The Sons of Champlin are an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rock band, from

Marin County, California Marin County is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and ...

, in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

, formed in 1965. They are fronted by vocalist-keyboardist-guitarist

Bill Champlin William Bradford Champlin (born May 21, 1947) is an American singer, musician, arranger, producer, and songwriter. He formed the band Sons of Champlin in 1965, which still performs today, and was a member of the band Chicago from 1981–2009. H ...

, who later joined rock band

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, from 1981 to 2009, placing Sons of Champlin on hiatus from 1981 to 1996. They brought to the late ‘60s music scene in the Bay Area a soulful sound built around a horn section, sophisticated arrangements, philosophical themes, Bill Champlin's songwriting and blue-eyed soul singing, and Terry Haggerty's jazz-based guitar. They are one of the enduring 1960s San Francisco bands, along with

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

, the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

and

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 ...

Early years

Champlin started his musical career in high school (Tamalpais in

Mill Valley Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 census. Mill Valley is located on the western and ...

) as a member of a local band, The Opposite Six. One of his teachers encouraged Champlin to drop out of school and pursue music full-time. In 1965 the draft claimed the drummer and bass player of the Opposite Six, and Champlin joined forces with guitarist Terry Haggerty, sax player Tim Cain, bassist John Prosser and drummer Jim Meyers in the band that became the Sons of Champlin. By late 1967 the line-up had changed to include keyboardist/saxman Geoff Palmer, trumpeter Jim Beem, bassist Al Strong, and drummer Bill Bowen, creating a

Hammond B3 Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in South ...

-and-horns sound that was distinctive from the rest of the Bay Area's psychedelic guitar bands. The Sons recorded their first album, '' Fat City'' in 1966-67 for Trident Records, owned by

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

manager Frank Werber. They released a single, "Sing Me a Rainbow", (B-side "Fat City") which got airplay in the Bay Area but did not crack the national charts. The plan was to follow this release with another song from the album, a

Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early li ...

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Life and career Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Wei ...

composition called "

Shades of Grey Variations of gray or grey include achromatic grayscale shades, which lie exactly between white and black, and nearby colors with low colorfulness. A selection of a number of these various colors is shown below. Chart of computer web color ...

", but

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

released their version before this could happen. The album was not released and the Sons left Trident Records. In February 1999, this collection was released on a British CD under the title ''Fat City.'' During the late 1960s, The Sons of Champlin performed regularly at the San Francisco venues, the

Avalon Ballroom The Avalon Ballroom was a music venue in the Polk Gulch neighborhood of San Francisco, California, at 1244 Sutter Street (or 1268 Sutter, depending on the entrance). The space is known as the location of many concerts of the counterculture move ...

Winterland Winterland Ballroom (more commonly known as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland) was an ice skating rink and music venue in San Francisco, California. The arena was located at the corner of Post Street and Steiner Street. It was converted for ...

, the

Fillmore West The Fillmore West was a historic rock and roll music venue in San Francisco, California, US which became famous under the direction of concert promoter Bill Graham from 1968 to 1971. Named after The Fillmore at the intersection of Fillmore Stre ...

and the ''Chateau Liberté'', in the

Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from ...

. They shared billing with, among many others, the

Quicksilver Messenger Service Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. The band achieved wide popularity in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe, ...

, Country Joe and the Fish, and

The Youngbloods The Youngbloods were an American rock band consisting of Jesse Colin Young (vocals, bass, guitar), Jerry Corbitt (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Lowell "Banana" Levinger (guitar and electric piano), and Joe Bauer (drums). Despite recei ...

. They were also the opening act at The Band's first concert, along with

Doug Kershaw Douglas James Kershaw (born January 24, 1936) is an American fiddle player, singer and songwriter from Louisiana. Active since 1948, he began his career as part of the duo Rusty and Doug, along with his brother, Rusty Kershaw. He had an extens ...

and

The Ace of Cups Ace of Cups is an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco in 1967 during the Summer of Love era. It has been described as one of the first All female band, all-female rock bands. The members of Ace of Cups were Mary Gannon (Bass ...

History (1968-1977)

In 1968, the Sons of Champlin signed with Capitol Records, releasing their double-album debut ''Loosen Up Naturally'' in April 1969. The group followed up with ''The Sons'' released that fall. To promote this album The Sons set out on a two-month national tour, culminating with an engagement at the

Fillmore East The Fillmore East was rock promoter Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue near East 6th Street in the (at the time) Lower East Side neighborhood, now called the East Village neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan of New York City. I ...

. However, this tour strained relations between the members and in February 1970, The Sons broke up. Bill Champlin moved to Santa Cruz, where he joined

guitarist

Jerry Miller Jerry Miller (born July 10, 1943) is an American songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. He performs as a solo artist and as a member of the Jerry Miller Band. He is also a founding member of the 1960s San Francisco band Moby Grape, which continues ...

in a short-lived project called

The Rhythm Dukes The Rhythm Dukes was a short-lived band featuring Jerry Miller and Don Stevenson of Moby Grape, subsequently joined by Bill Champlin, of the Sons of Champlin, and later of Chicago. History In the late summer of 1969, following the release of '' T ...

. The Sons reformed in late 1970 as a five-piece band without Cain to record ''Follow Your Heart'', their final Capitol LP. However, The Sons broke up once more following the album's release in April, 1971. When the group reformed again in the summer it featured a new rhythm section, with drummer

Bill Vitt Bill Vitt (May 6, 1943 - July 16, 2019, aged 76) was an American drummer and keyboardist. He worked extensively as a live performer and as a session musician. In the 1970s he played with Brewer & Shipley, Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders, and the So ...

and bassist David Schallock (from

Big Brother and the Holding Company Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After som ...

) replacing Bowen and Strong, respectively. Briefly, the group went by the name Yogi Phlegm, as which they played one of the last concerts at Bill Graham’s

on July 3, 1971. In 1972, James Preston replaced Bill Vitt on drums, and the band once again went by the name Sons of Champlin. After recording their 1973 Columbia album, ''Welcome to the Dance'', as a five piece, The Sons once again added a horn section, which included

Mark Isham Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and film composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic. He is also a film composer, having worked on numerous films and t ...

, now a film scorer and composer, on trumpet and synthesizer. In 1975, The Sons recorded ''The Sons of Champlin'' in their own studio, and released it on their own label, Goldmine Records. This was purchased and re-released by Ariola America. The next two albums, ''Circle Filled With Love'' and ''Loving is Why'', were also released on Ariola. On August 6, 1977, the Sons of Champlin played what many assumed to be their last gig at the Kirkwood Meadows ski resort opening for Elvin Bishop and

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock mu ...

. After this performance, Champlin left the group to pursue work as a session vocalist in Los Angeles. The Sons released seven albums between 1969 and 1977, including ''Loosen Up Naturally'', ''Welcome to the Dance'', and ''Circle Filled With Love''. The albums were generally well-reviewed, but were low sellers. In 1977, Champlin went solo, recording ''Single'' (1978) and '' Runaway'' (1981), before joining Chicago in 1981.

Later years

After Bill Champlin departed, The Sons did continue briefly, through 1978, with former

Pablo Cruise Pablo is a Spanish form of the name Paul. People *Pablo Alborán, Spanish singer *Pablo Aimar, Argentine footballer * Pablo Armero, Colombian footballer * Pablo Bartholomew, Indian photojournalist *Pablo Brandán, Argentine footballer * Pablo Bren ...

singer Bud Cockrell in place of Champlin. On November 25, 1985, the Sons reunited for the first time in a surprise appearance at the Fillmore in San Francisco on a bill with

Huey Lewis and the News Huey Lewis and the News are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singles across the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Adult Contempora ...

KBC Band KBC Band (also sometimes referred to as The Kantner Balin Casady Band) was formed in 1985 by former Jefferson Airplane (later Jefferson Starship) members Paul Kantner (guitar and vocals), Marty Balin (vocals and guitar) and Jack Casady ( bass). ...

and a reunited Country Joe and the Fish. The reunion comprised Champlin, Terry Haggerty, Geoffrey Palmer, Tim Cain, David Schallock and James Preston with Huey Lewis and the News drummer Bill Gibson sitting in as well as the Freaky Executives Horn Section, who provided the brass. The 1985 show proved to be a one-off as Champlin returned to his regular gig with Chicago. But in 1997, the Sons got together again for a series of reunion gigs, then recorded and released their first live CD in 1998. Beginning in 2002, The Sons put out several CDs, ''Hip L'il Dreams'' and ''Secret'' (both produced by Gary Platt, Bill Champlin & Tom Saviano ), among them, and have also remastered much of their back catalog. The Sons of Champlin appeared with original members Champlin, Palmer, Schallock, Preston and Cain. Haggerty was replaced by Tal Morris then Carmen Grillo. Tom Saviano and Marc Russo of

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in 1970 in San Jose, California, known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies. Active for five decades, with their greatest success in the 1970s, ...

were saxophone players during Cain's absence from the band.

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the b ...

alumnus

Mic Gillette Mic Gillette (May 7, 1951 – January 17, 2016) was an American brass player, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area's East Bay. He is best known for being a member of the bands; Tower of Power, Cold Blood, and The Sons of Champlin. He pl ...

handled trumpet, trombone, and tuba parts until his death in January 2016. After James Preston's death in 2014 Alan Hertz joined the band as its drummer with Jeff Lewis on trumpet. Bobby Vega was part of the band on bass upon the departure of Schallock, followed by Richard Mithun. Tamara Champlin was added as a vocalist and Douglas Rowan as the saxophone player. Solo artist, finalist on the

Voice (TV series) ''Voice'' () is a South Korean crime-thriller television series starring Lee Ha-na, Jang Hyuk, Kim Jae Wook (Season 1), Lee Jin-wook (Season 2 & 3), and Song Seung-heon (Season 4) which follows the lives of 112 emergency call center and dispa ...

Will Champlin William Christopher Champlin (born April 24, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his appearance on Season 5 of the NBC singing competition ''The Voice'' as part of Adam Levine's team. He finished in third place behind Jacqui ...

, has guested with the Sons as a player and vocalist.

Discography

Studio albums

*1969: '' Loosen Up Naturally'' (

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

) *1969: ''The Sons'' (Capitol Records) *1970: ''Minus Seeds & Stems'' (self released) *1971: ''Follow Your Heart'' (Capitol Records) *1973: ''Welcome to the Dance'' (

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

) *1975: ''The Sons of Champlin'' (

Ariola Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...

) *1976: ''A Circle Filled with Love'' (Ariola) *1977: ''Loving Is Why'' (Ariola) *2005: ''Hip Li'l Dreams'' (Dig Music)

Live albums

*1998: ''Live'' ( Arista) *2004: ''Secret'' (Sons of Champlin)

Compilation albums

*1993: ''The Best of the Sons of Champlin'' (Capitol Records) *1999: '' Fat City'' (Big Beat)

References

External links

Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sons Of Champlin Psychedelic rock music groups from California Musical groups from the San Francisco Bay Area Musical groups established in 1965