JOHN KAY & SPARROW
''JOHN KAY & SPARROW''
1969
RECORDED 1967, RELEASED 1969
34:12
********************
1 Twisted 03:14 (John Kay)
2 Goin' To California 02:26 (John Kay)
3 Baby, Please Don't Go 03:12 (J. Williams)
4 Down Goes Your Love Life 02:00 (D. Edmonton, N. St. Nicholas)
5 Bright Lights, Big City 03:07 (J. Reed)
6 Can't Make Love By Yourself 02:24 (D. Edmonton)
7 Good Morning Little School Girl 03:53 (S. B. Williamson)
8 King Pin 02:56 (R. Jones, M. Mann)
9 Square Headed People 02:28 (John Kay)
10 Chasin' Shadows 03:19 (D. Edmonton)
11 Green Bottle Lover 02:38 (D. Edmonton, J. Edmonton)
12 Isn't It Strange 02:28 (D. Edmonton, N. St. Nicholas)
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Nick St. Nicholas/Bass Guitar, Ear Trumpet
Jerry Edmonton/Drums
John Kay/Lead Guitar, Vocals
Goldy McJohn/Organ, Keyboards
Dennis Edmonton/Vocals
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REVIEW/AMG
Joe Viglione
Before Steppenwolf hit with "Born to Be Wild," there was a blues band out of Canada called the Sparrow. Not only is the future growl of John Kay subdued on this record, so are the bellowing sounds that became organist Goldy McJohn's trademark. The John Kay composition "King Pin" has an almost jazz piano playing against the harp. With drummer Jerry Edmonton, McJohn, and Kay, this is three-fifths Steppenwolf, and it comes off as Steppenwolf lite. Guitarist Dennis Edmonton, the drummer's brother, composes or co-writes five of the songs, where John Kay wrote four. Dennis Edmonton's "Chasin' Shadows" is psychedelic pop, very British sounding, and gives indications of the trippy style he would develop. When he left the band he became Mars Bonfire and penned "Born to Be Wild,," released on his own CBS album Faster Than the Speed of Life. "Green Bottle Lover," written by both Edmonton brothers, is even more psychedelic and rocking. The liner notes are terrible, giving little information about this historic disc, leaving it to the music. Where John Kay's "Twisted" starts off the festivities with the boogie-woogie blues that seems indicative of the Sparrow, the final track, "Isn't It Strange" by St. Nicholas and Dennis Edmonton, goes full throttle with the psychedelia. A very interesting collection of sounds exhibiting two musical sides, only hinting at what they would develop when they hooked up with producer Gabriel Mekler to eventually crank out about a half a dozen Top 40 hits on Dunhill.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Formed in Toronto, Canada, in 1965, Sparrow evolved from an earlier incarnation, Jack London And The Sparrows. The original line-up - Jack London (vocals), Dennis Edmonton (b. Dennis McCrohan, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada; guitar), Jerry Edmonton (b. Jerry McCrohan, 24 October 1946, Canada; drums), Nick St. Nicholas (b. 28 September 1943, Hamburg, Germany; bass) and Art Ayre (organ) - enjoyed a number 1 hit in Canada with ‘If You Don’t Want My Love’, before London left to pursue a poppier direction. Former folk singer John Kay (b. Joachim F. Krauledat, 12 April 1944, Tilsit, Germany) took his place and with the arrival of Goldy McJohn (b. 2 May 1945) in favour of Ayre, the definitive Sparrow was established. The quintet quickly became a leading attraction in Toronto’s Yorkville district, playing a gruff-styled R&B, perfect for Kay’s growled vocals. By contrast, the Sparrow’s singles, ‘Tomorrow’s Ship’ and ‘Green Bottle Lover’, were, respectively, folk rock and garage punk. They moved to Los Angeles in 1967, but split up when neither band nor producer (David Rubinson) were happy with their final series of recordings. Kay, McJohn and Jerry Edmonton then formed Steppenwolf, whose best-known song, ‘Born To Be Wild’, was composed by Dennis Edmonton, under his newly-assumed name, Mars Bonfire. Nick St. Nicholas was a member of Steppenwolf between 1969 and 1970 and the success of this band inspired the release of John Kay And The Sparrow, which comprised of demo recordings made to secure their recording contract with CBS Records.
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BIOGRAPHY/AMG/JOHN KAY
Greg Prato
Steppenwolf leader/founder John Kay is perhaps the most overlooked early contributor to the musical style that would become heavy metal and hard rock. Kay was the first rocker to use the phrase heavy metal in a song, in one of metal's first great anthems: Steppenwolf's 1968 classic "Born to Be Wild." Born Joachim Fritz Krauledat on April 12, 1944, in the section of Germany that was once known as East Prussia, it was the American rock & roll that he heard on U.S. Armed Forces radio after his family moved to East Germany that fueled his interest in music. After relocating to Toronto, Canada, in 1958, Kay became even more transfixed by rock & roll -- leading to Kay picking up the guitar, writing songs, and playing in local bands.
In the '60s, Kay founded the Sparrow, a rock outfit who played both Canada and the U.S., but received little attention. The group had fallen apart by 1967, but with a new, harder-edged style of rock beginning to conquer the charts and airwaves (Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and the Yardbirds), Kay decided to pursue this direction with his next band, Steppenwolf (titled after Hermann Hesse's novel of the same name). After moving to Los Angeles, the fledgling band was signed to Dunhill and recorded their self-titled debut, issued in 1968. The album became a sizeable hit, as "Born to Be Wild" was unleashed on an unsuspecting record-buying public, becoming one of rock's most instantly identifiable and enduring hits of all time. After the track was used in the 1969 cult classic movie Easy Rider, it subsequently appeared in countless other movies and TV commercials over the years and was covered by numerous other bands (Blue Oyster Cult, Slade, Crowded House, and the Cult).
Steppenwolf continued to crank out hit albums (1968's The Second, 1969's At Your Birthday Party, and 1969's Monster), singles ("Magic Carpet Ride," "Rock Me"), and tours on a regular basis, with Kay being the only constant member among a revolving door of other musicians. By 1972, Kay decided to end the group, issuing his first solo albums around the same time: Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes and My Sportin' Life. Steppenwolf's retirement didn't last for long, however, as Kay alternated between the band and his solo career throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s. He even took a few former members of the band to court when they, too, began touring behind the name Steppenwolf. In 1994, Kay penned an autobiography, Magic Carpet Ride, and four years later, Steppenwolf and Kay were the subject of an interesting Behind the Music episode for VH1.
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WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
********************
''JOHN KAY & SPARROW''
1969
RECORDED 1967, RELEASED 1969
34:12
********************
1 Twisted 03:14 (John Kay)
2 Goin' To California 02:26 (John Kay)
3 Baby, Please Don't Go 03:12 (J. Williams)
4 Down Goes Your Love Life 02:00 (D. Edmonton, N. St. Nicholas)
5 Bright Lights, Big City 03:07 (J. Reed)
6 Can't Make Love By Yourself 02:24 (D. Edmonton)
7 Good Morning Little School Girl 03:53 (S. B. Williamson)
8 King Pin 02:56 (R. Jones, M. Mann)
9 Square Headed People 02:28 (John Kay)
10 Chasin' Shadows 03:19 (D. Edmonton)
11 Green Bottle Lover 02:38 (D. Edmonton, J. Edmonton)
12 Isn't It Strange 02:28 (D. Edmonton, N. St. Nicholas)
********************
Nick St. Nicholas/Bass Guitar, Ear Trumpet
Jerry Edmonton/Drums
John Kay/Lead Guitar, Vocals
Goldy McJohn/Organ, Keyboards
Dennis Edmonton/Vocals
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Joe Viglione
Before Steppenwolf hit with "Born to Be Wild," there was a blues band out of Canada called the Sparrow. Not only is the future growl of John Kay subdued on this record, so are the bellowing sounds that became organist Goldy McJohn's trademark. The John Kay composition "King Pin" has an almost jazz piano playing against the harp. With drummer Jerry Edmonton, McJohn, and Kay, this is three-fifths Steppenwolf, and it comes off as Steppenwolf lite. Guitarist Dennis Edmonton, the drummer's brother, composes or co-writes five of the songs, where John Kay wrote four. Dennis Edmonton's "Chasin' Shadows" is psychedelic pop, very British sounding, and gives indications of the trippy style he would develop. When he left the band he became Mars Bonfire and penned "Born to Be Wild,," released on his own CBS album Faster Than the Speed of Life. "Green Bottle Lover," written by both Edmonton brothers, is even more psychedelic and rocking. The liner notes are terrible, giving little information about this historic disc, leaving it to the music. Where John Kay's "Twisted" starts off the festivities with the boogie-woogie blues that seems indicative of the Sparrow, the final track, "Isn't It Strange" by St. Nicholas and Dennis Edmonton, goes full throttle with the psychedelia. A very interesting collection of sounds exhibiting two musical sides, only hinting at what they would develop when they hooked up with producer Gabriel Mekler to eventually crank out about a half a dozen Top 40 hits on Dunhill.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Formed in Toronto, Canada, in 1965, Sparrow evolved from an earlier incarnation, Jack London And The Sparrows. The original line-up - Jack London (vocals), Dennis Edmonton (b. Dennis McCrohan, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada; guitar), Jerry Edmonton (b. Jerry McCrohan, 24 October 1946, Canada; drums), Nick St. Nicholas (b. 28 September 1943, Hamburg, Germany; bass) and Art Ayre (organ) - enjoyed a number 1 hit in Canada with ‘If You Don’t Want My Love’, before London left to pursue a poppier direction. Former folk singer John Kay (b. Joachim F. Krauledat, 12 April 1944, Tilsit, Germany) took his place and with the arrival of Goldy McJohn (b. 2 May 1945) in favour of Ayre, the definitive Sparrow was established. The quintet quickly became a leading attraction in Toronto’s Yorkville district, playing a gruff-styled R&B, perfect for Kay’s growled vocals. By contrast, the Sparrow’s singles, ‘Tomorrow’s Ship’ and ‘Green Bottle Lover’, were, respectively, folk rock and garage punk. They moved to Los Angeles in 1967, but split up when neither band nor producer (David Rubinson) were happy with their final series of recordings. Kay, McJohn and Jerry Edmonton then formed Steppenwolf, whose best-known song, ‘Born To Be Wild’, was composed by Dennis Edmonton, under his newly-assumed name, Mars Bonfire. Nick St. Nicholas was a member of Steppenwolf between 1969 and 1970 and the success of this band inspired the release of John Kay And The Sparrow, which comprised of demo recordings made to secure their recording contract with CBS Records.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG/JOHN KAY
Greg Prato
Steppenwolf leader/founder John Kay is perhaps the most overlooked early contributor to the musical style that would become heavy metal and hard rock. Kay was the first rocker to use the phrase heavy metal in a song, in one of metal's first great anthems: Steppenwolf's 1968 classic "Born to Be Wild." Born Joachim Fritz Krauledat on April 12, 1944, in the section of Germany that was once known as East Prussia, it was the American rock & roll that he heard on U.S. Armed Forces radio after his family moved to East Germany that fueled his interest in music. After relocating to Toronto, Canada, in 1958, Kay became even more transfixed by rock & roll -- leading to Kay picking up the guitar, writing songs, and playing in local bands.
In the '60s, Kay founded the Sparrow, a rock outfit who played both Canada and the U.S., but received little attention. The group had fallen apart by 1967, but with a new, harder-edged style of rock beginning to conquer the charts and airwaves (Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and the Yardbirds), Kay decided to pursue this direction with his next band, Steppenwolf (titled after Hermann Hesse's novel of the same name). After moving to Los Angeles, the fledgling band was signed to Dunhill and recorded their self-titled debut, issued in 1968. The album became a sizeable hit, as "Born to Be Wild" was unleashed on an unsuspecting record-buying public, becoming one of rock's most instantly identifiable and enduring hits of all time. After the track was used in the 1969 cult classic movie Easy Rider, it subsequently appeared in countless other movies and TV commercials over the years and was covered by numerous other bands (Blue Oyster Cult, Slade, Crowded House, and the Cult).
Steppenwolf continued to crank out hit albums (1968's The Second, 1969's At Your Birthday Party, and 1969's Monster), singles ("Magic Carpet Ride," "Rock Me"), and tours on a regular basis, with Kay being the only constant member among a revolving door of other musicians. By 1972, Kay decided to end the group, issuing his first solo albums around the same time: Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes and My Sportin' Life. Steppenwolf's retirement didn't last for long, however, as Kay alternated between the band and his solo career throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s. He even took a few former members of the band to court when they, too, began touring behind the name Steppenwolf. In 1994, Kay penned an autobiography, Magic Carpet Ride, and four years later, Steppenwolf and Kay were the subject of an interesting Behind the Music episode for VH1.
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
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