ALBUM: Greatest Hits (1969)
MVC Rating: 3.5/$$$$
I thought they were British. And that was by their design. They were cashing in, (nothing pejorative about that) on the British invasion
Beatles, Stones, Who, Kinks, Buckinghams.. There, that last one, they are the British guys, right?
Nope they were from Chicago.
They had a flurry of hits, almost all of them in 1967, and I have their 1969 Greatest Hits record.
They are one of these bands that you can’t recall a song they did but when you hear ithe hits you know all the words.
‘Kind of a Drag,’ Mercy Mercy Mercy, and ‘Hey Baby, They’re Playing our Song’ all fit that bill.
After a few years they broke up and later, in the 1980s they toured on several oldies circuits including one called the Happy Together tour with the Turtles, Gary Puckett, and the Grass Roots.
Personal connection here: I was an acquaintance/friend of Rob Grill many years ago when both of our families lived in Lake County, FL. He was the lead singer of the Grass Roots,. He met a DJ in Central Florida got married and retired to pursue his fishing dreams. But he was still going out on tours now and again. This was late 1980s early 1990s.
The Grass Roots hits included MIdnight Confessions, Sooner or Later, Temptation Eyes, Let’s Live for Today, Two Divided By Love.
When I posted this yesterday, I hadn’t realized Grill died in 2011 in Lake County, the result of a head injury. RIP, brother. He was 67.
Counting down my 678 vinyl records before I die of brain disease.