The Banshees (band)

The Banshees were an American garage rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1966. The group is best remembered for its sole single, "Project Blue". The song has become a classic of the musical genre of garage rock and is featured prominently on several compilation albums.

The group's origins trace back to the Fugitives, which were configured in 1962. By 1965, after some personnel changes, the band was known as the Prophets, and had begun recording promos for Columbia Records, along with demos of "Project Blue" and it's eventual B-side "Free". The lineup consisted of Frank Bucaro (lead vocals, harmonica), Ron Rouse (lead guitar), Rick Notolini (bass guitar), Tom Leetzow (drums), and John Smead (rhythm guitar), with Bucaro and Rouse being the leaders of the Prophets.[1]

Record producer Bill Traut just happened to be listening to the group recording their demo of "Project Blue" and immediately signed the band to a recording contract. Traut renamed the Prophets to the Banshees, and replaced the inexperienced Notolini with local Chicago musician, Peter Sheldon. The basic three-note guitar melody became the signature of "Project Blue" as it rapidly repeated throughout the song. Coinciding with the frantic instrumental was the R&B-inspired vocals yelped by Bucaro. The lesser-known flip-side "Free" was a soothing ballad, a contrast to the dynamics of its A-side.[2]

"Preject Blue" was released in June 1966 on Dunwich Records. Although both Rouse and Bucaro co-wrote its two sides, only Rouse's name is featured on the single because he was the only one who was 21 years old. The song became a popular fixture in the Banshees' live repertoire as they regularly performed in Illinois venues the New Place, the Alamo, and the Cellar, among others. It was the only surviving recording by the group as they disbanded in early 1967. Since its initial release, "Project Blue" has been recognized as a garage rock classic. Among the compilation albums it has been featured on, includes Oh Yeah! The Best of Dunwich Records, Pebbles, Volume 9, and Mindrocker, Volume 2. However, "Free" has yet to be reissued on any album.[1][3]

References

  1. 1 2 "THE BANSHEES". classicgaragerock.com. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Banshees". 60sgaragerockbands.com. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Pebbles, Volume 9 (CD booklet)". BFD Records. 1980.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, November 22, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.