Nigel Pickering (born Fredy Ray Pickering; June 15, 1929 – May 5, 2011) was an American folk rock musician, who co-founded and was a songwriter for

Spanky And Our Gang Spanky and Our Gang was an American 1960s sunshine pop band led by Spanky McFarlane, Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane. The band derives its name from Hal Roach's ''Our Gang'' comedies of the 1930s (known to modern audiences as ''The Little Rascals''), ...

Biography

Nigel Pickering was born Fredy Ray Pickering in 1929 in Pontiac, Missouri. Pickering began his music career playing guitar on the radio with a Milwaukee group called "The Westernaires" in the mid-1950s. Their show was called "Ranch House Roundup" and he was the character "Ranger Tom." Prior to being in

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, who also pr ...

, Nigel was a member of the folk trio The Folksters, who appeared on two 1962 episodes of

The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

(November 19 and 26). The trio included Kenny Hodges, who later played in Spanky And Our Gang. Pickering first met

Spanky McFarlane Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane (born June 19, 1942) is an American singer best known for fronting the vocal group Spanky and Our Gang in the late 1960s. She was nicknamed "The Queen of Sunshine Pop". Early years In 1959, McFarlane arrived in Chicago ...

and

Oz Bach Paul Michael "Oz" Bach (June 24, 1939 – September 21, 1998) was an American folk musician and bassist for the 1960s group Spanky and Our Gang. Bach entered music in 1962 as a guitarist, singer and comedian, before switching to bass in 1963. He ...

at a

Hurricane party A hurricane party is a social event held by people primarily in the Southeastern United States in advance of an approaching Atlantic hurricane. Guests are typically allowed to stay with the host for three to five days (weather permitting) and, in ...

Chicago, Illinois 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 1965. The three, along with Malcom Hale and

John Seiter John Seiter (born August 17, 1944) is an American musician. He is best known for his work as a drummer for Spanky and Our Gang and The Turtles. Biography Seiter first rose to prominence as a member of the pop group Spanky and Our Gang. He join ...

, formed Spanky And Our Gang, best known for songs such as '' Lazy Day'', ''

Sunday Will Never Be The Same "Sunday Will Never Be the Same" is a 1967 song by the American band Spanky and Our Gang from their self-titled debut album. The single peaked at #9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #7 in the Canadian ''RPM'' Magazine charts. The song was writt ...

'', and ''

Like To Get To Know You "Like to Get to Know You" is a 1968 song from Spanky and Our Gang. Written by Stuart Scharf, the song debuted at No. 71 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on April 20, 1968 and peaked at No. 17 on June 8, 1968.''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1 ...

'' that were produced between 1967 and 1969. The group came to an abrupt end in 1969, following the death of Malcom Hale on October 30, 1968. After the dissolution of Our Gang, Pickering continued to perform as a solo act in clubs. He stopped playing guitar in the late 2000s due to arthritis, but continued to sing. After fighting liver cancer, he died on May 5, 2011, aged 81 in

Saint Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

Biography

References

Further reading