Elizabeth 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 ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

that were active from 1967 to 1970. They were based out of Philadelphia and known for their unique musical and sonic blend of

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

, classical,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

, American rock,

British rock British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the develop ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, and

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

. Elizabeth's members were: Steve Weingarten (lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), who died in 2007; Bob Patterson (rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals); Jim Dahme (flute, lead and backing vocals); Steve Paul Bruno (bass, organ, backing vocals); and, Hank Ransome (drums).

History

In 1968, the band recorded and released their self-titled album on

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

(produced by Sam Charters). Vanguard's artist roster at the time included

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

Buffy Sainte-Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie (born Beverley Jean Santamaria; February 20, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and social activist. Sainte-Marie's singing and writing repertoire includes subjects of love, war, religion, and mysticism, and h ...

and

Country Joe and the Fish Country Joe and the Fish was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Berkeley, California, in 1965. The band was among the influential groups in the San Francisco music scene during the mid-to-late 1960s. Much of the band's music was writ ...

. Elizabeth performed with

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

,"Elizabeth"
Retrieved on June 2, 2010

Blue Cheer Blue Cheer was an American rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic blues rock or acid rock style. The ...

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

, Ritchie Havens,

The Chambers Brothers The Chambers Brothers are an American psychedelic soul band, best known for their eleven-minute 1968 psychedelic soul hit " Time Has Come Today". The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions ...

and many other musical luminaries of that era. Some of the bands' many Philadelphia area performances included concerts and sets at: The Main Point, The Second Fret, The Electric Factory, and most Be-INs at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. As the band was starting to come together (nameless at that point), Steve and Robert "

Stewkey The Nazz was an American rock music, rock band formed in Philadelphia in 1967. The group was founded by guitarist and main songwriter Todd Rundgren and bassist Carson Van Osten. Drummer Thom Mooney and vocalist/keyboardist Robert "Stewkey" Anto ...

" Antoni, bandmates from Newport, RI, made an unexpected stop in Philadelphia on their way to Florida. After a week in the City of brotherly love, they decided to forgo Florida and help form Elizabeth. Some interesting guitarists auditioned for the band, including future rock star

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

who was with Woody's Truck Stop at the time; and,

Nick Jameson Nick Jameson (born December 5, 1948) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and producer, known for his portrayal of Russian president Yuri Suvarov over three seasons on the show '' 24''. He currently resides in Reykjavík, doing live comedy, ...

, soon to be a founder and guitarist of The American Dream (both were Philly bands). Within a month or so of landing in Philadelphia, Stewkey left Elizabeth to join Todd's new band, The Nazz. Of note, Linda Cohen, a Philadelphia classical guitarist, was Elizabeth's first drummer (briefly). During the spring and summer of 1969, she teamed up with Michael Kac from Mandrake Memorial and, together, performed as a classical-pop fusion guitar-harpsichord duo. Linda died in 2009 of lung cancer. Mandrake Memorial and Elizabeth shared the stage many times.

Post-Elizabethan life

After Elizabeth disbanded in 1970, the band's members pursued various musical and non-musical endeavors. Hank went on to play with the group Good God. Steve began a recording/engineering career that kicked off at Vanguard and

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer. It was completed by 1970. Hendrix ...

. Bob moved to Florida and is quite active to this day as a Singer, Songwriter, Storyteller and Visual Artist. Linda Cohen recorded 3 albums (1971-1973) that were produced by

Craig Anderton PAiA Electronics, Inc. is an United States of America, American synthesizer kit company that was started by John Simonton in 1967. It sells various musical electronics kits including analog synthesizers, theremins, audio mixer, mixers and various ...

from Mandrake Memorial. Stewkey recorded 3 albums with The Nazz (1968-1971). The Elizabeth album was re-mastered from the original tapes and re-released on CD in 2000 by the Akarma Vanguard label. The release comes housed in a mini album-styled sleeve that perfectly reproduces the original records foldout cover graphics. The popular Elizabeth track, "You Should Be More Careful", appears on the 2010 Vanguard album release (2-disk vinyl set) entitle
"Follow Me Down: Vanguard's Lost Psychedelic Era (1966-1970)"
re
"Side B, Track 1. Elizabeth: You Should Be More Careful"
Retrieved on March 21, 2014 along with tracks by The Vagrants, The 31st of February and other Vanguard artists.

Band members

*Steve Weingarten - lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals *Bob Patterson - rhythm guitar (6 and 12-string), lead and backing vocals *Jim Dahmne - flute, lead and backing vocals *Steve Paul Bruno - bass guitar,

Hammond B-3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created from rotat ...

, backing vocals *Hank Ransome - drums, percussion

Discography

Elizabeth

*LP =

VSD-6501, Stereo, 1968 *CD = Akarma Vanguard VMD-6501, Stereo, 2000, remastered from original tapes *Produced by Sam Charters for

*Songs Written by Weingarten (1, 3, 4, 6); Patterson (2, 5, 8, 10); Dahme (9); Weingarten & Dahme (7)

References

{{Reflist American psychedelic rock music groups Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups disestablished in 1970 Progressive rock musical groups from Pennsylvania