Doug Rhodes
Encyclopedia
Doug Rhodes, multi-instrumentalist, performed with 1960s rock bands The Music Machine
and The Millennium
.
Growing up in Garden Grove, California
, Rhodes began his music career as a jazz
saxophonist at the age of 16, playing with older brother Robbie Rhodes. Eventually, he became the member of a band called The Spats
, for whom he played organ. He was kicked out of the band late in 1965. After moving to L.A.
in January 1966, Rhodes met producer Curt Boettcher
, who got him work as a studio musician. He played celeste
for The Association
's #1-hit "Cherish
" (which went on to become one of their biggest hits).
In the summer of 1966, Rhodes joined the rock band The Music Machine, for whom he primarily played the organ
and provided backing vocals. After the release of the band's first LP and a promotional tour, four of the five members, including Rhodes, quit the group, leaving only singer/songwriter Sean Bonniwell
. According to Rhodes, there was conflict over money and Bonniwell's attitude toward the other members. Bonniwell continued to use the band name and released a second album mostly of older recordings on which Rhodes had performed.
Rhodes continued to work with Curt Boettcher, forming the band The Millennium along with two other former Music Machine members. The Millennium's debut LP was released by Columbia Records
in 1968. After the short-lived Millennium dissolved, Rhodes kept busy as a session musician
, playing for the likes of The Association, Taj Mahal
, Chad and Jeremy
, Tommy Roe
, and Van Dyke Parks
. He was also involved in the Millennium-splintered group Bigshot that was signed to Together records, the ill-fated label set-up by Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher in 1969. The others members of Bigshot included the drummer Ron Edgar and the guitarist Michael Fennelly and strangely one ex-Goldebriars Murray Planta (guitarist). Some demos were recorded but never issued. The producer of those sessions was Joey Stec.
In 1971, Rhodes moved to British Columbia
, Canada
. He continued to play around with various musicians, including Valdy
. Eventually, he settled in Victoria
, B.C., became a professional at piano tuning
and restoration, as well as playing 1920's style jazz with an orchestra called The Belevedere Broadcasters. He has a son, Davis Lamar Rhodes, and a daughter, Sasha Marie Rhodes.
The Music Machine
The Music Machine was an American garage rock and psychedelic band from the late 1960s, headed by singer-songwriter Sean Bonniwell and based in Los Angeles. The band sound was often defined by fuzzy guitars and a Farfisa organ...
and The Millennium
The Millennium
The Millennium was an American super group based in California, who were conceived by Curt Boettcher. The group consisted of psychedelic rock musicians, and they incorporated sunshine pop harmonies....
.
Growing up in Garden Grove, California
Garden Grove, California
Garden Grove is a city located in northern Orange County, California. The population was 170,883 at the 2010 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city running east-west. The city is known outside the Southern California area for being the home of Robert H...
, Rhodes began his music career as a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
saxophonist at the age of 16, playing with older brother Robbie Rhodes. Eventually, he became the member of a band called The Spats
The Spats
Spats were a New Zealand band . Members included Fane Flaws, Peter Dasent, Bruno Lawrence and Tony Backhouse. Spats worked with the Limbs Dance Company, a contemporary dance company based in New Zealand...
, for whom he played organ. He was kicked out of the band late in 1965. After moving to L.A.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in January 1966, Rhodes met producer Curt Boettcher
Curt Boettcher
Curt Boettcher was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer from Wisconsin. His career spanned 1964 to 1983...
, who got him work as a studio musician. He played celeste
Celesta
The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
for The Association
The Association
The Association is a pop music band from California in the folk rock or soft rock genre. During the 1960s, they had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts and were the lead-off band at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival...
's #1-hit "Cherish
Cherish (The Association song)
"Cherish" is a pop song written by Terry Kirkman and recorded by The Association. Released in 1966, the song reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in September of that year and remained in the top position for three weeks. In Canada, the song also reached number one...
" (which went on to become one of their biggest hits).
In the summer of 1966, Rhodes joined the rock band The Music Machine, for whom he primarily played the organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
and provided backing vocals. After the release of the band's first LP and a promotional tour, four of the five members, including Rhodes, quit the group, leaving only singer/songwriter Sean Bonniwell
Sean Bonniwell
Thomas Harvey "Sean" Bonniwell , guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, is most famous as the main creative force behind the late-1960s garage rock band, The Music Machine....
. According to Rhodes, there was conflict over money and Bonniwell's attitude toward the other members. Bonniwell continued to use the band name and released a second album mostly of older recordings on which Rhodes had performed.
Rhodes continued to work with Curt Boettcher, forming the band The Millennium along with two other former Music Machine members. The Millennium's debut LP was released by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in 1968. After the short-lived Millennium dissolved, Rhodes kept busy as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
, playing for the likes of The Association, Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (musician)
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
, Chad and Jeremy
Chad and Jeremy
Chad & Jeremy are an English singing folk rock duo originating in the 1960s, comprising eyeglasses-wearing Chad Stuart , and Jeremy Clyde...
, Tommy Roe
Tommy Roe
Tommy Roe is an American pop music singer-songwriter.Best-remembered for his hits "Sheila" and "Dizzy" , critic Bill Dahl wrote that Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of the late 1960s, but Roe cut some pretty decent rockers along the way, especially early in his...
, and Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
. He was also involved in the Millennium-splintered group Bigshot that was signed to Together records, the ill-fated label set-up by Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher in 1969. The others members of Bigshot included the drummer Ron Edgar and the guitarist Michael Fennelly and strangely one ex-Goldebriars Murray Planta (guitarist). Some demos were recorded but never issued. The producer of those sessions was Joey Stec.
In 1971, Rhodes moved to British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He continued to play around with various musicians, including Valdy
Valdy
Paul Valdemar Horsdal, CM , commonly known as Valdy, is a Canadian folk musician whose solo career began in the early 1970s. He is known for "Rock and Roll Song", his first mainstream single released in mid-1972 on Haida/A&M.He was a member of the London Town Criers during the 1960s and...
. Eventually, he settled in Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, B.C., became a professional at piano tuning
Piano tuning
Piano tuning is the act of making minute adjustments to the tensions of the strings of a piano to properly align the intervals between their tones so that the instrument is in tune. The meaning of the term in tune in the context of piano tuning is not simply a particular fixed set of pitches...
and restoration, as well as playing 1920's style jazz with an orchestra called The Belevedere Broadcasters. He has a son, Davis Lamar Rhodes, and a daughter, Sasha Marie Rhodes.