The Other Half was an American psychedelic garage rock band, based in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, and active in the mid-to-late 1960s. The band gained interest after one of the '' Nuggets'' compilations in the 1980s included their single, "Mr. Pharmacist".

History

The Other Half formed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States, but later moved to San Francisco.Unterberger, Richie " The Other Half Biography,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

They played several shows at

Chet Helms Chester Leo "Chet" Helms (August 2, 1942 – June 25, 2005), often called the father of San Francisco's 1967 " Summer of Love," was a music promoter and a counterculture figure in San Francisco during its hippie period in the mid- to-late 196 ...

Family Dog shows at the

Avalon Ballroom The Avalon Ballroom was a music venue in the Polk Gulch neighborhood of San Francisco, California, at 1244 Sutter Street (or 1268 Sutter, depending on the entrance). The space is known as the location of many concerts of the counterculture move ...

.Unterberger, Richie (2000)
Randy Holden Interview
, ''Perfect Sound Forever'' Their music was strongly influenced by the Yardbirds and Rolling Stones. Guitarist

Randy Holden Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of them ...

had been offered the chance to replace Jeff Beck in the Yardbirds before joining The Other Half.Unterberger, Richie (2000)
''Urban Spacemen and Wayfaring Strangers''
, Backbeat Books, , The Other Half were at their peak when the music scene was at its height in

and the

Flower Power Flower power was a slogan used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and nonviolence. It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War. The expression was coined by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsbe ...

movement in full swing in

Haight Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and The Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the counterculture ...

. Their style changed from an earlier vocal based garage band, to the loudest big stage band sound of the time, taken in that direction by former

The Sons of Adam The Sons of Adam (earlier the Fender IV) were an United States, American garage rock band. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, they relocated to Los Angeles and became a regular fixture on the Sunset Strip music scene during the mid-1960s. The ...

guitarist Randy Holden. Their sound has been compared to The Yardbirds, and contained elements of blues, hard rock, and Eastern melodic influences. Holden left the band after their debut album was recorded, dissatisfied with the recording and the guitar he was playing at the time, later stating "I was trying to accommodate everyone else, at the expense of my own soul and happiness". Despite Holden's misgivings, the album has been described as "awesome incendiary rock".''The Other Half'' (review)
, Head Heritage Holden went on to join

Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style, and ...

before embarking on a solo career. The band's "Mr. Pharmacist" was included on one of the '' Nuggets'' compilations in the early 1980s, ''Volume 12: Punk Part Three'', and was later covered by The Fall, becoming a number 75 UK chart hit. A collection of their recordings, titled ''Mr. Pharmacist'' was issued in 1982. This included their entire 1968 album and several tracks from singles.Unterberger, Richie " ''Mr. Pharmacist'' Review,

Two songs, "Bad Day" and "Oz Lee Eaves Drops" appeared in the 1968 pilot episode of ''

The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III ...

''.

Band members

– Lead guitar, vocals * Geoff Westen – Rhythm guitar, vocals * Larry Brown – Bass guitar * Danny Woody – Drums * Jeff Nowlen – Vocalist

Singles

* "Mr. Pharmacist" / "I've Come So Far" ( GNP Crescendo 378X, Nov 1966) * "Wonderful Day" / "Flight of the Dragon Lady" (

Acta Acta or ACTA may refer to: Institutions * Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, an intellectual property trade agreement * Administrative Council for Terminal Attachments, a standards organization for terminal equipment such as registered jacks * A ...

801, Mar 1967) * "I Need You" / "No Doubt About It" (Acta 806, Jul 1967) * "What Can I Do For You" / "Bad Day" (Acta 819, Feb 1968) * "Morning Fire" / "Oz Lee Eaves Drops" (Acta 825, May 1968)

Vinyl LPs

*''The Other Half'' (Acta 38004, 1968; reissued on Radioactive 025, 2004) *''Mr. Pharmacist'' (Eva 12003, 1982) – this too is a reissue of Acta 38004

References

External links

Randy Holden's website
* *Prindle, Mar

{{DEFAULTSORT:Other Half, The 1966 establishments in California Garage rock groups from California Musical groups established in 1966 Musical groups disestablished in 1968 Musical groups from San Francisco Psychedelic rock music groups from California