Stained Glass (band)
Encyclopedia
Stained Glass was an American
pop
band from San Jose, California
.
The band was formed in 1964 by guitarist Roger Hedge, bass player Jim McPherson, guitarist Bob Rominger, and drummer Dennis Carrasco. All four members were vocalists, and, for its time, the group had an impressive vocal capability. This enabled them to not only sing accurate covers, but to create unique and melodic vocal arrangements on original material, setting them apart from most of their competition. Hedge put the group together, invested personal funds for equipment and promotion, and was the leader and business manager for the first couple of years. They performed in and around the San Jose area, releasing on their own, a McPherson tune, "Walkin' Shoes" which sold out in a matter of weeks in San Jose.
They were soon scouted by an A & R man from RCA
, and subsequently signed to RCA towards the end of 1966.
Their early material was written mostly by McPherson, some written by Hedge, some by Rominger, with Carrasco co-writing a few. The songs were partially a mixture of rock, folk, blues, and Merseybeat, but had a distinctive original sound they planned to exploit for long careers. Some of the cuts met with minor success in northern California.
RCA had them record a Beatle tune, (If I Needed Someone) that was supposed to not be released by the Beatles in the US anytime soon. The record got enough play in late 1966 to justify a short tour of the east coast a while later, with the group playing a few gigs, and doing some recording at the RCA studios in New York. The Beatles did put the tune sooner than anticipated on their LP "Yesterday and Today."
In April of 1967, the band scored a big hit in San Jose with "We Got A Long Way To Go," written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.
Later that year, Roger Hedge was removed from the band for differences in musical direction. Rominger and Carrasco today are trying to get in contact with him.
The contract was taken over by Capitol
in the Spring of 1968, issuing three singles, one of which was the non-LP song "Lady In Lace" written by McPherson and backed by "Soap and Turkey" written by Rominger. An LP, "Crazy Horse Roads," was released in 1968 and had some controversial album art,.. what seems to be a photo of the three of them all hanging by the neck from the branch of a tall tree.
In 1969 Rominger was replaced by Tom Bryant for musical differences. A second album, "Aurora" was released in 1969, which didn't sell any better than the first one. Despite positive critical reviews, the singles nor the albums made any commercial impact, and the group disbanded in 1970.
No one knows what happened to Roger Hedge. Jim McPherson died in 1985. Dennis Carrasco lives in the San Jose area. Tom Bryant lives on the east coast. Bob Rominger lives in Newnan, Georgia.
Today the group is regarded as one of the most underrated groups of the era, in what was a very vibrant musical time,.. California in the late 60s early 70s. There are some attempts underway to put together a CD made up of their early unreleased material.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
band from San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
.
The band was formed in 1964 by guitarist Roger Hedge, bass player Jim McPherson, guitarist Bob Rominger, and drummer Dennis Carrasco. All four members were vocalists, and, for its time, the group had an impressive vocal capability. This enabled them to not only sing accurate covers, but to create unique and melodic vocal arrangements on original material, setting them apart from most of their competition. Hedge put the group together, invested personal funds for equipment and promotion, and was the leader and business manager for the first couple of years. They performed in and around the San Jose area, releasing on their own, a McPherson tune, "Walkin' Shoes" which sold out in a matter of weeks in San Jose.
They were soon scouted by an A & R man from RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
, and subsequently signed to RCA towards the end of 1966.
Their early material was written mostly by McPherson, some written by Hedge, some by Rominger, with Carrasco co-writing a few. The songs were partially a mixture of rock, folk, blues, and Merseybeat, but had a distinctive original sound they planned to exploit for long careers. Some of the cuts met with minor success in northern California.
RCA had them record a Beatle tune, (If I Needed Someone) that was supposed to not be released by the Beatles in the US anytime soon. The record got enough play in late 1966 to justify a short tour of the east coast a while later, with the group playing a few gigs, and doing some recording at the RCA studios in New York. The Beatles did put the tune sooner than anticipated on their LP "Yesterday and Today."
In April of 1967, the band scored a big hit in San Jose with "We Got A Long Way To Go," written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.
Later that year, Roger Hedge was removed from the band for differences in musical direction. Rominger and Carrasco today are trying to get in contact with him.
The contract was taken over by Capitol
Capitol
Capitol may refer to:**the Capitoline Hill in Rome **a Capitolium, the temple for the Capitoline Triad in many cities of the Roman Empire...
in the Spring of 1968, issuing three singles, one of which was the non-LP song "Lady In Lace" written by McPherson and backed by "Soap and Turkey" written by Rominger. An LP, "Crazy Horse Roads," was released in 1968 and had some controversial album art,.. what seems to be a photo of the three of them all hanging by the neck from the branch of a tall tree.
In 1969 Rominger was replaced by Tom Bryant for musical differences. A second album, "Aurora" was released in 1969, which didn't sell any better than the first one. Despite positive critical reviews, the singles nor the albums made any commercial impact, and the group disbanded in 1970.
No one knows what happened to Roger Hedge. Jim McPherson died in 1985. Dennis Carrasco lives in the San Jose area. Tom Bryant lives on the east coast. Bob Rominger lives in Newnan, Georgia.
Today the group is regarded as one of the most underrated groups of the era, in what was a very vibrant musical time,.. California in the late 60s early 70s. There are some attempts underway to put together a CD made up of their early unreleased material.