Herman's Hermits were an English pop band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as 'Herman & The Hermits'. The group's management and producer Mickie Most (who controlled the band's output) emphasized a simple, non-threatening and clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers. This helped Herman's Hermits become hugely successful in the mid-1960s but hampered the band's creativity, relegating Noone, Hopwood, Leckenby and Green's original songs to quickly recorded B-Sides and album cuts.
Their first hit was "I'm Into Something Good" (written by US songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King), which reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 13 in the US in 1964. They never topped the British charts again, but had two US No. 1's with "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter" (originally sung by Tom Courtenay in a 1963 British TV play) and "I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am" (a British Music Hall song by Harry Champion dating from 1911). These songs were aimed at a US fan-base, with Peter Noone exaggerating his Manchester accent; the band was not fond of either song and they were never released as singles in Britain.
Herman's Hermits had three Top 3 hits in the U.S. In 1965, with the aforementioned #1 hits, as well as "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" (U.S. #2). They had the hits "A Must to Avoid" (U.S. #8), "Listen People" (U.S. #3), "Leaning on a Lamp Post" (U.S. #7), and "Dandy" (U.S. #3) in 1966. They appeared on the The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dean Martin Show and The Jackie Gleason Show. Commercial success would prove elusive after the late '60's and Peter Noone and Keith Hopwood left the band in 1971. The band reunited in 1973 to headline a hugely successful British invasion tour culminating with a standing-room-only performance at Madison Square Garden and an appearance on The Midnight Special (without Hopwood).
The group was nominated for two Grammy awards in 1965, both for "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter." According to Noone and Hopwood, the song was recorded as an afterthought in two takes, using two microphones, with Hopwood on guitar, Green on bass guitar, and Whitwam on drums.
Born in Manchester, England, Noone was a child TV star playing Stanley Fairclough in Coronation Street. He was also featured in Knight Errant. Noone was only 15 when he achieved international fame as teenage heart-throb, Herman. On stage, Noone initially used his existing stage name Peter Novak. The change to Herman came after the owner of a pub that they were rehearsing in, remarked on his resemblance to the character Sherman in Peabody's Improbable History, a supporting cartoon in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, which they misheard as Herman. The group, who by now were a popular dance hall and youth club attraction, and managed by Harvey Lisberg and Charlie Silverman, changed their name to Herman and The Hermits, and it soon became abbreviated to Herman's Hermits.
Original members were Keith Hopwood (guitar, vocals), Karl Green (guitar, vocals), Alan Wrigley (bass guitar, vocals), Steve Titterington (drums), and Peter Noone (lead vocals). Although the youngest of a remarkably young group, fifteen-year-old Noone was already a veteran actor, with experience on the British soap opera, Coronation Street. Derek "Lek" Leckenby (guitar, vocals), and Barry "Bean" Whitwam (drums) (born Jan Barry Whitwam, 21 July 1946, in Prestbury, South Manchester), joined later from another local group, The Wailers, Whitwam replacing Titterington, Karl Green switching to bass guitar to replace Wrigley, and Leckenby effectively taking Green's position. After Leckenby joined, the group obtained a deal with producer Mickie Most and signed to EMI's Columbia Graphophone label in Europe and MGM Records in the United States. [wikipedia]
{Save the best for the last two lovely songs, "My Sentimental Friend" & "I'll Never Dance Again" which were the most popular songs in the 60s, played during house parties for the slow dance probably almost at the finale.}
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment