Autosalvage was an American

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, who recorded and released one album in 1968. The band was started in 1966 by folk and bluegrass musician Tom Danaher, joined by multi-instrumentalist Darius Davenport, guitarist Rick Turner, and bassist Skip Boone. All came from musical backgrounds. Danaher, who took lead vocals and played rhythm guitar, had played in folk clubs with Turner, who had also performed with

Ian & Sylvia Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson. They began performing together in 1959 (full-time in 1961), married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975. History Early ...

. Boone was the brother of

Steve Boone John Stephen Boone (born September 23, 1943) is an American bass guitarist and music producer, best known as a member of the American folk-rock group the Lovin' Spoonful. Boone co-wrote two of the groups' biggest hits, " You Didn't Have to Be So ...

The Lovin' Spoonful The Lovin' Spoonful is a Canadian-American folk-rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1964. The band were among the most popular groups in the United States for a short period in the mid-1960s and their music and image influ ...

, and Davenport was the son of a member of

New York Pro Musica New York Pro Musica was a vocal and instrumental ensemble based in New York City, which specialized in Medieval and Renaissance music. It was co-founded in 1952, under the name Pro Musica Antiqua, by Noah Greenberg, a choral director, and Bernard ...

and had a collection of musical instruments. The band was initially known as The Northern Lights, and, when The Lovin' Spoonful were away on tour, rehearsed in a space hired by the latter band. Biography by Richie Unterberger, ''Allmusic''
Retrieved 20 April 2022 Ed Ward, "Autosalvage: The Psychedelic Band That Vanished", ''NPR'', August 16, 2012
Retrieved April 20, 2022 They opened a show headed by

The Mothers of Invention The Mothers of Invention (also known as the Mothers) were an American rock music, rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Originally an ...

at the Balloon Farm nightclub.

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

suggested they change their name to Autosalvage — the title of one of their songs — and helped them secure a record deal with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

. They recorded their only album, ''Autosalvage'', at the RCA Studio New York with producer Bob Cullen, and it was released in early 1968. However, sales were poor, and there was relatively little work for them in the New York area. Turner's friend

Jesse Colin Young Perry Miller (November 22, 1941 – March 16, 2025), known professionally as Jesse Colin Young, was an American singer and songwriter. He was a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s group the Youngbloods. After their dissolution in 1972, ...

suggested that they move to California, but only Turner was willing to make the move and the band split up. Turner worked in California with

The Youngbloods The Youngbloods was an American rock band consisting of Jesse Colin Young (vocals, bass, guitar), Jerry Corbitt (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Lowell "Banana" Levinger (guitar and electric piano), and Joe Bauer (drums). Despite receiv ...

and

The Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, folk, country, bluegrass, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, and world music with psyc ...

before joining

Alembic Inc Alembic Inc. is an American manufacturer of high-end electric basses, guitars and preamps. Founded in 1969, the company began manufacturing pre-amps before building complete instruments. History The company was founded by Owsley Stanley as ...

and later starting his own business as a

luthier A luthier ( ; ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments. Etymology The word ' is originally French and comes from ''luth'', the French word for "lute". The term was originally used for makers of lutes, but it came to be ...

for musicians such as

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...

and

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician, record producer, and the lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with ...

. The other band members left the music business. The ''Autosalvage'' album was reissued on vinyl by the

Edsel Edsel is a discontinued division and brand of automobiles that was produced by the Ford Motor Company in the 1958 to 1960 model years. Deriving its name from Edsel Ford, son of company founder Henry Ford, Edsels were developed in an effort to ...

label in 1988. In 2001 UK-based label Acadia Records reissued the recording on CD, with informative historical liner notes included. In 2012 the band had a feature story on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

’s “Fresh Air," and in 2013 the band played a 40-minute slot at

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

(SXSW).Blaine, Wallace "The 1960s-era psychedelic band Autosalvage picks up the pieces and finds a new audience at Austin’s South by Southwest", ''the MUSE'', March 6, 2013
/ref>

References

External links

* Psychedelic rock music groups from New York (state) RCA Records artists {{US-rock-band-stub