Thomas Harvey "Sean" Bonniwell (August 16, 1940 – December 20, 2011) was an American singer-songwriter/guitarist, who was known as the creative force behind the 1960s

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

band, The Music Machine. Bonniwell was quoted in

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' The Daily P ...

's 1998 book, ''Unknown Legends of Rock 'n' Roll'', as saying "Rock and roll was a teenager in the '60s, and I used that climate to express my confusion, my anger, at the injustice of the world."

Life and career

Early years to 1960s

Bonniwell was born in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. During his teens, Bonniwell was inspired to form a high school vocal group after hearing the song " Only You" by

The Platters The Platters are an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The act ...

. After high school, Bonniwell's first serious musical incarnation was that of clean-cut pop-folk guitarist for the quartet The Wayfarers. The Wayfarers released three albums under the

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

label. As the

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

craze died out, Bonniwell sought to create music with "fuzz and fangs". In 1965, he formed a trio called The Ragamuffins, which quickly grew into The Music Machine. Adopting

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

-style moptop hair and all-black outfits (and Bonniwell's signature single black leather glove), Music Machine churned out a diversified style of

. After the band's debut album spawned the successful single "

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981 by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), Paul Webb (bass), and Simon Brenner (keyboards). Initially a synth-pop group, Talk Talk's first two albums, '' The Party's Over'' (198 ...

" (1966), the original line-up broke apart. Bonniwell continued on with Music Machine, now signed to Warner Bros. Records and renamed The Bonniwell Music Machine (1967). Unhappy with the way things were going, Bonniwell sold the rights to the band name to his label to be released from their contract. In 1969, along with Mosaic Tweed and a duo consisting of Brad Truitt and Billy Woodruff, he was signed to the talent roster of Kevin Deverich and Associates run by Kevin Deverich. Also that year, Bonniwell released a solo album ('' Close'') on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. This recording marked a change in identity for Bonniwell, who not only chose to make gentle, sensitive music (contrasting that for which he was known), but also chose to record under the name of T.S. Bonniwell. The recording received minor label support and displeased Bonniwell enough that he left the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

altogether. He entered a period of spiritual quest and internal soul-searching, grew a beard, sold everything he owned, and drove around the US in a

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

bus.

1990s to 2000s

In 1996, Bonniwell self-published a memoir called ''Talk Talk,'' which was later revised and re-titled ''Beyond The Garage,'' published by the independent publisher Christian Vision. Several years later,

Sundazed Music Sundazed Music is an American independent record label founded and based in Coxsackie, New York. It was initially known as a '60s-centric surf, garage, and psych label. Over time with the additions of imprints such as Modern Harmonic, American ...

put out previously unreleased Music Machine material from the 1960s, along with demo recordings from The Ragamuffins. Bonniwell claimed to have written over 300 songs since 1970. In November 2004, Bonniwell embarked on his first European Tour, performing his hits with musicians from the US and Europe. In 2006, Bonniwell recorded his first new material in several years, as a guest musician appearing on a self-titled debut album by The Larksmen, a garage rock group from Los Angeles, California. He appeared on two songs entitled "Burn Like A Boy" (actually written back in 1967 for The Music Machine but never released) and "Out Of Darwin's Mind".

Death

Bonniwell died on December 20, 2011, in

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-most populous city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 38th most populous in California, and 183 ...

, from lung cancer. He was 71 years old.

Discography

Singles

*"Bottom of the Soul" / "Astrologically Incompatible" (November 1967) *"Me-Myself, And I" / "Soul Love" (January 1968) *"In My Neighborhood" / "You'll Love Me Again" (April 1968) *"To the Light" / "You'll Love Me Again" (May 1968) *"Time Out (For a Daydream)" / "Tin Can Beach" (September 1968) *"Advise and Consent" / "Mother Nature, Father Earth" (March 1969) *"Where Am I to Go" / "Sleep" (June 1969) (as T.S. Bonniwell)

Albums

*'' The Bonniwell Music Machine'' WS 1732 / W 1732 (January 1968) *'' Close'' (as T.S. Bonniwell) Capitol LP ST-277 (August 1969) (Turn On) The Music Machine(album) by The Music Machine Original Sound label (1966)

References

External links

Official website
* Allmusic entrybr>Richie Unterberger interview with BonniwellBonniwell Music Machine: Bottom Of The Soul
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonniwell, Sean 1940 births 2011 deaths American male singer-songwriters American rock singers American rock songwriters Musicians from San Jose, California American protopunk musicians Deaths from lung cancer in California Writers from San Jose, California Singer-songwriters from California The Music Machine members