Stories
was an
American
early 1970s
rock and pop
music band
based in
New York City.
The band consisted
of
keyboardist
Michael Brown,
bassist/vocalist
guitarist
Steve Love,
and
drummer
Bryan Madey,
and had a
Number 1 hit
with a cover of
Hot Chocolate's
"Brother Louie."
Band History
Ian Lloyd
and
Michael Brown
were introduced
by their fathers,
Peter Buonconsiglio
and
Harry Lookofsky,
two old friends
who had
worked together
for years as
session violinists.
Lloyd had been
singing for years
and had attracted
local notice recording
as
Lloyd London.
Brown had
already experienced
substantial
mainstream success,
having led
and performed with
his group
The Left Banke,
which had made
the U.S. charts
with the
Brown-penned singles
"Walk Away Renee"
(No. 5, 1966)
and
"Pretty Ballerina"
(No. 15, 1967).
The two set about
becoming a
Beatlesque band.
They recruited
New Yorkers
Steve Love
and
Brian Madey
and located
an interested
record label
in Kama Sutra.
A self-titled album
and a single
"I'm Coming Home"
(No. 42, 1972)
followed
Afterward,
the band
started work
on their second LP
with producer
Eddie Kramer,
About Us (1973).
After the
album's release,
Brown left the band
to pursue another project.
About Us
did relatively well,
but it did not
initially include
the group's new single,
"Brother Louie."
The song about a
black woman
and her
white boyfriend
had been a
UK hit
for
Hot Chocolate
earlier that year.
(The group's
soon-to-be
new bassist,
Kenny Aaronson,
was responsible
for the
Motown-like
bass line
that helped give
the song its
funky character.)
Once issued as
the Stories'
fifth single,
it became
a big hit,
reaching No. 1
in the United States.
It spent
two weeks
at No. 1
and remained
on
the Billboard
chart for 18 weeks,
with an R.I.A.A.
gold disc awarded
on August 22, 1973.
Raven Records
released
Stories
and
About Us
on a
single CD,
including the
bonus track
"Another Love"
No comments:
Post a Comment