Coven is 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 formed in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in the late 1960s. They had a top 40 hit in 1971 with the song "

One Tin Soldier "One Tin Soldier" is a 1960s counterculture era anti-war song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. Canadian pop group The Original Caste (consisting of Dixie Lee Innes, Bruce Innes, Graham Bruce, Joseph Cavender and Bliss Mackie) firs ...

", the theme song of the movie ''

Billy Jack ''Billy Jack'' is a 1971 American action drama independent film, the second of four films centering on a character of the same name which began with the movie '' The Born Losers'' (1967), played by Tom Laughlin, who directed and co-wrote the ...

.'' Coven is composed of vocalist Jinx Dawson, bassist Greg "Oz" Osborne, guitarist Chris Neilsen, keyboardist Rick Durrett (later replaced by John Hobbs), and drummer Steve Ross. In addition to pioneering

occult rock Occult rock (also known as doom rock or witch rock) is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the late 1960s to early 1970s, pioneered by bands such as Coven and Black Widow. The genre is influenced by hard rock, proto-metal, psychedelic ...

with lyrics and aesthetics that explicitly deal in themes of

Satanism Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religious figure, Satanism—as well as other religious ...

and

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

, they are recognized by

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

fans and metal historians as being the band that introduced the "

sign of the horns The sign of the horns is a hand gesture with a variety of meanings and uses in various cultures. It is formed by extending the index finger, index and little fingers while holding the middle finger, middle and ring fingers down with the thum ...

" to rock, metal and pop culture, as seen on their 1969 debut album release ''

Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls ''Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls'' (also known simply as ''Witchcraft'') is the first album by the American rock band Coven. The album's overtly occult and satanic themes prompted removal from the market soon after its release in 1969 ...

''.

History

Jinx Dawson and Oz Osborne, after playing together in the group Him, Her and Them, formed Coven with Ross in

in the late 1960s. In 1967 and 1968 they toured, playing concerts with artists including

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ranked in t ...

, the

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

band, and

Vanilla Fudge Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, such as their hit cover of the Supremes' " You Keep Me Hangin' On". The band's original line–up was vocali ...

. Coven signed with

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

and released their debut album, ''

'' in 1969. The music on the album was considered

underground rock Underground music is music with practices perceived as outside, or somehow opposed to, mainstream popular music culture. Underground styles lack the commercial success of popular music movements, and may involve the use of avant-garde or abrasi ...

; what made it distinctive was the heavy emphasis on diabolical subject matter, including songs such as "The White Witch of Rose Hall" (based on the story of Annie Palmer), "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge", "Black Sabbath" and "Dignitaries of Hell". The album concluded with a 13-minute track of chanting and Satanic prayers called "Satanic Mass" (written by their producer,

Bill Traut William Raymond Traut (March 20, 1929 – June 5, 2014) was an American jazz musician, rock music producer, manager and record label executive. He co-founded the Dunwich and Wooden Nickel record labels, and produced The Shadows of Knight, The ...

, of Dunwich Productions, and described as ''"the first

Black Mass A Black Mass is a ceremony celebrated by various Satanic groups. It has allegedly existed for centuries in different forms, and the modern form is intentionally a sacrilegious and blasphemous parody of a Catholic Mass. In the 19th century the ...

to be recorded, either in written words or in audio"''). This Satanic Mass was also the first time Latin phrases such as "

Ave Satanas ''Hail Satan'', sometimes Latinized as ''Ave Satanas'' or ''Ave Satana'', is an exclamation used by some Satanists to invoke the name of Satan in contexts ranging from sincere expression to comedy or satire. The Satanic Temple uses the phrase ...

" were used in

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

rock music, and later Satanic and

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

bands continued this innovation (see

List of songs with Latin lyrics This is a list of songs having lyrics in Latin. This list contains songs that are performed in Latin by the named performers. Songs that sampling (music), sample other recorded music in Latin do not become eligible only by virtue of that sampling ...

for some examples). Also included inside the album was Coven's infamous Black Mass poster, showing members of the group displaying the sign of the horns as they prepared for a Satanic ritual over a nude Dawson lying on an

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

. Unwanted publicity came to the band in the form of a sensationalistic ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' magazine issue entitled "Evil Lurks in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

" (Esquire, March 1970), which linked

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

interest in the occult to

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934 – November 19, 2017) was an American criminal, cult leader, and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Some cult members committed a Manson ...

and the Tate-La Bianca murders, while also mentioning the ''Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls'' album and its Black Mass material. As a result, the album was pulled from circulation. Dawson recorded the vocals for "

", the title theme for the 1971 film ''

'', which was credited as "sung by Coven". The song, which went on to reach number 26 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, was written by

Dennis Lambert Dennis Earle Lambert (born May 18, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Career Lambert began his music career in 1960 when he signed to Capitol Records as a recording artist. By the mid-1960s, ...

and Brian Potter and was originally released by

The Original Caste The Original Caste is a Canadian folk group. The band formed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 1966 under the name The North Country Singers. Because the name sounded too much like a folk group, it was changed in 1968. Instrumentally, the group c ...

in 1969. Coven's version also reached the top 10 in ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' and was named the Number 1 Most Requested Song in 1971 and 1973 by American Radio Broadcasters. It also peaked at number 45 in Australia. In 1971, the band released a self-titled album that included "One Tin Soldier". Their third album, ''Blood on the Snow'', was produced by

Shel Talmy Sheldon Talmy (August 11, 1937 – November 13, 2024) was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger, best known for his work in England in the 1960s with the Who, the Kinks, and many other artists. Talmy arranged and produced hits ...

and released by

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...

in 1974. A music video for the title track was produced and released by Walt Disney Studios. After multiple unlicensed CD releases of the ''Witchcraft'' album over the years, it was officially released on the band's own Nevoc label in 2007. The following year, Coven released ''Metal Goth Queen: Out of the Vault 1976–2007'' on Nevoc, an album composed of previously unreleased recordings. ''Jinx'', an album of new recordings, was self-released on Nevoc in 2013. Jinx Dawson recruited a new line up of musicians in late 2016 – early 2017 in order to perform at

Roadburn Festival The Roadburn Festival is an annual music festival held each April in Tilburg, Netherlands. It was founded by Walter Hoeijmakers and Jurgen van den Brand in 1999, who ran a stoner rock blog of the same name. The festival has been held at Tilburg ...

in the Netherlands on April 20, 2017. This was Coven's first performance in Europe.

Influence

The heavy metal community debates the extent Coven influenced the British band

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

, forefathers of heavy metal music. * Coven employed the

in a musical and satanic context for the first time. Shortly thereafter

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heave ...

would employ that same sign, and it would eventually be popularized in the heavy metal scene by

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hel ...

when he joined the British band, at Butler's own suggestion. * Coven's debut album features the song "Black Sabbath" and their bassist's name was Oz Osborne. Shortly after the release of that album, the British band decided to change their original band name, Earth, to Black Sabbath, and John Michael Osbourne decided that his stage name on the British band's debut would be

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

. * The promotional poster for Black Sabbath's debut album is virtually identical to the previous promotional poster for Coven's debut album. *

Lester Bangs Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs (December 14, 1948 – April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist and critic. He wrote for ''Creem'' and ''Rolling Stone'' magazines and was also a performing musician. The music critic Jim DeRogatis called ...

of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' described Black Sabbath's debut album as a "blend between

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 ...

and Coven" and said they were "the English response to Coven". While Coven apparently had an aesthetic impact on the British band,

Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi Jr. (born 19 February 1948) is an English musician. He co-founded the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over ...

has denied it, affirming that they only heard about Coven after the release of their debut album and certain details were mere coincidence. It has been theorized that this refusal to admit their influence, which other important heavy metal pioneers such as

King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...

have admitted, was intended to prevent Black Sabbath from also being linked to the murders perpetrated by the

Manson family The Manson Family (known among its members as the Family) was a Intentional community, commune, gang, and cult led by criminal Charles Manson that was active in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The group at its peak consisted of a ...

. This alleged relationship put an end to Coven's career at the height of the media boom (the murders occurred in 1969 and the conviction took place in 1971) while the English band was publishing their seminal

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

three 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

albums An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (1969, Mercury) * ''Coven'' (1971) * ''Blood on the Snow'' (1974) * Metal Goth Queen: Out of the Vault 1976-2007 (2008) * ''Jinx'' (2013) Box sets * ''Half A Century Of Witchcraft'' (2021, Prophecy) Five album set includes the first three Coven albums along with ''Rarities'' and ''Esoterica''

References

External links

* * {{Authority control American acid rock music groups American occultists Musical groups established in 1969 1969 establishments in Illinois Musical groups disestablished in 1975 1975 disestablishments in Illinois Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Rock music groups from Chicago Mercury Records artists MGM Records artists Buddah Records artists Occult rock musical groups Mixed-gender bands Female-fronted musical groups