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lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9876 Posts |
 Posted - 02/11/2011 : 21:38:26
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Sweetwater---
Nancy "Nanci" Nevins has that Grace Slick magic.
short clip of Woodstock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhuPmc4y_zQ&feature=related
Motherless Child live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUGzobLqA0g&feature=related
Sweetwater was a rock band originally from Los Angeles. They were the act scheduled to play first at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, although due to problems within the band, solo folksinger Richie Havens became the first performer. Sweetwater performed next, becoming the first band to play the festival.
Sweetwater were early developers of the psychedelic rock/fusion style that was popularized by Jefferson Airplane to be regarded as the archetype "60s Sound". In 1968-69...
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the band often toured with The Doors.
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They were also one of the opening acts for Eric Burdon & The Animals in 1968. One of their best-known recordings is a version of the traditional folk song "Motherless Child".
The original members of the band were Nancy Nevins (lead vocals/guitar), August Burns (cello), Albert Moore (flute/backing vocals), Alan Malarowitz (drums), Elpidio Cobian (conga drums), Alex Del Zoppo (keyboards) and Fred Herrera (bass).
Three days after Sweetwater performed on The Red Skelton Show (December 1969), singer Nancy "Nansi" Nevins was severely injured in a car accident, which stopped the progress of the band. Due to the accident, Nancy experienced brain damage for a number of years following the collision, and permanent damage to one of her vocal cords.[1]
The group reunited for Woodstock '94 in 1994 with three original members - Nevins, Herrera and Del Zoppo. August Burns died in the 80s, Alan Malarowitz was killed in a car crash near 1981, Albert Moore died of pneumonia in 1994. Elpedio Cobian works as a film statist. In 1999, the story of the band was depicted in a VH1 TV-movie called Sweetwater: A True Rock Story. Amy Jo Johnson portrayed Nancy Nevins, while Michelle Phillips portrayed an older Nancy.
In A Rainbow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGuQ1isXUjE&feature=related
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Don't you know there ain't no devil,
There's just god when he's drunk.
-Tom Waits |
Edited by - lemonade kid on 06/08/2012 20:38:30 |
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underture
Fifth Love
482 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2011 : 17:24:37
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I am sure that they are mentioned in Greg Shaw's "On The Road", but probably only as an opening band. Can't recall if he gave them any actual press. I have so many other Doors books but I don't remember them getting a mention.
I do remember that biopic on VH1. It was somewhat simplistic but entertaining. I remember they showed it in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of Woodstock, and had a "Behind The Scenes" of Woodstock that they showed as well. VH1 did some really good stuff back then; remember "Daydream Believers", the Monkee biopic? Peter Tork was on hand for that and was offering some real caustic commentany about the Monkees phenomenon during commercial breaks. VH1 is very sad now, essentially unwatchable.
You Set The Scene |
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SignedRW
Fifth Love
USA
280 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2011 : 17:30:12
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Nancy is pretty great; still performing, both as a solo and with the reformed Sweetwater band. Considering the extent of the damage she suffered in the hellacious accident that certainly derailed her career and nearly ended her life, she has so miraculously and fully recovered that aside from resuming her music career, she has also been an English professor at Glendale City College for many years. Her stories of Sweetwater's history, and especially regarding having been the first band (not first act, but first band) to appear at Woodstock (Sweetwater was pretty much the soundcheck band for the
festival) are a treat. We've had her on the air on a few different radio stations in Santa Barbara in recent years, and she is very cool. This was a band that succesfully melded Latin sounds with rock before Santana even had a record deal, and also managed to blend the classical aspect of having a cellist in the band, and still rock. If you are unfamiliar with Sweetwater, at the very least, locate and listen to their version of "Motherless Child" on You-Tube. |
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lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9876 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2011 : 17:53:41
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quote:
Originally posted by Signed RW
Nancy is pretty great; still performing, both as a solo and with the reformed Sweetwater band. Considering the extent of the damage she suffered in the hellacious accident that certainly derailed her career and nearly ended her life, she has so miraculously and fully recovered that aside from resuming her music career, she has also been an English professor at Glendale City College for many years. Her stories of Sweetwater's history, and especially regarding having been the first band (not first act, but first band) to appear at Woodstock (Sweetwater was pretty much the soundcheck band for the
festival) are a treat. We've had her on the air on a few different radio stations in Santa Barbara in recent years, and she is very cool. This was a band that succesfully melded Latin sounds with rock before Santana even had a record deal, and also managed to blend the classical aspect of having a cellist in the band, and still rock. If you are unfamiliar with Sweetwater, at the very least, locate and listen to their version of "Motherless Child" on You-Tube.
Thanks, Rick. I figured & hoped you'd know her!! Sweetwater looked a lot like an interracial LoVE with a female fronting the band!
But how many bands had a flute and cello onstage?!!
"Motherless Child " is linked above for those who wish to view it. Thanks for all the additional info. Nanci also released a solo album in 1975. Her damaged vocal chords recovered sufficiently enough to resume her career; did it affect her vocal range?
That "Motherless Child" youtube video with Bing Crosby introducing Sweetwater is really great.
Their albums have been reissued on CD, and the Anthology: Cycles, the Reprise Years 1969-71 is a good start (though it is a 10,000 CD limited edition). It has their first album and some rare tracks, along with a live track from Woodstock.
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Don't you know there ain't no devil,
There's just god when he's drunk.
-Tom Waits |
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lemonade kid
Old Love
USA
9876 Posts |
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SWEETWATER--excellent 60's rockers-Nancy rocks
