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The United States of America was an American
experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...
band founded in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
in 1967 by composer
Joseph Byrd Joseph Hunter Byrd, Jr. (born December 19, 1937) is an American composer, musician and academic. After first becoming known as an experimental composer in New York City and Los Angeles in the early and mid-1960s, he became the leader of The U ...
and vocalist Dorothy Moskowitz, with electric violinist Gordon Marron, bassist Rand Forbes and drummer Craig Woodson. Their 1968 self-titled album, often cited as an early showcase for the use of electronic devices in rock music, was met with critical acclaim and minor chart success. They disbanded shortly after its release. The group’s sound was grounded in both
psychedelia Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...
and the
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...
. Unusually, the band had no guitar player; instead, they used strings, keyboards and electronics, including primitive
synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
s, and various audio processors, including the
ring modulator In electronics, ring modulation is a signal processing function, an implementation of frequency mixing, in which two signals are combined to yield an output signal. One signal, called the carrier, is typically a sine wave or another simple ...
. Many of the songs' lyrics reflected Byrd's
leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...
political views.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
described them as "among the most revolutionary bands of the late '60s."


History


Background and formation

Composer
Joseph Byrd Joseph Hunter Byrd, Jr. (born December 19, 1937) is an American composer, musician and academic. After first becoming known as an experimental composer in New York City and Los Angeles in the early and mid-1960s, he became the leader of The U ...
, and lyricist and singer Dorothy Moskowitz, first met in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in early 1963 when Byrd was working on a recording of
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
period music for '' Time-Life''. A devotee of composer
Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed ...
, Byrd had already become a respected and innovative composer, involved in
experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
as part of the
Fluxus Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finished product. Fluxus ...
movement with
John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading f ...
, Morton Feldman,
La Monte Young La Monte Thornton Young (born October 14, 1935) is an American composer, musician, and performance artist recognized as one of the first American minimalist composers and a central figure in Fluxus and post-war avant-garde music. He is best k ...
, David Tudor,
Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...
and others. Moskowitz was studying music at
Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...
where she was taught by Otto Luening; she also sang in a vocal group with Art Garfunkel, and worked with David Rubinson on a
musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
production, as well as on the ''Time-Life'' project. Byrd and Moskowitz began a relationship – he has referred to their "profound musical and personal relationship", and she has described him as being her "aesthetic guru" – and he helped her obtain a post with
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...
; when she left, she was replaced in turn by Rubinson. Later in 1963, Byrd and Moskowitz moved together to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
, where Byrd started a doctorate in
ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...
at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
. According to Moskowitz: "Joe brought with him a New York
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...
cachet... a background in electronic music... and composing skills... He attracted immediate attention. Exciting musicians, dancers and visual artists sought collaboration with him. The talent pool for what eventually became the USA was sourced from this group." Byrd co-founded the New Music Workshop in Los Angeles with
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
trumpeter
Don Ellis Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his li ...
, and, after Ellis left, began to incorporate elements of
performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
into his events. Moskowitz helped stage Byrd's performances, and performed in some of them. Both Byrd and Moskowitz also contributed to an album of Indian
raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, and as ...
music by Gayathri Rajapur and Harihar Rao, recorded in 1965 and released by
Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...
in 1968. On one occasion in 1965, as the concluding part of a series of concerts and events called "Steamed Spring Vegetable Pie" (a title taken at random from '' The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook''), Byrd organized a
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 ...
band fronted by his friend
Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
, to play during a "
happening A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happen ...
". Byrd said that "the realization that rock was an access to a larger public came out of that concert, and the idea of forming a band began taking shape." Byrd became increasingly attracted to
radical politics Radical politics denotes the intent to transform or replace the principles of a society or political system, often through social change, structural change, revolution or radical reform. The process of adopting radical views is termed radica ...
, and became a member of the
Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...
, explaining that it was "the one group that had discipline, an agenda, and was willing to work within the existing institutions to educate and radicalize American society." He left UCLA, but continued to stage performance art events, albeit on a reduced budget. After their personal relationship broke down in 1966, Moskowitz returned to New York, but she and Byrd stayed in contact. In early 1967 Byrd started to form a rock band with another politically radical composer, Michael Agnello, together with Moskowitz, bassist Stuart Brotman (previously of Canned Heat and later of Kaleidoscope), and
African drumming Sub-Saharan African music is characterised by a "strong rhythmic interest" that exhibits common characteristics in all regions of this vast territory, so that Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980) has described the many local approaches as consti ...
expert Craig Woodson who had also been involved in the New Music Workshop. Audition recordings by this version of the band, from September 1967, are included on some later CD reissues. However, Agnello left the project on a point of principle when a commercial
recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...
was being considered, and Brotman also left. The first public line-up of the band included Byrd, Moskowitz, Woodson, and two
contemporary classical New Classical architecture, New Classicism or the New Classical movement is a contemporary movement in architecture that continues the practice of Classical architecture. It is sometimes considered the modern continuation of Neoclassical archite ...
musicians with whom Byrd had worked on earlier experimental projects in the New Music Workshop: Gordon Marron (violin) and Rand Forbes (bass). Later, for some of their recordings and performances, they added Marron's friend and writing partner
Ed Bogas Edgar Noel "Ed" Bogas (born February 2, 1942), sometimes credited as Edward Bogas, is an American musician and composer whose work has been featured in films, animations, and video games. Career Bogas' contributions span four decades and severa ...
(keyboards). Byrd initially commissioned
electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
Tom Oberheim Thomas Elroy Oberheim (born July 7, 1936, Manhattan, Kansas), known as Tom Oberheim, is an American audio engineer and electronics engineer best known for designing effects processors, analog synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines. He has ...
to build him a
ring modulator In electronics, ring modulation is a signal processing function, an implementation of frequency mixing, in which two signals are combined to yield an output signal. One signal, called the carrier, is typically a sine wave or another simple ...
, later replaced by electronic
oscillators Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...
in a monophonic synthesizer built by
aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and ast ...
engineer Richard Durrett. Among other effects, Marron used an octave divider on his
electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...
, and Woodson attached
contact microphone A contact microphone, also known as a piezo microphone, is a form of microphone that senses audio vibrations through contact with solid objects. Unlike normal air microphones, contact microphones are almost completely insensitive to air vibrat ...
s to his drum set and hung slinkies from his
cymbals A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...
for a ''
musique concrète Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic, wit ...
'' effect. As the group's founder and leader, Byrd stated that his aesthetic aims for the band and album were to form "an avant-garde political/musical rock group with the idea of combining electronic sound (not
electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...
)... musical/political radicalism... ndperformance art." According to Moskowitz, the choice of the band name "The United States of America" was intentionally provocative: "Using the full name of the country for something so common as a rock group was a way of expressing disdain for governmental policy. It was like hanging the flag upside down." As well as crediting the influence of
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Pari ...
-inspired band The Red Crayola, Byrd said: The demo recorded by the band secured the interest of
Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 19 ...
at Columbia. Through their friend David Rubinson - who had started working for Columbia as a
record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
, for bands and musicians including Moby Grape and
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, ...
- they gained a recording contract.


Performances and recording

The band undertook their first live performances in late 1967, at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles, when Agnello was still performing with the band. Byrd said that "the two engagements at The Ash Grove helped define us as a combination of experimental rock and performance art. Everything we did on the album we had performed live, via the addition of two tape decks on stage. We traveled with a bunch of gear, including a calliope, a 3' x 4' neon American flag (which had alternately flashing red and white stripes), and a full-size plaster nun. We may have been the first to use fog machines: the low-lying fog and the flashing flag created a striking environment. We tended to use low stage lighting when we could, with only a pin spot for the vocalist. And since we often played from written scores, we used stand lights, which also added a kind of other-worldly lit-from-below effect." Electronic devices were used live as well as on the album, to process other instruments and Moskowitz's voice as well as providing their own musical textures. The band's performances got mixed receptions. They undertook a short tour of the East Coast, with
Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar styl ...
and The Troggs, with their performances in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
being especially well received. Byrd later said of their shows: "Audiences generally were positive, sort of... it was a new kind of experience, and it wasn't just the music, it was performance art." They recorded their first and only album in December 1967, produced by Rubinson, with Byrd credited as providing
electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...
, electric
harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
,
organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...
,
calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muse ...
,
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
, and Durrett Electronic Music
Synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
. Besides Byrd, Moskowitz (lead vocals), Marron (
electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...
, ring modulator), Forbes (fretless electric bass), and Woodson (drums and percussion), several of the tracks also credited Bogas. Moskowitz and Byrd collaborated in writing most of the songs, with Byrd responsible for both words and music on three tracks, "The American Metaphysical Circus", "Love Song for the Dead Ché", and "The American Way of Love". Byrd described "The American Metaphysical Circus" and "The American Way of Love" as "comments on the media as a means of thought-control, and the bourgeois sentimentality of the hippies' "Summer of Love" compared with the realities of love under capitalism." In "Garden of Earthly Delights", Byrd wrote the lyrics for the first verse and chorus; Moskowitz came with the track's title and some of the melody and lyrics. On "Coming Down", Moskowitz contributed to the melody line as well as writing the second and third verses. On " Hard Coming Love", Byrd wrote the title and first verse, and Moskowitz contributed what she referred to as the "lame doggerel that follows". Byrd's song "Love Song for the Dead Ché" reflects his leftist views; Columbia Records originally wanted the title changed because of its political implications. Two tracks - "Where Is Yesterday" and "Stranded In Time" - were written by Marron and Bogas. Byrd later described "Stranded In Time", arranged by Marron, as "a weak Beatle-esque copy of ' Eleanor Rigby',
hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
could not be performed live because it called for
string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...
. It should never have been included
n the album N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
but Dave Rubinson loved it." The record was released in early 1968, at a time when there was a receptive audience for “underground music” which combined musical experimentalism with radical social and/or political lyricsother examples, in their very different ways, including the
Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...
(who shared a common background in the New York experimental music scene; according to Moskowitz,
Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pl ...
at one point tried to join the USA),
Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by nonconformity, free-form improvisation, sound experiments, musical virtuosity and satire of ...
(whom Byrd disliked, considering him a niche-marketer "subsumed in a self-referential loop"),
Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
's ''
Forever Changes ''Forever Changes'' is the third studio album by the American rock band Love, released by Elektra Records in November 1967. The album saw the group embrace a subtler folk-oriented sound and orchestration, while primary songwriter Arthur Lee ex ...
'', Country Joe and the Fish, and Jefferson Airplane. The album is littered with references to Byrd's obsession with old-time American music such as the
Dixieland jazz Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...
intro on "I Won't Leave My Wooden Wife for You, Sugar". "The American Metaphysical Circus" starts out with five layers of sound being heard in a
collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...
: a
calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muse ...
playing "
National Emblem A national emblem is an emblem or seal that is reserved for use by a nation state or multi-national state as a symbol of that nation. Many nations have a seal or emblem in addition to a national flag A national flag is a flag that represents ...
", a
ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...
piano playing "At a Georgia Camp Meeting", two marching bands playing " Marching Through Georgia" and "The Red, White and Blue" switching between left and right channels. The other two tracks are of electronic sounds. The marching bands were arranged and conducted by Byrd, rather than being taken from existing recordings. Whether intended or not, the record took the form of a coherent "song cycle", a radical commentary on contemporary American society. The words ranged from satires on decadence ("The American Metaphysical Circus", "..Wooden Wife..", (this title being a parody of the 1905 music hall song, "I Wouldn't Leave My Little Wooden Hut for You" by Tom Mellor and Charles Collins) to lyrical expressions of longing (the pastoral "Cloud Song", the political "Love Song For The Dead
Che Che, Ché, Chè or CHE may refer to: People * Ché Ahn, (born 1956), American Christian pastor * Che Guevara (1928–1967), Argentine Marxist revolutionary * Che (surname) (车), Chinese surname * Che Lovelace (born 1969), Trinidadian artist Ar ...
"). Musically, the songs ranged from pseudo-classical elegance ("Stranded In Time", "Where Is Yesterday") to aggressive discordance and hard rock ("The Garden of Earthly Delights", "Hard Coming Love"), with heavy electronic distortion and collages of music such as brass bands, in line with Byrd being heavily influenced by Charles Ives. The final suite "The American Way of Love" integrates most of these elements, with a dreamlike ending containing a collage of earlier tracks. According to Lillian Roxon, the three-part suite "dealt most explicitly with the activities of homosexual prostitutes on New York's notorious 42nd Street".


Break-up

The band fell apart shortly after their album was released. One factor was disagreement between Byrd, Marron and Bogas over musical direction, with Marron's promotion of lighter "
McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...
-esque" material conflicting with Byrd's original vision for the band, and conversely Marron and Bogas becoming unhappy with the priority given to Byrd's songs. Dissent led to a backstage fist fight between Marron and Byrd after the band's performance supporting the Troggs at the
Fillmore East The Fillmore East was rock promoter Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue near East 6th Street in the (at the time) Lower East Side neighborhood, now called the East Village neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan of New York City. I ...
, when the English band's fans had heckled the United States of America and Byrd and Marron competed against each other in turning up the volumes on their
amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost t ...
s. At another show in Orange County, band members were busted for smoking
marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various t ...
during the show, leading to it having to be completed by just Moskowitz and Byrd, who later complained that Marron, Forbes and Woodson were "often sloppy in performance" as a result of their drug use. There were tensions between Byrd on one side, and Moskowitz and Rubinson on the other. Byrd commented that "as I tried to make our sound ''harder'', Dorothy was trying to go softer, perhaps responding to an unconscious influence of autobiographic women songwriters of the time:
Janis Ian Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child, Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" an ...
,
Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...
, and
Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her st ...
." According to Byrd, there was a lack of enthusiasm for the band from the record company, who felt challenged by both the band's music and Byrd's politics. In contrast, Moskowitz has said that the company were "just trying to market us", and "we were the ones who were being sanctimonious... ndrigid...", also claiming that producer Rubinson lost interest in the band after Agnello left. A further factor was other band members' unhappiness with the initial mixing of the album in New York City by Byrd and Rubinson, which when played back in Los Angeles, according to Byrd, sounded "utterly wimpy and lame. The band blamed me, and they were right. My credibility with my own musicians suffered immeasurably." Moskowitz has referred to the band's "internal conflicts, fisticuffs and power struggles." Byrd has claimed that "Columbia dumped me from the band"; specifically, that Rubinson and the band's manager Malcolm Terrence manoeuvered to remove him, and promote Moskowitz as the band's figurehead and potential solo star. Though Moskowitz disputes that claim, she also said that "although I didn't agree with David ubinsonaesthetically, I felt loyal to him. He was, after all, the one who had put us on the map." In any event, Byrd announced that he was leaving, and, according to Moskowitz, when he changed his mind, "the manager pleaded with me to accept him back, but I wouldn't. There was never a conspiracy towards a solo career or some 'back story' between Rubinson and myself. It was primarily intransigence and anger about band governance on my part that propelled the final train wreck." Byrd subsequently commented: "The idea was to create a radical experience. It didn't succeed. For one thing, I had assembled too many personalities; every rehearsal became group therapy. A band that wants to succeed needs a single, mutually acceptable identity. I tried to do it democratically, and it was not successful." Rubinson said: "Joe Byrd was one of the most insane examples of control freak that I've, to this day, ever experienced... he was really bizarre, and a very, very difficult person to deal with. So there were constant personality conflicts in and among the band. People quitting, people getting replaced, arguments, yelling about intonation, and so forth. They were very talented people, and I don't think they liked being dictated to. But he had a vision of what he wanted." Marron, Forbes and Bogas left the band after their East Coast tour in spring 1968. After Byrd also left, Rubinson and Moskowitz attempted to keep the band name alive, and Moskowitz recorded several tracks in July 1968 with a new and more conventional band of Los Angeles musicians - Jeff Marinell (guitar), Richard Grayson (keyboard), Carmie Simon (bass), and Dennis Wood (drums). Their recordings surfaced on the 2004 CD reissue of ''The United States of America''. However, plans to continue with the band soon came to nothing.


Reception and legacy

The album was described by critic
Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...
as "a near classic", "a tour de force (though not without its flaws) of experimental rock that blended surprisingly melodic sensibilities with unnerving blasts of primitive synthesizers and lyrics that could range from misty romanticism to hard-edged irony. For the relatively few who heard it, the record was a signpost to the future with its collision of rock and classical elements, although the material crackled with a tension that reflected the United States of America itself in the late '60s." Describing Moskowitz's vocals as "reminiscent of an icier
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, ...
", he also said that the electronic textures crafted by Byrd "were not simulations of strings and horns, but exhilarating, frightening swoops and bleeps that lent a fierce crunch to the faster numbers, and a beguiling serenity to the ballads." According to Unterberger, "the very fact that the equipment was so primitive... lent a spontaneous resonance and warmth that has rarely been achieved by subsequent synthesizer technology." Producer David Rubinson commented: According to critic Kevin Holm-Hudson, "what distinguishes the United States of America from some of its contemporaries... is the seriousness and skill with which they incorporated avant-garde and other influences into their music." Despite the widespread support of music critics, the album sold poorly and soon disappeared - at least in the USA, although in the UK it remained fondly remembered, in part because of one track ("Wooden Wife") being used on a popular budget-price CBS sampler album, '' The Rock Machine Turns You On''. The band was later described as an influence by several British bands, including Portishead and
Broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...
. The band's album was first reissued on CD in 1997, and in an expanded edition by
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 ...
in 2004.


Later activities

*
Joseph Byrd Joseph Hunter Byrd, Jr. (born December 19, 1937) is an American composer, musician and academic. After first becoming known as an experimental composer in New York City and Los Angeles in the early and mid-1960s, he became the leader of The U ...
(born 1937) went on to record a second album for Columbia, '' The American Metaphysical Circus'', credited to Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies, in 1969. Byrd also released a number of additional recordings under his own name, as well as scoring films, writing music for television and commercials, and working as a music producer. In the 1970s he founded the Yankee Doodle Society, dedicated to the popular music of the mid-19th century, and released several albums of songs of the period. He is married, lives in northern California near the Oregon border, and since 2000 has taught music-related classes at
College of the Redwoods College of the Redwoods (CR) is a public community college with its main campus in Eureka, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and serves three counties and has two branch campuses, as well as three additional sit ...
. * Dorothy Moskowitz (born 1940) later became a member of
Country Joe McDonald Joseph Allen "Country Joe" McDonald (born January 1, 1942) is an American musician who was the lead singer of the 1960s psychedelic rock group Country Joe and the Fish.Richard Brenneman"Country Joe McDonald Revives Anti-War Anthem", '' Berkeley ...
's All-Star Band, touring and recording with them and appearing on McDonald's 1973 album, ''Paris Sessions''. She also composed theater music, recorded commercials, and sang
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
in clubs. She married in 1978, taking the name Dorothy Falarski, and had two daughters. She began writing music for children in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2003, she became a music teacher for elementary schools in
Piedmont, California Piedmont is a small city located in Alameda County, California, United States, completely surrounded by the city of Oakland. Its residential population was 11,270 at the 2020 census. The name comes from the region of Piedmont in Italy, and it me ...
, introducing students to the basics of brass instruments and vocal techniques. She has developed a number of other music projects in the San Francisco Bay area and lives in a suburb of
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...
. *Gordon Marron (born 1943) became a Los Angeles studio musician on recordings by
David Ackles David Thomas Ackles (February 20, 1937 – March 2, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and child actor. He recorded four albums between 1968 and 1973. Describing Ackles' style in 2003, critic Colin McElligatt wrote, "An unlikely ...
,
Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...
,
Alice Coltrane Alice Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known by her adopted Sanskrit name Turiyasangitananda, was an American jazz musician and composer, and in her later years a swamini. An accomplished pianist and one of the few har ...
,
Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a showbusiness family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on rad ...
and others. He co-wrote the
Vic Dana Samuel Mendola (born August 26, 1942, Buffalo, New York, United States), known professionally as Vic Dana, is an American dancer and singer. Biography Discovered by Sammy Davis Jr., Dana was an excellent male dancer, particularly in tap, and ...
song "The Love In Your Eyes", and worked on film soundtracks with composer Reid Reilich. He later moved to live in
Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest islan ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, where he continues to perform on violin and keyboards. *Craig Woodson (born 1943) gained a
doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
from UCLA and recorded with David Ackles, Linda Ronstadt and others before starting a small business making ethnic musical instruments in the 1970s. He also worked as a percussion teacher, lecturer and consultant, as well as presenting educational concerts and touring with the
Kronos Quartet The Kronos Quartet is an American string quartet based in San Francisco. It has been in existence with a rotating membership of musicians for almost 50 years. The quartet covers a very broad range of musical genres, including contemporary classic ...
. He won several
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
s for musical instrument technology, and led a three-year project in
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
producing instruments for use in local schools. He founded Ethnomusic, Inc., a world music education consultancy, in 1976. For two years, he was senior director of education at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...
. He later lived in
Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
. In 1998, Woodson arranged a ceremony to apologise for his white ancestors' involvement in the slavery that had oppressed members of Carter G. Woodson's family. Following the reconciliation, both sides of the family developed the Black White Families Reconciliation (BWFR) Protocol, using the creative arts, particularly drumming and storytelling, with the aim of healing racial divides within black and white families who share a surname. *
Ed Bogas Edgar Noel "Ed" Bogas (born February 2, 1942), sometimes credited as Edward Bogas, is an American musician and composer whose work has been featured in films, animations, and video games. Career Bogas' contributions span four decades and severa ...
(born 1942) composed soundtracks for ''
Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ''Peanuts'' is among the most popular and inf ...
'' and ''
Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his hum ...
'' TV cartoon specials and for
Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...
's film ''
Fritz the Cat ''Fritz the Cat'' is a comic strip created by Robert Crumb. Set in a "supercity" of anthropomorphic animals, it focused on Fritz, a feline con artist who frequently went on wild adventures that sometimes involved sexual escapades. Crumb began d ...
.'' *Rand Forbes (January 28, 1947–December 23, 2020) became a
software engineer Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term ''p ...
. He worked as an Oracle database administrator, and owned a software development company. He later lived in the Cleveland, Ohio area, close to Craig Woodson. He died in 2020 following a lengthy illness and after contracting
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
.


Discography


Albums

:


Singles

* "The Garden of Earthly Delights" / "Love Song For The Dead Ché" (
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
3745, UK, 1968)
Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...
Rare Record Price Guide 2010,
* " Hard Coming Love" / "Osamu's Birthday" (Sundazed, 2004)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States of America, The American experimental rock groups Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups disestablished in 1968 Musical groups from Los Angeles Proto-prog musicians Psychedelic rock music groups from California