H. P. Lovecraft (band)
Encyclopedia
H. P. Lovecraft was an American psychedelic rock
band
, formed in Chicago
, Illinois in 1967 and named after horror
writer H. P. Lovecraft
. Much of the band's music was possessed of a haunting, eerie ambience, and consisted of material that was inspired by the macabre writings of the author whose name they had adopted. Combining elements of psychedelia
and folk rock
, the band's sound was marked by the striking vocal harmonies
of ex-folk singer
George Edwards
and the classically
-trained Dave Michaels
. In addition, Michaels' multi-instrumentalist abilities on organ
, piano
, harpsichord
, clarinet
, and recorder
provided the band with a richer sonic palette than many of their contemporaries.
The band were signed
to Philips Records
in 1967 and released their debut single
"Anyway That You Want Me" in the early part of that year. Their debut album H. P. Lovecraft
followed in late 1967 and featured what is arguably the band's best-known song, "The White Ship". The band then relocated to San Francisco, California, where they became a frequent attraction at various San Francisco Bay Area
venues, including The Fillmore
and the Winterland Ballroom
. In 1968, a second album titled H. P. Lovecraft II
appeared, but the group disbanded in early 1969. Edwards and fellow original member Michael Tegza subsequently formed a new line-up of the band with the shortened name of Lovecraft, although Edwards departed this new group before they had recorded their first album. This second incarnation of the band would release the Valley of the Moon album in 1970 and, after a further name change to Love Craft, the We Love You Whoever You Are album in 1975.
George Edwards
, who was working as an in-house session vocalist
for Dunwich Records at the time, entered the studio to record a cover version
of Chip Taylor
's "Anyway That You Want Me" (a song that had recently been a UK hit for The Troggs
). Edwards had previously been a folk troubadour in Chicago, California, and Florida, and had released a commercially unsuccessful cover of The Beatles
' "Norwegian Wood
" on Dunwich in 1966. He had also recorded a cover version of Bob Dylan
's "Quit Your Low Down Ways" for the label, but this remained unreleased until the early 1970s. For the "Anyway That You Want Me" session
, Edwards was backed by members of the Chicago band The Rovin' Kind and was also joined by Dave Michaels
, a classically-trained singer and multi-instrumentalist with a four-octave
voice, who Edwards had met while playing in a lounge
jazz
trio
at a local Holiday Inn
. The song was coupled with "It's All Over for You", a George Edwards solo outtake from the previous year, and released as a single under the moniker of H. P. Lovecraft in early 1967 by the Mercury Records
' subsidiary Philips
. The decision to release the single as H. P. Lovecraft, rather than as a George Edwards solo release, was made by Dunwich founders Bill Traut and George Badonsky, who were both fans of the literary works of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft
and had, in fact, named Dunwich Records after Lovecraft's short story The Dunwich Horror
. Edwards and Michaels were both enthusiastic about the band name and after permission from Lovecraft's estate was secured, the duo set about recruiting other musicians to form a permanent line-up of the band.
Auditions were held in March 1967, which resulted in the recruitment of Tony Cavallari (lead guitar
), Mike Tegza (drums
), and Tom Skidmore (bass
). Skidmore soon departed the band, however, and was replaced by Jerry McGeorge
, who had previously been a guitarist
for Chicago band the Shadows of Knight
. McGeorge had seen H. P. Lovecraft perform a number of times at a Chicago dance club called The Cellar
and although he considered himself primarily a guitarist, he accepted Edwards' offer to join the group as their new bassist
. With Michaels and Edwards as the creative driving forces behind the group, H. P. Lovecraft began to develop a blend of folk rock
and psychedelia
, with a repertoire that encompassed contemporary and traditional
folk songs and some self-penned material. The band's sound was highlighted by the oddly striking harmony
work that resulted from the juxtaposition of Edwards' folk-influenced singing and Michaels' operatic vocal phrasing, a blend that was influenced by folk singer Fred Neil
's work with Vince Martin
. The band's music was made all the more unique by Michaels' virtuosity on organ
, piano
, harpsichord
, clarinet
, and recorder
, which gave H. P. Lovecraft a much wider range of sounds and timbres than many of their contemporaries.
In late 1967, the band recorded and released their debut album
for Philips, H. P. Lovecraft. A cover of the traditional song "Wayfaring Stranger" was issued just ahead of the album as a single in September 1967, but it failed to chart. The album itself was released some weeks later and although it also failed to reach the U.S. charts, it sold reasonably well over time. Featuring a nine-piece orchestra
and songs that exhibited a wide-ranging stylistic variety, the album was possessed of a haunting, eerie ambiance that lived up to the band's intention of making music inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's "macabre tales and poems of Earth populated by another race" (to quote the LP
's back cover). While the album did include a smattering of self-penned material, including the jazzy "That's How Much I Love You, Baby (More or Less)" and the vaudeville psychedelia of "The Time Machine", the majority of H. P. Lovecraft consisted of cover versions. Among these covers were Dino Valente
's hippie
anthem "Get Together", Randy Newman
's "I've Been Wrong Before", Travis Edmonson
's "The Drifter", and the Fred Neil compositions "That's The Bag I'm In" and "Country Boy & Bleeker Street". The centerpiece of the album, however, was the Edwards—Michaels—Cavallari composition "The White Ship", which was based on author H. P. Lovecraft's short story "The White Ship". The six-and-a-half-minute opus, which featured baroque harpsichord passages, droning feedback
, somber harmonies, and the chiming of a genuine 1811 ship's bell, has been described by music historian Richie Unterberger
as having a "wavering, foggy beauty, with some of Michaels' eeriest keyboards." The song became something of an underground FM radio favorite and was also issued in an edited form as a single, although it failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100
.
in late 1967, establishing themselves as a live
favorite with the hippies of San Francisco and Los Angeles. In November 1967, Billboard
magazine reported that the H. P. Lovecraft album had become something of an underground hit in San Francisco and had already sold 1,100 copies there. After returning to Chicago briefly, to fulfill outstanding concert obligations, the group decided to relocate to the West Coast permanently in an attempt to advance their careers and so, in early 1968, they moved to Marin County, California
. Bassist Jerry McGeorge decided not to leave Chicago and was replaced by Jeffrey Boyan, who had previously been a member of the Chicago band Saturday's Children. Boyan was an accomplished bass player with a strong singing voice and his addition to the band improved their abilities as a live act considerably.
During this period, the band played an abundance of concerts up and down the West Coast, appearing with the likes of the Grateful Dead
, Jefferson Airplane
, and Moby Grape
, as well as with touring British bands such as Pink Floyd
, Traffic
, and The Who
. In San Francisco the band were championed by concert promoter
Bill Graham
and this led to appearances at such high profile San Francisco venues as The Fillmore
and the Winterland Ballroom
. The band's prowess and imagination as a live act during this period can be heard on the Live May 11, 1968
album, which was recorded after McGeorge had been replaced by Boyan. The live album, which boasts very good sound quality for the period, was released in 1991 by Edsel Records
and then reissued by Sundazed Records
in 2000.
In June 1968, H. P. Lovecraft decamped to I.D. Sound Studios in Los Angeles with engineer
Chris Huston
to record their second album. Due to the intensive touring that the band had undertaken during the first half of 1968, there was a lack of properly arranged new material and consequently much of the album was improvised in the studio. Huston was pivotal in enabling the underprepared band to complete the recording sessions and was also responsible for creating many of the album's psychedelic
sound effect
s. The album was released as H. P. Lovecraft II in September 1968 and although it was less focused than its predecessor, it managed to successfully expand on the musical approach of the band's first album. Among its nine tracks, the album included "At the Mountains of Madness", another song based on the works of the author H. P. Lovecraft (this time his 1931 novella
At the Mountains of Madness
). The album also included a cover of Brewer & Shipley
's "Keeper of the Keys", the Edwards-penned tracks "Electrollentando" and "Mobius Trip", a contribution from voice artist Ken Nordine
, on the track "Nothing's Boy", and two songs written by Edwards' friend Terry Callier
: "Spin, Spin, Spin" and "It's About Time". Like the band's first album, H. P. Lovecraft II failed to sell in sufficient quantities to reach the U.S. charts.
Michaels decided to leave the band in late 1968, to return to university, and as a result, H. P. Lovecraft effectively collapsed in early 1969, with Tegza joining the band Bangor Flying Circus
. A successor group, Lovecraft, was formed in 1969 and included Edwards and Tegza from the original line-up, although Edwards departed from the group soon after its formation. Edwards has subsequently undertaken production work and played in folk clubs under his real name Ethan Kenning
, occasionally reuniting with Michaels, who records and performs under his real name David Miotke.
: guitarist Jim Donlinger and bassist Michael Been. Initially, it was hoped that Dave Michaels would also join the new incarnation of the band, but he withdrew and the group instead recruited keyboard player
and singer Marty Grebb, previously of The Buckinghams
. After securing a recording contract
with Reprise Records
, Edwards pulled out of the project and returned to performing as a solo folk singer.
The remaining band members successfully completed recording sessions for an album titled Valley of the Moon, and promptly headed out on tour, supporting the Boz Scaggs Band
and later Leon Russell
. The Valley of the Moon album saw the group abandoning the eerie psychedelic ambiance that had characterized H. P. Lovecraft's music and instead featured a more laid-back, mainstream rock sound, somewhat reminiscent of Crosby, Stills & Nash or Uriah Heep
. By the time that Valley of the Moon was released, Lovecraft had split up and the album, along with its attendant single "We Can Have It Altogether", failed commercially and did not chart.
Following the demise of the band, Tegza rejoined Edwards in the band Elixir, playing a handful of shows in 1971 but never releasing any recordings. Of the other ex-members of Lovecraft, Grebb went on to form The Fabulous Rhinestones and eventually developed a career as a solo artist and session musician; Been joined Jerry Miller
and Bob Mosley
(both ex-members of Moby Grape
) in Fine Wine and recorded the self-titled Fine Wine
album in 1976, before going on to front the New Wave
band The Call
during the 1980s and 1990s; and Donlinger recorded a number of solo albums and published an autobiography titled Space Traveller: A Musician's Odyssey.
In 1975, Tegza put together yet another variation of the group, this time a funk
band with the name Love Craft, featuring vocalist Lalomie Washburn. Love Craft released the We Love You Whoever You Are album on Mercury Records
in 1975 but it sold poorly and as a result, the band were dropped by their label and disbanded shortly thereafter. In 1980, Tegza and Love Craft guitarist Frankie Capek reunited to form a second version of the band, recruiting vocalist Marc Scherer and bassist Mark Gardner to complete the line-up. With a repertoire consisting of contemporary pop music
and older psychedelic material, the band garnered some label interest but broke up before they had secured a recording contract
, due to Scherer leaving the band. Since then, Tegza's whereabouts have remained a mystery, although it is rumored that he became a born-again Christian and currently lives in Texas. Despite the involvement of Tegza and Edwards in Lovecraft and Love Craft, neither band is regarded as being fundamentally connected to H. P. Lovecraft or its history, beyond the obvious similarities in names and crossover member association.
Lovecraft:
Love Craft:
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
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...
, formed in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois in 1967 and named after horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
writer H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
. Much of the band's music was possessed of a haunting, eerie ambience, and consisted of material that was inspired by the macabre writings of the author whose name they had adopted. Combining elements of psychedelia
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
and folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
, the band's sound was marked by the striking vocal harmonies
Vocal harmony
Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are sung at the same time as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical choral music and opera and in the popular styles from...
of ex-folk singer
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
George Edwards
Ethan Kenning
Charles Ethan Kenning is an American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed as George Edwards when he led 1960s acid-rock band, H. P. Lovecraft...
and the classically
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
-trained Dave Michaels
Dave Michaels
David Miotke is an American keyboard player and singer, who under the name Dave Michaels was best known as co-founder of the '60s acid rock band H. P. Lovecraft....
. In addition, Michaels' multi-instrumentalist abilities on organ
Electronic organ
An electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds....
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, and recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
provided the band with a richer sonic palette than many of their contemporaries.
The band were signed
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
to Philips Records
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
in 1967 and released their debut 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...
"Anyway That You Want Me" in the early part of that year. Their debut album H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft (album)
H. P. Lovecraft is the debut album by the American psychedelic rock band H. P. Lovecraft and was released in October 1967 by Philips Records. It blended psychedelic and folk rock influences and was marked by the haunting, eerie ambiance of the band's music, which itself was often inspired by the...
followed in late 1967 and featured what is arguably the band's best-known song, "The White Ship". The band then relocated to San Francisco, California, where they became a frequent attraction at various San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
venues, including The Fillmore
The Fillmore
The Fillmore Auditorium is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California, made famous by Bill Graham. Named for its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it lies on the boundary of the Western Addition and the Pacific Heights neighborhoods.In 1968,...
and the Winterland Ballroom
Winterland Ballroom
The Winterland Ballroom, often referred to as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland, was an old ice skating rink and 5,400-seat music venue in San Francisco, California...
. In 1968, a second album titled H. P. Lovecraft II
H. P. Lovecraft II
H. P. Lovecraft II is the second album by the American psychedelic rock band H. P. Lovecraft and was released in September 1968 on Philips Records. As with their debut LP, the album again saw the band blending psychedelic and folk rock influences, albeit with a greater emphasis on psychedelia than...
appeared, but the group disbanded in early 1969. Edwards and fellow original member Michael Tegza subsequently formed a new line-up of the band with the shortened name of Lovecraft, although Edwards departed this new group before they had recorded their first album. This second incarnation of the band would release the Valley of the Moon album in 1970 and, after a further name change to Love Craft, the We Love You Whoever You Are album in 1975.
Formation and first album
The first line-up of H. P. Lovecraft was formed when ex-folk singerFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
George Edwards
Ethan Kenning
Charles Ethan Kenning is an American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed as George Edwards when he led 1960s acid-rock band, H. P. Lovecraft...
, who was working as an in-house session vocalist
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
for Dunwich Records at the time, entered the studio to record a cover version
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 Chip Taylor
Chip Taylor
James Wesley Voight , better known by his stage name as Chip Taylor, is an American songwriter, who is noted for writing the songs "Angel of the Morning" and "Wild Thing." He is the brother of actor Jon Voight and geologist Barry Voight...
's "Anyway That You Want Me" (a song that had recently been a UK hit for The Troggs
The Troggs
The Troggs are an English rock band from the 1960s that had a number of hits in UK and the US. Their most famous songs include, "Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You", and "Love Is All Around"...
). Edwards had previously been a folk troubadour in Chicago, California, and Florida, and had released a commercially unsuccessful cover of 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...
' "Norwegian Wood
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
"Norwegian Wood " is a song by The Beatles, first released on the 1965 album Rubber Soul....
" on Dunwich in 1966. He had also recorded a cover version of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "Quit Your Low Down Ways" for the label, but this remained unreleased until the early 1970s. For the "Anyway That You Want Me" session
Studio recording
The term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance.-Studio cast recordings:...
, Edwards was backed by members of the Chicago band The Rovin' Kind and was also joined by Dave Michaels
Dave Michaels
David Miotke is an American keyboard player and singer, who under the name Dave Michaels was best known as co-founder of the '60s acid rock band H. P. Lovecraft....
, a classically-trained singer and multi-instrumentalist with a four-octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
voice, who Edwards had met while playing in a lounge
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trio
Trio (music)
Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...
at a local Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
. The song was coupled with "It's All Over for You", a George Edwards solo outtake from the previous year, and released as a single under the moniker of H. P. Lovecraft in early 1967 by the Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
' subsidiary Philips
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
. The decision to release the single as H. P. Lovecraft, rather than as a George Edwards solo release, was made by Dunwich founders Bill Traut and George Badonsky, who were both fans of the literary works of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
and had, in fact, named Dunwich Records after Lovecraft's short story The Dunwich Horror
The Dunwich Horror
"The Dunwich Horror" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft. Written in 1928, it was first published in the April 1929 issue of Weird Tales . It takes place in Dunwich, a fictional town in Massachusetts...
. Edwards and Michaels were both enthusiastic about the band name and after permission from Lovecraft's estate was secured, the duo set about recruiting other musicians to form a permanent line-up of the band.
Auditions were held in March 1967, which resulted in the recruitment of Tony Cavallari (lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
), Mike Tegza (drums
Drum kit
A 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 ....
), and Tom Skidmore (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
). Skidmore soon departed the band, however, and was replaced by Jerry McGeorge
Jerry McGeorge
Jerry McGeorge came to prominence in late 1965 as a guitarist with the Chicago rock band The Shadows of Knight. He later joined acid rock band H.P. Lovecraft on bass in the summer of 1967, appearing on their debut album, H. P. Lovecraft.-Early life:McGeorge began playing guitar in 1961...
, who had previously been a 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...
for Chicago band the Shadows of Knight
Shadows of Knight
The Shadows of Knight are an American rock band from the Chicago suburbs, formed in the 1960s, who play a form of British blues mixed with influences from their native city. At the time they first started recording, the band's self-description was as follows: "The Stones, Animals and Yardbirds...
. McGeorge had seen H. P. Lovecraft perform a number of times at a Chicago dance club called The Cellar
The Cellar (teen dance club)
Located in Arlington Heights, Illinois, The Cellar teen dance club provided live musical entertainment in the 1960s. Founded in 1964 by Paul Sampson , this music venue primarily featured Rock and Roll music acts, although some Blues acts performed as well. Original location is uncertain...
and although he considered himself primarily a guitarist, he accepted Edwards' offer to join the group as their new bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
. With Michaels and Edwards as the creative driving forces behind the group, H. P. Lovecraft began to develop a blend of folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
and psychedelia
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, with a repertoire that encompassed contemporary and traditional
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
folk songs and some self-penned material. The band's sound was highlighted by the oddly striking harmony
Vocal harmony
Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are sung at the same time as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical choral music and opera and in the popular styles from...
work that resulted from the juxtaposition of Edwards' folk-influenced singing and Michaels' operatic vocal phrasing, a blend that was influenced by folk singer Fred Neil
Fred Neil
Fred Neil was an American folk singer-songwriter in the 1960s and early 1970s. He did not achieve commercial success as a performer, and is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material – particularly "Everybody's Talkin'", which became a hit for Harry Nilsson after being...
's work with Vince Martin
Vince Martin (singer)
Vince Martin is an American folk singer and songwriter.He first recorded with the Tarriers in 1957, on the hit single Cindy, Oh Cindy. He became more widely known with his duo recordings with Fred Neil in the early 1960s...
. The band's music was made all the more unique by Michaels' virtuosity on organ
Electronic organ
An electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds....
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, and recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
, which gave H. P. Lovecraft a much wider range of sounds and timbres than many of their contemporaries.
In late 1967, the band recorded and released their debut 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...
for Philips, H. P. Lovecraft. A cover of the traditional song "Wayfaring Stranger" was issued just ahead of the album as a single in September 1967, but it failed to chart. The album itself was released some weeks later and although it also failed to reach the U.S. charts, it sold reasonably well over time. Featuring a nine-piece orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
and songs that exhibited a wide-ranging stylistic variety, the album was possessed of a haunting, eerie ambiance that lived up to the band's intention of making music inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's "macabre tales and poems of Earth populated by another race" (to quote the LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
's back cover). While the album did include a smattering of self-penned material, including the jazzy "That's How Much I Love You, Baby (More or Less)" and the vaudeville psychedelia of "The Time Machine", the majority of H. P. Lovecraft consisted of cover versions. Among these covers were Dino Valente
Chet Powers
Chester William Powers, Jr. was an American singer-songwriter, and a member of the rock group Quicksilver Messenger Service. He was also known by the stage name "Dino Valenti" and, as a songwriter, as Jesse Oris Farrow...
's hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
anthem "Get Together", Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
's "I've Been Wrong Before", Travis Edmonson
Travis Edmonson
Travis Edmonson was an American folk singer, who performed both as a soloist and in the group Bud and Travis.-Early life:...
's "The Drifter", and the Fred Neil compositions "That's The Bag I'm In" and "Country Boy & Bleeker Street". The centerpiece of the album, however, was the Edwards—Michaels—Cavallari composition "The White Ship", which was based on author H. P. Lovecraft's short story "The White Ship". The six-and-a-half-minute opus, which featured baroque harpsichord passages, droning feedback
Audio feedback
Audio feedback is a special kind of positive feedback which occurs when a sound loop exists between an audio input and an audio output...
, somber harmonies, and the chiming of a genuine 1811 ship's bell, has been described by music historian Richie Unterberger
Richie 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...
as having a "wavering, foggy beauty, with some of Michaels' eeriest keyboards." The song became something of an underground FM radio favorite and was also issued in an edited form as a single, although it failed to reach 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...
.
Relocation and second album
H. P. Lovecraft embarked on their first tour of the West CoastWest Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
in late 1967, establishing themselves as a live
Rock concert
The term rock concert refers to a musical performance in the style of any one of many genres inspired by "rock and roll" music. While a variety of vocal and instrumental styles can constitute a rock concert, this phenomenon is typically characterized by bands playing at least one electric guitar,...
favorite with the hippies of San Francisco and Los Angeles. In November 1967, Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine reported that the H. P. Lovecraft album had become something of an underground hit in San Francisco and had already sold 1,100 copies there. After returning to Chicago briefly, to fulfill outstanding concert obligations, the group decided to relocate to the West Coast permanently in an attempt to advance their careers and so, in early 1968, they moved to Marin County, California
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
. Bassist Jerry McGeorge decided not to leave Chicago and was replaced by Jeffrey Boyan, who had previously been a member of the Chicago band Saturday's Children. Boyan was an accomplished bass player with a strong singing voice and his addition to the band improved their abilities as a live act considerably.
During this period, the band played an abundance of concerts up and down the West Coast, appearing with the likes of the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
, and Moby Grape
Moby Grape
Moby Grape is an American rock group from the 1960s, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting and that collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz together with rock and psychedelic music...
, as well as with touring British bands such as Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
, and The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
. In San Francisco the band were championed by concert promoter
Tour promoter
Tour promoters are the individuals or companies responsible for organizing a live concert tour or special event performance. The tour promoter makes an offer of employment to a particular artist, usually through the artist’s agent or music manager. The promoter and agent then negotiate the live...
Bill Graham
Bill Graham (promoter)
Bill Graham was an American impresario and rock concert promoter from the 1960s until his death.-Early life:...
and this led to appearances at such high profile San Francisco venues as The Fillmore
The Fillmore
The Fillmore Auditorium is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California, made famous by Bill Graham. Named for its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it lies on the boundary of the Western Addition and the Pacific Heights neighborhoods.In 1968,...
and the Winterland Ballroom
Winterland Ballroom
The Winterland Ballroom, often referred to as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland, was an old ice skating rink and 5,400-seat music venue in San Francisco, California...
. The band's prowess and imagination as a live act during this period can be heard on the Live May 11, 1968
Live May 11, 1968
Live May 11, 1968 is a live album by the American psychedelic rock band H. P. Lovecraft and was released in 1991. The eight tracks included on the album were all recorded at The Fillmore West in San Francisco, California on May 11, 1968, soon after the band's original bass player Jerry McGeorge...
album, which was recorded after McGeorge had been replaced by Boyan. The live album, which boasts very good sound quality for the period, was released in 1991 by Edsel Records
Demon Music Group
Demon Records is a United Kingdom record label founded in 1980 by former United Artists A&R executive Andrew Lauder and Jake Riviera who had previously started Stiff Records...
and then reissued by 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...
in 2000.
In June 1968, H. P. Lovecraft decamped to I.D. Sound Studios in Los Angeles with engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
Chris Huston
Chris Huston
Christopher J 'Chris' Huston is a British born record engineer and guitarist.Huston arrived in Wallasey, near Liverpool, toward the end of World War II from an orphanage in North Wales...
to record their second album. Due to the intensive touring that the band had undertaken during the first half of 1968, there was a lack of properly arranged new material and consequently much of the album was improvised in the studio. Huston was pivotal in enabling the underprepared band to complete the recording sessions and was also responsible for creating many of the album's psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
sound effect
Sound effect
For the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
s. The album was released as H. P. Lovecraft II in September 1968 and although it was less focused than its predecessor, it managed to successfully expand on the musical approach of the band's first album. Among its nine tracks, the album included "At the Mountains of Madness", another song based on the works of the author H. P. Lovecraft (this time his 1931 novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
At the Mountains of Madness
At the Mountains of Madness
At the Mountains of Madness is a novella by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, written in February/March 1931 and rejected that year by Weird Tales editor Farnsworth Wright on the grounds of its length. It was originally serialized in the February, March and April 1936 issues of Astounding Stories...
). The album also included a cover of Brewer & Shipley
Brewer & Shipley
Brewer & Shipley were an American folk rock music duo of the late 1960s through 1970s, consisting of singer-songwriters Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley. They were known for their intricate guitar work, vocal harmonies and socially conscious lyrics. Their greatest success was the song "One Toke Over the...
's "Keeper of the Keys", the Edwards-penned tracks "Electrollentando" and "Mobius Trip", a contribution from voice artist Ken Nordine
Ken Nordine
Ken Nordine is an American voiceover and recording artist best known for his series of Word Jazz albums. His deep, resonant voice has also been featured in many commercial advertisements and movie trailers. One critic wrote that "you may not know Ken Nordine by name or face, but you'll almost...
, on the track "Nothing's Boy", and two songs written by Edwards' friend Terry Callier
Terry Callier
Terrence O. Callier, known as Terry Callier is an American jazz, soul and folk guitarist and singer-songwriter.-Life and career:...
: "Spin, Spin, Spin" and "It's About Time". Like the band's first album, H. P. Lovecraft II failed to sell in sufficient quantities to reach the U.S. charts.
Michaels decided to leave the band in late 1968, to return to university, and as a result, H. P. Lovecraft effectively collapsed in early 1969, with Tegza joining the band Bangor Flying Circus
Bangor Flying Circus
Bangor Flying Circus was a progressive rock trio from Chicago, USA, formed in mid-1967 and breaking up in 1969. It is notable for being formed by members of the Shadows of Knight and H.P...
. A successor group, Lovecraft, was formed in 1969 and included Edwards and Tegza from the original line-up, although Edwards departed from the group soon after its formation. Edwards has subsequently undertaken production work and played in folk clubs under his real name Ethan Kenning
Ethan Kenning
Charles Ethan Kenning is an American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed as George Edwards when he led 1960s acid-rock band, H. P. Lovecraft...
, occasionally reuniting with Michaels, who records and performs under his real name David Miotke.
Lovecraft and Love Craft
After the breakup of H. P. Lovecraft, a spin-off band with the shortened name of Lovecraft was formed in late 1969 by George Edwards and Michael Tegza. The new band's line-up included two recruits from the Chicago band AortaAorta (band)
Aorta were an American psychedelic rock band from Chicago who recorded two albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s.-History:The band developed from a soul, pop and rock'n'roll group who had originally formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1962 as Kal David and the Exceptions. Its members were Kal David...
: guitarist Jim Donlinger and bassist Michael Been. Initially, it was hoped that Dave Michaels would also join the new incarnation of the band, but he withdrew and the group instead recruited keyboard player
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
and singer Marty Grebb, previously of The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams
The Buckinghams are an American Sunshine Pop band from Chicago, Illinois. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top selling acts of 1967. The band dissolved in 1970 but reformed in 1980 and continue to tour throughout the United States....
. After securing a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
, Edwards pulled out of the project and returned to performing as a solo folk singer.
The remaining band members successfully completed recording sessions for an album titled Valley of the Moon, and promptly headed out on tour, supporting the Boz Scaggs Band
Boz Scaggs
William Royce "Boz" Scaggs is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He gained fame in the 1970s with several Top 20 hit singles in the United States, along with the #2 album, Silk Degrees. Scaggs continues to write, record music and tour.-Early life and career:Scaggs was born in Canton,...
and later Leon Russell
Leon Russell
Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
. The Valley of the Moon album saw the group abandoning the eerie psychedelic ambiance that had characterized H. P. Lovecraft's music and instead featured a more laid-back, mainstream rock sound, somewhat reminiscent of Crosby, Stills & Nash or Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...
. By the time that Valley of the Moon was released, Lovecraft had split up and the album, along with its attendant single "We Can Have It Altogether", failed commercially and did not chart.
Following the demise of the band, Tegza rejoined Edwards in the band Elixir, playing a handful of shows in 1971 but never releasing any recordings. Of the other ex-members of Lovecraft, Grebb went on to form The Fabulous Rhinestones and eventually developed a career as a solo artist and session musician; Been joined Jerry Miller
Jerry Miller
Jerry Miller is an American songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. He performs as a solo artist and as a member of the Jerry Miller Band. He is also a founding member of the 1960s San Francisco band Moby Grape, which continues to perform occasionally...
and Bob Mosley
Bob Mosley
Bob Mosley is principally known as the bass player and one of the songwriters and vocalists for the band Moby Grape. He has also developed a career as a solo artist. Three of his best known songs with Moby Grape are "Mr...
(both ex-members of Moby Grape
Moby Grape
Moby Grape is an American rock group from the 1960s, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting and that collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz together with rock and psychedelic music...
) in Fine Wine and recorded the self-titled Fine Wine
Fine Wine (album)
Fine Wine is an album released in 1976 by Polydor Records in Germany, by a group of the same name. The four person group included two members of Moby Grape, Jerry Miller and Bob Mosley, who also wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on the album...
album in 1976, before going on to front the New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band The Call
The Call (band)
The Call was an American rock band from Santa Cruz, California active from 1980 to 2000.-Biography:The Call formed in Santa Cruz in 1980 by vocalist/guitarist Michael Been, Scott Musick, and Tom Ferrier. Been and Musick were originally from Oklahoma...
during the 1980s and 1990s; and Donlinger recorded a number of solo albums and published an autobiography titled Space Traveller: A Musician's Odyssey.
In 1975, Tegza put together yet another variation of the group, this time a funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
band with the name Love Craft, featuring vocalist Lalomie Washburn. Love Craft released the We Love You Whoever You Are album on Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
in 1975 but it sold poorly and as a result, the band were dropped by their label and disbanded shortly thereafter. In 1980, Tegza and Love Craft guitarist Frankie Capek reunited to form a second version of the band, recruiting vocalist Marc Scherer and bassist Mark Gardner to complete the line-up. With a repertoire consisting of contemporary pop music
Pop 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...
and older psychedelic material, the band garnered some label interest but broke up before they had secured a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
, due to Scherer leaving the band. Since then, Tegza's whereabouts have remained a mystery, although it is rumored that he became a born-again Christian and currently lives in Texas. Despite the involvement of Tegza and Edwards in Lovecraft and Love Craft, neither band is regarded as being fundamentally connected to H. P. Lovecraft or its history, beyond the obvious similarities in names and crossover member association.
Members
H. P. Lovecraft:- George EdwardsEthan KenningCharles Ethan Kenning is an American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed as George Edwards when he led 1960s acid-rock band, H. P. Lovecraft...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, guitarrón, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(1967–1969) - Dave MichaelsDave MichaelsDavid Miotke is an American keyboard player and singer, who under the name Dave Michaels was best known as co-founder of the '60s acid rock band H. P. Lovecraft....
– vocals, organElectronic organAn electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds....
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, harpsichordHarpsichordA harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, recorderRecorderThe recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
(1967–1968) - Tony Cavallari – 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...
, vocals (1967–1969) - Michael Tegza – 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 ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, timpaniTimpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, vocals (1967–1969) - Tom Skidmore – bass (1967)
- Jerry McGeorgeJerry McGeorgeJerry McGeorge came to prominence in late 1965 as a guitarist with the Chicago rock band The Shadows of Knight. He later joined acid rock band H.P. Lovecraft on bass in the summer of 1967, appearing on their debut album, H. P. Lovecraft.-Early life:McGeorge began playing guitar in 1961...
– bass, vocals (1967–1968) - Jeff Boyan – bass, vocals (1968–1969)
Lovecraft:
- Michael Tegza – drums (1969–1971)
- Jim Donlinger – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(1969–1971) - Michael BeenThe Call (band)The Call was an American rock band from Santa Cruz, California active from 1980 to 2000.-Biography:The Call formed in Santa Cruz in 1980 by vocalist/guitarist Michael Been, Scott Musick, and Tom Ferrier. Been and Musick were originally from Oklahoma...
– bass (1969–1971) - Marty Grebb – 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...
, vocals (1969–1971) - George Edwards – vocals, guitar (1969–1970)
Love Craft:
- Michael Tegza – drums (1975–1976)
- Lalomie Washburn – vocals, percussion (1975)
- George Agosto – percussion (1975)
- Craig Gigstad – bass (1975)
- Mark Justin – synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, keyboards (1975) - Jorge Juan Rodriguez – guitar (1975)
- Frank Capek – guitar (1975–1976)
- Shawn Christopher – vocals (1976)
- Jeff Steele – bass (1976)
- Theodis Rodgers – keyboards (1976)
Albums
- H. P. LovecraftH. P. Lovecraft (album)H. P. Lovecraft is the debut album by the American psychedelic rock band H. P. Lovecraft and was released in October 1967 by Philips Records. It blended psychedelic and folk rock influences and was marked by the haunting, eerie ambiance of the band's music, which itself was often inspired by the...
(1967) - H. P. Lovecraft IIH. P. Lovecraft IIH. P. Lovecraft II is the second album by the American psychedelic rock band H. P. Lovecraft and was released in September 1968 on Philips Records. As with their debut LP, the album again saw the band blending psychedelic and folk rock influences, albeit with a greater emphasis on psychedelia than...
(1968) - Valley of the Moon [as Lovecraft] (1970)
- We Love You Whoever You Are [as Love Craft] (1975)
- Live May 11, 1968Live May 11, 1968Live May 11, 1968 is a live album by the American psychedelic rock band H. P. Lovecraft and was released in 1991. The eight tracks included on the album were all recorded at The Fillmore West in San Francisco, California on May 11, 1968, soon after the band's original bass player Jerry McGeorge...
[live recordings] (1991)
Compilations
- At the Mountains of Madness (1988)
- H. P. Lovecraft/H. P. Lovecraft II (1997)
- Two Classic Albums from H. P. Lovecraft: H. P. Lovecraft/H. P. Lovecraft II (2000)
- Dreams in the Witch House: The Complete Philips Recordings (2005)
Singles
- "Anyway That You Want Me"/"It's All Over for You" (Philips 40464) (1967)
- "Wayfaring Stranger"/"The Time Machine" (Philips 40491) (1967)
- "The White Ship" (Part 1)/"The White Ship" (Part 2) (Philips 40506) (1967)
- "The White Ship"/"I've Been Wrong Before" (Philips BF 1639) [UK release] (1968)
- "Keeper of the Keys"/"Blue Jack of Diamonds" (Philips 40578) (1968)
- "We Can Have It Altogether"/"Will I Know When My Time Comes?" (Reprise 0996) [as Lovecraft] (1971)
- "I Feel Better"/"Flight" (Mercury 73698) [as Love Craft] (1975)
- "Ain't Gettin' None"/"We Love You" (Mercury 73707) [as Love Craft] (1975)
External links
- The White Ship: The Psychedelic Voyage of H.P. Lovecraft - fan site with an in-depth biography of the group.
- H. P. Lovecraft: An interview with George Edwards, Ptolemaic TerrascopePtolemaic TerrascopePtolemaic Terrascope is a magazine covering old and new music, usually of a psychedelic nature. It has been published irregularly since 1989...
, 1991 - H. P. Lovecraft at Rokpool.com
- H. P. Lovecraft performing their song "The White Ship" on U.S. television in the late 1960s.