Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane (born June 19, 1942) is an American singer best known for fronting the vocal group
Spanky and Our Gang
Spanky and Our Gang was an American 1960s sunshine pop band led by Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane. The band derives its name from Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' comedies of the 1930s (known to modern audiences as ''The Little Rascals''), because of the si ...
in the late 1960s. She was nicknamed "The Queen of Sunshine Pop".
Early years
In 1959, McFarlane arrived in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
from
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
. She started performing with such jazz greats as
Lil Hardin Armstrong
Lillian Hardin Armstrong (née Hardin; February 3, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, singer, and bandleader. She was the second wife of Louis Armstrong, with whom she collaborated on many recordings in ...
,
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...
, and
Little Brother Montgomery
Eurreal Wilford "Little Brother" Montgomery (April 18, 1906 – September 6, 1985) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and blues pianist and singer.
Largely self-taught, Montgomery was an important blues pianist with an original style. He was a ...
, working the jazz clubs. She soon got involved with the burgeoning folk crowd and formed a trio with
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn (born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician. He is best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Byrds. As a ...
and Guy Guilbert called the Old Town Trio, playing the local bars and coffee houses for a summer. In 1962, she joined the New Wine Singers. Fellow singer Arnie Lanza nicknamed her Spanky because of the similarity of her last name, McFarlane, to the last name of child actor
George McFarland who played Spanky in the
Our Gang
''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...
Comedies. The nickname stuck. The New Wine Singers performed folk songs the first half of their set, then dropped the guitars and banjo, picked up a trombone, coronet, drums, and piano, and closed the set with Dixieland jazz. They made their only folk LP on
Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll.
The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a h ...
titled: "The New Wine Singers at the Chicago Opera House." Then McFarlane joined a jazz-based singing group called the Jamie Lyn Trio, touring the country and working the
Playboy Club
The Playboy Club was initially a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room, and a Club R ...
circuit. In Chicago, 1965, she formed Spanky and Our Gang with
Nigel Pickering
Nigel Pickering (born Fredy Ray Pickering; June 15 1929 - May 5 2011) was an American folk rock musician, who co-founded and was a songwriter for Spanky And Our Gang.
Career
Nigel Pickering was born Fredy Ray Pickering in 1929 in Pontiac, Mis ...
and Oz Bach, with fellow New Wine Singers musician Malcolm Hale joining later. After a couple of weeks' rehearsal, they debuted as the opening act at Mother Blues nightclub.
Mainstream success
The band had major hits with "
Sunday Will Never Be the Same", "
Lazy Day", "
Sunday Mornin'," and "
Like to Get to Know You
"Like to Get to Know You" is a 1968 song from Spanky and Our Gang. Written by Stuart Scharf, the song debuted at No. 71 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on April 20, 1968, and peaked at No. 17 on June 8, 1968.''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955- ...
". McFarlane resisted being labeled a
bubblegum pop
Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States i ...
artist:
On October 31, 1968, the group's lead guitarist Malcolm Hale died in his sleep in the third floor apartment of the same building where Chicago's famed Earl of Old Town folk bar resided, leading the band to disband in early 1969. Thereafter, McFarlane and her husband, road manager Charly Galvin, prepared an album called ''Spanky's Greatest Hits."
Later years
McFarlane had later success as a solo artist. She became a member of
The New Mamas & the Papas, singing
Cass Elliott
Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group brok ...
's vocal parts.
She also began an acting career, playing a bartender in the 1975 film ''
Moonrunners
''Moonrunners'' is a 1975 action comedy film starring James Mitchum, about a Southern family who runs bootleg liquor. It was reworked four years later into the popular long-running television series ''The Dukes of Hazzard'', and the two product ...
'' and appearing as Bloody Mary in the Ferndale Repertory Theatre's production of ''
South Pacific''.
She reinstated Spanky and Our Gang in the 2000s, playing with musicians who had played with
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...
,
Bobbie Gentry
Bobbie Gentry (born Roberta Lee Streeter; July 27, 1942) is a retired American singer-songwriter, who was one of the first female artists in America to compose and produce her own material.
Gentry rose to international fame in 1967 with her Sou ...
, and others.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarlane, Spanky
1942 births
American folk singers
American women pop singers
Spanky and Our Gang members
The Mamas and the Papas members
Living people