The Neon Philharmonic was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 psychedelic

Psychedelic

The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...

 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...

 band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 led by 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...

 and conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

 Tupper Saussy

Tupper Saussy

Frederick Tupper Saussy III was an American composer, musician, author, and artist. He was born in Statesboro, Georgia; grew up in Tampa, Florida; and graduated from the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1958. His jazz combo there put out a university-subsidized album, Jazz at...

 and singer Don Gant

Don Gant

Donald W. Gant was an American singer, songwriter and record producer.With Tupper Saussy, in the late 1960s he formed "The Neon Philharmonic." Singing vocals, with Saussy on the keyboards, they recorded five singles and two albums for Warner Bros. Records between 1969 and 1971...

. They released their only two 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...

s (The Moth Confesses

The Moth Confesses

The Moth Confesses is the 1969 debut album by The Neon Philharmonic. Described as "A Phonograph Opera," it was inspired, according to the liner notes, by a production of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra, which Saussy attended after The New York Times claimed that it was a terrible opera, and...

and the eponymous The Neon Philharmonic

The Neon Philharmonic (album)

The Neon Philharmonic, subtitled Dedicated to the Baroness d'A, is the eponymous second album by The Neon Philharmonic, again consisting of songs written by Tupper Saussy and sung by Don Gant...

) in 1969, and they scored a Top 20 hit on the Billboard 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...

 chart

Record chart

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

 with "Morning Girl", when it hit the Top Forty in May of that year and rose to number 17 on the chart. The band hit the charts again with "Heighdy-Ho Princess" in 1970. The group was produced by Saussy, Gant, and Bob McCluskey, and engineered by Ronald Gant, Don's brother. The group disbanded in 1975 after releasing numerous non-album singles. Although the first album stated Borges Forever!, the group's concertmaster

Concertmaster

The concertmaster/mistress is the spalla or leader, of the first violin section of an orchestra. In the UK, the term commonly used is leader...

 is really Pierre Menard, and it is not a reference to the Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...

 story Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote - Saussy was not conscious of the connection.

The bulk of the groups' output was released by Warner Bros./Seven Arts Records. In 1972, they moved to TRX

TRX

The three-letter abbreviation TRX may refer to:* Michelin TRX, a radial tire produced from 1975 primarily for high-performance automobiles* Transceiver, a combination of a transmitter and a receiver* TraXion, a defunct Danish railway company...

 and produced another single, "Annie Poor" / "Love Will Find a Way", after which the group disbanded. The Neon Philharmonic name was sold to producer David Kastle, who put out additional singles released by MCA Records

MCA Records

MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...

 and London Records

London Records

London Records, referred to as London Recordings in logo, is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 to 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label....

. At least one Saussy song, "Making Out the Best I Can" was recorded by this group, and engineered by Ronald Gant. Along with its flipside recording, "So Glad You're a Woman", written by Ray Williams

Ray Williams

Ray Williams may refer to:* Ray Williams , basketball player* Ray Williams , founder of HIH Insurance* Ray Williams , English football player...

 and Ron Demmans (MCA-40158 (MC 4810), 1975), the instrumentation was limited to synthesizers, guitar and drums. These later singles have no other connection to the original group.

Shaun Cassidy

Shaun Cassidy

Shaun Paul Cassidy is an American actor, singer, writer, and producer. He is the eldest son of Academy Award winning actress Shirley Jones, and the second son of Tony award-winning actor Jack Cassidy...

, David

David Cassidy

David Bruce Cassidy is an American actor, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his role as the character of Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical/sitcom The Partridge Family. He was one of pop culture's most celebrated teen idols, enjoying a successful pop career in the 1970s, and...

's younger brother

Sibling

Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...

, did a 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...

 of "Morning Girl, Later" (simply titled "Morning Girl") in 1976, which did not chart in the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, but did well in the Low Countries

Low Countries

The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....

. The song was also covered by The Lettermen

The Lettermen

The Lettermen are an American male pop music vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959...

.

The group is not to be confused with The Neon Philharmonic Orchestra, which covered Walter Murphy

Walter Murphy

Walter Anthony Murphy, Jr. is an American instrumentalist, songwriter, and arranger. He rose to fame with the hit instrumental "A Fifth of Beethoven", a disco adaptation of passages from the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, in 1976, when disco was at the height of its...

's "A Fifth of Beethoven

A Fifth of Beethoven

"A Fifth of Beethoven" is a disco instrumental recorded by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band. It was adapted by Murphy from the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony. The record was produced by noted production music and sound effects recording producer Thomas J. Valentino. It was one of...

" and arranged many classical pieces in a similar style in the mid-1980s.

Albums

• The Moth Confesses
  The Moth Confesses
  The Moth Confesses is the 1969 debut album by The Neon Philharmonic. Described as "A Phonograph Opera," it was inspired, according to the liner notes, by a production of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra, which Saussy attended after The New York Times claimed that it was a terrible opera, and...
  
  WS-1769 (January 1969)
• The Neon Philharmonic
  The Neon Philharmonic (album)
  The Neon Philharmonic, subtitled Dedicated to the Baroness d'A, is the eponymous second album by The Neon Philharmonic, again consisting of songs written by Tupper Saussy and sung by Don Gant...
  
  WS-1804 (September 1969)
• Brilliant Colors: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (2003)

Warner Bros.

• "Morning Girl" / "Brilliant Colors" (Mono single versions) #7621 (January 1969)
• "No One Is Going to Hurt You" / "You Lied" (Mono single versions) #7311 (July 1969)
• "Clouds" / "Snow" #7355 (November 1969)
• "Heighdy-Ho Princess" / "Don't Know My Way Around My Soul" #7380 (March 1970)
• "Flowers for Your Pillow" / "To Be Continued" #7419 (July 1970)
• "Something to Believe In" / "A Little Love" #7457 (January 1971)
• "Got a Feelin' in My Bones" / "Keep the Faith in Me" #7497 (May 1971)

Three additional songs, "Better Times," "Jody," and "Letters Crossing" were recorded around the fall of 1970 and remained unreleased until the 2003 collection.

TRX

• "Annie Poor" / "Love Will Find a Way" (TRX T-5039, 1972)

London

• Long Distance Love Affair" / "Making Out The Best I Can" (L.2577)
• "So Glad You're A Woman" / "Making Out The Best I Can" (L.2584)
• "Lovin' You" / "Don't Look Back" (L.2608)