Bev Bivens: Difference between revisions
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#REDIRECT [[Beverly Bivens]] |
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[[Image:Bev Bivens - San Francisco 1965.JPG|thumb|125px|right|Beverly Bivens in 1965]] |
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'''Beverly (Bev) Bivens''' was lead singer with the American West Coast group [[We Five]] from 1965-7. |
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== We Five == |
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Beverly Bivens was born in [[Santa Ana]], [[California]] and educated at Santa Ana High School and Orange Coast Junior College <ref>Sleeve notes for LP, ''You Were on My Mind'' (1965</ref>. |
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In 1964 she began singing with [[Jerry Burgan]] and [[Michael Stewart (musician)|Mike Stewart]] (1945-2002), who had formed a [[folk music|folk]] duo at high school and branched out into electronic music with guitarist [[Bob Jones]], whom they met at the [[University of San Francisco]]. With the addition of [[Pete Fullerton]], this group became known as We Five <ref>The name is thought to derive from ''We Seven'' (1962), the title of a book by the seven [[Project Mercury|Mercury]] [[astronauts]].</ref>, recording their first album, ''You Were on My Mind'', for [[A&M Records|A&M]] records in 1965 after [[Herb Alpert]], founder of A&M, heard them in a San Francisco folk club. |
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[[Sylvia Tyson|Sylvia Fricker]]'s song ''You Were On My Mind'' was We Five's first “[[single record|single]]”, reaching number three in the ''[[Billboard]]'' "Hot 100" in August 1965 <ref>Charlie Gillett & Simon Firth (1976) ''Rock File 4''. In Britain, the "hit" version of ''You Were On My Mind'' was by [[Crispian St Peters]], who reached number two in January 1966. The latter success may have hindered recognition of We Five internationally: see ''The Independent'', 27 November 2002.</ref>. A further single in 1965, [[Chet Powers]]' ''[[Get Together (Chet Powers song)|Let's Get Together]]'' was a more modest commercial success, reaching number 31 in the chart. |
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===Bivens' style and influence=== |
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Bivens' voice was what gave We Five its distinctive and memorable sound. Almost operatic in quality, its range was described as low tenor to high soprano <ref>Sleeve notes for ''You Were on My Mind'' (1965)</ref>. Bivens' performances on ''You Were On My Mind'' and in concert largely foreshadowed a female vocal style that, by 1966-7, was associated with, among others, [[Spanky and Our Gang|Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane]], [[Grace Slick]] of the [[The Great Society|Great Society]] and [[Jefferson Airplane]], and [[Cass Elliot]] and [[Michelle Phillips]] of the [[Mamas and Papas]]. It was apparent too in recordings by some male bands: for example, the [[The Turtles|Turtles]]' single ''[[Happy Together (song)|Happy Together]]'' and the [[Cowsills]]' ''The Rain, the Park and Other Things'' (both major hits in 1967). In 2002, the British newspaper ''[[The Independent]]'' described We Five as having "bridged the gap" between [[Peter, Paul and Mary]] and the Mamas and Papas <ref>Pierre Perrone, obituary of Michael Stewart, ''The Independent'', 27 November 2002</ref>. |
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[[Image:We Five - Make Someone Happy 1967.JPG|thumb|200px|left|[[We Five]] (LP ''Make Someone Happy'', 1967)]] |
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In 1965 Bivens' personal interests were said to be fashion, Chinese food and freedom <ref>Sleeve notes for ''You Were on My Mind'' (1965)</ref>. As regards fashion, photographs show her wearing dresses whose hemlines were well above the knee in 1965, at a time when the [[miniskirt|mini-skirt]], which, in [[England]], became a defining symbol of [[Swinging London|"Swinging" London]], had yet to make a wide impact in America <ref>See, for example, Lisa Law (1987) ''Flashing on the Sixties''</ref>. |
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==The spilt and afterwards== |
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Although We Five had been in the vanguard of the [[San Francisco]] bands, including Jefferson Airplane and the [[Grateful Dead]], that reached international prominence in the “[[Summer of Love]]” of 1967, the original group had already disbanded by then. In his notes for their second album, ''Make Someone Happy'' (1967), released after they split (an episode that give rise to unfounded rumours that Bivens had been killed in a road accident), George Yanok observed that |
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<blockquote>"We 5 was the first “electric band” to come out of San Francisco. It predated the entire present “happening” in the [[Haight-Ashbury]] [a district of San Francisco that became the centre of "[[flower power]]"] with all its attendant trippery and hang-overs …" <ref>Sleeve notes for LP, ''Make Someone Happy'' (1967)</ref>.</blockquote> |
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Yanok went on to assert that "there was nothing [[psychedelic]] or arcane about We 5's music". However, many elements of the music of the psychedelic era, including Bivens' vocal delivery, which Yanok described as "a major reason for this special something" were plainly discernible. |
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===Family=== |
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After leaving We Five Bivens married jazz musician [[Fred Marshall (jazz musician)|Fred Marshall]] (born 1938) and sang for a while with his band. Their son, born in [[Berkeley, California]] in 1971, is the saxophonist [[Joshi Marshall]]. |
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==Notes== |
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<div class="references-small"> |
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<references/> |
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</div> |
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[[Category:American female singers|Bivens, Bev]] |
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[[Category:American pop singers|Bivens, Bev]] |
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Latest revision as of 00:09, 16 December 2022
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