People! was an American

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...

rock band that was formed in San Jose,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 1965. Their greatest chart success came with their

summer hit In the entertainment industry, a summer hit is a song that is released and peaks in its popularity during summer. In some years, a single pop song will gain widespread international popularity during the summer season, becoming that summer's def ...

single "I Love You". The song, written by

The Zombies The Zombies are an English Rock music, rock band formed in St Albans in 1961. Led by keyboardist/vocalist Rod Argent and lead vocalist Colin Blunstone, the group had their first British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the U ...

bass guitarist Chris White, rose to number one in Japan (twice), Israel, Australia, Italy, South Africa, and the Philippines, and peaked at No. 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in June 1968. At various times, band members have included Robb Levin, Geoff Levin, Albert Ribisi, John Riolo, David Anderson,

Larry Norman Larry David Norman (April 8, 1947 – February 24, 2008) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Christian rock music and released more than 100 album ...

, Gene Mason, Denny Fridkin, Tom Tucker, Bruce Thomas Eason (as Scott Eason), John Tristao, Steve Boatwright, and Rob Thomas. On October 19, 2007, People! was inducted into the San Jose Rocks Hall of Fame. After People! broke up, Larry Norman became one of the pioneers of

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. This music is typically performed by Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to whi ...

music.Sanford, David
"Farewell, Larry Norman."
''Christianity Today''. June 27, 2005. Retrieved December 26, 2007."This World is not My Home"
. Wittenburg Door. Retrieved August 13, 2010. People! later recorded an album which was funded through an

Indiegogo Indiegogo is an American crowdfunding website founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric Schell. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The site is one of the first sites to offer crowd funding. Indiegogo allows peo ...

campaign in May 2018. Current members include Gene Mason, Denny Fridkin, Robb Levin,

Geoff Levin Geoff Levin (born September 14, 1945) is an American rock musician, film/television composer and songwriter. Performing as part of the Black Mountain Boys with Jerry Garcia in the early years of his career, in 1968 his own group, People!, scored ...

, and John Tristao.

Scientology connection

After all of the band members except lead singers Norman and Mason embraced

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a scam, a Scientology as a business, business, a cult, or a religion. Hubbard initially develo ...

, Norman claimed other members of the band issued the ultimatum: Join Scientology or leave the band. Norman and Mason both refused.Denny Fridkin, in Tony Cumming, "People!: Drummer and songwriter Denny Fridkin recounts his life in music", (August 26, 2007)

People Drummer recounts his life in music Some band members indicate that Norman was asked to leave the band because he was seen as a " Suppressive Person". Norman claimed that he was harassed by other members of Scientology. On the Jerry Bovino TV show, ''Eye on Aspen'', brothers Robbie and

clarified that they kicked Larry Norman out of the group based on their interpretation of

policy categorizing Larry as an anti-social personality. Levin claimed kicking out members broke up their group.

Discography

Singles (45 rpm)

''Title (A Side/B Side) (Label Number) Year'' * "Organ Grinder"/"Riding High" (Capitol 5920) 1967 * " I Love You"/"Somebody Tell Me My Name" (Capitol 2078) 1968 US No. 14 * "Apple Cider"/Ashes of Me (Capitol 2251) 1968 US No. 111 * "Ulla"/Turnin' Me In (Capitol 2449) 1969 US No. 129* * "Turnin' Me In"/Ulla (Capitol 2499) 1969 * "Love Will Take Us Higher & Higher"/"Living It Up" (Paramount 0005) 1969 * "Sunshine Lady"/"Crosstown Bus" (Paramount 0011) 1969 * "For What It's Worth"/"Maple Street" (Paramount 0019) 1970 * "One Chain Don't Make No Prison"/"Keep It Alive" (Paramount 0028) 1970 * "Chant for Peace"/"I Don't Carry No Guns" (Polydor 14087) 1971 * "I Love You" (re-issue)/" Nobody but Me" ( the Human Beinz) (Capitol P4482 and X-6224) US Chart is ''Billboard'' unless otherwise noted. * Record World singles chart.

Albums

* ''I Love You'' (1968) (Capitol ST-2924) CD re-release (1994) (Capitol CDP-29797) * ''Both Sides of People'' (1969) (Capitol ST-151) * ''There Are People and There Are People'' (1970) (Paramount PAS-5013) * ''Larry Norman and People! - The Israel Tapes 1974 A.D.'' (1980) * ''Best of People Vol. 1 - 40 Year Anniversary'' (2006) (Solid Rock CD-SRP-001) * ''Best of People Vol. 2 - 40 Year Anniversary'' (2006) (Solid Rock CD-SRP-002) * ''People! The Reunion Concert 2006'' (2007) (Solid Rock) * ''I Love You Korea'' (2007) (Solid Rock ILY-001)

Video interviews

* "The Jerry Bovino Show - Rock and Roll Brothers with Robbie Levin,

, and Host Jerry Bovino" 2017

References

External links

Collection of People! promo items

John Tristao's biography at San Jose Rocks Hall of Fame website
{{DEFAULTSORT:People Musical groups established in 1965 Psychedelic rock music groups from California Musical groups from San Jose, California Larry Norman Scientology-related controversies