IMMusicRulz
Tele-Afflicted
One of the patriarchs of the folk rock boom of the Sixties, The Grass Roots were a great rock band. Led by bassist/vocalist Rob Grill, guitarist Creed Bratton (most notably resurfacing as a cast member of the TV sitcom The Office), and second guitarist Warren Entner (who also managed hard rock bands such as Quiet Riot and Warrant in the Eighties). There was another band from California called the Grass Roots led by black guitarist Arthur Lee, but after threatening legal action, that band eventually renamed themselves Love, who, like the Grass Roots, were a huge influence on many of the bands to come.
The group signed to ABC Records in 1965, and their debut was largely written and produced by PF Sloan and Steve Barri (who also produced records for The Mamas and The Papas, Three Dog Night, Barry McGuire and Johnny Rivers, hence why all those bands sound way too similar). Let's Live For Today, led by its dreamy sitar, climbed into the Top 40 and the group's success was assured.
Soon after, the public clamored for more Grass Roots, and their next 2 singles, Heaven Knows and I'd Wait A Million Years, also received heavy airplay on AM radio. The group's creative input was also helped by arranger Jimmie Haskell, who worked on nearly everything the band ever put out.
However, a lot of their later songs, such as Sooner Or Later and Where Were You When I Needed You, showcase how good of a vocalist Rob Grill was.
Check out the Ovation guitar that Warren Entner is playing, and that blonde Fender Telecaster Bass Rob Grill is playing!
The group eventually dissolved in the early Seventies. Rob Grill made a now out of print album for Mercury Records in 1979, and while it has been out of print for many years, it did feature guest work from Fleetwood Mac members Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham and John McVie. Rob Grill sadly died in 2011 of complications from injuries sustained in a fall at his home in Florida.
I actually have a few Grass Roots albums in my record collection, and I do think The Grass Roots should be in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, but the cheap shots that Jann Wenner constantly takes at those types of bands ensures that they will likely never be inducted. But we'll see.
After all, the Psychedelic Furs have listed The Grass Roots as a huge influence on their music, as did Bruce Springsteen (who regularly covered Where Were You When I Needed You and Let's Live For Today during his early tours), and The Bangles, who covered Sooner Or Later, Let's Live For Today and Where Were You When I Needed You, and even recorded the song Where Were You When I Needed You as the B-side to their first single, Hero Takes A Fall in 1984. It later appeared on their Bangles Greatest Hits album in 1990.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh1w4zxhGv8
If any of you like The Grass Roots please let me know.
The group signed to ABC Records in 1965, and their debut was largely written and produced by PF Sloan and Steve Barri (who also produced records for The Mamas and The Papas, Three Dog Night, Barry McGuire and Johnny Rivers, hence why all those bands sound way too similar). Let's Live For Today, led by its dreamy sitar, climbed into the Top 40 and the group's success was assured.
Soon after, the public clamored for more Grass Roots, and their next 2 singles, Heaven Knows and I'd Wait A Million Years, also received heavy airplay on AM radio. The group's creative input was also helped by arranger Jimmie Haskell, who worked on nearly everything the band ever put out.
However, a lot of their later songs, such as Sooner Or Later and Where Were You When I Needed You, showcase how good of a vocalist Rob Grill was.
Check out the Ovation guitar that Warren Entner is playing, and that blonde Fender Telecaster Bass Rob Grill is playing!
The group eventually dissolved in the early Seventies. Rob Grill made a now out of print album for Mercury Records in 1979, and while it has been out of print for many years, it did feature guest work from Fleetwood Mac members Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham and John McVie. Rob Grill sadly died in 2011 of complications from injuries sustained in a fall at his home in Florida.
I actually have a few Grass Roots albums in my record collection, and I do think The Grass Roots should be in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, but the cheap shots that Jann Wenner constantly takes at those types of bands ensures that they will likely never be inducted. But we'll see.
After all, the Psychedelic Furs have listed The Grass Roots as a huge influence on their music, as did Bruce Springsteen (who regularly covered Where Were You When I Needed You and Let's Live For Today during his early tours), and The Bangles, who covered Sooner Or Later, Let's Live For Today and Where Were You When I Needed You, and even recorded the song Where Were You When I Needed You as the B-side to their first single, Hero Takes A Fall in 1984. It later appeared on their Bangles Greatest Hits album in 1990.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh1w4zxhGv8
If any of you like The Grass Roots please let me know.
