The Grass Roots are a highly successful rock and roll group that consistently
produced quality music in their heyday from 1966 to 1975. Although they never
attained a number one hit on the charts, they were consistently in the top end
of popular music in the turbulent rock music scene. Radio play was a big factor
in their history. It was not easily tracked to properly reflect on the charts,
in those years. They managed to be one of the top picks of disc jockeys and
enjoyed frequent requests from listeners. From 1967 to 1972, The Grass Roots
set a record for being on the Billboard charts 307 straight weeks. They are
one of only nine bands that have charted twenty nine or more Top 100 Billboard
singles. They have sold over twenty million records worldwide. They hold the
all time attendance record for a one act, the US concert of 600,000 people on
July 4th, 1982 in Washington, DC. They have appeared on over 50 national television
shows. Many of their hits are still seeing heavy rotation on oldies stations
to this day. They achieved one platinum album, two gold albums, thirteen gold
singles and charted singles a total of twenty nine times. In their home state
of California, they were rock and roll legends and enjoyed heavy rotation of
their songs as the local heroes. They managed to consistently satisfy their
listeners through several lineups of musicians, all producing a great sound
to carry on the tradition. The Grass Roots benefited from outstanding production
and recording techniques compliments of Dunhill Records and their producers
such as Steve Barri. Their recordings stand up to the test of time.
The Grass Roots story begins in the minds of two talented songwriters of the
Los Angeles music scene. Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan were very prolific in writing
songs in many genres of rock music. They worked for Dunhill Records, a new label
headed by Lou Adler. Dunhill gave them the task of putting together a collection
of songs so the record label could have some impact on the budding folk rock
trend going on in the year 1965. The duo penned the song Where Were You When
I Needed You and recorded it for release as a demo to several radio stations.
Both Barri and Sloan took part in the recording along with some seasoned studio
musicians at Dunhill. When the record company received some good feedback about
the recording, they started a search to find a band to become The Grass Roots.
An audition was held at the Whisky-A-Go-Go in San Francisco. A group called
The Bedouins were selected to be The Grass Roots.
The Bedouins were comprised of Denny Ellis on rhythm guitar, Willie Fulton on
vocals and lead guitar, Joel Larson on drums and David Stensen on bass. They
had all grown up in the San Francisco music scene and had won a recent Battle
Of The Bands there. They were all under the age of 18 so their mothers had to
sign their recording contracts. The record company had them come to Los Angeles
to do some live performances and take part in the recording process. Out of
the recording sessions came their first single penned by Bob Dylan called Mr.
Jones (Ballad Of A Thin Man). The flip side was a fuzzy garage rocker penned
by Barri Sloan titled You’re A Lonely Girl. The single was sent to several
radio stations and became a regional hit. Upon issuing this single, Dunhill
secured for themselves the legal group name of The Grass Roots. Previous to
this, rock legend Arthur Lee of Love had used the name sporadically when his
group played live gigs in the LA area.
Dunhill continued to develop the group with many live performances and more
recording. All the group members moved to LA and lived together in an apartment
in Hollywood so they were close to the exploding music scene and studio. They
took part in recording sessions that yielded a new version of Where Were You
When I Needed You, some other Barri Sloan songs and some covers of recent songs
by The Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel and other songwriters. Dunhill
started compiling an album of this material titled Where Were You When I Needed
You in 1966. It had a simple photo cover that represented the record company’s
take on folk rock music. There were no pictures of any group members on the
release. The Grass Roots were busy playing many live performances and networking
in the LA scene. The group felt that they wanted to go a different direction
with their music. They asked to have more input in the recording process and
song selection but this was not the formula that Dunhill wanted. The group minus
Larson decided to return to San Francisco and continued to play live performances
until the record company opted to recruit other members in their place. Although
the Where Were You When I Needed You single jumped up to #28 on the charts,
the album failed to draw much attention at the time. It has since gained favor
and has aged very well, being reissued several times on CD with unreleased bonus
tracks.
Larson was offered to recruit new members and continue as The Grass Roots but
opted to work with The Byrds legend Gene Clark. This left Dunhill scrambling
to find another group to be The Grass Roots in early 1967. A solution came in
the form of a Los Angeles group called The 13th Floor. They had been a part
of the local LA music scene since 1966 and wrote their own compositions as well
as playing cover tunes. Creed Bratton played lead guitar, Rick Coonce played
drums, Warren Entner sang and played rhythm guitar and Kenny Fukomoto sang and
played bass. They sent a demo to Dunhill which received a favorable review.
Unknown to the record company, Fukomoto had been drafted into the army. When
the 13th Floor received news of a potential contract, they scrambled to find
a replacement for their bass player. They went to the local musicians union
and saw a posting by Rob Grill as a bass player and vocalist. Grill auditioned
for the group and was immediately recruited.
Dunhill offered the group an opportunity to take over The Grass Roots name and
they went right into the recording studio and put together two songs for their
first single release. They recorded a song that they had been playing called
Let’s Live For Today and fuzzy garage rocker that Entner self composed
titled Depressed Feeling as the flip side. A few days later they were on a flight
to Alaska for their first live concert. Their iconic single started climbing
the charts to #8 and it became a mantra for the youth of the day with its simple
message and catchy hooks. The group recorded a third version of Where Were You
When I Needed You and other Barri Sloan penned songs. They added many group
composed songs to create their debut album titled Let’s Live For Today.
It pictured all of the new group members on the cover and sold very well. A
second hit song Things I Should Have Said charted at #28. The group learned
the recording process and toured all over the country. The group composed material
reflected the band growing as force in the LA music scene over the prior years.
All four members collaborated to create some interesting music that reflected
the times very well.
They then began working on their second album to be released in 1968. The album
was titled Feelings and featured many group composed songs and additional instrumentation.
In addition, there were a few Sloan composed songs and one Barri Sloan composition.
The title track actually went back to ’66 and The 13th Floor with drafted
Fukomoto being the main composer of that song. Although not on the Feelings
album, Midnight Confessions was released as a single in 1968 and shot up to
#5 on the charts. This marked the highest chart position the group had achieved.
It became another iconic hit of the times just as Let’s Live For Today
did the previous year. It appeared on the Golden Grass greatest hits album later
in 1968. Although Feelings did not sell to the record company’s expectations
due to the absence of Midnight Confessions, it is a true high point of the groups
many albums. It features intricate orchestration and a great example of what
the band members were capable of as musicians and songwriters had the record
company continued to allow them creative freedom. As it turned out, the groups
output shifted away from folk rock and into a pop soul orientation based upon
the horn arrangements in Midnight Confessions as the primary reason for the
songs popularity. To some listeners the psychedelic organ sequence that is predominant
throughout the song could have lead the group to a harder rock sound. That path
was not taken by the decision makers. Sloan left Dunhill to pursue a solo career.
Barri shifted to an emphasis on production.
In 1969, a transitional album titled Lovin’ Things contained songs in
the tradition of the group’s first two albums and others in the new pop
soul realm. The title song, Bella Linda and The River Is Wide were all charting
hits during the year and continued to cement the groups standing as hit makers.
They were a main staple on the radio across the country. The group managed to
get a few stand out group compositions into the mix of the album as well. Lovin’
Things featured two more Sloan composed songs and one by Barri Sloan. The group
continued with heavy touring. Because of creative differences they lost a group
member. Lead guitarist Bratton left in 1969 and was replaced by keyboardist
and vocalist Dennis Provisor. His participation helped complete the groups shift
to a pop soul orientation first to be heard on the album Leavin’ It All
Behind late in ’69. Fueled by the success of the hit single Wait A Million
Years, the album also contained the hits Heaven Knows and a Provisor composition
Walking Through The Country. The previous Barri Sloan compositions disappeared
and were replaced by a new Dunhill song writing team, Price Walsh. The group
continued adding a few group composed tunes to the mix as well. The vocal harmonies
between Entner, Grill and Provisor are a definite highlight of this lineup.
Coonce continued to add his unique drum style and self composed a song for the
album. In the years of 1970 and 1971, the group did not issue a new album other
than a greatest hits or single flip side package. They had some big hit singles
to fuel this approach. Price Walsh gave them Baby Hold On and Temptation Eyes.
Other songwriters gave them Sooner Or Later and Two Divided By Love. They enlisted
in rotation the talents of Terry Furlong and Brian Naughton on lead guitar during
this time. They issued More Golden Grass, a flip side and hit compilation and
the mighty 16 Greatest Hits, that is still in print since 1971. Many Grass Roots
fans were first exposed to their music because of the high availability of this
release.
In 1971, Coonce, Furlong, Naughton and Provisor left the group. This ended the
era of three part harmonies the group had produced since 1969. They were replaced
by original Grass Root Joel Larson returning on drums. He brought with him the
experience of working with Gene Clark, The Turtles, The Merry-Go-Round and Lee
Michaels. Other new members Reed Kailing on lead guitar and Virgil Weber on
keyboards were seasoned musicians. The first album to their credit is 1972’s
Move Along which was a transitional album similar to Lovin’ Things. The
primary non group song writing of Price Walsh was joined by the competing song
writing duo of Lambert Potter. The Grass Roots continued with their winning
formula and had remnants of the former band’s singing and song writing
ability. They scored hits with Glory Bound and The Runway. This album is a high
production affair compliments of Barri near his zenith as producer.
In 1973, the group hit the charts with Love Is What You Make It and produced
an album called Alotta’ Mileage. A departure from the usual was the album
cover that simply pictured five pairs of worn shoes. This was reminiscing of
the Where Were You When I Needed You minimalist cover in ‘66. The album
showcased the group in a new way and the production techniques are a little
more down to earth. There is quite a bit of acoustic guitar such as on the lead
off song Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire and some solid musicianship
throughout. This is the last album with Entner and serves as a swan song to
the unique two part vocal harmonies with Grill since 1967. He retired as a musician
and has continued as a successful band manager of heavy metal rock groups up
to the present day. He manages Angel, Quiet Riot, Faith No More and others.
In addition, Kailing and Weber left the group. This was the last issue on the
ABC Dunhill label. During the last flurry of single releases, the record label
issued two A sides that never appeared on any albums titled We Can’t Dance
To Your Music and Stealin’ Love (In The Night). These are an interesting
footnote to The Grass Roots Dunhill years.
In 1974, Grill re-enlisted veteran member Provisor and recruited Reggie Knighton
on lead guitar to join with Larson and himself. They hit the charts with the
song Mamacita which rekindled The Grass Roots sound in many ways. In 1975, they
issued an album with The Grass Roots logo on the graphic cover depicting a tree
with roots and layers of geological earth. The self titled release contained
compositions from Randy Newman, Carol King, Mann Weil and other notables. Lambert
Potter continued in their song writing for the group as well as providing their
new record label called Haven. There was one Provisor composition appropriately
titled The Last Time Around.
After a three year pause in new recordings, in 1978 Grill & Provisor issued
a compilation of newly recorded hit songs titled 14 Greatest. At the prompting
of several members of Fleetwood Mac, Grill produced a solo album titled Uprooted
the next year in 1979. The album featured several Grill and Provisor compositions.
In 1982, Grill reformed The Grass Roots with Ralph Gilmore on drums, Charles
Judge on keyboards and Terry Oubre on lead guitar. They produced an album titled
Powers Of The Night. It featured several Grill compositions. In 2000, The Grass
Roots produced an album that documented their live performances titled Live
At Last. Along with Grill, the group is comprised of Joe Dougherty on drums,
Dusty Hanvey on lead guitar and Larry Nelson on keyboards. This is the current
group line up that has frequently performed live concerts to the present day.
The album features several hit songs that the group turned down back in their
heyday, giving it a surprising twist. In 2001, Grill added his vocals to a string
quartet playing all of The Grass Roots big hits titled Symphonic Hits. The Grass
Roots for the past 22 years, Dougherty, Grill, Hanvey and Nelson produced an
album that chronicles their fourteen Top 40 Billboard hits titled Live Gold
in 2008.
Since the disbanding of the original group in 1975, The Grass Roots have been
seen in thousands of concerts across the country almost seamlessly to the present
day. Rob Grill has been the guiding light in the continued exposure of The Grass
Roots music to old and new listeners alike. Since 1967, he has weathered the
trial and tribulations of the music business and continues to lead the group
into the new millennium. He has been and continues to be the common thread for
the positive output that the group has given music listeners around the world.
He has done this for over forty years and is still going strong. This is quite
an accomplishment in any record book. This serves as a testament to a man who
is a top level vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, manager and producer. Through
his many talents, he has gained the respect of his peers and the admiration
of music listeners around the globe.
