Butch Engle & the Styx
Encyclopedia
Butch Engle & the Styx were an American
rock
band formed in 1963 in Mill Valley, California
. Originally named The Showmen, the members were Butch Engle (vocals), Bob Zamora (lead guitar), Mike Pardee (organ), Harry "Happiness" Smith (bass), and Rich Morrison (drums). The band released three singles before breaking up in 1968. A compilation album
featuring all of the band's recordings, No Matter What You Say: The Best of Butch Engle & the Styx, was released in 2000.
group of the same name
— in 1963 after he took over and renamed an earlier incarnation of the band, whose roster had included Bill Champlin
.
The group consisted of Engle, guitarist Bob Zamora, organist Mike Pardee, bassist Harry "Happiness" Smith, and drummer Rich Morrison.
In 1964 the Showmen released the British Invasion
-influenced single "You Know All I Want".
The band changed their name in 1965 to Butch Engle & the Styx.
With the exception of their debut single, all material recorded by the band was written or co-written by Ron Elliott
of The Beau Brummels
.
According to Engle, "Ron, Sly Stewart [later known as Sly Stone
], [and Autumn Records
executives] Tom Donahue
and Bobby Mitchell would choose which songs would go on [a Beau Brummels] album, and then we could take what we wanted from whatever was left".
Butch Engle & the Styx released a single, "I'm a Girl", in 1966 on the Warner Bros. Records
subsidiary, Loma Records.
The band shortened their name to The Styx and released another single, "Hey, I'm Lost", in 1967,
before breaking up the following year.
In 2000, Sundazed Records
released No Matter What You Say: The Best of Butch Engle & the Styx, a compilation album which contained the band's three singles—including B-sides
—along with 11 previously unreleased recordings.
"Hey, I'm Lost" appeared on the 2007 Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965–1970 box set.
noted the two songs that comprised the band's first single were "performed rather sloppily", and called the Elliott-composed material "weak by Elliott's own high standards and in fact were basically leftovers that were not deemed strong enough for the Beau Brummels to record". Unterberger said Butch Engle & the Styx were "lesser musicians and singers than the Beau Brummels, too". He named "Hey, I'm Lost" as the band's highlight, describing the song as "a charging, slightly ominous and doubtful number with good vocal harmonies.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band formed in 1963 in Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge. The population was 13,903 at the 2010 census.Mill Valley is located on the western and northern shores of Richardson Bay...
. Originally named The Showmen, the members were Butch Engle (vocals), Bob Zamora (lead guitar), Mike Pardee (organ), Harry "Happiness" Smith (bass), and Rich Morrison (drums). The band released three singles before breaking up in 1968. A compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
featuring all of the band's recordings, No Matter What You Say: The Best of Butch Engle & the Styx, was released in 2000.
History
Butch Engle formed The Showmen—not to be confused with the 1960s popPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group of the same name
The Showmen
The Showmen were a New Orleans based American doo-wop and R&B group. formed in 1961. They are best remembered for their track, "It Will Stand", issued on Minit Records. "It Will Stand" reached #61 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961, and when re-released in 1964 re-charted and reached #80...
— in 1963 after he took over and renamed an earlier incarnation of the band, whose roster had included Bill Champlin
Bill Champlin
William Bradford "Bill" Champlin is an American singer, guitarist, keyboard player, arranger, producer, and songwriter. His performance work is principally associated with the bands Chicago and the Sons of Champlin...
.
The group consisted of Engle, guitarist Bob Zamora, organist Mike Pardee, bassist Harry "Happiness" Smith, and drummer Rich Morrison.
In 1964 the Showmen released the British Invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
-influenced single "You Know All I Want".
The band changed their name in 1965 to Butch Engle & the Styx.
With the exception of their debut single, all material recorded by the band was written or co-written by Ron Elliott
Ron Elliott (musician)
Ron Elliott on October 21, 1943) is an American musician, composer and producer, best known as songwriter and lead guitarist of rock band The Beau Brummels. Elliott wrote or co-wrote the band's 1965 U.S...
of The Beau Brummels
The Beau Brummels
The Beau Brummels were an American rock band. Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the band's original lineup included Sal Valentino , Ron Elliott , Ron Meagher , Declan Mulligan , and John Petersen...
.
According to Engle, "Ron, Sly Stewart [later known as Sly Stone
Sly Stone
Sly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
], [and Autumn Records
Autumn Records
Autumn Records was a 1960s San Francisco-based pop record label. Its most prominent contract was considered The Beau Brummels, a band who released a pair of top 20 singles, "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little"....
executives] Tom Donahue
Tom Donahue
Tom "Big Daddy" Donahue , was a pioneering rock and roll radio disc jockey, record producer and concert promoter....
and Bobby Mitchell would choose which songs would go on [a Beau Brummels] album, and then we could take what we wanted from whatever was left".
Butch Engle & the Styx released a single, "I'm a Girl", in 1966 on the Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
subsidiary, Loma Records.
The band shortened their name to The Styx and released another single, "Hey, I'm Lost", in 1967,
before breaking up the following year.
In 2000, Sundazed Records
Sundazed Records
Sundazed Records is a record label based in Coxsackie, in the Catskills of New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s.Label founders Bob Irwin and his wife Mary started the label in 1989...
released No Matter What You Say: The Best of Butch Engle & the Styx, a compilation album which contained the band's three singles—including B-sides
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
—along with 11 previously unreleased recordings.
"Hey, I'm Lost" appeared on the 2007 Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965–1970 box set.
Critical reception
Author and music journalist Richie UnterbergerRichie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger is a US author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.-Life and writing:Having worked as a DJ at WXPN in Philadelphia, he started reviewing records for Op magazine in 1983...
noted the two songs that comprised the band's first single were "performed rather sloppily", and called the Elliott-composed material "weak by Elliott's own high standards and in fact were basically leftovers that were not deemed strong enough for the Beau Brummels to record". Unterberger said Butch Engle & the Styx were "lesser musicians and singers than the Beau Brummels, too". He named "Hey, I'm Lost" as the band's highlight, describing the song as "a charging, slightly ominous and doubtful number with good vocal harmonies.
Band members
- Butch Engle – lead vocals
- Bob Zamora – lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
- Mike Pardee – organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
- Harry "Happiness" Smith – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Rich Morrison – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Larry Gerughty – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Barry Lewis - (Drums and Percussion) 1967-68
Compilation album
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2000 | No Matter What You Say: The Best of Butch Engle & the Styx
|
Singles
| Year | Song |
|---|---|
| 1964 | "You Know All I Want"
|
| 1966 | "I Like Her"
|
| 1967 | "Hey, I'm Lost"
|