Crabby Appleton
Encyclopedia
Crabby Appleton was an American
early 1970s band
who scored a Top 40 hit
with their first single
, "Go Back."
The group is named after a character from the Tom Terrific
cartoon.
, California
based band called Stonehenge, the group's line-up was revamped with the introduction of Michael Fennelly
.
Fennelly was the final addition to the group and became the group's leader—writing
all their material, and becoming the sole guitarist
and vocalist. Fennelly had been one of the principal vocalists and songwriters in The Millennium
.
In addition to Fennelly, the group's members included Felix "Flaco" Falcon (percussion), Casey Foutz (keyboards), Hank Harvey (bass), and Phil Jones (drums). Jones previously of Oskaloosa, Iowa
, but more recently of Laurel Canyon, helped form the band after meeting Fennelly at Thee Experience, a club on the Sunset Strip
. Jones had heard the song, "To Claudia on Thursday," which Fennelly wrote and sang with his group The Millennium, and recruited Fennelly to join Stonehenge as lead singer and songwriter.
Crabby Appleton signed with Elektra Records
and recorded their first album
Crabby Appleton, released in 1970. The band's debut single, "Go Back," climbed to #36 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart
.
The band opened for the Doors
, Sly and the Family Stone, Three Dog Night
, Guess Who
, ABBA
, and George Carlin
. They appeared on American Bandstand
, the Real Don Steele Show, What's Happening with John Byner, and enjoyed critical success. Both of their albums, Crabby Appleton and Rotten to the Core, received rave reviews in Rolling Stone
and Creem
magazines.
, Joe Walsh
, Roy Orbison
, Cracker
, Susanna Hoffs
, Roger McGuinn
, and is playing with the Waddy Wachtel
Band.
Both Crabby Appleton albums have been reissued on CD
by Collector's Choice Music, and "Go Back" has been released on many compilation album
s.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
early 1970s band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
who scored a Top 40 hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
with their first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "Go Back."
The group is named after a character from the Tom Terrific
Tom Terrific
Tom Terrific was an early animated series on American television, presented as part of the Captain Kangaroo children's television show....
cartoon.
History
Though nearly everyone in the group was from an Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
based band called Stonehenge, the group's line-up was revamped with the introduction of Michael Fennelly
Michael Fennelly
Michael Fennelly is an American musician known for his work as a singer and songwriter in the 1960s and 1970s, notably in The Millennium and Crabby Appleton....
.
Fennelly was the final addition to the group and became the group's leader—writing
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
all their material, and becoming the sole guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and vocalist. Fennelly had been one of the principal vocalists and songwriters in The Millennium
The Millennium
The Millennium was an American super group based in California, who were conceived by Curt Boettcher. The group consisted of psychedelic rock musicians, and they incorporated sunshine pop harmonies....
.
In addition to Fennelly, the group's members included Felix "Flaco" Falcon (percussion), Casey Foutz (keyboards), Hank Harvey (bass), and Phil Jones (drums). Jones previously of Oskaloosa, Iowa
Oskaloosa, Iowa
Oskaloosa is the county seat of Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. The population was 11,463 in the 2010 census, an increase from 10,938 in the 2000 census. -History:...
, but more recently of Laurel Canyon, helped form the band after meeting Fennelly at Thee Experience, a club on the Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
. Jones had heard the song, "To Claudia on Thursday," which Fennelly wrote and sang with his group The Millennium, and recruited Fennelly to join Stonehenge as lead singer and songwriter.
Crabby Appleton signed with Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
and recorded their first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Crabby Appleton, released in 1970. The band's debut single, "Go Back," climbed to #36 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
.
The band opened for the Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, Sly and the Family Stone, Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...
, Guess Who
Guess Who
Guess Who may refer to:*The Guess Who, a rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada*Guess Who is a 1972 album by B.B. King*Guess Who , a Romanian hip hop artist*Guess Who?, a 1980s guessing game made popular by the Milton Bradley Company...
, ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, and George Carlin
George Carlin
George Denis Patrick Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author, who won five Grammy Awards for his comedy albums....
. They appeared on American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
, the Real Don Steele Show, What's Happening with John Byner, and enjoyed critical success. Both of their albums, Crabby Appleton and Rotten to the Core, received rave reviews in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
and Creem
Creem
Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...
magazines.
Breakup
Following the disbanding of the group, Fennelly recorded two solo records. Jones plays as a drummer and percussionist in the Los Angeles music scene and has recorded and toured with Tom Petty and the HeartbreakersTom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers are an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. They were formed in 1976 by Tom Petty , Mike Campbell , Benmont Tench , , Ron Blair and Stan Lynch...
, Joe Walsh
Joe Walsh
Joseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has been a member of three commercially successful bands, the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles, and has experienced notable success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, especially with B.B...
, Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
, Cracker
Cracker (band)
Cracker is an American alternative rock band featuring founders/songwriters singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman. They are best known for their platinum-selling 1993 album, Kerosene Hat, featuring the hit songs "Low", "Euro-Trash Girl", and "Get Off This".Founders Lowery and Hickman...
, Susanna Hoffs
Susanna Hoffs
Susanna Lee Hoffs is an American vocalist, guitarist and actress. She is best known as a member of the all-female pop band The Bangles.-Early life:...
, Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
, and is playing with the Waddy Wachtel
Waddy Wachtel
Robert "Waddy" Wachtel is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work...
Band.
Both Crabby Appleton albums have been reissued on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
by Collector's Choice Music, and "Go Back" has been released on many 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...
s.
Discography
- Crabby Appleton (1970, Elektra RecordsElektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
) - Rotten to the Core (1971, Elektra Records)