The Arbors were an American pop group formed in 1964 in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

. The members, two sets of brothers, met at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and began playing local shows in Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 before moving to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. They recorded a single for Mercury Records

Mercury Records

Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...

 which garnered little attention, but their next single, "A Symphony for Susan" (recorded for Carney Records), was reissued nationally on 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...

 subsidiary, Date Records

Date Records

Date Records was a sub-label of Columbia Records which had two different incarnations. The first incarnation was a short-lived rockabilly label in 1958 which included a release by Billy "Crash" Craddock...

 and hit #51 on the US chart; they followed with the singles "Just Let it Happen" and "Graduation Day" (US #59).

In 1968, they recorded the song "Valley of the Dolls", which was not used in the movie of the same name

Valley of the Dolls (film)

The soundtrack was released in 1967. Dionne Warwick sang the title track; however, her version is not on the soundtrack. Warwick was signed to Scepter Records at the time and could not contractually appear...

 but which was released concomitantly; it was overshadowed by the title song from the movie. They bounced back with a 1969 version of "The Letter", which had been a hit two years before for The Box Tops

The Box Tops

The Box Tops were a Memphis rock group of the second half of the 1960s. They are best known for the hits "The Letter," "Neon Rainbow," "Soul Deep," "I Met Her in Church," and "Cry Like A Baby," and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period...

. The cover

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...

 became their biggest hit, reaching #20 on the US singles chart, and they followed it with the release of an album that included their interpretations of 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...

's "Like a Rolling Stone

Like a Rolling Stone

"Like a Rolling Stone" is a 1965 song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Its confrontational lyrics originate in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a grueling tour of England...

", The Doors

The Doors

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...

's "Touch Me

Touch Me (The Doors song)

"Touch Me" is a song by The Doors from their album The Soft Parade. Written by Robby Krieger, its riff was influenced by The Four Seasons' "C'mon Marianne." It is notable for its extensive usage of brass and string instruments to accent Jim Morrison's vocals...

", Blood, Sweat & Tears

Blood, Sweat & Tears

Blood, Sweat & Tears is an American music group, originally formed in 1967 in New York City. Since its beginnings in 1967, the band has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a multitude of musical styles...

's "I Can't Quit Her" (US #67), and Simon & Garfunkel's "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her

For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her

"For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" is a song written by Paul Simon. It is the tenth track on Simon & Garfunkel's 1966 album by Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, where it is sung by Art Garfunkel....

". It was the group's last recording for Columbia, and afterward, they began writing and playing music for commercials, and continued to do so for some thirty years thereafter.

Members

• Tom Herrick
• Scott Herrick
• Ed Farran (died 01/02/03 of kidney failure)
• Fred Farran (died 08/29/11 following a bout of pneumonia, age 74)

Discography

• A Symphony for Susan (Date Records
  Date Records
  Date Records was a sub-label of Columbia Records which had two different incarnations. The first incarnation was a short-lived rockabilly label in 1958 which included a release by Billy "Crash" Craddock...
  
  , 1967) US #144
• The Arbors (Date Records
  Date Records
  Date Records was a sub-label of Columbia Records which had two different incarnations. The first incarnation was a short-lived rockabilly label in 1958 which included a release by Billy "Crash" Craddock...
  
  , 1968)