Dec 14

Herman’s Hermits

HERMAN’S HERMITS

 
Herman’s Hermits  are an English beat (or pop) band, formed in Manchester in 1962.  Originally called Herman & The Hermits, they were discovered by Harvey Lisberg, who signed them up to management.  Mickie Most became the group’s record producer, controlling the band’s output.  He emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers.  (More from Wikipedia)
 
 
For those wanting to hear ’em like they used to be, I live in a casino town, so a lot of the oldies acts come through here.  I set aside a more or less random Marquee newspaper insert covering entertainment options down here (from October 2011).  Here are the better known acts that were listed, and this is by no means everybody who was in town over those several weeks:  Herman’s Hermits (featuring Peter Noone), Loretta Lynn, Frankie Avalon, Tommy James and the Shondells, David Cassidy, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Kool & the Gang, Merle Haggard, and the Four Tops. 
 
(January 2012)
 
*       *       *
 

At the time of the British Invasion that began in late 1963, it wasn’t so hip to be American.  However, with a few exceptions – such as Peter Noone, the lead vocalist of Herman’s Hermits – even singers that had heavy British accents in their speaking voices didn’t sound particularly British when they sang.  Thus, many bands and recording artists in that period feigned Englishness in hopes of improving their changes of making the charts. 

 

(April 2013)

 
*       *       *
 

The Goldie and the Gingerbreads 1964 recording of “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat” made it to #25 in the UK.  Here in this country, Herman’s Hermits released “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat” two weeks earlier; the heavy promotion of that song cut them out of the U. S. charts.  After meeting Eric Burdon and the Animals, Goldie and the Gingerbreads was signed for a European tour, where they performed with the Who’s Who of the British Invasion:  the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, the Yardbirds, the Hollies, the Kinks, and others. 

 

(October 2013)

 
*       *       *
 
For some reason, over the years the 1970’s have gotten a reputation as a poor decade for music. (So do the 1950’s, for that matter, even though that is where rock and roll came from). It certainly cannot be because everything sounded the same. Most of the British Invasion bands were still active, from the Rolling Stones, to the Who, to the Kinks, to the Moody Blues, to the Hollies – to this day, even Herman’s Hermits has never broken up. Among the big English bands, only the Beatles and the Animals were gone by the end of the 1960’s.  The top American acts were still going strong as well, and many major stars arrived in the 1970’s. Anyone who says they are a music fan has to be able to find someone, and probably several someones on that list that they like a lot.
(December 2016)
Last edited: March 22, 2021