Raven was an influential rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

/blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 band formed in 1967 in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

, and active until 1970. It was composed of Tony Galla (lead vocals), Jim Calire (piano/vocals), Gary Mallaber

Gary Mallaber

Gary Mallaber is a Los Angeles session drummer, percussionist and singer. He got his start playing drums in a band from Buffalo, New York, known as Raven....

 (drums), John Weitz (guitar), and the late Tom Calandra (bass guitar). Managed by Marty Angelo

Marty Angelo

Marty Angelo worked in the entertainment business from 1965 to 1980 as a television producer , record promoter, restaurant/nightclub owner and personal manager for rock 'n' roll bands ....

, the band played throughout the United States, appearing at such popular venues as the Electric Circus (nightclub)

Electric Circus (nightclub)

The Electric Circus was a nightclub and discotheque located at 19-25 St. Marks Place between Second and Third Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, from 1967 to September 1971. The club was created by Jerry Brandt, Stanton J. Freeman and their partners and designed...

, the Fillmore East

Fillmore East

The Fillmore East was rock promoter Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue near East 6th Street in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City. It was open from 1968 to 1971, and featured some of the biggest acts in rock music at the time...

, Steve Paul's Scene, Unganos in New York City, the Grande Ballroom

Grande Ballroom

The Grande Ballroom is a historic live music venue located at 8952 Grand River Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. The building was designed by Detroit engineer and architect Charles N. Agree in 1928 and originally served as a multi-purpose building, hosting retail business on the first floor and a large...

 in Detroit, Chicago's Kinetic Playground

Kinetic Playground

The Kinetic Playground was a short-lived nightclub located in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.The club was opened on April 3, 1968 as the Electric Theater by Aaron Russo and was located at 4812 North Clark Street...

, and many others.

The group formed after Stan Szelest's group "Stan and the Ravens" broke up in 1967. Two of its members, Calandra and Mallaber, joined Galla, Weitz, and Calire, in the group Tony Galla and the Rising Sons. In 1968, they changed the name of their group to simply "Raven", and their first recordings in New York were produced by David Lucas

David Lucas (composer)

David Lucas is an American rock and roll composer, singer, and music producer. He has written a number of well-known commercial jingles, such as AT&T's "Reach out and touch someone". In 1981, he received a Clio Award for composing the music to Pepsi's "Catch that Pepsi spirit"...

. These songs included "Farmer's Daughter" (written by Szelest), "No Turning Back" (written by Calandra), and "Hollin' for my Darlin' (written by Hollin Wolf).

Raven toured 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...

 in 1969 and were offered a recording contact by George Harrison

George Harrison

George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...

 via Peter Asher

Peter Asher

Peter Asher is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He first came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a record producer.-Early life:He was born at the Central Middlesex Hospital, a child actor and...

 with Apple Records

Apple Records

Apple Records is a record label founded by The Beatles in 1968, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston...

. They turned it down to sign with Columbia Records

Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...

instead.

External links

• Raven (American band)
• Tony Galla
• Jimmy Calire
• Gary Mallaber
• [ Raven (American band) - Allmusic]