Street was a rock group from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

that was around from the late 1960s to the early 1970s. They were fronted by female singer Anya Cohen and were managed by record producer

Rick Shorter Rick Shorter (May 1, 1934 - September 1, 2017) was a songwriter, music producer, and author. During the 1960s when he was most active, he produced and arranged for a multitude of artists. They include Ciska Peters, Big Dee Irwin, and Galt MacDer ...

. They released a self-titled album and a couple of singles. They had a good degree of success with their single "One Kind Favor".

Background

Described by Phil Morris of ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' as a hard driving rock group with an excellent vocalist Anya Cohen, Street were managed by

who also wrote some of their material and produced their recordings. Shorter discovered lead singer Anya Cohen at the Wee Spot Coffee Shop, a Rochester coffee house she was running. He set her up with a bunch of musicians that consisted of guitarists John Williamson and Will Betz. Bassist Michael Lynne, percussionist Alan Camarda and drummer Thomas Chamon. Prior to joining the group, Cohen spent three years at Eastman School of Music. She also played guitar herself and had played clubs and appeared on television. By May 1968, they were the new group for the

Verve Forecast Verve Forecast is a record label formed as a division of Verve Records to concentrate on pop, rock, and folk music. Founding Jerry Schoenbaum of Verve and Moe Asch of Folkways created Verve Folkways in 1964 to take advantage of the popularity ...

label.

Career

1968

Now having been signed to the Verve/Forecast label they still went by the name of Anya's Street. By May 11, 1968, their single "There's One Kind Favor" bw "Boeing 707" was due for immediate release. The single credited to Anya's Street was released on Verve Forecast KF5084. The A side was written by Jules Taub and

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list o ...

. The B side "Boeing 707" was composed by Shorter. "One Kind Favor" did quite well. A live performance of the group was reviewed in the July, 20 issue of '' Cashbox''. The songs played included "

C.C. Rider "See See Rider", also known as "C.C. Rider", "See See Rider Blues" or "Easy Rider", is a popular American 12-bar blues song that became a standard in several genres. Ma Rainey, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey was the first to record it on October 16, 192 ...

", a medley of "If I Needed Someone - Tomorrow Is A Long Time", " If I Were a Carpenter", "

The Eggplant That Ate Chicago "The Eggplant That Ate Chicago" is a song about alien invasion by Dr. West's Medicine Show and Junk Band. Although often listed as a "one hit wonder", the song did not actually reach the top 40, and its author, Norman Greenbaum, later wrote and per ...

", and "There’s One Kind Favor". The review was very good but reviewer did say that the arrangements on some of their songs were so strong that they made some others seem pale by comparison. The reviewer also said biggest and that they could blossom into one of the best live and disk attractions around. On September 15, they appeared at Wheels, a venue in New York. Fred Kirby of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' who wrote about their performance said that their first set was good. They opened with "See See Rider". The other numbers they covered were "Boeing 707", "Some Thoughts Of A Young Man's Girl", and "I Think I Care". They concluded with "If I Needed Someone" and "Tomorrow's A Long Long Long Time". Kirby's review of them was good, noting Anya Cohen's handling the material well, the drummers being steady and all five musicians being competent. He also commented on guitarist John Williamson and bassist Michael Lynn playing their instruments in counterpoint. The group had played at Steve Paul's Scene in New York, The Bitter End in Greenwich Village. They also did a three-week stint at Wheels on New York's upper east side. On October 5, 1968, they appeared on Channel 11 's "Rock of New York" with

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

and

The Chambers Brothers The Chambers Brothers are an American psychedelic soul band, best known for their eleven-minute 1967 psychedelic soul hit "Time Has Come Today". The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions wit ...

. ;Album release The success of their engagements at New York discothèques, the airplay, "One Kind Favor" doing well etc., gave them an advantage to record their debut album. According to the July 20, 1968 issue of ''

Cashbox Magazine ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'', they had already begun work on their album. Their self-titled album was released that year on Verve Forecast FTS-3057. It included 5 Shorter compositions. They received a good review in '' Cashbox'' with the arrangements and instrumentalism recognized for their quality. There was potential for a wide appeal with the tracks, "There's One Kind Favor", "If I Needed Someone", "Tomorrow's A Long, Long Time", and "

High Heel Sneakers "Hi-Heel Sneakers" (often also spelled "High Heel Sneakers") is a blues song written and recorded by Tommy Tucker in 1963. Blues writer Mary Katherine Aldin describes it as an uptempo twelve-bar blues, with "a spare, lilting musical framework ...

" being its strong points. Hillard Pouncy of '' The Heights'' didn't give it a good review, saying that it was ''"A bland murky sound changed only by loudness and tempo, is all you hear"''. He also criticized the ability of the two guitarists. His criticism didn't stop there. He also was critical of the album, saying the guy in the gold lame jump suit floating off the ground bothered the eye. He did remark that Anya Cohen sounded like the female singer of

We Five We Five was a 1960s folk rock musical group based in San Francisco, California. Their best-known hit was their 1965 remake of Ian & Sylvia's " You Were on My Mind", which reached No. 1 on the Cashbox chart, #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and ...

and also a young

Grace Slick Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter, artist, and painter. Slick was a key figure in San Francisco's early psychedelic music scene in the mid-1960s. With a music career spanning four decades, s ...

. When Fred Kirby from ''Billboard'' reviewed them playing live, he gave them a favorable review with no criticism of the playing.

1969

They released one more single in 1969 on the Traffic Records label, "Apollo... Amen" bw "Why Concern Yourself". Shorter composed both songs as well as producing and arranging the recordings. In 1969, the Traffic Records label which was co-owned by Shorter and Barry Lane had entered into a deal in 1969 with

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

to distribute their recordings in Canada. This included work by Street and another group called TCB which Shorter also managed.

Later years and other info

Unreleased recordings

One song from a recording session on April 1, 1968, was never released. The song was "I Got Something Money Can't Buy", when the group was still called Anya's Street. On August 1968, now known as Street, the group recorded a selection of songs. One was "She's Gonna Shine Tomorrow". The other was an unknown title.

Members

* Will Betz - bass, electric guitar * Al Camardo - percussion * Tom Champion - drums, percussion * Anya Cohen - vocals, percussion, tambourine * Michael Lynn - bass, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals * John Williamson - bass, electric guitar, vocals

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 databas ...

Street, ''Street'', Credits
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Discography

References

External links

''New Groove '69'' article

Street LP on YT
{{Authority control Musical groups from New York City Verve Forecast Records artists Psychedelic pop music groups