Crowfoot was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band, initially known as ''The Beau Gentry''. The original line-up featured

Russell DaShiell Russell DaShiell (born July 23, 1947) is an American guitarist who has recorded as a solo artist as well as playing in bands such as Crowfoot and the Don Harrison Band, and with Harvey Mandel, Phil Everly and Norman Greenbaum. Russell was also o ...

, Doug Killmer and Rick Jaeger.

History

Crowfoot was an American band initially featuring

on guitar and vocals, Doug Killmer on bass and vocals, and Rick Jaeger on drums. The group originally formed in 1964 under the name ''The Beau Gentry'' as an

Indialantic, Florida Indialantic, officially incorporated as Indialantic-By-The-Sea, is a town in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town's population was ...

-based high-school cover band. Eventually DaShiell began to write music and the band began to perform their own material. At that time the band also featured Lance Massey on guitar and vocals. They were discovered by manager Ken Adamany who arranged a successful 1966 tour through the US mid-west. On the strength of this tour, the band decided to relocate to the area and build upon the fan base they had established. In December 1968, DaShiell, Killmer and Jaeger decided to relocate again, this time to the San Francisco Bay area in the hopes that exposure in the burgeoning Bay area music scene would lead them to a recording contract. Lance Massey chose to settle in Wisconsin. The remaining band members formed a trio and renamed themselves ''Crowfoot'', performing all-original material. In California, DaShiell, Killmer and Jaeger found session work to help make ends meet. Of particular note was DaShiell's and Killmer's work on

Norman Greenbaum Norman Joel Greenbaum (born November 20, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter, known for his 1969–1970 hit song "Spirit in the Sky". The song made him one of the most famous acts with a best-selling one-hit wonder for all time. Early life a ...

's million-selling hit, "

Spirit in the Sky "Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in December 1969 from his album '' Spirit in the Sky''. The single became a gold record in the United S ...

", and DaShiell's and Jaeger's work with former

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American blues rock band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1965. The group has been noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists. It was launched by two blues enthusiasts, Alan Wilson and ...

guitarist,

Harvey Mandel Harvey "The Snake" Mandel (born March 11, 1945) is an American guitarist best known as a member of Canned Heat. He also played with Charlie Musselwhite and John Mayall as well as maintaining a solo career. Early life Mandel was born in Detroit ...

. In 1970 Crowfoot signed with

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

, but by this time Killmer was pursuing other projects and although Jaeger played drums on the self-titled album, Crowfoot had essentially become a solo act, with DaShiell writing, arranging, and playing both guitar and bass on the album. To support the album's release Ken Adamany set up a mid-west tour for Crowfoot, culminating with a showcase at the Bitter End in New York.Kirby, Fred (1970)
Talent in Action: Crowfoot - Bitter End, New York
, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', October 10, 1970, p. 43. Retrieved June 29, 2013 Guitarist Sam McCue, formerly with the

Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, an ...

and Milwaukee band The Legends,Eder, Bruce
Legends Biography
,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. Retrieved June 29, 2013 joined the band for the tour along with bass player Bill Sutton, with Rick Jaeger returning on drums. In 1971, Crowfoot recorded a second album, ''Find the Sun'', which was picked up by ABC/Dunhill Records. It featured DaShiell on guitar and vocals, Don Francisco on drums and vocals, and Sam McCue on guitar and vocals. Bill Sutton played bass on the sessions. The album brought comparisons with

Bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

and

Poco In software engineering, a plain old CLR object, or plain old class object (POCO) is a simple object created in the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) that is unencumbered by inheritance or attributes. This is often used in opposition to the comp ...

.Album Reviews: Crowfoot - Find the Sun
, ''

'', October 2, 1971, p. 48. Retrieved June 29, 2013 "Travel In Time" was released as a single from the album, featuring McCue on lead vocal, but with disappointing album sales the band ultimately decided to dissolve. Years later, in 1994, the original Crowfoot trio of DaShiell, Killmer and Jaeger reunited to record an EP, titled ''Mesenger''. It was released regionally on DaShiell's Aerial View label. After leaving Crowfoot, Jaeger became the regular drummer for

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who came to prominence in 1967 as a founding member of the rock band Traffic. While with Traffic, he wrote and sang lead vocals on two of the b ...

and he recorded with

Tim Weisberg Jules Timothy Weisberg (born January 1, 1943) is an American flutist, vocalist, and record producer. A collaboration album with singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, " Twin Sons of Different Mothers," achieved platinum status from the Recording Indus ...

, the

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and the

BoDeans BoDeans is an American rock band formed in Waukesha, Wisconsin who came to prominence in the 1980s. The band's sound encompasses multiple rock genres, including roots rock, heartland rock, and alternative rock. The band's biggest hit to dat ...

amongst others. He also spent time in the early 1980s as the drummer for Mike Finnigan and The Right Band. Rick Jaeger died in 2000. Doug Killmer played on the

Otis Rush Otis Rush Jr. (April 29, 1934 – September 29, 2018) was an American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter who has been long revered as one of the creators of modern Chicago blues; though he was respected and praised, the success he sought e ...

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

-nominated song from 1976 " Right Place, Wrong Time", and Rita Abrams' Grammy-Award-winning song, "Mill Valley". He was active in the San Francisco Bay Area music scene for over three decades until his death in 2005. Sam McCue lives and performs in the

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, Wisconsin area. Don Francisco went on to play with

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

Kim Carnes Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles. A veteran writer of many of her own hits, as well as those for numerous other artists, she began her career in 1966 as ...

and the California rock band Wha-Koo. He died in 1998. Russell DaShiell relocated to the Los Angeles area and worked with musicians

Phil Everly Phillip Everly (January 19, 1939 – January 3, 2014) was an American musician, who was one half of the duo The Everly Brothers alongside his older brother Don. Early life Phil was born in Chicago in 1939 to Isaac Milford "Ike" Everly, Jr. (190 ...

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

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and former

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, commonly abbreviated as CCR or simply Creedence, was an American Rock music, rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, h ...

member

Tom Fogerty Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist for Creedence Clearwater Revival. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Biography ...

. He was a member of the Don Harrison Band from 1976 to 1977 which featured

Stu Cook Stuart Alden Cook (born April 25, 1945) is an American bass guitarist, best known for being a member of the rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Career Cook, along with Doug ...

and

Doug Clifford Douglas Raymond Clifford (born April 24, 1945) is an American drummer who is nicknamed "Cosmo". He is best known as a founding member of Creedence Clearwater Revival for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. After th ...

, also former members of

. He continues to work and record in the Los Angeles area.

Discography

Albums

EPs

*''Mesenger'' (1994), Aerial View

Singles

*"California Rock'n'Roll", Paramount *"Groove Along"/"Love Is Everywhere", Paramount (promotional only) *"Travel In Time", ABC/Dunhill Records

Members

- guitar, vocals * Doug Killmer - bass guitar, vocals *Rick Jaeger - drums *Don Francisco - drums, vocals *Sam McCue - guitar, vocals *Bill Sutton - bass guitar

References

External links

Club Pop House - Beloit, WI - 1941-1973

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