Goldie & the Gingerbreads
Encyclopedia
Goldie & the Gingerbreads was an all-female American rock band
from 1962 to 1967 consisting of 3 musicians and a singer. They were the first all-female rock band signed to a major record label.
Whereas most female bands were ignored by the big record labels and rarely attracted live audiences, the quartet of Ginger Bianco, Margo Lewis, Carol MacDonald and Goldie Zelkowitz
(later known as Genya Ravan) were among the first to break into a domain dominated by men. They were signed to Decca
in 1963 and to Atlantic
in 1964
beginning in 1969) - the then lead-singer of Richard Perry
's band The Escorts- met Ginger Panabianco in a New York
club. Ginger was on stage, performing as the drummer
for one of Perry's friends. The discovery of a female drummer inspired in Genya Ravan the idea of an all-female rock band. The name of the would-be band was decided upon rapidly: Goldie was the name by which Ravan's mother chose to call her after their arrival in the United States from post-war Poland, while gingerbread was a play on Ginger's name.
Richard Perry and the other members of The Escorts were college students. When the summer concert season ended, Genya and Ginger began to look for a pianist
and soon recruited Carol O’ Grady. Finding a female guitarist turned out to be much harder. Various ad-hoc recruits filled in as and when required, but when they accompanied Chubby Checker
on his 1962 concert tour of West Germany
and Switzerland
, they performed without a guitarist. Organist Margo Lewis, who turned out to be the group's third permanent member, replaced Carol O'Grady and performed with the group on the Chubby Checker tour. The following year, Goldie and the Gingerbreads found guitarist and vocalist Carol MacDonald, who at the time was signed to Atlantic/Atco Records, and she joined Genya, Ginger and Margo and became the fourth permanent band member.
Jerry Schatzberg
threw a party for the Warhol Superstar
Baby Jane Holzer that was later referred to by writer Tom Wolfe
as "the Mods and Rockers ball, the party of the year." Goldie and the Gingerbreads were booked to provide the musical entertainment and impressed the assembled attendees with both their music and their inimitable presence. Among the guests at this fashionable and well-attended event were The Rolling Stones
and Ahmet Ertegün
, the chairman of Atlantic Records
, who promptly signed them to the label.
and The Animals
, whose manager contracted the Gingerbreads for a tour in England
. These standard group tours were arranged by record companies to showcase their roster of talent and the Gingerbreads were one of up to six bands on the tour, performing on the same bill night after night in small towns. In Britain, they toured with The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Beatles
, The Yardbirds
, The Hollies
and The Kinks
, among others.
Troubles with British working visa requirements led to the band performing dates in West Germany (where many UK and US troops were then stationed as part of the NATO defences) at venues including the Star-Club
in Hamburg
while they waited for their British work permits to come through.
A subsequent appearance in Paris at the Olympia
earned Goldie & The Gingerbreads a favourable introduction to the French music scene, despite technical difficulties that arose during the performance.
in 1965. Although the single was also released in the United States, a recording of the same song by the heavily promoted Herman's Hermits
was released with great fanfare just two weeks prior to the Gingerbreads' release, thus fatally undermining the Gingerbreads' chances for their first hit single in the U.S.
. Ravan's memoirs, entitled Lollipop Lounge: Memoirs of a Rock and Roll Refugee, were published in 2004 by Billboard Books. Along with being an accomplished musician, Margo Lewis is owner and President of Talent Consultants International, Ltd., a talent booking agency in NY, and is partner in Talent Source, Ltd, which manages the Estate of Bo Diddley
. Lewis toured with Diddley not only as his personal manager, but also as his keyboard player for the last 10 years of Diddley's life.
Book of Women in Rock. Accompanying Genya, Ginger and Margo was Debby Hastings on bass and Diane Scanlon on guitar.
.
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
from 1962 to 1967 consisting of 3 musicians and a singer. They were the first all-female rock band signed to a major record label.
Whereas most female bands were ignored by the big record labels and rarely attracted live audiences, the quartet of Ginger Bianco, Margo Lewis, Carol MacDonald and Goldie Zelkowitz
Genya Ravan
Genya Ravan, aka Goldie Zelkowitz is an American rock singer and producer. She is the former lead singer of The Escorts, Goldie & the Gingerbreads, and Ten Wheel Drive....
(later known as Genya Ravan) were among the first to break into a domain dominated by men. They were signed to Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
in 1963 and to Atlantic
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
in 1964
Early days
In 1962 Genya Zelkowitz (who would eventually change her last name to Ravan -as she became better known as the lead singer of the band Ten Wheel DriveTen Wheel Drive
Ten Wheel Drive were an American Jazz fusion band that existed from 1968 to 1974.-History:In 1968, after the final break-up of the all-female rock band Goldie & The Gingerbreads, Genya Ravan was looking for a new band, as were two New Jersey musicians and songwriters, Michael Zager and Aram Schefrin...
beginning in 1969) - the then lead-singer of Richard Perry
Richard Perry
Richard Perry is an American music producer. Perry began as a performer in his adolescence, but shifted gears after graduating college and rose through the late 1960s and early 1970s to become a highly successful and popular record producer with over a dozen gold records to his credit by 1982...
's band The Escorts- met Ginger Panabianco in a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
club. Ginger was on stage, performing as the drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
for one of Perry's friends. The discovery of a female drummer inspired in Genya Ravan the idea of an all-female rock band. The name of the would-be band was decided upon rapidly: Goldie was the name by which Ravan's mother chose to call her after their arrival in the United States from post-war Poland, while gingerbread was a play on Ginger's name.
Richard Perry and the other members of The Escorts were college students. When the summer concert season ended, Genya and Ginger began to look for a pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and soon recruited Carol O’ Grady. Finding a female guitarist turned out to be much harder. Various ad-hoc recruits filled in as and when required, but when they accompanied Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
on his 1962 concert tour of West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, they performed without a guitarist. Organist Margo Lewis, who turned out to be the group's third permanent member, replaced Carol O'Grady and performed with the group on the Chubby Checker tour. The following year, Goldie and the Gingerbreads found guitarist and vocalist Carol MacDonald, who at the time was signed to Atlantic/Atco Records, and she joined Genya, Ginger and Margo and became the fourth permanent band member.
The Mods and Rockers’ Ball 1964
In 1964 fashion photographer and directorFilm director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Jerry Schatzberg
Jerry Schatzberg
Jerry Schatzberg is a photographer and film director.-Career:Schatzberg was born to a Jewish family of furriers and grew up in the Bronx. He photographed for magazines such as Vogue, Esquire and McCalls. He made his debut as a feature film director with 1970's Puzzle of a Downfall Child starring...
threw a party for the Warhol Superstar
Warhol superstar
Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by Andy Warhol during the 1960s and early 1970s. These personalities appeared in Warhol's artworks and accompanied him in his social life...
Baby Jane Holzer that was later referred to by writer Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
as "the Mods and Rockers ball, the party of the year." Goldie and the Gingerbreads were booked to provide the musical entertainment and impressed the assembled attendees with both their music and their inimitable presence. Among the guests at this fashionable and well-attended event were The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
and Ahmet Ertegün
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
, the chairman of Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, who promptly signed them to the label.
The Gingerbreads in Europe
Later in 1964, the band met Eric BurdonEric Burdon
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer-songwriter best known as a founding member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk rock band War and for his aggressive stage performance...
and The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
, whose manager contracted the Gingerbreads for a tour in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. These standard group tours were arranged by record companies to showcase their roster of talent and the Gingerbreads were one of up to six bands on the tour, performing on the same bill night after night in small towns. In Britain, they toured with The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, The Yardbirds
The Yardbirds
- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...
, The Hollies
The Hollies
The Hollies are an English pop and rock group, formed in Manchester in the early 1960s, though most of the band members are from throughout East Lancashire. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style, they became one of the leading British groups of the 1960s and 1970s...
and The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
, among others.
Troubles with British working visa requirements led to the band performing dates in West Germany (where many UK and US troops were then stationed as part of the NATO defences) at venues including the Star-Club
Star-Club
The Star-Club was a music club in Hamburg, Germany that opened Friday 13 April 1962 and was initially operated by Manfred Weissleder and Horst Fascher. In the sixties, many of the giants of rock music played at the club. The club closed on 31 December 1969 and the building it occupied was...
in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
while they waited for their British work permits to come through.
A subsequent appearance in Paris at the Olympia
Paris Olympia
The Olympia is a music hall in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Located at No. 28, Boulevard des Capucines, its closest métro/RER stations are Madeleine, Opéra, Havre – Caumartin and Auber....
earned Goldie & The Gingerbreads a favourable introduction to the French music scene, despite technical difficulties that arose during the performance.
The politics of popular music
Throughout the early 1960s, when Goldie and the Gingerbreads were touring extensively throughout North America, club and venue promoters were not so much interested in their music as in the excitement that an all-female musical group caused. Goldie and the Gingerbreads did have one single, "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat", that reached #25 on the UK Singles ChartUK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in 1965. Although the single was also released in the United States, a recording of the same song by the heavily promoted Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...
was released with great fanfare just two weeks prior to the Gingerbreads' release, thus fatally undermining the Gingerbreads' chances for their first hit single in the U.S.
The end
Over the course of 1967 and 1968, Goldie and the Gingerbreads gradually broke up. They returned to the United States in an attempt to garner success, but failed. Genya Ravan's strong personality and forceful leadership of the band has been cited as a major factor in the band's split. Frustration due to making little profit from their record releases may also have been an issue.Future careers
Carol MacDonald and Ginger Bianco, later formed the nucleus of Jazz-Fusion band Isis. Margo Lewis joined her ex-bandmates in 1974. Ravan went on to release several solo albums, and later founded the jazz fusion band Ten Wheel DriveTen Wheel Drive
Ten Wheel Drive were an American Jazz fusion band that existed from 1968 to 1974.-History:In 1968, after the final break-up of the all-female rock band Goldie & The Gingerbreads, Genya Ravan was looking for a new band, as were two New Jersey musicians and songwriters, Michael Zager and Aram Schefrin...
. Ravan's memoirs, entitled Lollipop Lounge: Memoirs of a Rock and Roll Refugee, were published in 2004 by Billboard Books. Along with being an accomplished musician, Margo Lewis is owner and President of Talent Consultants International, Ltd., a talent booking agency in NY, and is partner in Talent Source, Ltd, which manages the Estate of Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
. Lewis toured with Diddley not only as his personal manager, but also as his keyboard player for the last 10 years of Diddley's life.
1997 reunion
On November 13, 1997, the Gingerbreads performed once more to mark their 30th anniversary and to commemorate the release of The Rolling StoneRolling 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...
Book of Women in Rock. Accompanying Genya, Ginger and Margo was Debby Hastings on bass and Diane Scanlon on guitar.
Touchstone Award
On February 3, 1998, Goldie and The Gingerbreads were presented with a Touchstone Award from NY based Women in Music. This distinction is given to women who "have the courage and inspiration to make a difference in the music industry and whose work has set new standards.". At the awards ceremony, the statuettes were presented to each member of the group by music legend Ahmet ErtegunAhmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
.
Line-up
Although several other musicians played with Goldie & the Gingerbreads over the years, permanent members were:- Genya RavanGenya RavanGenya Ravan, aka Goldie Zelkowitz is an American rock singer and producer. She is the former lead singer of The Escorts, Goldie & the Gingerbreads, and Ten Wheel Drive....
- vocals - Ginger Bianco - percussion
- Margo Lewis - organ
- Carol MacDonald (joined 1963) - guitar and background-vocals - MacDonald died on March 12, 2007.
Discography
- Skinny Vinnie / Chew Chew Fee Fi Fum - 1964 SPOKANE 45-4005
- That's Why I Love You / What Kind of Man Are You - 1965 ATCO 45-6354
- Can't You Hear My Heartbeat / Little Boy - 1965 DECCA 12070
- That's Why I Love You / The Skip - 1965 DECCA 12126
- Sailor Boy / Please Please - 1966 DECCA 12199
- Think About The Good Times / Please Please - 1966 ATCO 45-6427
- Walking in Different Circles / Song of the Moon - 1967 ATCO 45-6475
- Think About the Good Times - FONTANA 693