, playing on their seminal album ''
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' is the sixth album by American rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1968 on Columbia Records. Recorded with the addition of country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, it became the first album widely recognized as ...
''.
Marker retired from the
music industry but maintained an active interest (especially in Beefheart-related matters) until he died of a
stroke, on December 8, 2015, at the age of 72.
Influence
According to
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 databa ...
, Rising Sons' "languid, bluesy, folksy sort of sound anticipated future recordings by outfits like
Moby Grape
Moby Grape is an American rock band founded in 1966, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting, and who collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz with rock and psychedelic music. They were ...
,
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
Grateful Dead, and even the southern rock Allman Brothers, and the country-rock
Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
."
Discography
Singles
* "Candy Man" b/w "The Devil's Got My Woman" (recorded 1965, 45RPM single released 1966, Columbia 4-43534)
Albums
* ''Rising Sons Featuring Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder'' (recorded 1965–1966, CD released 1992, Columbia/Legacy CK-52828)
References
{{Authority control
Rock music groups from California
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Musical groups established in 1964