The Spiral Starecase was an American pop band, best known for its 1969 single "

More Today Than Yesterday "More Today Than Yesterday" is a song written by Pat Upton and performed by Spiral Starecase, of which Upton was the lead vocalist. The song was produced by Sonny Knight and arranged by Al Capps. Background The principal idea of the song was m ...

". Hailing from

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, United States, the band was recognizable for its

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

s and lead singer/guitarist Pat Upton's voice. Beginning life under the name The Fydallions, the group first formed in 1964, changing their name to Spiral Starecase several years later. In addition to Upton the band included Harvey Kaye (organ), Dick Lopes (saxophone), Bobby Raymond (bass guitar), Gene Austin (bass guitar), Vinny Parello (drums), Mark Barrett (drums), Al Sebay (electric guitar), and Mike Caschera.

History

More Today than Yesterday by Spiral Starecase US single

The group evolved from a four-piece instrumental group called the Fydallions, which formed in 1964 in

, for an

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

talent contest. After leaving the Air Force, the band went on the road, playing five-hour lounge jobs on the

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

circuit. The Fydallions, by then a quintet consisting of Dick Lopes (saxophone), Bobby Raymond (bass guitar), Harvey Kaye (keyboards), Vinnie Parello (drums), and Pat Upton (guitar and lead vocals), were noticed by the A&R representative for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

Gary Usher Gary Lee Usher (December 14, 1938 – May 25, 1990) was an American rock musician, songwriter, and record producer, who worked with numerous California acts in the 1960s, including the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and Dick Dale. Usher also produced fic ...

, while they were working in

El Monte, California El Monte is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of the city of Los Angeles. El Monte's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte" and is historically known as "The End of the San ...

. Columbia signed the band, but insisted that they change their name. The band was renamed after the movie '' The Spiral Staircase'', but with a deliberate misspelling. Their first two singles, produced by Gary Usher and released in 1968, were regional successes in markets like

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. Although they were not featured on an album, these two songs, along with a third single released that same year, "Baby What I Mean", would later be featured on the compilation ''The Very Best of the Spiral Starecase''. At this point, Sonny Knight was brought in to produce their first album. Usher had encouraged Upton to write original material for the group, and Upton had written "More Today Than Yesterday," while the band was working the

Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...

Sky Room in

. "More Today Than Yesterday" peaked at number 1 on the KHJ

Boss Radio Boss Radio was the name of two radio programming formats, both launched in the early 1960s: One in the United States, and one in the United Kingdom. Although the names were the same, the formats were quite different. The word "boss" was early 196 ...

30 on April 23, 1969, at number 12 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number seven on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100. It is ranked as the 50th biggest U.S. hit of 1969. In Canada, it reached number six and is ranked as the 63rd biggest hit of the year. The group soon released their debut album, titled after the song along with a few more singles including the follow-up, "She's Ready", and "No One for Me to Turn To" after signing with Columbia. The group recorded many songs for Columbia Records including several singles. None of those however could match the success of "More Today Than Yesterday", and the group disbanded approximately 18 months after the chart topping song was released. Poor management, squabbles over finances and a lawsuit also contributed to the original line-ups decision to call it quits. Upton went back to Los Angeles to work as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

, eventually working with

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician and actor. From age eight, he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he began a ...

. Kaye returned to Las Vegas and reformed the band in the mid 1970s. That line-up also featured Mike Caschera ( Michael Anthony) (lead vocals), Al Sebay (guitar), Gene Austin (electric bass), and Mark Barrett (drums). The band toured extensively and played every major venue in the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the remainder of the 1970s through the mid-1980s often with a full horn section to replicate the sound of their biggest hits. Raymond died in 1984.Childs, Marty and March, Jeff (2011). ''Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone?'' (Volume 1), p. 192. Davis, CA: EditPros LLC. (at Google Books)
Retrieved 5 January 2024. Kaye died on August 17, 2008 at age 69.Where Have All the Pop Stars Gone?- Facebook post (17 August 2012)
Retrieved 6 January 2024. Upton died on July 27, 2016, aged 75.

Legacy

"More Today Than Yesterday" has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

by, among others,

Sonny and Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of spouses Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. The pair first ac ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

, and Goldfinger, and was featured in the 1991 film '' My Girl'', on the soundtrack of ''

The Waterboy ''The Waterboy'' is a 1998 American sports comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. It was written by Adam Sandler as well as Tim Herlihy and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. Sandler also stars as the title character while Kathy Ba ...

'' in 1998, and in an episode of ''

Ally McBeal ''Ally McBeal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working ...

'' entitled "

Silver Bells "Silver Bells" is a Christmas song composed by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. It debuted in the motion picture '' The Lemon Drop Kid'' (1951), where it was started by William Frawley,"The Lemon Drop Kid" in The American Film Institute Catalog of ...

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

Biography
{{Authority control American pop music groups Musical groups from Sacramento, California Columbia Records artists Musical groups established in 1964