The Millennium were an American

sunshine pop Sunshine pop (originally known as soft pop) is a subgenre of pop music that originated in Southern California in the mid-1960s. Rooted in easy listening and advertising jingles, sunshine pop acts combined nostalgic or anxious moods with "an appre ...

band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1967.

History

Boettcher had originally worked with drummer Ron Edgar for a brief time in the folk group

The GoldeBriars The Goldebriars were an American folk quartet in the early 1960s, most notable for including a young Curt Boettcher as a guitarist and vocalist. The group also included two sisters, Dotti and Sheri Holmberg, with Ron Neilson as lead guitarist and ...

. Following the dissolution of The GoldeBriars, Edgar joined the group

The Music Machine The Music Machine was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1966. Fronted by chief songwriter and lead vocalist Sean Bonniwell, the band cultivated a characteristically dark and rebellious image reflected in an untamed mus ...

, which also featured

Doug Rhodes Doug Rhodes, (born May 28, 1945) is an American multi-instrumentalist, who performed with 1960s rock bands the Music Machine and the Millennium. Growing up in Garden Grove, California, Rhodes began his music career as a jazz saxophonist at the ...

on organ. The Music Machine scored a

Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

with the song "

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drummer), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles "Talk Talk (Talk Talk s ...

" before disbanding. Boettcher had also formed a group called The Ballroom, which featured Sandy Salisbury as a vocalist.

Lee Mallory William George "Lee" Mallory (January 10, 1945 – March 21, 2005) was a singer, songwriter and guitarist who was part of bands including The Millennium and Sagittarius. His most successful single was a cover of the Phil Ochs/Bob Gibson son ...

had worked as a songwriter and solo performer, and Boettcher had produced some of his recordings, including a cover of

Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...

' "That's The Way It's Gonna Be". The group also featured support from

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

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 ...

. The Millennium recorded one

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, '' Begin'' in 1968. Before disbanding, the group recorded one follow-up single: "Just About The Same" b/w "Blight", as well as several tracks that were later released on

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s. Boettcher went on to make several attempts at recording solo albums (only one was released during his lifetime, '' There's An Innocent Face''), as did Salisbury and Joey Stec. Michael Fennelly would end up in the early 1970s group

Crabby Appleton Crabby Appleton was an American rock band in the early 1970s. Fronted by singer-songwriter Michael Fennelly, they scored a Top 40 hit with their first single, "Go Back." History Though nearly everyone in the group was from a Los Angeles, Ca ...

, who signed with

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

and released two albums, scoring a Top 40 hit with the single "Go Back". Stec founded the record label

Sonic Past Music Sonic Past Music is a record label in Southern California that specializes in releasing previously unpublished music from mainstream artists. Most of the music from the label is from artists from the 1960s and 1970s sunshine pop, psychedelic pop e ...

in the late 1990s, and this label has subsequently released previously unavailable albums from The Millennium, Boettcher, Salisbury, Mallory, and Stec.

Members

Curt Boettcher Curtis Roy Boettcher (January 7, 1944 – June 14, 1987), sometimes credited as Curt Boetcher or Curt Becher, was an American singer, songwriter, arranger, musician, and record producer from Wisconsin. He was a pivotal figure in what is now t ...

– vocals, guitar, production *

– vocals, guitar * Sandy Salisbury – vocals, guitar * Joey Stec – vocals, guitar * Michael Fennelly – vocals, guitar *

– bass, harpsichord, piano * Ron Edgar – drums, percussion

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Begin'' (1968,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

)

Compilation albums

*''The Second Millennium'' (2000, Dreamsville) *''The Millennium Continues'' (2000, Trattoria) *'' Magic Time'' (2001,

Sundazed Records Sundazed Music is an American independent record label based in Coxsackie, New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 2000, Sundazed had a staff of 15 and two mixing studios, including a vintage audio ...

) *''Voices of the Millennium'' (Sonic Past Music) *''Pieces'' (Sonic Past Music)

Box sets

*''The Millennium at Last'' (2012, Sony Music Japan)

References

External links

Sonic Past Music
- record label who has reissued music by The Millennium
Radio show paying tribute to Curt Boettcher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millennium American pop music groups Columbia Records artists Musical groups established in 1967 Psychedelic pop music groups Psychedelic rock music groups from California Sunshine pop