The Will-O-Bees were an American

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 ...

and

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 ...

trio in the 1960s comprising Janet Blossom, Steven Porter, and Robert Merchanthouse (born c.1946, Indiana, died 2019).

Career

Blossom and Merchanthouse both attended Richmond High School,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. The trio initially performed in a style similar to

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's repertoir ...

. Recording 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 ...

, they released their first single, "Why Can't They Accept Us" – written and produced by Roger Atkins and Carl D'Errico, co-writers of

the Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...

' hit " It's My Life" – on

Date Records Date Records was a sub-label of Columbia Records which had two different incarnations. The first incarnation was a short-lived rockabilly label in 1958 which included a release by Billy "Crash" Craddock. The more significant incarnation was relau ...

in July 1966. The group was associated with the

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...

publishing company. Their second single, "

Shades of Gray Variations of gray or grey include achromatic grayscale shades, which lie exactly between white and black, and nearby colors with low colorfulness. A selection of a number of these various colors is shown below. Chart of computer web color ...

", was written by the company's staff writers

Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early li ...

and

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Life and career Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Wei ...

, and produced by

Bill Traut William Raymond Traut (March 20, 1929 – June 5, 2014) was an American jazz musician, rock music producer, manager and record label executive. He co-founded the Dunwich and Wooden Nickel record labels, and produced The Shadows of Knight, The Am ...

of Dunwich Productions; the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, "If You're Ready", had originally been recorded by

the Del-Vetts The Del-Vetts were an American garage rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1963. They released five singles and obtained regional success in the Midwest. Band The first lineup of the band consisted of Jim Lauer ( lead vocals, lead guitar), ...

, another group managed by Traut. "Shades of Gray" was later recorded by

the Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

in 1967 on their album ''

Headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

''. The Will-O-Bees' third single, "It's Not Easy", another Mann-Weil composition produced by Traut, was their only chart success, reaching #95 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

in February 1968. Randy Watts, David Edwards, Mike Callahan and Patrice Eyries, "Date Album Discography", 2010
Retrieved 11 August 2017. The Will-O-Bees, ''45cat.com''
Retrieved 11 August 2017. "It's Not Easy" was originally written for the

Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Los ...

, and had first been recorded in London in 1966 by Australian pop singer

Normie Rowe Norman John Rowe (born 1 February 1947) is an Australian singer and songwriter of pop music and an actor of theatre and soap opera for which he remains best known as Douglas Fletcher in 1980s serial '' Sons and Daughters''. As a singer he was ...

; his version was a chart hit in Australia and New Zealand. In 1968, the Will-O-Bees transferred to Screen Gems' own SGC label, and released three further singles, again produced by Traut. These included the Mann-Weil songs " Make Your Own Kind of Music" and "

It's Getting Better "It's Getting Better" is a song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil that was a sunshine pop hit single in 1969 for Mama Cass. Overview The song describes the singer's satisfaction with a love relationship that is down-to-earth rather than ex ...

", which were both later recorded more successfully by

Mama Cass Elliot Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group brok ...

. The Will-O-Bees also recorded and released the theme song of the unsuccessful TV sitcom ''

The Ugliest Girl in Town ''The Ugliest Girl in Town'' is an American sitcom produced by Screen Gems for ABC. It ran from September 26, 1968, to January 30, 1969. Synopsis Timothy Blair is a Hollywood talent agent. He falls in love with Julie Renfield, a British actress ...

'', written by

Howard Greenfield Howard Greenfield (March 15, 1936 – March 4, 1986) was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building. He is best known for his successful songwriting collaborations, including o ...

and

Helen Miller Helen Miller may refer to: * Helen Miller (cricketer) (1915–1972), New Zealand cricketer * Helen Miller (politician) (born 1945), American politician * Helen Miller (songwriter) (1925–2006), American songwriter * Helen Hill Miller (1899–1995), ...

. "The Ugliest Girl In Town", ''Television Obscurities''
Retrieved 11 August 2017 However, none of the group's SGC recordings made the charts, and the group made no further recordings after early 1969.

Discography

* "Why Can't They Accept Us?" / "The World I Used To Know" (

Date Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner **Group dating *Play date, an ...

, 1966) * "

" / "If You're Ready" (Date, 1966) * "It's Not Easy" / "Looking Glass" (Date, 1967) * " Make Your Own Kind of Music" / "Listen To The Music" ( SGC, 1968) * "The Ugliest Girl In Town" / "I Can't Quit Lovin' You Baby" (SGC, 1968) * "November Monday" / "

" (SGC, 1969)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Will-O-Bees American folk rock groups American musical trios Musical groups from New York City