P. F. Sloan
Encyclopedia
P.F. Sloan is an American
pop
-rock
singer and songwriter
. He was very successful during the mid-1960s, writing, performing and producing Billboard top 20 hits for artists such as Barry McGuire
, Jan & Dean, Herman's Hermits
, Johnny Rivers
, The Grass Roots
and the Mamas and the Papas. His folk-pop blends caused him to sometimes be referred to as "the poor man's Bob Dylan
".
father and a Romanian
-born mother. His family moved to West Hollywood, California
in 1957, where his father, a pharmacist, changed the family surname from "Schlein" to "Sloan" after repeatedly being denied a liquor license for his store. At 13, Sloan's father bought him a guitar; at the music store in Hollywood, Sloan met Elvis Presley
, who gave him an impromptu music lesson. In 1959, at 14, "Flip" Sloan recorded
a single
, "All I Want Is Loving" / "Little Girl in the Cabin," for the L.A. R&B
record label
Aladdin Records
, which folded soon after its release.
He became part of the burgeoning Los Angeles
music
scene, landing a job on the songwriting staff at music publisher Screen Gems
, which was then the largest publisher on the West Coast, at 16. There, he formed a partnership with Steve Barri
, and the duo made several attempts at recording a hit single under names such as "Philip and Stephan", the "Rally-Packs", the "WIldcats", the "Street Cleaners", "Themes Inc.", and the "Lifeguards". In 1963, they to came to the attention of Screen Gems executive Lou Adler
, who decided to use them as backing singers and musicians (Sloan on lead guitar and Barri on percussion) for Jan & Dean, whom he managed. Sloan & Barri were credited on all Jan & Dean albums from Dead Man's Curve / The New Girl in School in early 1964 through Command Performance in 1965. Jan Berry used Sloan as the lead falsetto voice instead of Dean Torrence on the band's top 10 hit "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena
." Around that time, Sloan and Barri also wrote their first U.S. Billboard Top 100 hit, "Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann", arranged
by Jack Nitzsche
and performed by a Watts, California-born artist named Round Robin. Soon they also appeared on surf records by Bruce & Terry
and the Rip Chords, and they recorded their own surf singles and album as The Fantastic Baggys
.
. Using the name Phil F. Sloan or P.F. Sloan (the "F" stood for "Flip," his nickname), Sloan wrote hits for many performers
, including "Eve of Destruction" (Barry McGuire
); "You Baby" and "Let Me Be" (The Turtles
); "A Must to Avoid" and "Hold On!" (Herman's Hermits
); "Take Me For What I'm Worth" (The Searchers
); and "Secret Agent Man"
(Johnny Rivers
). This last song was the theme tune for Danger Man
, a British
TV
series that had been given a new title (Secret Agent) and theme for the U.S.
market.
Sloan also became a session guitarist as part of the group of L.A. session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew, working with such well-known backing musicians as drummer Hal Blaine
, guitarist Tommy Tedesco
, bassist Joe Osborn
, and bassist/keyboardist Larry Knechtel
, among others. While working with Barry McGuire, Sloan created and played a guitar introduction as a hook to a new song by John Phillips
entitled "California Dreamin'
", and the same backing track was used for the hit version by Phillips' group The Mamas & the Papas
, which led to Sloan being a regular in their recording sessions. Sloan generally played the lead guitar tracks on most of the songs he wrote, including the famous riff in "Secret Agent Man."
Sloan and Barri also were performers while on Dunhill. They released Dunhill's first album, a collection of surf instrumentals, as the "Rincon Surfside Band," and the album was later issued by RCA under the name "Willie and the Wheels." Sloan's successful folk-influenced songwriting caused Dunhill to record two solo albums by him. His single "Sins Of A Family" reached the Billboard top 100 in fall 1965, in the wake of the huge success of "Eve of Destruction."
During this time, Sloan & Barri continued to do session work with Jan Berry of Jan & Dean, until Jan's near-fatal car wreck in April 1966, which basically ended Jan & Dean's career. They also produced a number of other acts, from Ann-Margret
to The Robbs
to Canadians Terry Black
and Patricia-Anne (both of whom had #1 hits in Canada with Sloan-Barri songs) to Dunhill acts such as Shelley Fabares
, the Ginger Snaps featuring Dandee Duncan, the Thomas Group (headed by Danny Thomas
's son Tony
) and the Iguanas (a Mexican band that did not speak English).
The main Sloan-Barri recording effort for Dunhill was done under the name The Grass Roots
. However, after the Grass Roots enjoyed a Billboard Top 30 single with "Where Were You When I Needed You", the band's first album
failed to chart, and Dunhill forced Sloan and Barri to recruit a real band to perform as the Grass Roots. Ultimately, a second band had to be recruited after the first one quit. Sloan and Barri continued as producers for the band, and they quickly generated a U.S. top 10 hit with a cover of the European hit, "Let's Live for Today
" (by the British band The Rokes). After that, though, the new Grass Roots wanted to write their own songs, and Sloan, who still wanted to be a recording artist, became alienated from both Barri and Dunhill management.
Sloan played as a solo artist at the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival on Sunday June 11, 1967 in the "summer of love" on the final day of this celebration of pop music. This music festival is important because it occurred before the Monterey Pop Festival
but did not have a movie to document it for the ages (see List of electronic music festivals).
Sloan's final Dunhill release was a solo single, "I Can't Help But Wonder, Elizabeth" b/w "Karma (A Study Of Divinations)", once again released under the name Philip Sloan.
, which changed the voting age from 21 to 18 as of 1971.
, but which listed Sun Records
in Memphis, Tennessee
as the locale. The album, produced by Tom Dowd
and released by Atco Records
, was Sloan's most accomplished bit of record-making (as opposed to songwriting), but it did not sell. Beset by business and legal problems – Sloan essentially signed away the rights to his valuable compositions, and has said that Dunhill made threatening advances to force him to do so – he largely dropped out of sight in the late 1960s and did not record or perform again, save for 1972's poorly-received Raised On Records, until the 1980s. Sloan has discussed spending most of three decades battling mental and physical illnesses as a reason for his disappearance from music. He made a CD in the early 1990s that was initially released only in Japan
.
Finally, in 2005 Sloan made a series of recordings with producer Jon Tiven
in Nashville, Tennessee
. The resulting album, Sailover, was released in August 2006 on the Hightone label. Tiven, known for his work with artists such as Alex Chilton
and Frank Black
, played on the record, as did his wife, Sally Tiven. The record was a mixed bag of old and new songs, including several co-written by Tiven, and includes guests Frank Black, Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams
, Felix Cavaliere
, Tom Petersson, and Gary Tallent.
In 2008, UK-based Ace Records did a near-definitive reissue of Sloan's solo recordings for Dunhill. Entitled Here's Where I Belong: The Best of the Dunhill Years 1965-1967, the CD omits the album tracks "When The Wind Changes" and "Patterns Seg. 4." Sloan's final Dunhill recording, "I Can't Help But Wonder, Elizabeth," made its legal CD debut on this release.
Jimmy Webb
, who is better known for the 1960s hits "By the Time I Get to Phoenix
" and "Up, Up and Away
". Webb released two different versions of the catchy, bittersweet composition, which seems to be about the costs and disappointments of being a creative groundbreaker. Cover version
s of this were recorded by The Association
in 1971, Jennifer Warnes
and by British band Unicorn in the early 1970s - released as a single and album
track on Transatlantic Records
.
While Sloan's insistence on becoming a recording artist was an inspiration to fellow songwriter Webb, who had worked with Sloan with Bones Howe
and The Fifth Dimension
, a personal dispute led Webb to deny the existence of "P.F. Sloan" when asked about the song's title character during an article interview, saying that he had made the name up. Ironically, this led Eugene Landy
, the controversial psychologist
, to lay claim to being the real P.F. Sloan when he was asked by reporters why he considered himself able to direct Beach Boys lead singer Brian Wilson
's musical career. Landy claimed to have written the songs attributed to "P.F. Sloan".
Jackson Browne
performed "P.F. Sloan" with Jimmy Webb
on Jimmy's 2010 album "Just Across Across The River".
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...
-rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. He was very successful during the mid-1960s, writing, performing and producing Billboard top 20 hits for artists such as Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire is an American singer-songwriter best known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a pioneering singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian Music.-Early life:...
, Jan & Dean, Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...
, Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. His styles include folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs and some original material...
, The Grass Roots
The Grass Roots
The Grass Roots is an American rock band that charted between 1966 and 1975 as the brainchild of songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri.In their career, The Grass Roots achieved two gold albums, one gold single and charted singles a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they...
and the Mamas and the Papas. His folk-pop blends caused him to sometimes be referred to as "the poor man's Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
".
Beginnings
Sloan was born to an AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
father and a Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
-born mother. His family moved to West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
in 1957, where his father, a pharmacist, changed the family surname from "Schlein" to "Sloan" after repeatedly being denied a liquor license for his store. At 13, Sloan's father bought him a guitar; at the music store in Hollywood, Sloan met Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, who gave him an impromptu music lesson. In 1959, at 14, "Flip" Sloan recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, "All I Want Is Loving" / "Little Girl in the Cabin," for the L.A. R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Aladdin Records
Aladdin Records (US)
Aladdin Records was a post-World War II United States record label, with headquarters in Hollywood, California. The label was founded in 1945 by brothers Eddie, Leo, and Ira Mesner and was originally called Philo Records, before changing to its better-known name in April 1946.Aladdin Records...
, which folded soon after its release.
He became part of the burgeoning Los Angeles
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...
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
scene, landing a job on the songwriting staff at music publisher Screen Gems
Colpix Records
Colpix Records was the first recording company for Columbia Pictures–Screen Gems. Colpix got its name from combining Columbia and Pictures . It was founded by Jonie Taps and Harry Cohn in 1958, and was based in New York City. Paul Wexler headed the label. Stu Phillips was in charge of A&R...
, which was then the largest publisher on the West Coast, at 16. There, he formed a partnership with Steve Barri
Steve Barri
Steve Barri is an American songwriter and record producer.Early in his career Barri was a staff writer with Dunhill Records. He frequently collaborated with P.F. Sloan, and the partners were responsible for the success of The Grass Roots and contributed largely to the band's first album...
, and the duo made several attempts at recording a hit single under names such as "Philip and Stephan", the "Rally-Packs", the "WIldcats", the "Street Cleaners", "Themes Inc.", and the "Lifeguards". In 1963, they to came to the attention of Screen Gems executive Lou Adler
Lou Adler
Lou Adler is an American record producer, manager, and director.-Life and career:Adler was born in Chicago, Illinois in December 1933, and raised in East Los Angeles. In 1964, Adler founded and co-owned Dunhill Records. He was President of the label as well as the chief record producer from 1964...
, who decided to use them as backing singers and musicians (Sloan on lead guitar and Barri on percussion) for Jan & Dean, whom he managed. Sloan & Barri were credited on all Jan & Dean albums from Dead Man's Curve / The New Girl in School in early 1964 through Command Performance in 1965. Jan Berry used Sloan as the lead falsetto voice instead of Dean Torrence on the band's top 10 hit "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena
The Little Old Lady from Pasadena
"The Little Old Lady from Pasadena" is a song written by Don Altfeld, Jan Berry and Roger Christian, and recorded by 1960s American pop singers, Jan and Dean. The song reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1964...
." Around that time, Sloan and Barri also wrote their first U.S. Billboard Top 100 hit, "Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann", arranged
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
by Jack Nitzsche
Jack Nitzsche
Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche was an arranger, producer, songwriter, and film score composer. He first came to prominence in the late 1950s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spector, and went on to work with the Rolling Stones, Neil Young and others...
and performed by a Watts, California-born artist named Round Robin. Soon they also appeared on surf records by Bruce & Terry
Bruce & Terry
Bruce & Terry were Bruce Johnston and Terry Melcher. The pair were instrumental in the development of surf rock, recording under a variety of names and created the band The Rip Chords....
and the Rip Chords, and they recorded their own surf singles and album as The Fantastic Baggys
The Fantastic Baggys
The Fantastic Baggys were an American surf and hot rod group, created by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri. The studio group released several successful singles under the leadership of Sloan and Barri, most well-known for the more popular duo Jan & Dean...
.
Dunhill Records
Adler then doubled their salaries to hire them for his startup publisher Trousdale Music and startup label Dunhill RecordsDunhill Records
Dunhill Records was started by Lou Adler, Al Bennett, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts in 1964 as Dunhill Productions, originally for the purpose of releasing Johnny Rivers recordings on Imperial Records. It became a record label in 1965 and was distributed by ABC Records...
. Using the name Phil F. Sloan or P.F. Sloan (the "F" stood for "Flip," his nickname), Sloan wrote hits for many performers
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, including "Eve of Destruction" (Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire is an American singer-songwriter best known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a pioneering singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian Music.-Early life:...
); "You Baby" and "Let Me Be" (The Turtles
The Turtles
The Turtles are an American rock group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965...
); "A Must to Avoid" and "Hold On!" (Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits
Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...
); "Take Me For What I'm Worth" (The Searchers
The Searchers (band)
The Searchers are an English beat group, who emerged as part of the 1960s Merseybeat scene along with The Beatles, The Fourmost, The Merseybeats, The Swinging Blue Jeans, and Gerry & The Pacemakers....
); and "Secret Agent Man"
Secret Agent Man (song)
"Secret Agent Man" is a song written by Steve Barri and P. F. Sloan. The most famous recording of the song was made by Johnny Rivers for the opening titles of the American broadcast of the British spy series Danger Man, which aired in the U.S. as "Secret Agent" from 1964 to 1966...
(Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers
Johnny Rivers is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. His styles include folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs and some original material...
). This last song was the theme tune for Danger Man
Danger Man
Danger Man is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again between 1964 and 1968. The series featured Patrick McGoohan as secret agent John Drake. Ralph Smart created the program and wrote many of the scripts...
, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series that had been given a new title (Secret Agent) and theme for the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
market.
Sloan also became a session guitarist as part of the group of L.A. session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew, working with such well-known backing musicians as drummer Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine is an American drummer and session musician. He is most known for his work with the Wrecking Crew in California. Blaine played on numerous hits by popular groups, including Elvis Presley, John Denver, the Ronettes, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, the Beach Boys, Nancy Sinatra, and...
, guitarist Tommy Tedesco
Tommy Tedesco
Thomas J. Tedesco was an American master session musician and renowned jazz and bebop guitarist.Tedesco's credits include the iconic brand-burning accompaniment theme from television's Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, Vic Mizzy's iconic theme from Green Acres, M*A*S*H, Batman, and Elvis Presley's '68...
, bassist Joe Osborn
Joe Osborn
Joe Osborn is an American bass guitar virtuoso, notable for his work as a session musician in Los Angeles and Nashville during the period from the 1960s through the 1980s. Osborn's work is widely admired by fellow musicians.Osborn began his career working in local clubs, then played on a hit...
, and bassist/keyboardist Larry Knechtel
Larry Knechtel
Lawrence William "Larry" Knechtel was an American keyboard player and bassist, best known for his work as a session musician with such artists as Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & the Papas, The Partridge Family, The Doors, and Elvis Presley, and as a member of the 1970s...
, among others. While working with Barry McGuire, Sloan created and played a guitar introduction as a hook to a new song by John Phillips
John Phillips
-18th century and earlier:* John Phillips , Bishop of Sodor and Man in the Church of England* John Phillips , author and secretary to John Milton* John Phillips -18th century and earlier:* John Phillips (bishop of Sodor and Man) (1605–1633), Bishop of Sodor and Man in the Church of England* John...
entitled "California Dreamin'
California Dreamin'
"California Dreamin is a popular song by The Mamas & the Papas, first released in 1965. The song is #89 in Rolling Stones list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time...
", and the same backing track was used for the hit version by Phillips' group The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas
The Mamas & the Papas were a Canadian/American vocal group of the 1960s . The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...
, which led to Sloan being a regular in their recording sessions. Sloan generally played the lead guitar tracks on most of the songs he wrote, including the famous riff in "Secret Agent Man."
Sloan and Barri also were performers while on Dunhill. They released Dunhill's first album, a collection of surf instrumentals, as the "Rincon Surfside Band," and the album was later issued by RCA under the name "Willie and the Wheels." Sloan's successful folk-influenced songwriting caused Dunhill to record two solo albums by him. His single "Sins Of A Family" reached the Billboard top 100 in fall 1965, in the wake of the huge success of "Eve of Destruction."
During this time, Sloan & Barri continued to do session work with Jan Berry of Jan & Dean, until Jan's near-fatal car wreck in April 1966, which basically ended Jan & Dean's career. They also produced a number of other acts, from Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson is a Swedish-American actress, singer and dancer whose professional name is Ann-Margret. She became famous for her starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, The Cincinnati Kid, Carnal Knowledge, and Tommy...
to The Robbs
The Robbs
The Robbs were an American 1960s pop/rock band from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. They are best known for being the house band on Dick Clark's mid-1960s show Where The Action Is...
to Canadians Terry Black
Terry Black
Terry Black was a Canadian pop singer and teen idol, born in Vancouver, British Columbia.-Career:Black's debut U.S. single, "Unless You Care", was released in 1964, when Black was 15. The song was written and produced by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri and featured backing from Glen Campbell and Leon...
and Patricia-Anne (both of whom had #1 hits in Canada with Sloan-Barri songs) to Dunhill acts such as Shelley Fabares
Shelley Fabares
Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares is an American actress and singer. Fabares is known for her roles as Donna Reed's oldest child, Mary Stone, on The Donna Reed Show , and as Craig T. Nelson's love interest and eventual wife, Christine Armstrong Fox, on the sitcom Coach. She also was Elvis...
, the Ginger Snaps featuring Dandee Duncan, the Thomas Group (headed by Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
's son Tony
Tony Thomas
Charles Anthony "Tony" Thomas is an American television and film producer, who has produced such TV series as Nurses, Herman's Head, Blossom, Empty Nest, Benson, Beauty and the Beast, The Golden Girls, It's a Living, as well as Dead Poets Society.Thomas is the son of Danny Thomas, and the younger...
) and the Iguanas (a Mexican band that did not speak English).
The main Sloan-Barri recording effort for Dunhill was done under the name The Grass Roots
The Grass Roots
The Grass Roots is an American rock band that charted between 1966 and 1975 as the brainchild of songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri.In their career, The Grass Roots achieved two gold albums, one gold single and charted singles a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they...
. However, after the Grass Roots enjoyed a Billboard Top 30 single with "Where Were You When I Needed You", the band's first album
Where Were You When I Needed You
Where Were You When I Needed You was the first album released by The Grass Roots. Most of the album is performed by the duo of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, although some of the album features a San Francisco band, including lead singer Willie "Bill" Fulton...
failed to chart, and Dunhill forced Sloan and Barri to recruit a real band to perform as the Grass Roots. Ultimately, a second band had to be recruited after the first one quit. Sloan and Barri continued as producers for the band, and they quickly generated a U.S. top 10 hit with a cover of the European hit, "Let's Live for Today
Let's Live for Today (song)
"Let's Live for Today" is a song written by David Shapiro, Ivan Mogull, and Michael Julian, and initially recorded by the English band the Rokes in 1966. The song was later popularized by the American rock band The Grass Roots, who released it as a single on May 13, 1967...
" (by the British band The Rokes). After that, though, the new Grass Roots wanted to write their own songs, and Sloan, who still wanted to be a recording artist, became alienated from both Barri and Dunhill management.
Sloan played as a solo artist at the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival on Sunday June 11, 1967 in the "summer of love" on the final day of this celebration of pop music. This music festival is important because it occurred before the Monterey Pop Festival
Monterey Pop Festival
The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California...
but did not have a movie to document it for the ages (see List of electronic music festivals).
Sloan's final Dunhill release was a solo single, "I Can't Help But Wonder, Elizabeth" b/w "Karma (A Study Of Divinations)", once again released under the name Philip Sloan.
Political influence
Due to its line "You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'", "Eve of Destruction" was used as a rallying cry by supporters of the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States ConstitutionTwenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution limited the minimum voting age to no more than 18. It was adopted in response to student activism against the Vietnam War and to partially overrule the Supreme Court's decision in Oregon v. Mitchell...
, which changed the voting age from 21 to 18 as of 1971.
Hits and charted songs written by Sloan
| Year | Song | Original artist | U.S. Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
Other versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | "Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann" | Round Robin | 61 | |
| "Summer Means Fun" | Bruce & Terry Bruce & Terry Bruce & Terry were Bruce Johnston and Terry Melcher. The pair were instrumental in the development of surf rock, recording under a variety of names and created the band The Rip Chords.... |
72 | Fantastic Baggys (1964); Jan & Dean (1966) | |
| "One Piece Topless Bathing Suit" | Rip Chords | 96 | Jan & Dean (1966) | |
| "Unless You Care" | Terry Black Terry Black Terry Black was a Canadian pop singer and teen idol, born in Vancouver, British Columbia.-Career:Black's debut U.S. single, "Unless You Care", was released in 1964, when Black was 15. The song was written and produced by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri and featured backing from Glen Campbell and Leon... |
99 | ||
| 1965 | "(Here They Come) From All Over the World" | Jan & Dean | 56 | |
| "I Found A Girl" | Jan & Dean | 30 | ||
| "Eve of Destruction" | Barry McGuire Barry McGuire Barry McGuire is an American singer-songwriter best known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a pioneering singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian Music.-Early life:... |
1 | The Turtles The Turtles The Turtles are an American rock group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965... (1970 - #100); P.F. Sloan (1965); The Grass Roots The Grass Roots The Grass Roots is an American rock band that charted between 1966 and 1975 as the brainchild of songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri.In their career, The Grass Roots achieved two gold albums, one gold single and charted singles a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they... (1966) |
|
| "Let Me Be" | The Turtles The Turtles The Turtles are an American rock group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965... |
28 | P.F. Sloan (1966) | |
| "Take Me For What I'm Worth" | The Searchers The Searchers (band) The Searchers are an English beat group, who emerged as part of the 1960s Merseybeat scene along with The Beatles, The Fourmost, The Merseybeats, The Swinging Blue Jeans, and Gerry & The Pacemakers.... |
76 | P.F. Sloan (1965) | |
| "Child of Our Times" | Barry McGuire Barry McGuire Barry McGuire is an American singer-songwriter best known for the hit song "Eve of Destruction", and later as a pioneering singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian Music.-Early life:... |
72 | ||
| "Sins of a Family" | P.F. Sloan | 87 | Murray the K Murray the K Murray Kaufman , professionally known as Murray the K, was an influential rock and roll impresario and disc jockey of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s... (1965) |
|
| 1966 | "A Must to Avoid" | Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers... |
8 | |
| "You Baby" | The Turtles The Turtles The Turtles are an American rock group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965... |
20 | The Grass Roots The Grass Roots The Grass Roots is an American rock band that charted between 1966 and 1975 as the brainchild of songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri.In their career, The Grass Roots achieved two gold albums, one gold single and charted singles a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they... (1966); The Mamas and the Papas (1966) |
|
| "Where Were You When I Needed You" | The Grass Roots The Grass Roots The Grass Roots is an American rock band that charted between 1966 and 1975 as the brainchild of songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri.In their career, The Grass Roots achieved two gold albums, one gold single and charted singles a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they... |
28 | Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits Herman's Hermits are an English beat band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's record producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening, clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers... (1966) |
|
| "Secret Agent Man Secret Agent Man (song) "Secret Agent Man" is a song written by Steve Barri and P. F. Sloan. The most famous recording of the song was made by Johnny Rivers for the opening titles of the American broadcast of the British spy series Danger Man, which aired in the U.S. as "Secret Agent" from 1964 to 1966... " |
Johnny Rivers Johnny Rivers Johnny Rivers is an American rock and roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. His styles include folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs and some original material... |
3 | Mel Torme Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books... (1966); The Ventures The Ventures The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling... (1966 -- #54); Devo Devo Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult... (1979), Blues Traveler Blues Traveler Blues Traveler is a rock band, formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. The band has been influenced by a variety of genres, including blues-rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock, soul, and Southern rock... (1995) |
|
| "Only When You're Lonely" | The Grass Roots The Grass Roots The Grass Roots is an American rock band that charted between 1966 and 1975 as the brainchild of songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri.In their career, The Grass Roots achieved two gold albums, one gold single and charted singles a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they... |
96 | ||
| "Can I Get to Know You Better" | The Turtles The Turtles The Turtles are an American rock group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965... |
89 | ||
| 1967 | "Another Day, Another Heartache" | The Fifth Dimension The Fifth Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire also includes pop, R&B, soul, and jazz.Originally known as The Hi-Fi's, the 5th Dimension changed its name in late 1966, and was best-known during the late 1960s and early 1970s for popularizing the hits "Up, Up and Away",... |
45 | |
| "Things I Should Have Said" | The Grass Roots The Grass Roots The Grass Roots is an American rock band that charted between 1966 and 1975 as the brainchild of songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri.In their career, The Grass Roots achieved two gold albums, one gold single and charted singles a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they... |
23 | ||
| "Wake Up, Wake Up" | The Grass Roots The Grass Roots The Grass Roots is an American rock band that charted between 1966 and 1975 as the brainchild of songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri.In their career, The Grass Roots achieved two gold albums, one gold single and charted singles a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they... |
68 | ||
After Dunhill
After leaving Dunhill, Sloan recorded an album in 1968, Measure of Pleasure, that he says was recorded in Muscle Shoals, AlabamaMuscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-Geography:Muscle Shoals is located...
, but which listed Sun Records
Sun Records
Sun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
as the locale. The album, produced by Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
and released by Atco Records
Atco Records
ATCO Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMG's Rhino Entertainment.-Beginnings:Atco Records was founded in 1955 as a division of Atlantic Records. It was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic's founders, Herb Abramson, who...
, was Sloan's most accomplished bit of record-making (as opposed to songwriting), but it did not sell. Beset by business and legal problems – Sloan essentially signed away the rights to his valuable compositions, and has said that Dunhill made threatening advances to force him to do so – he largely dropped out of sight in the late 1960s and did not record or perform again, save for 1972's poorly-received Raised On Records, until the 1980s. Sloan has discussed spending most of three decades battling mental and physical illnesses as a reason for his disappearance from music. He made a CD in the early 1990s that was initially released only in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Finally, in 2005 Sloan made a series of recordings with producer Jon Tiven
Jon Tiven
Jon Tiven is a composer, guitarist and record producer. He has produced albums by Wilson Pickett, Frank Black and Don Covay as well as a series of tribute albums paying tribute to the songwriting of Don Covay, Arthur Alexander, Otis Blackwell, Curtis Mayfield, and Van Morrison.-Early career:He was...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. The resulting album, Sailover, was released in August 2006 on the Hightone label. Tiven, known for his work with artists such as Alex Chilton
Alex Chilton
William Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...
and Frank Black
Frank Black
Black Francis is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black...
, played on the record, as did his wife, Sally Tiven. The record was a mixed bag of old and new songs, including several co-written by Tiven, and includes guests Frank Black, Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
, Felix Cavaliere
Felix Cavaliere
Felix Cavaliere is an American songwriter, singer, music producer, and musician.Although he was a member of Joey Dee and His Starlighters best known for their hit "Peppermint Twist", he is best known for his association with The Young Rascals during the 1960s. The other members of The Rascals...
, Tom Petersson, and Gary Tallent.
Reissues
Sloan's early work has been poorly represented on compact disc, with only a smattering of releases to his name. Measure of Pleasure was reissued on CD in January 2007. There is currently a collection of his demo recordings available (Child of Our Times), and there was a now-out-of-print 1993 "Anthology" of his Dunhill recordings.In 2008, UK-based Ace Records did a near-definitive reissue of Sloan's solo recordings for Dunhill. Entitled Here's Where I Belong: The Best of the Dunhill Years 1965-1967, the CD omits the album tracks "When The Wind Changes" and "Patterns Seg. 4." Sloan's final Dunhill recording, "I Can't Help But Wonder, Elizabeth," made its legal CD debut on this release.
Tribute from fellow songwriter
"P.F. Sloan" is also the title of a song by singer-songwriterSinger-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He wrote numerous platinum selling classics, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park"...
, who is better known for the 1960s hits "By the Time I Get to Phoenix
By the Time I Get to Phoenix
"By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is the title of a song written by Jimmy Webb. Originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1965, it was made famous by American country music singer Glen Campbell, appearing as the opening track on the latter's 1967 album of the same name. Campbell's version reached #2 on...
" and "Up, Up and Away
Up, Up and Away (song)
"Up, Up and Away" is a 1967 song written by Jimmy Webb and recorded by The 5th Dimension, that became a major pop hit, reaching #7 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart and #18 in Canada...
". Webb released two different versions of the catchy, bittersweet composition, which seems to be about the costs and disappointments of being a creative groundbreaker. Cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of this were recorded by 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...
in 1971, Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...
and by British band Unicorn in the early 1970s - released as a single and album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
track on Transatlantic Records
Transatlantic Records
Transatlantic Records was a British independent record label. It was established in 1961. It started began primarily as an importer of American folk, blues and jazz records - by many of the artists who influenced the burgeoning British folk and blues boom. Within a couple of years, the company had...
.
While Sloan's insistence on becoming a recording artist was an inspiration to fellow songwriter Webb, who had worked with Sloan with Bones Howe
Bones Howe
Dayton Burr "Bones" Howe is a Grammy-award-winning record producer and recording engineer associated with 1960s and 1970s hits, mostly of the sunshine pop genre, including most of the hits of The 5th Dimension and The Association, as well as music supervision of several films...
and The Fifth Dimension
The Fifth Dimension
The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire also includes pop, R&B, soul, and jazz.Originally known as The Hi-Fi's, the 5th Dimension changed its name in late 1966, and was best-known during the late 1960s and early 1970s for popularizing the hits "Up, Up and Away",...
, a personal dispute led Webb to deny the existence of "P.F. Sloan" when asked about the song's title character during an article interview, saying that he had made the name up. Ironically, this led Eugene Landy
Eugene Landy
Eugene Ellsworth Landy, Ph.D. was a controversial American psychologist and therapist known for his unconventional treatment and eventual exploitation of composer/musician Brian Wilson...
, the controversial psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
, to lay claim to being the real P.F. Sloan when he was asked by reporters why he considered himself able to direct Beach Boys lead singer Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
's musical career. Landy claimed to have written the songs attributed to "P.F. Sloan".
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
performed "P.F. Sloan" with Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He wrote numerous platinum selling classics, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park"...
on Jimmy's 2010 album "Just Across Across The River".
Singles
| Year | Song | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | "Little Girl in the Cabin" / "All I Want Is Lovin'" |
Aladdin |
| 1960 | "If You Believe in Me" | Mart |
| 1965 | "Sins of a Family" | Dunhill |
| "Halloween Mary" | ||
| 1966 | "From a Distance" | |
| "City Women" | ||
| "A Melody for You" | ||
| 1967 | "Sunflower Sunflower" | |
| "Karma (A Study of Divinations)" / "I Can't Help But Wonder, Elizabeth" |
||
| 1969 | "New Design" | Atco |
| 1972 | "Let Me Be" | Mums |
Albums
- Songs of Our Times (1965 – Dunhill)
- Twelve More Times (1966 – Dunhill)
- Measure of Pleasure (1968 – Atco)
- Raised on Records (1972 – Mums)
- Serenade of the Seven Sisters (1994 – Pioneer)
- Child of Our Times: The Trousdale Demo Sessions 1965–1967 (2001 – Varese Sarabande)
- Sailover (2006 – Hightone)
Singles
| Year | Band Name | Song | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Themes Inc. | "Theme from Peyton Place (Allison's Theme)" | Vee Jay |
| Phillip and Stephan | "When You're So Near You're So Far Away" / "Meet Me Tonight Little Girl" | Interphon | |
| Sheridan Hollenbeck | "Tokyo Melody" | ||
| Wildcats | "The Swim" | Counsel | |
| Lifeguards | "Swimtime USA" | Reprise | |
| Street Cleaners | "That's Cool, That's Trash" | Amy | |
| Rally-Packs | "Move Out, Little Mustang" | Imperial | |
| Fantastic Baggies | "Tell 'Em I'm Surfin'" | ||
| "Anywhere the Girls Are" | |||
| 1965 | Fantastic Baggies | "It Was I" | |
| Willie and the Wheels | "Skateboard Craze" | Dunhill | |
| Grass Roots | "Mr. Jones (Ballad of a Thin Man) Ballad of a Thin Man "Ballad of a Thin Man" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan, released on the album Highway 61 Revisited in 1965.-Meaning:"Ballad of a Thin Man" comments on a conventional "Mr. Jones", who walks into a room of intentionally bizarre circus freaks and doesn't "know what's happening".The... " |
||
| 1966 | Grass Roots | "Where Were You When I Needed You" | |
| "Only When You're Lonely" | |||
| "Tip of My Tongue" | |||
Albums
- Tell 'Em I'm Surfin – Fantastic Baggys (1964, Imperial)
- The Surfing Songbook – Rincon Surfside Band (1965, Dunhill)
- The Surfing Songbook – Willie and the Wheels (1965, RCA) (identical release)
- Where Were You When I Needed YouWhere Were You When I Needed YouWhere Were You When I Needed You was the first album released by The Grass Roots. Most of the album is performed by the duo of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, although some of the album features a San Francisco band, including lead singer Willie "Bill" Fulton...
– The Grass RootsThe Grass RootsThe Grass Roots is an American rock band that charted between 1966 and 1975 as the brainchild of songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri.In their career, The Grass Roots achieved two gold albums, one gold single and charted singles a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they...
(1966, Dunhill)
External links
- P.F. Sloan fan website includes biography, discography, and more
- Interview with P.F. Sloan
- P.F. Sloan - Yahoo! Group mailing list - discussion of all aspects of his career and his music
- A Mailing List Interview with P. F. Sloan an email interview with P.F. Sloan
- P. F. Sloan - Who Played What? another email interview with P.F. Sloan
- http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_mamas_papas_california/ The Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreamin' "
- End of a Hiatus an NPR World Cafe Interview with P.F. Sloan, Sept 12, 2006
- P. F. Sloan on MySpace