The Litter was an American
psychedelic and
garage rock band, formed in 1966 in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, United States.
They are best remembered for their 1967 debut
single, "
Action Woman". The group recorded three
albums
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 col ...
in the late 1960s before disbanding, but they re-united in 1990, 1992, and again in 1998, when they recorded a new studio album consisting of both old and new material. All of their Minneapolis recorded material was produced by Warren Kendrick, who owned the Scotty and Warick and Hexagon labels.
History
Four members of the original line-up, Jim Kane, Bill Strandlof, Denny Waite, and Dan Rinaldi formed the band in 1966 from the remains of two popular Minneapolis bands: The Victors and The Tabs. Tom Murray joined as a result from a successful band audition. Their group name was presented by Jim Kane and accepted over other suggestions like "The Mustys".
Heavily influenced by the bands of the
British Invasion
The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...
,
the group recorded their debut single "Action Woman" / "A Legal Matter" in late 1966. "Action Woman" proved to be their most impactful single and became a
garage rock classic. Bill Strandlof, lead guitarist for the single, was replaced by Tom Caplan just before their debut album ''Distortions'' was released in the summer of 1967. ''Distortions'' leaned on cover songs, but became a classic that would be re-released when garage rock was revived.
By 1968, the band had shifted to the
psychedelic rock scene. Their second album, ''$100 Fine'', included original input from the band and British-influenced cover material.
Although the album did not chart nationally, it did chart at number 10 on the ''Twin Cities'' chart. Their writer/producer, Warren Kendrick, had developed a method to precisely control the
flanging
Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, one signal delayed by a small and (usually) gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and no ...
effect (which eventually became a staple of psychedelic recordings) and he applied it to a cover version of a
Procol Harum
Procol Harum () were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single " A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for ...
song, "Kaleidoscope." A highlight for the band that year was their brief appearance in the movie, ''
Medium Cool
''Medium Cool'' is a 1969 American drama film written and directed by Haskell Wexler and starring Robert Forster, Verna Bloom, Peter Bonerz, Marianna Hill and Harold Blankenship. It takes place in Chicago in the summer of 1968. It was notab ...
''. Their scene in the movie however, was overdubbed by
The Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows.
Originally an R&B band ...
's song, "Flower Punk". Further work on the soundtrack was also replaced by
Frank Zappa tracks. The band, later in the year, turned down offers by
Elektra Records and
Columbia Records, which slowed their progress to the national scene.
In 1969, the band finally signed to a major label. Their third album, ''Emerge'' was released on the
ABC Records label and became their most successful.
It peaked at number 175 on the
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...
. However, recording for the album did not include Caplan or Waite. There were heavier rock tracks on the album. The group disbanded in 1972.
The group continued to tour with several different line-ups sporadically thereafter, and released an album of new material in 1998.
In 2020, Tom Murray, with talented new players including Larry Wiegand of Crow, released a Litter album, ''Future of the Past''. Tom “Zippy” Caplan (''Distortions'' and ''$100 Fine'') also plays lead guitar on several tracks.
Personnel
* Jim Kane -
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
and
moog synthesizer, 1966-1970 & 1990
* Tom Murray -
drums, 1966-1972 & 1992 (born
Cleveland, Ohio, 1948)
* Dan Rinaldi -
rhythm guitar,
backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...
- 1966-1972 & 1992 (born Minneapolis, May 1, 1945
– June 5, 2015)
* Bill Strandlof -
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...
, 1966-1967 (born
St Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...
, 1946 – March 4, 1995)
* Denny Waite -
organ, lead vocals, harmonica, 1966–1968, 1990–1992, 1995-2012 (born St Paul, April 14, 1948)
* Tom 'Zippy' Caplan - lead guitar, 1967-1968 & 1990-1992 (born St Paul, August 18, 1946; left to form
White Lightning with Woody Woodrich in 1968)
* Lonnie Knight - lead guitar and vocals, 1968
* Mark Gallagher - vocals 1968-1970 & 1992 (Mark Patrick Gallagher; March 17, 1948 – February 24, 2009)
* Ray Melina - lead guitar, 1968-1970
* Sean Jones - lead guitar, 1970 (Sean Jones aka Jack Stanley Jones aka Sean C. Marshall born October 9, 1948, died February 13, 2011)
* Jon Sutphen - bass, 1970
* Casey Macpherson, vocals, 1971-1972
* Mike Rowe - bass 1971-1972
* John King - lead guitar 1971 - 1972
* Woody Woodrich, bass, 1970
* Mick Stanhope, vocals, 1992
* Bob Hood - 1992
* Rick Ottum - 1992
* Joe Scanlan - drums, 1998-2005
* Doug Hassman - rhythm and lead guitar, 2005-2007
* Kenny Carson - rhythm guitar and bass, 2005 and 2012–present
Line-ups
Discography
Singles
* "
Action Woman" b/w "
A Legal Matter" (Scotty 803G-6710) January 1967
* "
Somebody Help Me
"Somebody Help Me" is a single by The Spencer Davis Group, which was released in 1966. As with "Keep on Running", it was composed by Jackie Edwards.
Chart performance
"Somebody Help Me" became the band's second consecutive and last number-on ...
" b/w "
I'm a Man" (Warick 9445–6711) 1967
* "Action Woman" b/w "
Whatcha Gonna Do About It
"Whatcha Gonna Do About It" is the debut single released by the English rock group Small Faces, released in the UK on 6 August 1965. The song peaked at number 14 in the UK Singles Chart, and stayed on chart for a total of 14 weeks. It reache ...
" (Warick 6712) 1967
* "Silly People" b/w "Feeling" (Probe 461) 1968
* "Blue Ice" b/w "On Our Minds" (Probe 467) 1969
Albums
* ''
Distortions'' (Warick WM-671-A) 1967
* ''$100 Fine'' (Hexagon 681-S) 1968
* ''Emerge'' (Probe 4504-S) 1968
* ''Re-Emerge'' (Arf! Arf! AA-080) 1999
Compilation appearances
* ''Rare Tracks'' (Eva 12013) 1983
* "Action Woman":
** ''
Pebbles, Volume 1
''Pebbles'' is a compilation of US underground and garage single record releases from the mid- to late-1960s. It had a limited original release in 1978 and a more general release in 1979 (where the album was identified simply as ''Pebbles''). I ...
'' (LP-1979; CD-1992)
** ''
Songs We Taught the Fuzztones'' (1993)
** ''
Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968'' — Box Set (1998)
** ''Garage Rock Classics'' (2004)
** ''Trash Box'' (5-CD box set)
* "I'm A Man":
** ''
Pebbles, Volume 2
''Pebbles, Volume 2'' is a compilation album featuring American underground psychedelic and garage rock musical artists from the 1960s. It is the second installment of the ''Pebbles'' series and was released on BFD Records in 1979 (''see'' 1 ...
'' (LP)
** ''
Pebbles, Volume 3
''Pebbles, Volume 3'', subtitled The Acid Gallery, is a compilation album featuring American underground psychedelic rock musical artists from the 1960s. It is the third installment of the ''Pebbles'' series and was released on BFD Records in 1 ...
'' (CD – ESD Records)
* "Hey Joe":
** ''The Scotty Story'' (CD)
* "
7 Up
7 Up (stylized as 7up outside North America) is an American brand of lemon-lime-flavored non-caffeinated soft drink. The brand and formula are owned by Keurig Dr Pepper although the beverage is internationally distributed by PepsiCo. 7 Up co ...
Commercial":
** ''The Scotty Story'' (CD)
Live albums
* ''Live at Mirage 1990'' (Arf! Arf! AA-79) 1998
References
External links
The Litter's official website
Zip Caplan's website*
Lonnie Knight's official websiteJohn King's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Litter, The
Garage rock groups from Minnesota
American psychedelic rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1966
Musical groups disestablished in 1970