Elephant's Memory (also billed as Elephants Memory, without the apostrophe) was an American rock band formed in New York City in the late

1960s File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong and Bu ...

, known primarily for backing

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

from late 1971 to 1973. For live performances with Lennon and Ono, the band was known as the Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band.

History

Formation and early career (1967–1972)

Elephant's Memory was formed between 1967 and 1968, by Stan Bronstein (

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

, clarinet, and

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

) and Rick Frank Jr. ( drums). In 1968, they briefly added

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include " Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thi ...

as a vocalist. By 1969, the line-up had expanded to include John Ward (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

) who originally performed with Danny Adler (The Roogalator) in the Blues Doctors (1964-1966), Chester Ayers (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

), Myron Yules (bass trombone), R. Sussmann ( keyboards), Michal Shapiro (vocals), Guy Peritore (guitar and vocals), Danny Adler (The Roogalator) (guitar and keyboards), David Cohen (guitar, keyboards, and vocals), and Michael Rose on guitar. Two of the band's songs, "Jungle Gym at the Zoo" and "Old Man Willow", appeared on the 1969

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to the film ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with notable small ...

''. Elephant's Memory received a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

for their contribution to the soundtrack. In 1970, the band had a minor

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

with the song "Mongoose" on Metromedia Records, peaking at #50 on the Hot 100 on October 17, 1970 but at #5 on Chicago's WCFL on November 23, 1970 and reaching #1 in Pittsburgh on KQV. In Canada, "Mongoose" reached #71 on September 26, 1970. Between 1970 and 1973, the line-up remained more or less constant around Bronstein and Frank, together with guitarists Wayne "Tex" Gabriel, keyboardist Adam Ippolito and bassist Gary Van Scyoc.

Work with Lennon and Ono, and later career (1972–1976)

Known around the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

area as a politically active street band, Elephant's Memory backed Lennon and Ono on their album '' Some Time in New York City'' during recording sessions in March 1972. The album was released in June 1972 in the United States, and in September 1972 in the UK. Later in 1972, they were billed as the Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band and performed with Lennon and Ono on various TV shows, albums and concerts. On August 30, 1972, with the addition of John Ward on bass and Jim Keltner on drums, the band played with Lennon and Ono at the famous One to One Concert organized by

Geraldo Rivera Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the liv ...

, to benefit the

Willowbrook State School Willowbrook State School was a state-supported institution for children with intellectual disabilities located in the Willowbrook neighborhood on Staten Island in New York City from 1947 until 1987. The school was designed for 4,000, but by 1965 ...

for children with intellectual disabilities. The concert was filmed and recorded, later released in February 1986 as the album '' Live In New York City''. On September 4, they played live again with Lennon and Ono at the ''

Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon The ''MDA Labor Day Telethon'' was an annual telethon held on (starting the night before and throughout) Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The Muscular Dystrophy Association was founded i ...

'', performing " Imagine", " Now or Never" and " Give Peace A Chance". In April and May 1972, the band recorded their second self-titled album, produced by Lennon and released on the Beatles'

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including ...

label, together with an accompanying single "Power Boogie." ''

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 ...

'' called it a "selection of good, strong unpretentious rock." It also contains various contributions by Lennon himself on guitar and vocals. This album has never been re-issued on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...

. From October to November, the band recorded material for Ono's double album ''

Approximately Infinite Universe ''Approximately Infinite Universe'' is a double album by Yoko Ono, released in early 1973 on Apple Records. It represents a departure from the experimental avant garde rock of her first two albums towards a more conventional pop/rock sound, wh ...

'', released in January 1973. On September 5, 1973, the band appeared at the

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporati ...

"Pirate Party" held on the SS ''Bay Belle'', together with a band featuring

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

. This performance was later featured in the 1983

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

''Hells Angels Forever''. The line-up of Elephant's Memory included at various times, Daria Price on

castanets Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a simi ...

, Davey 'Crabsticks' Trotter on

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. ...

, Robert O'Leary on bass, and John La Bosca on piano. However, the line-up that recorded ''Angels Forever'' in 1974, was Stan Bronstein and Richard Frank, plus Gary Van Scyoc on bass,

Chris Robison Chris Robison was an American musician, songwriter and recording artist. He toured with the New York Dolls, Steam and John Lennon’s backing band, Elephant's Memory. He died in December 2021, at age 73 Elephant’s Memory Robison sang back u ...

and Jon Sachs. In 2010, Van Scyoc and Ippolito appeared in '' LENNONYC'', a documentary about John Lennon for the PBS

American Masters ''American Masters'' is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and those who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the ...

series. In May 2010, guitarist Wayne "Tex" Gabriel died at the age of 59.

Discography

*''Island in the Sky'' (1968, album by

The Tuneful Trolley The Tuneful Trolley was an American psych-pop sextet from the late 1960s. Originally a high school band called "The Mark of Quality" from Suffolk County, Long Island, they were discovered and renamed by Sandy Yaguda of Jay and the Americans. Yagu ...

) **several members of Elephant's Memory performed the brass heard on the LP. *''

soundtrack'' (1969), songs "Jungle Gym At The Zoo" and " Old Man Willow" *''Elephant's Memory'' (1969) *''Take It to the Streets'' (1970) *'' Some Time in New York City'' (1972), John Lennon & Yoko Ono album, Elephant's Memory did session work *''Elephant's Memory'' (1972), produced by John Lennon & Yoko Ono *''

'' (1973), Yoko Ono album, Elephant's Memory did session work *'' Bio'' (1973), with

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined a ...

*''Angels Forever'' (1974) *''Our Island Music'' (1976), credited to Stan Bronstein/Elephant's Memory Band *'' Live in New York City'' (1986), with John Lennon, recorded in 1972

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Plastic Ono Band American pop music groups Apple Records artists John Lennon Plastic Ono Band members