Masters of melodic radio-friendly hits return to the stage.
When the soul-stirring notes from "Like To Get To Know You" spring out of the radio, we're reminded of how the distinctive sound crafted by Spanky and Our Gang and their producer, Jerry Ross became an indelible imprint on the soundtrack of our lives. Just as the first top ten hit, "Sunday Will Never Be The Same" did the year before, "Like To Get To Know You" has irresistible staying power - and that it hasn't been heard in its original form in concert halls for years makes this music's return such an anticipated event.
The incredible string of hits, 5 in the Top 40, stretched from June of 1967 into May of 1968, a collage of strong melodies and brilliant harmonies that established this band as a pop sensation for the ages. Booking agent Bob Birk remembers meeting Spanky when he was 15 years old and she had yet to cut a record. Spanky came to see the now-famous agent performing in Chicago, and she and her boyfriend back then generously gave of their time, forming a lasting impression on the lad and his band, The Underprivileged, who would sign with Smash, a subsidiary of Mercury -the label that issued all the Spanky And Our Gang Hits.
Bruce Eder says in the biography on Allmusic.com "Their hits, particularly "Sunday Will Never Be the Same," "Lazy Day," "Like to Get to Know You," and "Give a Damn," were as much a part of the ambience of the middle to late '60s as any of the best known songs of the Mamas & the Papas with whom they're frequently compared."
As well they should be, Spanky joined John Phillips, McKenzie Phillips, Denny Doherty and sound engineer Dinky Dawson in the 1980s combining her hit songs with those of the John Phillips catalog - with the expected quite wonderful result. Those shows should have been videotaped for DVD, as they were the harmonic convergence of two pop titans, Chicago meets Monterey, with McKenzie Phillips adding a bit of "One Day At A Time" for good measure. John Phillips refers to Spanky in his book "Papa John, An Autobiography", as "my old friend, Spanky McFarlane", and notes how they "played the Bottom Line for four nights in the summer (of 1984), all standing-ovation sellouts."
WHAT THE NEW CONCERTS WILL HOLD:
Listening to Spanky onstage is like falling in love again and hearing "can't Promise...can't promise...that I'll love you" creates that soul-stirring scenario via a lyric and vocal prowess that graced the stage with Gary Puckett, The Association & The Turtles on the Happy Together Tour. "Yes I would, if I could" McFarlane sings in "Like To Get To Know You", a song that her audiences relate to in a multitude of ways.
Bette Midler/Carly Simon songwriter Buzzy Linhart is still in awe of her voice - and he says that her personality is just as loving and friendly as the music she makes. "When we were seventeen Spanky's group, The New Wine Singers, were the house band at Farragher's Bar in Cleveland Heights, one half a block from the local synagogue. When I played in Chicago solo at Mother Blues, a big folk club at the time, The New Wine Singers put me up at their house for two weeks so I could learn about the town. She's one of those ladies that treats all the guys like a mother, as did Cass Elliot. Just a sweet, wonderful human being." Buzzy went on to say "Because she had that folk experience, she could very well be the first bona fide lady folk-rocker. She had encompassed traditional folk completely and joined the new sound. All of us - with message music - were encouraged to feel that it could actually be a commercial direction."
Spanky's appearance on the "This Land Is Your Land" special on PBS was just a taste of what the new band has in store for her audiences. This "Spanky" brings the songs you love with something new, different and exciting.
The band appeared with Willie Nelson onstage on March 14, 2009 in St. Augustine, performing gospel tunes "I'll Fly Away", "Will The Circle be Unbroken"
The all-new Spanky & Our Gang brings the music you remember with a special something extra.
