Pacific Gas & Electric (band)
Pacific Gas & Electric was an American rock band in the late 1960s and early 1970s, led by singer Charlie Allen. Their biggest hit was the gospel-tinged "Are You Ready?" in 1970.
Pacific Gas & Electric | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Pacific Gas and Electric Blues Band, PG&E |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1967–1973 |
| Labels | Kent, Columbia, Dunhill |
| Past members | Charlie Allen (died 1990) Tom Marshall (1967–1970) Brent Block (1967–1970) Glenn Schwartz (1967–1970) (died 2018) Frank Cook (1967–1970) (died 2021) Ron Woods (1970–1972) Frank Petricca (1970–1972) Ken Utterback (1970–1972) Jerry Aiello (1971–1972) Stanley Abernathy (1971–1972) Paul Warren (1972) Alfred Galagos (1971–1972) Virgil Gonsalves (1971–1972) (died 2008) Joe Lala (1971) (died 2014) |
Music
The band's music encompasses blues,[1][2] blues rock,[2][3] soul,[4] soul-rock,[2] psychedelic rock,[2] jazz[1] and jazz-rock.[2]
History
The band was formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1967, by guitarist Tom Marshall, bassist Brent Block, lead guitarist Glenn Schwartz (formerly of The James Gang) and drummer Charlie Allen, who had previously played in the band Bluesberry Jam.[5] When it became clear that Allen was the best singer in the new group, he became the front man, and Frank Cook, previously of Canned Heat, came into the band on drums.[5]
Originally known as the Pacific Gas and Electric Blues Band, they shortened their name when they signed to Kent Records, releasing the album Get It On in early 1968.[5] The record was not a success, but following the band's performance at the Miami Pop Festival in December 1968,[5] they were signed by Columbia Records.[6][7]
Their first album for Columbia, Pacific Gas and Electric, was issued in 1969, but they achieved greater success with their next album, Are You Ready, in 1970.[5] The title track "Are You Ready?" reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.[8]
After the album was recorded, Cook was injured in a car accident and was replaced on drums by Ron Woods, Cook staying on as manager. Marshall and Schwartz left and were replaced by Frank Petricca (bass) and Ken Utterback (guitar),[9] with Brent Block moving to rhythm guitar before leaving later in 1970. Unusually for the time, the band contained both black and white musicians, which led to rioting and gunfire on one occasion when the band, who toured widely, performed in Raleigh, North Carolina.[6] Film footage of the band playing at the Kentucky federal narcotics farm exists and was used for the imagery in a later music video.[10]
In 1971, the band changed their name to PG&E, following pressure from the utility company of the same name (ironically, decades after the band split up, the utility would start calling itself PG&E). The band also expanded, Allen, Woods, Petricca and Utterback being joined by Jerry Aiello (keyboards), Stanley Abernathy (trumpet), Alfred Galagos and Virgil Gonsalves (saxophones), and Joe Lala (percussion). They recorded the album PG&E, and also appeared in and provided music for the Otto Preminger film Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon starring Liza Minnelli. The band then split up.[5]
For a time the group also included Rick Durrett on keyboards, formerly of the band The Coven.
A final album, using the name Pacific Gas & Electric Starring Charlie Allen, was recorded by Allen with studio musicians and released on the Dunhill label in 1973.[6][7]
"You have to sympathize with a band whose tragic history includes the theft of their name — a name greater than Tongue & Groove or Nova Local – by a power monopoly ... Charlie Allen synthesizes Taj Mahal and Otis Redding (more Arthur Conley, actually) over a blues-soul ensemble without the chops or drive of the similar bands led by Delaney Bramlett, one of Pacific Gas & Electric's producers."
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981)[4]
Members' lives post-band
Tom Marshall later suffered deteriorating health and personal circumstances, being homeless since the 1980s.[11]
Frank Petricca became a commodity broker.[12]
Charlie Allen died on May 7, 1990, aged 48.[13]
Glenn Schwartz became the guitarist for the Gospel rock group All Saved Freak Band. He died on November 3, 2018, aged 77.[14]
Frank Cook became a qualified psychologist, and died on July 9, 2021, aged 79.[15]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | USA | Aus[16] | Canada [17] |
Record label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Get It On | 159 | – | – | Bright Orange Records |
| 1969 | Pacific Gas and Electric | 91 | 38 | – | Columbia Records |
| 1970 | Are You Ready? | 101 | - | 48 | |
| 1971 | PG&E | 182 | – | – | |
| 1973 | Starring Charlie Allen | – | – | – | Dunhill Records |
| The Best of PG&E | – | – | – | Columbia Records | |
| 2007 | Live 'N' Kicking at Lexington | – | – | – | Wounded Bird Records |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions |
Record Label | B-side | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | R&B | CAN[18] | AUS[16] | |||||
| 1968 | "Wade in the Water" | – | – | – | – | Bright Orange Records | "Live Love" | Get It On |
| 1969 | "Bluesbuster" | – | – | – | – | Columbia Records | "Redneck" | Pacific Gas and Electric |
| 1970 | "Are You Ready?" | 14 | 49 | 8 | 44 | "Staggolee" | Are You Ready? | |
| "Father Come on Home" | 93 | – | – | – | "Elvira" | |||
| "Stormy Times" | - | – | – | 81 | Tempo Records Australia | "Live Love" | ||
| 1971 | "The Hunter" | – | – | – | 27 | Kent Records | "Long Handled Shovel" | Motor City's Burning |
| "The Time Has Come (To Make Your Peace)" | – | – | – | – | Columbia Records | "Death Row #172" | PG&E | |
| "One More River to Cross" | – | – | – | – | "Rock and Roller's Lament" | |||
| "Thank God for You Baby" | 97 | 50 | – | – | "See the Monkey Run" | |||
| 1972 | "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave" | – | – | – | – | "We Did What We Could Do" | The Best of PG&E | |
References
- Christgau, Robert (October 18, 2017). "Consumer Guide (5)". The Village Voice. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- Pacific Gas & Electric at AllMusic
- "Electric Bugaloo". Spin. Vol. 23, no. 5. May 2007. p. 36. ISSN 0886-3032.
- Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: P". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1889. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- "Biography". 10 November 2010. Archived from the original on 10 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- "Pacific Gas & Electric — Biography & History — AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955–2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 531. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
- "Ken Utterback". Archived from the original on 5 February 2009.
- The Malefactors of Great Wealth (band by James P. Olsen) (May 27, 2011). "Prisontown". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
- "Thomas Marshall". 2 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- "Soybean Market". Archived from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
- Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club 1990–1991". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- "Cleveland musician Glenn Schwartz dies at 77". Wkyc.com. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- Obituary, Dr. Frank Lenord Clayman-Cook, The Precis. Retrieved October 26, 2021
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 227. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- "RPM Top 100 Albums - August 22, 1970" (PDF).
- "RPM Top 100 Singles - August 8, 1970" (PDF).