Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their extended rock renderings of contemporary hit songs, most notably “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” . The band’s original lineup — vocalist/organist Mark Stein, bassist/vocalist Tim Bogert, lead guitarist/vocalist Vince Martell, and drummer/vocalist Carmine Appice — recorded five albums during the years 1966–69, before disbanding in 1970. The band has been cited as “one of the few American links between psychedelia and what soon became heavy metal”. (More from Wikipedia)
If I remember right, I saw a display at the local Record Bar showing Poco emerging from Buffalo Springfield; and Cactus growing out of another classic 1960’s band, Vanilla Fudge. VF had a well developed formula of covering a variety of hit songs in a slowed down, psychedelicized manner; their debut album, Vanilla Fudge (1967) was filled with them: the Supremes hit “You Keep Me Hanging On” (which is what got them signed in the first place to the Atlantic Records affiliate, Atco Records); two Beatles songs, “Ticket to Ride” and “Eleanor Rigby”; an Impressions classic “People Get Ready”; the Zombies song “She’s Not There”; and Sonny and Cher’s “Bang Bang”. Vanilla Fudge probably could not have kept this up for long no matter what, but they basically set themselves up for the so-called sophomore jinx with their second effort, a more textured and ambitious concept album constructed around another Sonny and Cher song (“The Beat Goes On”), called The Beat Goes On.
Vanilla Fudge had the good fortune to tour with Jimi Hendrix, was the opening act on several concerts on Cream’s last tour, and finally began touring with the brand-new Led Zeppelin opening for them. After hanging in there for several more albums (Sundazed Records has reissued four of them), the band broke up in early 1970.
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Cactus was originally going to be the rhythm section of Vanilla Fudge – Tim Bogert (bass guitar) and Carmine Appice (drums) – coupled with guitar hero Jeff Beck and future superstar Rod Stewart. What a rock band that would have been also!
(April 2014)
