The Brogues were an American

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band formed in Merced, California, in 1964. Much of the group's brief recording career was marked by distorted-

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

melodies and R&B-influenced

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

. They released two regionally successful

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

in their brief existence, most notably the

Annette Tucker Annette May Tucker is an American songwriter, who found success in the 1960s as co-writer of songs for The Electric Prunes ("I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)", "Get Me to the World on Time"), The Brogues (" I Ain't No Miracle Worker"), The K ...

and Nancie Mantz-penned "

I Ain't No Miracle Worker "I Ain't No Miracle Worker" is a song by the American garage rock band, the Brogues, written by Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz, and released as the group's second and final single on Challenge Records, in November 1965 (''see'' 1965 in music). T ...

", which is now considered a classic of the garage rock genre. The song has also appeared on several

compilation albums 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 ...

, and has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by other music artists.

History

The band members all possessed prior experience on the R&B club circuit before coming together as a group influenced by the outset 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 b ...

, more specifically the music of the Animals and

the Pretty Things ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. The group's name, the Brogues, was chosen to represent "American music with a British accent". The band's original lineup, consisting of Eddie Rodrigues (

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 featur ...

), Rick Campbell (

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 ...

Greg Elmore Gregory Dale Elmore (born September 4, 1946, in the Coronado Naval Air Station, California) is an American drummer, formerly with The Brogues and the San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. Elmore also played regularly with Terr ...

(

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

) and Bill Whittington (

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 ...

), debuted on New Year's Eve, and immediately gained a loyal local following in their hometown of Merced and an emerging presence in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. While their contemporaries outfitted themselves conservatively, the Brogues sported a rebellious image and performed hard-edged cover versions of British R&B standards such as "Hubble Bubble Toil and Trouble" and "Mama Keep Your Big Mouth Shut". Initially, the Brogues' high energy performances were received with negative reception by San Francisco's burgeoning

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

movement. Nonetheless, the area quickly developed a liking for the group's sound, and, noticing their rising notoriety, the Brogues self-recorded several demos in Fresno. Though the cuts garnered little interest from most of the record companies the group presented them to

Clara Thompson Clara Mabel Thompson, M.D. (October 3, 1893 in Providence, Rhode Island – December 20, 1958 in New York City) was a prominent psychiatrist and psychoanalyst and co-founder of the William Alanson White Institute. She published articles and boo ...

of the small

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Hush Records Hush Records is a Portland, Oregon based record label founded by Chad Crouch. Background Crouch, frontman of the band Blanket Music, organized Hush Records in 1997, when he self-released a solo record called ''Portland, Or''. The following year, ...

, who upon hearing the tapes, immediately instructed her son to sign the Brogues to a

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 ...

. On June 23, 1965, the band entered Coast Recorders Studio in San Francisco to record their two original numbers "Somebody" and "But Now I Find". "Somebody", which saw Campbell switch to bass guitar and Whittington to

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, was a

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

tune. The latter song, "But Now I Find", better represented the group's sound in live performances with Kinks-inspired instrumental arrangements. In August 1965, "Somebody" was released as the Brogues' debut

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, and peaked at number 31 on Bakersfield's KAFY radio, and reached number 14 on KYOS radio. As a result of the single's regional success, the group toured with other musical acts like the Zombies,

Jewel Akens Jewel Eugene Akens (September 12, 1933 – March 1, 2013) was an American singing, singer and record producer. Career He recorded with The Medallions on Dootone, with The Four Dots on Freedom, and then with singer Eddie Daniels as "Jewel and Edd ...

, and Shirley Ellis, among others. After a performance in Stockton with local group the Ratz, the Brogues enticed their singer Gary Cole (also known as

Gary Duncan Gary Duncan (born Eugene Duncan, Jr., adopted at birth and named Gary Ray Grubb, September 4, 1946 – June 29, 2019) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was guitarist with The Brogues, then most notably with Quicksilver Me ...

) to join the group. Once their stay in San Francisco ended, the band traveled to Sunset Recorders in Los Angeles to record their follow-up single for Challenge Records, who had purchased the distribution rights to "Somebody". Pressed for time, the group recorded the

and Nancie Mantz-penned song "

", and composed "Don't Shoot Me Down" right in the studio. However, the group's "I Ain't No Miracle Worker" failed to breakout nationally as a consequence of their record label focusing their advertising efforts on The Knickerbockers' hit, " Lies". Since its initial release, "I Ain't No Miracle Worker" has become considered a garage rock classic and is featured on the 1998 reissue of the

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 ...

, '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968''. The Brogues disbanded before they could promote the single when Rodrigues and Campbell were conscripted and the group could not find suitable replacements. After the band's breakup, Duncan and Elmore stayed in San Francisco and formed the

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band Quicksilver Messenger Service. Additionally, Whittington joined the folk rock group, the Family Tree. In 1996, Sundazed Records released an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

containing the Brogues' material on their two singles.

Discography

* "Someday"/"But Now I Find" (7", Twilight, 1965) * "Don't Shoot Me Down"/"

" (7", Challenge, 1965) * "Modern Modes" * "25th and a Half" * "Won't Explain"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brogues Garage rock groups from California Psychedelic rock music groups from California Musical groups established in 1964 Challenge Records (1950s) artists