Doll Congress was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 1980s alternative rock

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band from Los Angeles

Los 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...

. Its members were Michael Penn

Michael Penn

Michael Penn is an American singer, songwriter and composer. He is the eldest son of actor/director Leo Penn and actress Eileen Ryan, and the brother of actors Sean Penn and the late Chris Penn.-Career:...

 (guitar, vocals, production), Gabriele Morgan (vocals, clarinet), Patrick Warren (keyboards), Larry Rott (bass), and Rafael Gayol

Rafael Gayol

Rafael Bernardo Gayol is a drummer, percussionist, songwriter, singer and actor.Born in Mexico City and raised in Los Angeles, California, he has worked as a drummer/percussionist/vocalist recording and touring with such diverse artists as Leonard Cohen, Doll Congress, BoDeans, Sun 60, Charlie...

 (who then went by the name Danny Gayol, drums). They began as "Gabriele Morgan and Doll Congress" following the release of an EP by Gabriele Morgan which featured Michael Penn on guitar and bass, in 1981, but quickly shortened the band's name to just "Doll Congress" as Michael Penn took over some of the lead vocals and shared the songwriting with Gabriele Morgan.

The band was popular locally, but found it difficult to spread this success any further.

Doll Congress released two records, including the 1983 self-titled 12" record on the Enigma label, with three songs: the cover

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of "Concrete and Clay

Concrete and Clay

"Concrete and Clay" is the title of a 1965 #1 hit single recorded by the UK pop group Unit 4 + 2: the song was written by group membersTommy Moeller and Brian Parker....

" (originally by Unit 4 + 2

Unit 4 + 2

Unit 4 + 2 were a British pop band, who had a number one hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1965 with the song "Concrete and Clay". The track topped the UK chart for one week.-Early days:...

), and two originals; "Easy To Touch" sung by Morgan, and "The Main" sung by Penn. "The Main" featured the steady beating of a suspended steel pipe for percussion, which was often used in their live performances. They also had two tracks on the soundtrack

Soundtrack

A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

 to the teen flick, Welcome to 18, released in 1986: "Give Up Your Ghost" and "I Will Be Around"

They played their last gig in February, 1987. Michael Penn went on to make his first solo LP for RCA entitled March

March (Michael Penn album)

March is the debut album of singer-songwriter Michael Penn, released in 1989.It featured the singles "No Myth", "This and That", and "Brave New World". In 1990, "No Myth" peaked at #22 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, #5 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, #4 on the Modern...

, released in 1989, which featured six songs written and performed during his time in Doll Congress.