Musicology

Cat Mother & The All Night Newsboys - Albion-Doo Wah 1970

Grassroots rockers Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys formed in New York's Lower East Side in 1967 -- comprising singer/guitarist Larry Parker, lead guitarist Charlie Chin, bassist Roy Michaels, keyboardist Bob Smith, and drummer Michael Equine; By year's end they were regularly headlining the Café Wha?, and soon were ensconced as the house band at the famed Electric Circus. In 1969 the group signed to Polydor Records, with longtime friend Jimi Hendrix agreeing to produce their debut LP The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away -- supported by a series of appearances as Hendrix's opener, the record generated Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys' lone Top 40 hit "Good Old Rock and Roll," a medley of pop classics from the late 1950s. Chin left the lineup soon after, and in an attempt to also sever ties with manager Michael Jeffrey, the remaining bandmembers traveled to San Francisco to record the follow-up, 1970s Albion Doowah, a pastoral, country-inspired effort featuring Paul Johnson on guitar and Jay Ungar on bass. Parker split soon after, and the remaining trio of Michaels, Smith and Equine returned to New York, abbreviating their name to simply Cat Mother and recruiting guitarist Charlie Prichard and percussionist Steve Davidson for their eponymous 1971 LP. Guitarist Charlie Harcourt replaced Prichard for Cat Mother's fourth and final album, 1973's aptly-titled Last Chance Dance, although the group continued playing live for several years to follow. AllMusic.

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