VANILLA FUDGE
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)
There are two covers on the Index album: “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (more the Vanilla Fudge version than the Supremes version) and the Byrds’ “Eight Miles High” (speaking of great psychedelic songs). If there was ever a song that cried out for a really extended treatment, it was “Eight Miles High”; and I still remember well the first time I heard a long version of “Eight Miles High” at a party while I was in college. The artist turned out to be Golden Earring, a Dutch band that has been around about as long as the Rolling Stones; they went on to have two giant hits – both of which I still love – “Radar Love” and “Twilight Zone”.
(March 2011)
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“Enough” by Bohemian Vendetta got some local radio play and even had a spot on Dick Clark’s “Rate-a-Record” on American Bandstand. This was, er, enough to get the band some better gigs; they opened for Vanilla Fudge and also another Long Island band the Vagrants. (The Vagrants had a regional hit song with Otis Redding’s “Respect” before Aretha Franklin’s version of “Respect” propelled them from the charts; bandmembers included Leslie West, later a member of the hard rock band Mountain).
(April 2011)
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After Homer’s 45 “I Never Cared for You” started getting extensive radio play and peaked at #2 on the station’s playlist, the band began opening for national acts that came to the area, including Blood, Sweat and Tears, Vanilla Fudge, and Strawberry Alarm Clock.
(September 2011)
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Their manager, Huffman & Hathaway lined Homer up as the opening act for several national bands in this time period, including Blood, Sweat and Tears, Vanilla Fudge, and the Strawberry Alarm Clock.
(April 2014)
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A review of the Human Zoo album by It’s Psychedelic Baby has this glowing tribute: “Parked in a musical zone owing a nudge and a wink to Vanilla Fudge, Jimi Hendrix, and Iron Butterfly, the Human Zoo perused and embodied the acid rock sounds of the day with insight and intent. Bold and booming guitars interact with crunchy keyboards and potent drum fills, while the soul-informed vocals and harmonies occasionally echo those of the heavier side of Crazy Elephant or Pacific, Gas and Electric.”
(July 2015)
