Holy Moses was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band based in Woodstock, New York. They released one album on RCA Victor Records in 1971.

Background

The roots of the band lie in the

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...

band Kangaroo, which formed in 1968 around folk singer

Barbara Keith Barbara Allen Keith (born 1946) is an American folk-rock singer-songwriter who recorded two solo albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She re-emerged in the 1990s with her family band, The Stone Coyotes, who have released 12 albums and cont ...

, multi-instrumentalist

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...

, guitarist Teddy Speleos, and drummer/vocalist N. D. Smart (previously of the Remains). Speleos (born Theodore Edward Speleos, 1951) was a virtuoso guitarist who had previously replaced Roy Buchanan, and played with Hall, in rock and roll band the British Walkers, and whose style was sometimes compared with

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

. The British Walkers
Retrieved April 12, 2019 Bruce Eder, Biography of Teddy Speleos, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved April 2, 2019 In his autobiography '' Born To Run'',

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

wrote that he and Steve Van Zant used to see Speleos playing in bands in Greenwich Village, and used to "sit there slack-jawed at his sound, technique and nonchalance... ". The group, Kangaroo, came to be based in Washington, D.C., and developed an enthusiastic live following. They released a self-titled album on

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

. Reviewer Richie Unterberger said of the album that "there are few other albums of the late '60s... on which so much talent is evident, but so little coheres into satisfying results." Richie Unterberger, Review of ''Kangaroo'', ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved April 2, 2019 The band split up in early 1969. Hall moved on to form the band Orleans before becoming a politician; Smart later formed Mountain with Leslie West; and Keith began a solo career. Jason Ankeny, Biography of Kangaroo, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved April 2, 2019

Formation and career

Speleos then formed a new band, Holy Moses, in Woodstock, New York, with David Vittek (rhythm guitar), Marty David (bass, tenor sax), and Chris Parker (drums). They were joined by singer, songwriter and pianist Billy Batson, a California native who had recorded for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

in 1966, performed in clubs in California and Greenwich Village, and had several of his songs recorded by duo

Hedge and Donna Hedge and Donna were an American folk and folk-rock duo comprising Keene Hedge Capers (born February 21, 1945) and Donna Marie Carson (November 13, 1946 – November 21, 2019). They recorded six albums between 1968 and 1973. On their final album ...

. Batson's songs gave a new focus to the band, and they performed regularly in the Catskills. They rejected a management offer by Albert Grossman, but were seen by Michael Jeffery, who was looking for a new band to manage after the death of his client, Jimi Hendrix. Jeffery was impressed by Speleos' guitar style, and gave him one of Hendrix's guitars. Billy Batson, "A Cowboy's Dream", ''Billy Batson Music''
Retrieved April 3, 2019 The band won a contract with

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

, and in 1970 recorded their album, ''Holy Moses!!'', at the Electric Lady Studios in New York City.Weston Blelock, "Holy Moses, it's Billy Batson!", ''Woodstock Arts'', September 17, 2009
Retrieved April 3, 2019 All the songs were written by Batson, and the album was produced by Mike Esposito of the

Blues Magoos The Blues Magoos are an American rock group from The Bronx, a borough of New York City, United States. They were at the forefront of the psychedelic music trend, beginning in 1966. They are best known for the hit song " (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Ye ...

and Kim King of

Lothar and the Hand People Lothar and the Hand People were a late-1960s American psychedelic rock band, known for their spacey music and pioneering use of the theremin and Moog modular synthesizer. The band's unusual appellation refers to a theremin nicknamed "Lothar", wit ...

. Alex Gitlin, "Holy Moses", ''AlexGitlin.com''
Retrieved April 2, 2019 Released in 1971, together with a single, "A Cowboy's Dream", the album failed to chart, despite having "all the ingredients of a bonafide classic". "Holy Moses: "Agadaga Dooley"", ''The Devil's Music'', June 20, 2013
Retrieved April 3, 2019 Esposito later described the band as "unusually unstable". Jeffery was killed in an airplane crash in 1973; some of the band's equipment including Speleos' guitars were stolen; and Speleos, who reportedly had problems of mental health, moved back to Virginia to start a family. The band then split up.

Later activities

Parker joined Paul Butterfield's Better Days; Speleos reportedly later spent some time in a monastery; Marty David became a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

. Batson was later a member of The Hypstrz, with Ernest Batson, Randy Weiss, and John Haga. They released an album, ''Hypstrization!'', on Voxx Records in 1980. The Hypstrz, ''First-Avenue.com''
Retrieved April 3, 2019 David Vittek died in 2012."David Vittek RIP", ''Woodstock Arts'', November 20, 2012
Retrieved April 3, 2019 Billy Batson died from lung cancer on September 5, 2017.

References

External links

Ted Speleos at Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Moses Musical groups established in 1968 Rock music groups from New York (state) American country rock groups Musical groups disestablished in 1973