![]() Their LP, "Renaissance" made #20 on the Hot 200. In November of that year, the single "Take Me For A Little While" climbed to #30 on Billboard chart, while in December, "Season Of The Witch" topped out at #73. In the Fall of 1968, they opened several dates for Cream's farewell tour, as well as sharing the bill with The New Yardbirds, who would soon change their name to Led Zeppelin. It was one of many attempts by the band to gain more exposure on the West Coast. Starting on the 17th of August in Atlanta, Ga., Vanilla Fudge did a western tour as the opening act for The Jimi Hendrix Experience. They also made several other appearances on television in 1968 including The Beat Club and Wonderama TV shows. Despite their commercial failure, the band toured constantly across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The effort failed as it lacked the originality of the first and was received poorly, by fans and critics alike. ![]() Trying to repeat their first success, the band attempted to take the concept of long, drawn out songs to a higher level on their second album, "The Beat Goes On". A week later they performed "You Keep Me Hangin' On" on The Ed Sullivan Show. ![]() The dawn of 1968 saw Vanilla Fudge headlining a bill at the Fillmore East with The Steve Miller Band. The Fudge had rapidly achieved headliner status and now began to perform on a global level with the biggest West Coast and European bands of the day. In New York City on the 3rd of November, Vanilla Fudge opened for The Yardbirds at the Village Theater. A week later, the Fudge headlined for three shows at the Avalon Ballroom where the Charles Lloyd Quintet opened for them. Returning to San Francisco, the band opened for Blue Cheer in September at the Fillmore West. With a monster hit to their credit, the band's touring schedule accelerated and on the 2nd of September they were back in New York's Village Theater opening for Mitch Ryder. The song caught on quickly and climbed the Billboard Hot 100 to #6, while the album, which contained similar rearranged cover tunes, went Gold and reached #6. Ertegun insisted that the original one-take recording of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" be pressed to disc, and also released it on June 2nd 1967, along with their self-titled debut album. Atlantic's Ahmet Ertegun made the best offer and signed the band in the Spring of 1967 to ATCO Records under their new name, Vanilla Fudge. Morton started shopping the tape around and several recording studios showed some interest. The version that we all know, was captured in just one take. Later in the same week he arranged for the band to record the song without a recording contract. Morton sat down again, impressed by a musical style he had never heard before. Morton sat and listened for a while and was headed for the door when the band began to play their version of The Supremes' hit, "You Keep Me Hangin' On". When the others heard Appice, they knew they had their man.īasille used his contacts to have producer and songwriter George 'Shadow' Morton come and hear the band one night at the Action House. The others felt that they needed a new drummer and Tim Bogert recommended Carmine Appice, whom he had heard play at another local club. By 1966, the band had moved into complex cover versions of Top 40 material that proved to be too difficult for Joey Brennan to handle. With his experience and connections in the music business, the boys quickly agreed. ![]() One night at a club called The Action House, the bar's owner, Phil Basille, was so impressed with the group's performance, he offered to manage the them. With Stein's father as the band's booking agent, the group eventually shortened their name to The Pigeons and soon built a strong regional following on the East coast club circuit. Organist Mark Stein, bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Joey Brennan put out a call to the musicians union local for a guitarist, and were introduced to Vince Martell, who had just returned from Florida and a hitch in the U.S. The roots of Vanilla Fudge began to form 1965 in Long Island, when three young musicians left Rick Martin And The Showmen to form their own band called The Electric Pigeons. ![]()
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