WTJU and Horn Bands of the '60's - Part 2

In part 1 of this two-part post, I outlined the reasons for doing a special program featuring horn bands of the late 1960's on WTJU. Now we get to the good stuff -- the music itself.

Basically, on my program airing Wednesday, February 16 beginning at 6AM on WTJU, 91.1fm, I'll be airing music from the following groups:

East Coast Bands

Blood, Sweat, and Tears is probably the best known of this group. The band leaned closer to jazz than they did to rock, especially after Al Cooper left and David Clayton-Thomas came on board.



Chase was founded by jazz trumpter Bill Chase. They only had one hit, but their three albums were legendary.



Mid-West Bands

Chicago was formed in Chicago (of course), and before they became mushy balladeers, they were capable of some hard-driving rock. Witness this live performance of "Now You've Gone Away."



The Ides of March were sometimes mistaken for BS&T, because of a similarity in sound. But make no mistake, these guys came first. Lead singer and primary songwriter Jim Peterik appeared on Bill Chase's final album, and later played in Survivor, where he wrote their hit "Eye of the Tiger."



West Coast Bands

Cold Blood was an amazing horn band from San Francisco. Lead singer Lydia Pense was often compared favorably with her contemporary Janis Joplin.



The Electric Flag was a little more psychedelic, but you can hear the horns! Check out this live performance of their tune "Groovin is Easy."



The Sons of Champlin featured lead singer Bill Champlin. Although they never broke into the charts, they were critical favorites. Bill Champlin would later join Chicago as their lead singer in the 1990's.



Foreign Bands

Lighthouse was a supergroup from Canada that had one chart hit, "One Fine Morning." Nevertheless, this massive band put out several fine albums of music uniquely suited to their brass and string sections!



The Amen Corner from the UK wanted to reproduce the Stax Records sound. To achieve that, they incorporated both tenor and baritone saxophones into their group. The lead singer wrote "Bend Me, Shape Me," which they recorded and released, and was soon covered by the American Breed. Here are both versions, which actually appeared on the UK charts at the same time.





The Foundations were a mixed group from the UK. Most people remember them for "Build Me Up, Buttercup," and "Now That I Found You." But I'll probably be playing this track, too.

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I'll be featuring other groups on the show as well, but this will give you a general idea. So be sure to tune in and -- more importantly -- make a pledge! You know it's the right thing to do.

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