Ralph Scala (1964-) - Keyboards, Lead Vocals
Ron Gilbert (1964-69) - Bass, Lead Vocals
Peppy Castro (1964-) - Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals
Mike Esposito (1965-) - Lead Guitar
Geoff Daking (1965-) - Drums
Dennis Lapore (1964-1965) - Lead Guitar
Jon Finnegan (1964-1965) - Drums
The Blues Magoos, who started out as The Trenchcoats in The Bronx, NY, in 1964, were by 1965 denizens of the Greenwich Village scene, along with the likes of The Lovin' Spoonful, The Fugs and Mama Cass Elliott's pre-Mama's & The Papa's group The Mugwumps. At this time they were managed by Marvin Lagenoff...who supposedly had also managed Eydie Gorme earlier on...the man that had changed their moniker to The Bloos Magoos (Magoo was short for Moo Goo Gai Pan; he'd supposedly been eating this at a Chinese restaurant).
It was from there that they'd set about recording.
In October of that year, they'd signed with MGM's Verve subsidiary and recorded a double-sided single, 'So I'm Wrong And You Are Right'/'The People Had No Faces', the former penned by Rick Shorter (along with Bobby Hebb and Richie Havens one of the few black musicians involved with folk music), the latter a Scala/Castro composition. Meanwhile, in Greenwich Village, they'd met up with the two men who would become the definitive lead guitarist and drummer, Mike Esposito and Geoff Daking (who, after a rift between Scala/Castro/Gilbert and Finnegan/Lapore, a la Pete Best, promptly replaced the latter) and the management team of Bob Wyld and Art Polhemus. It was with this aggregation that they began recording in November for Mercury Records, the first effort being another double-sided single, John Loudermilk's 'Tobacco Road', backed with 'Sometimes I Think About' (a/k/a 'Willie Jean'), a traditional Negro folk ballad about a condemned man set to a blues style. Due to the over-three-minute length of the former and the subject matter (however subdued) of the latter, the single received limited airplay.
And I would guess that the actual composer of the latter was the condemned man. No one will know for sure, especially considering that until the '30s no black writers could even obtain copyrights. 'Sometimes...' was written decades before.
Then in 1966, while the group was playing at The Chessmate Club in Detroit, came the breakthrough. A DJ on station CKLW played '(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet' one afternoon and caused a Nationwide deluge!!! In a short time every station was playing it and it eventually reached ..5 in 1967. 'Nothin' Yet' was backed with an earlier version of 'Gotta Get Away', another song that appeared on their PSYCHEDELIC LOLLIPOP album, also released in '66.
Other albums followed, ELECTRIC COMIC BOOK and BASIC BLUES MAGOOS, but did not meet with the same success. The Magoos, meanwhile, were playing dates all over the country with The Who and Herman's Hermits and recorded more singles that met with the same fate. Finally, at the beginning of 1969, the original group broke up.
Then during the time of Woodstock, Bob Wyld put together a new version of The Magoos with only Castro remaining. His backup musicians were John Liello (keyboards & vibes...who also strongly resembled Scala), Roger Eaton (bass), Eric Kaz (electroharp) and Richie Dickson (drums). This aggregation, whose sound closely resembled Blood Sweat & Tears' and Santana's, recorded one album for ABC called NEVER GOIN' BACK TO GEORGIA (1969). Eaton and Dickson left shortly after and Castro, Liello, Kaz and studio musicians recorded GULF COAST BOUND (1970). Then it was the end of the Magoos until 2000.
Castro, meanwhile, has appeared in the Broadway musical HAIR and was in the groups Barnaby Bye and Balance. His son Jesse Doran Castro is currently heading his own group called CASTRO.
Christmas is coming soon. Are you looking for a Christmas present and would like to help handicapped children? Than please request the list of donations in kind from HelpCharity, www.MySpace.com/HelpCharity , by sending me an e-mail at Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de . Many donations in kind are autographed.
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Founder of HelpCharity Editor & Journalist for Country Music Christian Lamitschka An der Pfingstweide 28 61118 Bad Vilbel Germany Phone: ++49 (0) 6101 544613 Mobil: ++49 (0) 171 6903352 E-Mail: Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de Internet: www.MySpace.com/HelpCharity Internet: www.MySpace.com/ChristianLamitschka
Hey compadre queremos reeditar todo el material audio–visual que esta divertida banda de Punk-Rock hizo entre 1987 y 1998. Los mismísimos TOY DOLLS de Barcelona!!!
We thank you for the add. We’re just a small band, but we’d be delighted if you listened to our Garage Rock songs and you sent us any kind of comment!! If u couldn’t we’ll be happy if you just let this comment be shown, so that ur fans & friends get to know us. ☠
How are you, The Blues Magoos? Haven't checked in on you lately, so I swung by to wish you a happy October & hope you are feeling well! Listen, I have another track up on my page, "Attack Of The Mushroom People." You can Hear it right Now, if you'd like at: www.myspace.com/psychedelicpablo adios for now! Pablo
Please be informed that G. Wood/Undercover Bonobos have posted a new song entitled "Seeds" on their Myspace music player. We strongly advise that you review this material carefully. Your commentary is welcomed.
Analysis: We have been informed that this song sounds like a Communist Collective work song. We are further advised that it may be misconstrued as a treatise on the cultivation of illegal herbage. We are cautioned that some listeners may experience a shift in psychological set and setting during the "psychedelic" interlude. Please report any activity of this nature forthwith.
This song may be intended and interpreted as a tribute to the late, great, Sky Saxon.
We gratefully anticipate your thoughts on this matter.
This beautiful (yes, beautiful) album has been in the making for over a year, us Noble Brats, have worked so hard to create a perfect mirror of our essence and did everything by ourselves. From recording to mixing to mastering. and the result has exceeded even our own expectations. All the songs in this album are full of contrasts and a rockin' out exploration and critique of the different emotions that control our lives, emotions that might keep us in an unhealthy relationship even when we know it's not good for us, emotions that drive some to systematically cut into their own skin to get a sense of control over their pain, emotions that make us wonder about our place in this world. So if you feel ready to take a chance and go on a journey into the darkness of our souls, we promise you a light at the end of the tunnel, you might even see yourself in our eyes.
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