Yesterday's Children was an American

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 formed in Cheshire-Prospect,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, outside of

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, in 1966. The group's earliest release was "To Be or Not to Be". Initially a garage band, they transitioned into a psychedelic proto- heavy metal outfit and released one cult classic self-titled album before disbanding in 1970.

Trajectory

Formed in 1966, Yesterday's Children featured brothers Denis (lead vocals) and Richard Croce (rhythm guitar), along with Reggie Wright (lead guitar), Ralph Muscatelli (drums), and Chuck Maher (bass). The band took an aggressive

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

musical stance, while incorporating aspects of psychedelic nuance into their compositions. Later in the year, the group released their debut single, "To Be or Not to Be", on the

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

subsidiary label,

Parrot Records Parrot Records was an American record label, a division of London Records, which started in 1964. The label usually licensed (or leased) recordings made by Decca Records, England, for release in the United States and Canada, most notably by th ...

, and became a regional success. It is also one of the rarest and sought after releases by avid record collectors. Over the following three years, Yesterday's Children released two additional singles. In 1970, the band recorded their only

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''Yesterday's Children'', which was released on Map City Records. It exemplified the group's development of a psychedelic proto-heavy metal sound, among the earliest of its kind. The album is marked by Croce's high-pitch screeching wails that prefigured those of former

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

vocalist

Bon Scott Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (9 July 1946 – 19 February 1980) was an Australian singer who was the second lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. In the July 2004 issue of ''Classic Rock (m ...

, and the fuzz-toned double guitar instrumentals played by both Wright and Muscatelli. However, despite its innovative qualities, the album was perhaps released too early to be commercially accessible and failed to chart nationally. The group disbanded soon thereafter. Reinterest in Yesterday's Children resulted in some tracks appearing on the ''History of Garage Bands in Connecticut''

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

in 1995. In 2004, Akarma Records released a remastered version of ''Yesterday's Children'', which music critic Dean McFarlane described as a "stunning object to behold and an audiophile remaster of this underground classic". As a result of its distribution, the album has received more recognition for the psychedelic hard rock music by Yesterday's Children. Another reflection of the album on the Sputnikmusic website boasts it is a "forgotten gem" and " Vanilla Fudge,

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

and the

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 ...

are often considered as three of the major influences on the future development of hard rock and metal. This obscure little band from Connecticut show, however, that these glory boys weren't the only ones trying to build upon their blues and psychedelic influences and attempt to deliver something distinctly harder edged".

Band members

*Denis Croce (lead vocals) *Richard Croce (rhythm guitar) *Reggie Wright (lead guitar) *Chuck Maher (bass guitar) *Ralph Muscatelli (drums)

Discography

*"To Be or Not to Be" b/w "Baby I Want You" (Parrot 314, January 1967) *''Yesterday's Children'' (Map City, August 1970)

References

{{Reflist Cheshire, Connecticut American psychedelic rock music groups American hard rock musical groups American garage rock groups Rock music groups from Connecticut Musical groups established in 1966 Parrot Records artists