The New Breed, "Green Eye'd Woman" c/w "I'm In Love," Diplomacy 22 (rel.10/1965)
This is a typical story of the after-effects of Beatlemania in the US. In 1959, two Sacramento, CA schoolboys met after classes; one had a guitar and the pair ran through some Kingston Trio pop-folk favorites. Ron Floegel could play ukulele, and soon he and Tom Phillips chunked away to this hardy repertoire of peppy folk songs.
Ron recalled some friends from Little League baseball who sang harmonies. Timothy and Greg Schmit joined the fun. They worked up some songs together with the aim of a public performance. By 1960, they were ready to do their thing in front of others.
These junior high students became local heroes. As Floegel recalled, "(we were the) favorite musical act at Encina High School." The lads played for the governor of California and his wife. Then rock 'n' roll entered the scene. Wowed by a local group who played teen dances, these folkies longed to get electrified. They picked up a drummer, George Hullin, got amps and new instruments and The Contenders were born.
Surf instrumentals were big in 1962, and The Contenders made them their specialty. They were popular in their area, and picked up a manager who had connections to a local radio station. Floegel was a budding songwriter, and worked up some material that he thought a good fit for The Contenders. What he described as his attempt to write an authentic blues song was retooled for the new sound of The Beatles (who synthesized American music and reflected it back to its country of origin) and became "Green Eye'd Woman," topside of today's single. Floegel's memoirs suggest the song was recorded at local radio station KXOA. The Contenders became The New Breed and cultivated a commercial, appealing group image.
"Green Eye'd Woman" feels more like The Animals than The Beatles, with a touch of Zombies and Rolling Stones. It's a pleasing musical smoothie blended from all the ingredients of 1965 pop music. A muddy-sounding record, perhaps due to its recording circumstance, it's well-balanced, with all voices and instruments captured with clarity. The song's mix of bluesy and beaty had major commercial appeal, and was a massive hit all over Southern California. It's the first recorded appearance of future Eagles and Poco member Tim Schmit, who plays lead guitar on this delightful li'l garage mover that might have become a national hit had a bigger record label stepped in to distribute. Diplomacy Records, with its tacky label design, was small-fry and couldn't handle the stress of a hit release.
For the flip, the group tackled a John Lennon song that The Beatles never officially recorded. "I'm In Love" is the most Beatles 1963-sounding song of all time, and would have made a good A-side for them, but perhaps it sounded too much like recent releases for the band's liking. Lennon hawked the song to Liverpool solo singer Billy J. Kramer and then showed up at the recording session to heckle the nervous lad a few days before The Beatles recorded "I Want to Hold Your Hand." Sensing the tension in the room, producer George Martin invited Kramer to attend that forthcoming session and razz The Beatles all he wanted. (It's not documented if Kramer did so; I hope he did.)
Lightweight Liverpool harmony group The Fourmost had the hit with "I'm in Love" in a rendition that could, at first, be mistaken for a Beatles performance. In an ideal world, The Beatles would've replaced "Hold Me Tight" or "I Wanna Be Your Man" with the song on their second LP. As a rogue Lennon-McCartney song, it was a hot item in 1964 and '65, when it attracted US cover versions.
The Breed botch the chord progression of this song, which compares to Lennon's "It Won't Be Long" in its musical ambition. Their cover follows the vibe of The Fourmost's version, but misses a couple of important chord changes and thus loses some of the mood and harmony. On this side, the group sound more like The Searchers.
Drummer Hullin is on fire in this fast-moving beat item; his drumkit suffers from amateurish recording quality but exudes atmosphere. The end result is endearing: a group of sweet, innocent guys bearing their hearts on a tidy, commercial pop song of note.
For their next single, released on Mercury Records, they covered a Randy Newman song coupled with a version of The Zombies' "Leave Me Be." Then came the record for which they're remembered. "Want Ad Reader" shows how fast pop music changed in mid-decade. This late 1966 single sports fuzz guitar, high-pitched vocal harmonies, and a vibe akin to "Paperback Writer," but with lysergic lead guitar, tempo changes and touches of psychedelia. Picked up by Hanna-Barbera Records, the single is considered a gem of Orange Empire garage-rock.
After their next single, the group changed their name to Glad. As such, they made an album. By 1968, the sound was much like The Grass Roots--progressive, layered pop with an eclectic touch. Check out their "Say What You Mean" for a good example.
The New Breed and groups of their ilk are the best barometer of how fast musical styles shifted in the last half of the 1960s. Nothing stayed for long; influence after influence infused the air these groups breathed and until bombast overcame delicacy, they created haunting, often-elegant music which stands the test of time.
Tomorrow: haunting, inelegant music from Nervous Norvus on one of his craziest efforts for Dot Records, 1956. A-side has a science-fiction theme turned on its head. Don't miss!
Thanks for the fun post, Frank! That's wild about Tim Schmit--I saw him playing bass with Poco just five years later. The lead vocals in the first song caused me to smile...that iconic snotty white boy style also heard in that era with The Shadows of Knight, Syndicate of Sound, etc. Love it!
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