The Holy Mackerel was an American
psychedelic pop
Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the late 1960s, elements included " trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, backwards recording, ...
band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1968. Created mainly as a studio venture to capitalize on
Paul Williams' early success as a songwriter, the group recorded one self-titled studio album in the same year. Development for the album included several bandmates and top
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 ...
s, but audiences were mostly unreceptive to it until ''The Holy Mackerel'' was reissued years later.
History
Before the Holy Mackerel,
Paul Williams was a struggling singer, songwriter, and actor, who appeared in some low box office films and was one of many people turned down for a role in
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 ...
. After an uneventful three months with
White Whale Records White Whale Records was an American independent record label, founded in 1965 by Ted Feigin and Lee Lasseff in Los Angeles, California, and probably best known as the record label of The Turtles and a handful of one-hit wonder bands.
White Whale, i ...
, Williams began working with
Richard Perry
Richard Van Perry (born June 18, 1942) is an American record producer. He began as a performer in his adolescence while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late 1960s and early 1970 ...
. Perry offered Williams an attempt to record a studio album and signed a deal with
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels.
Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...
, compelling Williams to form a band before entering the studio.
Williams recruited his brother,
Mentor
Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...
(rhythm guitar, vocals), ex-
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 ...
member
Bob Harvey (bass guitar, vocals), George Hiller (lead guitar, vocals), Cynthia Fitzpatrick (flute, vocals), and former
Turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...
Don Murray (drums), branding the group as the Holy Mackerel.
On November 22, 1967, Biff Rose, (songwriter) who wrote "Fill Your Heart With Love" with additional lyrics by Williams, introduced Williams to Chuck Kaye of A&M Records, who suggested that he join with
Roger Nichols to form a song-writing partnership. In March 1968, the Holy Mackerel began work on their self-titled album at
Sunset Sound Studios
Sunset Sound Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California, United States located at 6650 Sunset Boulevard.
Background
The Sunset Sound Recorders complex was created by Walt Disney's Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, from a collec ...
in Los Angeles, cutting the first two tracks "The Golden Ghost of Love" and an early version of the Nichols-Williams song "To Put Up with You". Williams subsequently re-recorded the latter track on his 1970 solo album ''
Someday Man''. Later that same month, the group moved operations to United Studios and added
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 ...
s such as Steve LeFevre.
[
Recording continued throughout mid-1968, and an album jacket with the Holy Mackerel's original line-up was designed; however, shifts in personnel necessitated a new cover image. Harvey, who wrote the ]psychedelic
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
, sitar-laden "Wildflowers", left during development and was replaced by future Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
bassist Jerry Scheff
Jerry Obern Scheff (born January 31, 1941) is an American bassist, best known for his work with Elvis Presley from 1969 to 1977 as a member of his TCB Band and on the Doors' '' L.A. Woman''.
Biography
Scheff grew up in Vallejo, California. After ...
. Soon after, Murray departed to perform in nightclubs; the group called upon Michael Cannon and Dewey Martin of 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", relea ...
to fill-in at his position. Because of the band's various backgrounds, the album itself promoted a wide-variety of musical tastes including 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 ...
, blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
, and psychedelia. In November 1968, ''The Holy Mackerel'' was released, but, whether a result of being distributed around the same time as ''Electric Ladyland
''Electric Ladyland'' is the third and final studio album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the final studio album released before Hendrix's death in 1970. A double album, it was the only record from the Experience produced by Hendrix. The ban ...
'' or lack of a following for the band, the album failed to chart nationally. Three singles taken from the album also were commercially unsuccessful.[
By the time the album was released, the Holy Mackerel had already disbanded a few months beforehand. Williams broke out with a solo and ultimately more successful writing career, penning hit songs for musical acts like ]Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup ...
and the Carpenters
The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...
. ''The Holy Mackerel'' was reissued on CD format in 2005 on Collector's Choice Music. A deluxe edition, packaged with ten bonus track
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...
s and extensive liner notes, was later distributed in 2010 by Now Sounds Records.
Members
* Paul Williams – lead vocals
* Mentor Williams
Mentor Ralph Williams (June 11, 1946 – November 16, 2016) was an American songwriter and producer. He is best known for writing " Drift Away," a popular song first performed by John Henry Kurtz in 1972 and popularized by Dobie Gray the followi ...
– rhythm guitar, vocals
* Bob Harvey – bass guitar, vocals
* George Hiller – lead guitar, vocals
* Cynthia Fitzpatrick – flute, vocals
* Don Murray – drums
* Jerry Scheff
Jerry Obern Scheff (born January 31, 1941) is an American bassist, best known for his work with Elvis Presley from 1969 to 1977 as a member of his TCB Band and on the Doors' '' L.A. Woman''.
Biography
Scheff grew up in Vallejo, California. After ...
– bass guitar
* Michael Cannon – drums
* Dewey Martin – drums
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoy Mackerel
Psychedelic pop music groups
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Musical groups established in 1968