Flamin' Groovies
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Flamin' Groovies is an American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band that formed in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
in 1965, originally co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, on Epic ('' Supersnazz'') and Kama Sutra (''
Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...
'' and '' Teenage Head''), Loney left the band in 1971. He was replaced as co-leader by Chris Wilson, and the band's emphasis shifted more toward
British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...
power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
.Power Pop: The ’70s, The Birth Of Uncool
Magnetmagazine.com (2002-09-07). Retrieved on 1 September 2013.
In addition to the band's role in the advancement of power pop, the Flamin' Groovies have also been called one of the forerunners of
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
. The band signed to
United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1958 ...
in 1972, releasing just three more singles until 1976. The Groovies then signed to
Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...
and released three albums between 1976 and 1979, '' Shake Some Action'', '' Flamin' Groovies Now'' (both produced by Dave Edmunds at
Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Recording studios Rockfield is a two-stu ...
in Wales) and '' Jumpin' in the Night''. The 1976 album's title track "Shake Some Action" (also released as a single) became a power pop anthem and is revered by many, including
Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (né Gerstley; born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biogra ...
in his book, ''The History of Rock and Roll in Ten Songs''. Wilson left the band in 1981, and the band continued in various forms, including the release of three more albums, before breaking up in 1991. After a couple of limited reunions with different lineups, the 1970s nucleus of Jordan, Wilson, and Alexander reformed the group in 2013, and the band's first post-reunion album, '' Fantastic Plastic'', was released in 2017. Alexander left the reformed band in 2017, and in 2019 Wilson went on hiatus. Loney died later that same year.


Career


Beginnings

Roy Loney and Tim Lynch, who met in first grade, had put together a Kingston Trio-type folk band with guitars when they were in junior high and high school. Beginning in 1965, after adding their friend George Alexander (whom they told to learn bass), they became a
Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
-influenced rock band with drummer Ron Greco. Greco knew a 15-year-old lead guitarist named Cyril Jordan, who quickly became a part of the group, although Greco then left and was replaced by Danny Mihm. After playing together for about three years under various group names and not getting any record company offers, they decided to put up their own money and make their own EP, which they could also use as a label demo. That EP, 1968's ''Sneakers'', was recorded on 4-track and mixed in about eight hours total and featured Jordan (guitar, vocals), Loney (vocals, guitar), Alexander (bass, harmonica, vocals), Lynch (guitar, harmonica, vocals) and Mihm (drums). As a result of its success, they were signed to a contract by
Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
. Around the same time, their manager leased
The Fillmore The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California. Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fil ...
from Bill Graham, and they became managers of the venue. During a stay in Detroit, the band would be exposed to local bands such as
MC5 MC5 was an American rock music, rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The classic lineup consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis (bassist), Michael Davis, and drummer ...
,
the Stooges The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...
, and
the Frost The Frost was an American psychedelic rock band from Alpena, Michigan in the late 1960s, led by singer-guitarist Dick Wagner, who went on to play with Ursa Major, Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel in the 1970s. The rest of the band consist ...
, which caused the Groovies' sound to become heavier. During this period, they released 1969's '' Supersnazz''. In Loney's words, the album was "all over the map" and "kinda grasping at every possible straw"; it contained both re-creations of 1950s
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
and more melodic songs that anticipated the
power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
movement of the 1970s—a genre to which the Flamin' Groovies would eventually contribute significant work. However, the album's low sales led to their release by Epic. They then started doing national tours, and their further exposure to Detroit's musical scene "hardened up our sound a whole lot", in Loney's words. At the instigation of Richard Robinson (a journalist and the Groovies' future producer), the Groovies then signed to
Kama Sutra Records Kama Sutra Records was started in 1964 by Artie Ripp, Hy Mizrahi, and Phil Steinberg as Kama Sutra Productions, a production house. The ''Kama Sutra'' is an ancient Sanskrit text. In 1965, the company was joined by Art Kass and the record labe ...
for their next two albums, 1970's ''
Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...
'' and 1971's '' Teenage Head''. Jordan was unhappy with the sound quality of ''Flamingo''." ''Teenage Head'' is listed in the 2006 book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music criti ...
'', and
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...
reportedly compared the album favorably to the
Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
' contemporaneous ''
Sticky Fingers ''Sticky Fingers'' is the ninth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released on 23 April 1971 on the Rolling Stones' new label, Rolling Stones Records. The Rolling Stones had been contracted by Decca Records an ...
''. Despite the critical plaudits, though, neither album sold well, which caused Loney and Lynch to lose interest and left the Groovies in limbo about their future. Loney and Jordan clashed over the band's direction, due to the former's preference for rock and
rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...
and the latter's interest in pop acts such as
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
. Jordan, however, felt the band was just evolving. Tim Lynch then left the band and was replaced by James Ferrell, shortly before the Groovies played a concert for the closing of the
Fillmore West The Fillmore West was a historic rock and roll music venue in San Francisco, California, US which became famous under the direction of concert promoter Bill Graham from 1968 to 1971. Named after The Fillmore at the intersection of Fillmore ...
that was broadcast live on local San Francisco radio station KSAN.


Isolation and success

Not long after the KSAN concert, Loney also left the band and was replaced by 18-year-old singer and guitarist Chris Wilson, who, along with Jordan, began to move the group in a more overtly power pop direction. Alexander had become friends with British music executive Andrew Lauder, and in 1972, the band reached a deal to sign with Lauder's
United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1958 ...
("UA") and to record with British producer
Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh retired singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock and New wave music, new wave, having many hit record, h ...
at
Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Recording studios Rockfield is a two-stu ...
in
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, even though the U.S. division of UA had already turned down the band. The Groovies moved to Britain, where they remained for the rest of 1972,Cyril Jordan, liner notes for ''Slow Death'' (2002). Retrieved 13 November 2017. but the UA deal was never expanded beyond two single releases, "Slow Death"/" Tallahassee Lassie" and "Married Woman"/"Get a Shot of Rhythm and Blues", which United Artists preferred to Edmunds and the band's choices "Shake Some Action" and "You Tore Me Down". However, "Slow Death", an anti-drug song that Jordan had written with Loney, was banned by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
for using the word "morphine", which killed the momentum behind the signing. All seven songs recorded in 1972 by the Groovies for UA (the six named above plus Chuck Berry's " Little Queenie") were released in 1995 by
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
on the '' A Bucket of Brains'' album.Jon Storey, liner notes for ''A Bucket of Brains'' (1995). Retrieved 14 November 2017. The failure of these singles effectively left the band in limbo for two years. During this lull, drummer Danny Mihm also left the band, replaced first by Terry Rae and ultimately by David Wright. In 1973, the Groovies re-recorded "Shake Some Action" as part of a deal with
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
, but executive turnover at Capitol blocked that deal before the contracts were signed. In an effort to gain some leverage, the band agreed to release the Edmunds-produced version of "You Tore Me Down" as the first single on the brand-new Bomp! Records label in 1974. Some of the various released and unreleased recordings made and produced by the Groovies during this period (six demos from 1971, " Tallahassee Lassie" from 1972, one TV recording from 1972, and the two Capitol demos from 1973) were later collected on the 2002 Norton album ''Slow Death''. Finally, in 1975, Greg Shaw from Bomp! became the Flamin' Groovies' manager and arranged for them to sign to the new (but poorly distributed) label
Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...
, headed by
Seymour Stein Seymour Steinbigle (April 18, 1942 – April 2, 2023), known professionally as Seymour Stein, was an American entrepreneur and music executive. He co-founded Sire Records and was vice president of Warner Bros. Records. With Sire, Stein signed ba ...
. Due to that, the Groovies returned to the UK and recorded and released (in 1976) '' Shake Some Action'', again produced by Edmunds, which included the same recordings of two songs ("Shake Some Action" and "You Tore Me Down") that United Artists had passed on in 1972 but Stein loved. The album received rave critical reviews, similar to ''Teenage Head''. The Groovies continued to tour continually and were supported by the
Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...
and
The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the ...
at the Roundhouse in London on July 4, 1976 (which was coincidentally the US's bicentennial) in the former band's first ever appearance in the UK. This concert has been widely noted as a seminal moment in the development of punk rock. Sire's distribution was taken over by
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...
in 1977, and so the Groovies returned to a major label; however, shortly before that, James Ferrell, who had been unhappy with the band's "Beatle-esque" direction, was fired and replaced by Mike Wilhelm, who had previously played with Wilson in the San Francisco band "Loose Gravel". The band then recorded two albums for Sire/Warners, 1978's '' Flamin' Groovies Now'', once more produced by Dave Edmunds, and 1979's '' Jumpin' in the Night'', produced by Jordan and
Roger Bechirian Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages">Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") ...
. Wilson felt that ''Now'' was his favorite album and the band with Edmunds was in "one of our most creative times". However, Sire gave the album little promotion, and it didn't sell appreciably better. Edmunds also intended to produce ''Jumpin' in the Night'', but, according to Wilson, his new manager Jake Riviera blocked him from doing so. Both albums included several covers of older material from other artists, which became an issue between Jordan, who wanted to include the covers (because he was trying to renegotiate his publishing rights with Sire), and Wilson, who did not. According to Jordan, during this period Warners also released a punk rock songbook that featured the
Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...
. the Ramones, and the Groovies.


Breakup

The commercial failure of ''Jumpin' in the Night'', as well as clashes between Jordan and Stein, led Sire to drop the Flamin' Groovies in 1980,Anthony Clark and George Alexander posts, "The Flamin' Groovies" Facebook group, posted December 16, 2017. although the band nevertheless added keyboardist Mark Dunwoody. Then, a failed recording session at
Gold Star Studios Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, California. In its entire history, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world. Founded by David S. Gold ...
in 1981 for a new album tentatively called ''Tour de Force'' (in which only five complete songs were recorded in a three-week period, but four of them were covers) and the widening personal differences between Jordan and Wilson led both David Wright and Chris Wilson to quit the Groovies, with Wilson's departure taking place on Halloween night 1981. Wilson called the Gold Star sessions "a complete debacle" and referred to the time as being "like a messy family divorce"; all of the Groovies blamed the collapse of the Gold Star sessions on excessive drug use. As Jordan admitted, "We got tired. We were beaten up and cast aside, and the feeling was that this thing’s over, and you couldn’t stop that feeling with anybody in the band because it looked like it was." Despite that, Jordan and Alexander added new members, including the return of drummer Danny Mihm, and resumed touring. However, after Wilhelm, Mihm and Dunwoody all left in 1982, the Flamin' Groovies once again had to reform. Later in the 1980s, the Groovies, now including Jordan, Alexander, guitarist-vocalist Jack Johnson, and drummer Paul Zahl, became involved with an Australian promoter named Peter Noble (the owner of AIM Records), who began to issue various Groovies live and studio recordings and reissue prior albums. After a 1987 live-in-the-studio recording in Australia for AIM entitled '' One Night Stand'', and Sire/Warner's release of a 1989 greatest hits album focused on the Jordan-Wilson recordings entitled '' Groovies' Greatest Grooves'', Noble put the Groovies on a financially mismanaged 80-day, 80-city tour of Europe, which shattered the group. The Groovies finally disbanded in 1991, with their last releases being the AIM compilation of demos entitled ''Step Up'' in 1991 and the post-breakup album ''Rock Juice'' (which used several of the same backing tracks as ''Step Up'', according to Alexander) in 1993.


Post-breakup and partial reunions

In 1979, Roy Loney formed the Phantom Movers featuring two other former Groovies, drummer Danny Mihm and guitarist James Ferrell, as well as Larry Lea (guitar) and Maurice Tani (bass). The band released several albums between 1979 and 1993 as well as a greatest hits CD (''A Hundred Miles an Hour 1978-1989'' on the Raven label out of Australia). Loney and Lea continued to work together after the band folded. In 1995, "Shake Some Action" appeared in the movie '' Clueless'', which regenerated interest in the group. Loney, Mihm and Ferrell, who were then playing together in a band called the Fondellas, tried to put a Groovies reunion together to capitalize on that interest, which had been further fueled by re-releases of ''Flamingo'' and ''Teenage Head'', but Jordan wasn't interested at that time. The Flamin' Groovies headlined the
Azkena Rock Festival The Azkena Rock Festival (a.k.a. ARF) is one of the most relevant Spanish rock festivals. It is celebrated in Vitoria-Gasteiz (Álava) organized by Last Tour International. ARF is notorious due to its diverse cartel of groups and for the submerse ' ...
in Mendizabala,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, on September 11, 2004, although Jordan was the only member of the pre-1981 band who participated. In 2005, Jordan founded a new band, Magic Christian, which released a self-titled double album in 2005 and the album ''Evolver'' in 2009. In 2009, Loney and Jordan reunited and embarked on a brief tour, backed by members of the A-Bones and
Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (Spanish language, Spanish for "I've got it"; also abbreviated as YLT) is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley ...
, including the
Ponderosa Stomp The Ponderosa Stomp is an annual American roots music festival dedicated to "recognizing the architects of rock-n-roll, blues, jazz, country, swamp pop and soul music." It was founded in New Orleans in 2002 and produced by the non-profit Mystic K ...
in April. The tour focused on the Groovies' pre-1972 catalog, omitting the later songs; Jordan noted that, despite the band's continuing popularity, "when I did that tour with Roy, . . . the halls didn’t exactly fill up." During an English date on this tour, Jordan reconnected with Wilson, who was then living in England (and who had joined
The Barracudas The Barracudas are an English surf rock band formed in late 1978. The band's original line-up consisted of Jeremy Gluck (vocals), Robin Wills (guitar and vocals), Starkie Phillips (bass and vocals) and Adam Phillips (drums). Before the band rec ...
and the Fortunate Sons there in the 1980s after leaving the Groovies). One result of the Loney/Jordan tour were more reunions on the 2010 Chris Wilson album ''Love Over Money''. George Alexander, Roy Loney, James Ferrell and Mike Wilhelm all appear on the CD, as does Procol Harum's keyboard legend Matthew Fisher and Barracudas guitarist Robin Wills. The album was released on the French label Rock Paradise. Wilson then followed this up with the 2013 album ''It's Flamin' Groovy'', which featured the same musicians as previously plus three songs with both Alexander and Cyril Jordan. 1980s Groovies keyboardist Mark Dunwoody, who also played with the Phantom Movers, died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on June 12, 2013. Guitarist Mike Wilhelm (1976-1982) died from cancer on May 14, 2019. Drummer Danny Mihm died on March 26, 2020, following a stroke.


Reunion

Beginning in late 2012, following the "reunions" on Wilson's solo albums, Jordan and Wilson considered reforming and relaunching the band. Said Jordan, "the Flamin' Groovies ''Shake Some Action'' version makes way more money and did make way more money in the '70s than the Roy Loney version ever did. So it was a no-brainer to put that second version back together again and see if we could make some good money." That second Groovies line-up of Jordan, Wilson, and Alexander (with the addition of Victor Penalosa on drums) played live for the first time since their 1981 split in Australia (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth) as part of the
Hoodoo Gurus Hoodoo Gurus are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1981 by Dave Faulkner (songwriter, lead singer and guitarist) and later joined by Richard Grossman (bass), Mark Kingsmill (drums), and Brad Shepherd (guitar, vocals, harmonica). Th ...
' invitational ''Dig It Up'' in April 2013. Jordan noted that the band received $75,000 for six or seven shows on the tour, which was enough money to overcome the band's post-breakup geographic spread. The Groovies then played a series of sold-out shows in Japan. Their next show, in San Francisco at The Elbo Room on May 4, sold out in less than 24 hours, and Loney even attended. As a result, Jordan, Wilson, and Alexander decided to reform the Flamin' Groovies and to record a new album. Their first release was a limited-edition single (on vinyl) in 2016 to commemorate the band's 50th anniversary entitled "Crazy Macy" b/w "Let Me Rock", followed by the album '' Fantastic Plastic'', which was released in September 2017. The reformed band also did an East Coast, European, and Midwest tour behind the new album, with Jordan and Wilson accompanied by Chris Von Sneidern on bass and Tony Sales (son of bassist Tony Fox Sales) on drums. In 2019, the Groovies, consisting of Jordan, Von Sneidern (now on guitar), Sales, and Atom Ellis (on bass), with special guest Roy Loney (vocals) but without Wilson (who retired at the end of 2018), embarked on the "Teenage Head Tour" in the US and Europe. However, Loney was hospitalized after a fall at the airport in June, just as the tour was headed to Europe, which forced the European leg of the tour to continue without him. Loney died on December 13, 2019. Despite Loney's death, the band continued to remain active, releasing a recording of "Fissure of Rolando" in 2023 and continuing to go on tour.


Personnel

Timeline ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:75 top:0 right:15 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1967 till:01/01/2020 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1967 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1967 Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums,_percussion id:studio value:black legend:Studio_release BarData = bar:Roy text:"Roy Loney" bar:Chris text:"Chris Wilson" bar:Cyril text:"Cyril Jordan" bar:Tim text:"Tim Lynch" bar:James text:"James Ferrell" bar:Mike text:"Mike Wilhelm" bar:Jack text:"Jack Johnson" bar:George text:"George Alexander" bar:Chris2 text:"Chris Von Sneidern" bar:Atom text:"Atom Ellis" bar:Danny text:"Danny Mihm" bar:David text:"David Wright" bar:Paul text:"Paul Zahl" bar:Victor text:"Victor Penalosa" bar:Tony text:"Tony Sales" bar:Mark text:"Mark Dunwoody" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-2) bar:Cyril from:01/01/1967 till:31/12/1993 color:guitar bar:Cyril from:01/01/1967 till:31/12/1993 color:vocals width:3 bar:Cyril from:01/04/2013 till:31/12/2019 color:guitar bar:Cyril from:01/04/2013 till:31/12/2019 color:vocals width:3 bar:George from:01/01/1967 till:31/12/1993 color:bass bar:George from:01/04/2013 till:30/06/2017 color:bass bar:Chris2 from:01/07/2017 till:31/12/2018 color:bass bar:Chris2 from:01/01/2019 till:31/12/2019 color:guitar bar:Atom from:01/01/2019 till:31/12/2019 color:bass bar:Roy from:01/01/1967 till:31/08/1971 color:vocals bar:Roy from:01/01/1967 till:31/08/1971 color:guitar width:3 bar:Roy from:01/01/2019 till:30/06/2019 color:vocals bar:Chris from:01/10/1971 till:31/10/1981 color:vocals bar:Chris from:01/10/1971 till:31/10/1981 color:guitar width:3 bar:Chris from:01/04/2013 till:31/12/2018 color:vocals bar:Chris from:01/04/2013 till:31/12/2018 color:guitar width:3 bar:Tim from:01/01/1967 till:30/04/1971 color:guitar bar:Tim from:01/01/1967 till:30/04/1971 color:vocals width:3 bar:James from:01/05/1971 till:30/09/1976 color:guitar bar:Mike from:01/10/1976 till:30/09/1982 color:guitar bar:Jack from:01/01/1983 till:30/06/1991 color:guitar bar:Jack from:01/01/1983 till:30/06/1991 color:vocals width:3 bar:Danny from:01/01/1967 till:31/12/1972 color:drums bar:Danny from:01/01/1982 till:30/09/1982 color:drums bar:David from:01/01/1974 till:31/10/1981 color:drums bar:Paul from:01/01/1983 till:31/08/1989 color:drums bar:Victor from:01/04/2013 till:30/06/2017 color:drums bar:Tony from:01/07/2017 till:31/12/2019 color:drums bar:Tony from:01/07/2017 till:31/12/2019 color:vocals width:3 bar:Mark from:01/07/1980 till:30/09/1982 color:keys LineData = layer:back color:studio at:01/09/1969 at:01/07/1970 at:01/04/1971 at:01/06/1976 at:01/06/1978 at:01/07/1979 at:01/07/1987 at:01/09/1993 at:01/09/2017


Discography


Albums


Studio

* '' Supersnazz'' (
Epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...
BN-26487, September 1969) * ''
Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...
'' (
Kama Sutra The ''Kama Sutra'' (; , , ; ) is an ancient Indian Hindu Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kamasutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly a sex manual on sex positions ...
KSBS 2021, July 1970) * '' Teenage Head'' (Kama Sutra KSBS 2031, April 1971) * '' Shake Some Action'' (
Sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...
SASD-7521, June 1976) U.S. No. 142Shake Some Action - Flamin' Groovies , Awards
AllMusic. Retrieved on 1 September 2013.
* '' Flamin' Groovies Now'' (Sire SRK 6059, June 1978) * '' Jumpin' in the Night'' (Sire SRK 6067, July 1979) * '' One Night Stand'' (AIM Records (Australia) 1008, July 1987) * '' Rock Juice'' (National Records NAT-030-2, November 1992) * '' Fantastic Plastic'' (
Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...
0069, September 2017)


Live

* ''Slow Death, Live!'' (Lolita, 1983) (1971 KSAN broadcast) * ''Bucketful of Brains'' (Voxx, 1983) (1971 KSAN broadcast) * ''Flamin' Groovies '68'' (Eva, 1984) (live at The Matrix, 1968) * ''Flamin' Groovies '70'' (Eva, 1984) * ''68/70'' (Eva, 1984) (selections from '68 and '70) * ''Groove In'' (Revenge, 1988) (compilation from '68 and '70) * ''Rockin' at the Roundhouse'' (Mystery MRC 103, 1993) (live recordings from 1976 and 1978) * ''Live at the Festival of the Sun'' (AIM (Australia) 1051, 1995) (1987 Barcelona, Spain concert) * ''California Born and Bred'' ( Norton 243, 1995) (1968-71 live recordings) * ''The Flamin' Groovies In Person'' ( Norton 255, 2006) (official 1971 KSAN broadcast plus bonus tracks)


Demos

* ''Step Up'' (AIM (Australia) 1030, 1991) (studio recordings from 1984 to 1989) * ''Slow Death'' ( Norton 297, September 2002) (self-produced recordings with Chris Wilson from 1971 to 1973)


Compilation

* ''Still Shakin'' (
Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...
BDS 5683, 1976) (compilation from ''Flamingo'' and ''Teenage Head'') * ''Super Grease'' (Skydog SKI 2226, 1984) (''Grease'' & ''More Grease'') * '' Groovies' Greatest Grooves'' (
Sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...
9 25948-2, July 1989) (official greatest hits from 1971–81) * ''Supersneakers'' ( Sundazed SC 6077, 1996) (official reissue of ''Sneakers'', with 10 live tracks from 1968) * ''Yesterday's Numbers'' (Camden (Australia), 1998) (compilation from Loney period) * ''Grease: The Complete Skydog Singles Collection'' (Skydog PVCP-8727, 1998) (''Grease'' & ''More Grease'' plus ''Gold Star Tapes'') * ''Sneakers & Rockfield Sessions'' (AIM (Australia) 0002, 2004) (both EPs on one CD) * ''Bust Out at Full Speed: The Sire Years'' (
Sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...
, 2006) (US only; not complete) * ''At Full Speed... The Complete Sire Recordings'' (
Sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...
812274 0612, 2006) (complete) * ''This Band Is Red Hot'' (Raven (Australia), 2008) (greatest hits compilation from 1969-79 (''Supersnazz'' to ''Jumpin' in the Night''))


EPs

* ''Sneakers'' (Snazz R-2371, 1968) (official first Groovies release) * ''Grease'' (Skydog FGG-001, 1973) (1971 demo recordings with Chris Wilson) * ''More Grease'' (Skydog FGG-002, 1974) (1971 demo & live recordings with Chris Wilson) * ''The Gold Star Tapes'' (Skydog SKI 2224, 1984) (1981 Gold Star Studios sessions) * ''Rockfield Sessions'' (AIM (Australia) COLLECT 2, 1989) (Rockfield 1972 sessions for UA) * '' A Bucket of Brains'' (
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
7243 8 32144 2 6, 1995) (official release of Rockfield 1972 sessions for UA, from original masters)


Singles

* " Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" b/w "The First One's Free" (Jul 1969, Epic) * " Somethin' Else" b/w "Laurie Did It" (1970, Epic) * "Have You Seen My Baby?" b/w "Yesterday's Numbers" (1971, Kama Sutra) * "Teenage Head" b/w "Evil Hearted Ada" (non-USA) (Aug 1971, Kama Sutra) * "Slow Death" b/w " Tallahassee Lassie" (Jun 1972, UA) * "Married Woman" b/w "Get a Shot of Rhythm and Blues" (Dec 1972, UA) * "You Tore Me Down" b/w "Him or Me" (1974, Bomp) * "I Can't Hide" b/w "Teenage Confidential" (1976, Sire) * " Shake Some Action" b/w "Teenage Confidential" (non-USA) (1976, Sire) * "Teenage Head" (rerelease) b/w "Headin' for the Texas Border" (Jun 1976, Kama Sutra) * "Don’t You Lie To Me" b/w "She Said Yeah"; "Shake Some Action" (30 cm, UK) (1976, Sire) * "
I Can't Explain "I Can't Explain" is a song by English rock band the Who, written by Pete Townshend and produced by Shel Talmy. It was released as a single in the United States on 19 December 1964 by Decca and on 15 January 1965 in the United Kingdom by Bruns ...
" b/w " Little Queenie" (1977, Sire) * "Move It" b/w "When I Heard Your Name" (UK, Aug 1978, Sire) * "Absolutely Sweet Marie" b/w "Werewolves Of London"; "Next One Crying" (UK, Jun 1979, Sire) * " Sealed with a Kiss" (1993, National) * "Baby Please Don't Go" (live) b/w "Milk Cow Blues" (live) (1987) * "Scratch My Back" b/w "Carol" (2010; both recorded 1971) * "Crazy Macy" b/w "Let Me Rock" (2016, Burger) * "Long Way to Be Happy" b/w "Don't Forget to Write" (2017, EFDE Music) (new vocals on A-side; both are 1981 Gold Star unfinished tracks)


Book references

* * The Flamin' Groovies, along with the band Frumious Bandersnatch, are mentioned in Roger Hall's 1970 novel, ''19,'' which refers to them both as one band, "Frumious Bandersnatch and the Flamin' Groovies." (First edition, page 110).


References


External links

* Flamin' Groovies biographyat
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 Mus ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flamin Groovies Musical groups established in 1965 American protopunk groups American power pop groups Musical groups from San Francisco Kama Sutra Records artists