I received your e-mail concerning some more info about the recording session with April Silva and The Brymers. The session with April took place in 1966 at Harmony Studios in Hollywood. As you are probably aware, April was about 18 years old and the daughter of Bill Silva (owner of Diplomacy/Commonwealth Records). After we recorded Sacrifice, I Want To Tell You, Every Moment of the day, and Make Love Not War, we were asked to develop an arrangement for "Under My Thumb" for April. She was a very cool young lady and so we layed down the instrumental track. The track has been one of my favorites over the years. I really enjoy hearing a female singing the song. Commonwealth released limited copies of the record. A wee bit of trivia for you! Have you heard the "B" side? it is called "In Cold Blood" and the backing group were good friends called The Stepping Stones. Bill Silva, Al Verrismo, and Mel Simas had a stable of groups that they managed and had them tour around the country. Maybe you have heard of some of the groups. They were: The Brymers, The Stepping Stones, April Silva, The Gaouchos, Gear One, and The Kilts. When on the road we should frequently play the same venues, etc.. All of the groups were from California. It was a great time and a crazy time. Many of our friends later became associated with groups who recorded gold records. For example, a small four piece group from our area use tom open for us. they were called The Sullies. The drummer, Steve Perry, later joined Candy then "Journey." Another friend was from Visalia and had a group called Tom Johnson and the Implicits. He later help form The Doobie Brothers. The list goes on, but as you can see there was an explosion of great music.
dick lee
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