The Fifth Estate was a rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 band, originally formed in Stamford, Connecticut

Stamford, Connecticut

Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...

 as The D-Men

The D-Men

The D-Men were an American beat music group. They began in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1963. They played continuously around the US and in many New York clubs, including Trude Heller's and The World, and in many Greenwich Village clubs such as The Bottom Line and The Downtown...

 in early 1964.

Early years (as The D-Men)

To begin with the band played many small shows and local clubs, but soon gravitated to Greenwich Village and larger clubs where they often played six nights a week for long stretches. Early on, as The D-Men, they released three singles, two on Veep/United Artists and one on the Kapp labels, which along with much of their later material has become collectors' items and established them as a central part of the garage rock

Garage rock

Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...

 movement. Boston Skyline released a 28-song collection of their music in 1993 and published a 41-page booklet of their story.

The band made a number of appearances on television, including Hullabaloo, on which they performed "I Just Don't Care". The program was at that time co-hosted by Brian Epstein

Brian Epstein

Brian Samuel Epstein , was an English music entrepreneur, and is best known for being the manager of The Beatles up until his death. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, The Remo Four & The Cyrkle...

, who expressed an interest in signing them. They later won a 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...

 call-in contest for best new release over The Dave Clark Five

The Dave Clark Five

The Dave Clark Five were an English pop rock group. Their single "Glad All Over" knocked The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" off the top of the UK singles charts in January 1964: it eventually peaked at No.6 in the United States in April 1964.They were the second group of the British Invasion,...

 and The Animals

The Animals

The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...

 in 1965. In 1966 they changed their name to "The Fifth Estate.

The Fifth Estate

The Fifth Estate released the single "Love Is All A Game" on the Red Bird label, which became a regional hit, and still receives airplay

Airplay

* Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay...

 around the country as they again have become more highly regarded through their connection with the garage band revival and garage rock movements in general. They had a national/international hit in 1967 with "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" which reached #11 on the Hot 100. The song was recorded and released around the world in five different languages (Japanese, Italian, French, German and English), and incorporated parts of "La Bouree," from "Terpsichore" by 17th-century composer Michael Praetorius

Michael Praetorius

Michael Praetorius was a German composer, organist, and music theorist. He was one of the most versatile composers of his age, being particularly significant in the development of musical forms based on Protestant hymns, many of which reflect an effort to make better the relationship between...

. According to Cashbox, it is in the Top 100 record releases of 1967. For over 40 years it has been the biggest hit with the highest chart position of any Harold Arlen or Wizard of Oz song performed by any artist. Two other releases skimmed the bottom of the charts, although not making an impact in America, although in 1968 their own "Morning Morning" was a sizable hit in Australia.

The original five member band lineup was consistent for six years. In that time they recorded about 100 songs, and released 13 singles and one album. [Sam and Dave]] joined them on stage and sang "Soul Man" with them at one of their theater shows, while one of the Vandellas sang and recorded one of their tunes with them as her next release. They also appeared in a 1967 TV episode of Malibu U

Malibu U

Malibu U is the name of a short-lived American variety TV series that aired in the summer of 1967. Ricky Nelson starred as the dean of a fictional college called "Malibu U," where the biggest popular music stars of the 1960s performed once a week. The show lasted for only seven episodes, going...

, with weird overlays and film footage. The Monkees

The Monkees

The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...

 covered The Fifth Estate's version of "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead" on episode 58 of their TV show in 1968, "The Frodis Caper".

The Fifth Estate also toured with acts such as Count Five

Count Five

The Count Five was a 1960s garage rock band from San Jose, California, best known for their Top 10 single "Psychotic Reaction".The band was founded in 1964 by John "Mouse" Michalski and Roy Chaney took over bass duties, two high school friends who had previously played in several short-lived...

, The Electric Prunes

The Electric Prunes

The Electric Prunes are an American rock band who first achieved international attention as an experimental psychedelic group in the late 1960s. Their song "Kyrie Eleison" was featured on the soundtrack of Easy Rider...

, The Music Explosion, The Buckinghams, The Ronettes

The Ronettes

The Ronettes were a 1960s girl group from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett ; her older sister, Estelle Bennett; and their cousin Nedra Talley...

, Gene Pitney

Gene Pitney

Eugene Francis Alan Pitney, known as Gene Pitney , was an American singer-songwriter, musician and sound engineer. Through the mid-1960s, he enjoyed success as a recording artist on both sides of the Atlantic and was among the group of early 1960s American acts who continued to enjoy hits after the...

, The Lovin' Spoonful

The Lovin' Spoonful

The Lovin' Spoonful is an American pop rock band of the 1960s, named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. When asked about his band, leader John Sebastian said it sounded like a combination of "Mississippi John Hurt and Chuck Berry," prompting his friend, Fritz Richmond, to suggest the name...

, 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...

, The Byrds

The Byrds

The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...

, The Easybeats

The Easybeats

The Easybeats were an Australian rock and roll band. They formed in Sydney in late 1964 and broke up at the end of 1969. They are regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s, and were the first Australian rock and roll act to score an international pop hit with their 1966 single...

. They also did the Upbeat

Upbeat (TV series)

Upbeat was a syndicated musical variety show produced in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, at WEWS-TV that aired from 1964 to 1971 which spotlighted on the performers and their hit songs of the 1960s Top 40 pop music genre which was common on such AM radio stations as WIXY in Cleveland and CKLW in...

with another Greenwich Village band, The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...

.

In 1970 they all went off on different projects, but have since reformed and continue to perform and record. Their new album, TIME TUNNEL, was recorded in 2010/11 and is due out on 11-11-11. It was produced with the assistance of and mixed by Shel Talmy, the original producer for The Kinks, The Who, The Easybeats, Manfred Mann, early Jimmy Page and David Bowie.

Members

• Rick Engler - guitar, fuzz bass, lead vocals, harmonica
• Ken 'Furvus' Evans - drums, vocals
• Doug 'Duke' Ferrara - bass, lead harmony vocals
• Wayne 'Wads' Wadhams - harpsichord, piano, organ, lead vocals
• Bill Shute - guitar, shugro 8, vocals
• Chuck LeGros - vocals, harmonica (1966)
• Bob 'Bobby Lee' Klein - lead vocals, keyboards, guitar (1969 + 2006>)

US singles discography

as The D-Men

• "Don't You Know" b/w "No Hope For Me" (Veep/United Artists 1206-A / July 1964)
• "I Just Don't Care" b/w "Messin Around" (Veep/United Artists 1209-A / March 1965)
• "So Little Time" b/w "Every Minute of Every Day" (Kapp 691-A / May 1965)

as The Fifth Estate

• "Love Is All a Game" b/w "Like I Love You" (Red Bird RB 10-064 / 1965)
• "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead" b/w "Rub-a-Dub" (Jubilee Records 45-5573 / 1967)
• "The Goofin Song" b/w "Lost Generation" (Jubilee Records 5588-A / 1967)
• "Heigh Ho" b/w "It's Waiting There for You" (Jubilee Records 5595-A / 1967)
• "Morning, Morning" b/w "Tomorrow Is My Turn" (Jubilee 5607-A / February 1968)
• "Do Drop Inn" b/w "That's Love" (Jubilee Records 5617-A / April 1968)
• "Coney Island Sally" b/w "I'll Let You Know" (Jubilee Records 5627-A / July 1968)
• "Night On Fire" b/w "I've Never Been" (Evolution Records 1011 / September 1969)
• In 1969, two unauthorized singles were released under the band name and without their participation.

Albums

• Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead (Jubilee Records JGS 8005 / 1967)
• Ding Dong! The Witch Is Back: 1964-1969 (Boston Skyline BSD 116/1992)
• Time Tunnel (Roxon Records LLC RR1001/2011)

External links

• The Fifth Estate Official Site