The Shadows of Knight

The Shadows of Knight

The Shadows of Knight were a 1960s American rock band from the Chicago suburbs, who played a form of British blues mixed with influences from their native city (see Chicago blues).

History

The band was formed in 1964, and would release three albums in its five years of existence. Founding members included Warren Rogers (lead guitar), Norm Gotsch (rhythm guitar), Wayne Pursell (bass guitar), Tom Schiffour (drums) and Jim Sohns (vocals). During 1965, Joe Kelley was recruited to play bass, replacing Pursell. Kelley would swap bass and lead duties with Rogers in late 1965 at the time of the "Gloria" recordings. Guitarist and vocalist Jerry McGeorge replaced Norm Gotsch in late 1965 after Gotsch was drafted into the U.S. military. David "Hawk" Wolinski, who later worked with Rufus and Chaka Khan, replaced Rogers on bass in late 1966.

After performing in and around Chicago's northwest suburbs in 1964 and 1965, the Shadows of Knight became the house band at the "Cellar", a teen nightclub in Arlington Heights, Illinois. A stellar performance in support of The Byrds at Chicago's McCormick Place in early summer 1965 attracted the attention of Dunwich Records record producers Bill Traut and George Badonski. During that show they performed "Gloria" by Them, an early Van Morrison group. The band signed with Dunwich shortly thereafter and recorded "Gloria" as a first effort.

Released in December 1965, "Gloria" received massive regional airplay. The band had slightly altered the song's lyrics, replacing Morrison's original "she comes into my room" with "she call out my name". This simple change overcame the prevalent AM radio censorship of the era, and got the Shadows of Knights' cover version of the song onto the playlist of influential Chicago station WLS. The single reached the #1 position on the radio station's countdown, as well as on local rival WCFL. On the Billboard national charts, "Gloria" rose to #10. The secondary publication Cashbox ranked "Gloria" as high as #5.

There is reason to believe the Billboard charting understated the song's popularity. The Shadows of Knight's version of "Gloria" reached number one in several markets where it received airplay. But, because Dunwich was not a national label, the single was released on a staggered basis around the country. This caused it to peak in certain markets before being released in others, diluting its weekly placement. Most significantly, the song received little airplay in certain major markets, such as South Florida (Miami) and California, where Morrison's release of "Gloria" had just been a major hit the previous year.

The Shadows of Knight soon released the Gloria album, followed by the "Back Door Men" LP in summer 1966. Subsequent singles included "Oh Yeah" (which reached #39 nationally), "Bad Little Woman" (#91) and the powerhouse "I'm Gonna Make You Mine" (#90), which can be seen as a precursor to hard rock. However, none of these releases approached their initial commercial success. Failure to find a winning followup to "Gloria" handicapped the band's earning power, and led to its disintegration. Tom Schiffour left the band in Spring 1967. McGeorge departed for acid-rock band H.P. Lovecraft shortly thereafter, while Kelley left to front his own blues band. Hawk Wolinski also left the band to form "The Bangor Flying Circus" with Schiffour and guitarist Alan De Carlo.

By mid-1967, the only original member of the Shadows of Knight remaining was vocalist Jim Sohns, who, through simple default, inherited the band's name and legacy. Sohns had hoped to take the band in a British power-rock direction, but the Super K record label pulled them into a more commercial orientation, pairing the band with bubblegum groups such as the 1910 Fruitgum Company and the Ohio Express on tour. In 1969, the second generation Shadows of Knight released "Shake" on Buddah Records subsidiary Super K Records; the track eventually climbed to #46. That same year, without the band's knowledge or consent, the unsuccessful update "Gloria '69" was released by Dunwich. It consisted of new bass and guitar tracks overdubbed by Peter Cetera (later of Chicago) and Jim Donlinger, both Chicago rock veterans.

The 1967 demise of the original Shadows of Knight was one of the factors signalling the end of Dunwich Records as an independent label. Dunwich became a production company led by Bill Traut, and had notable chart successes with The American Breed and Todd Rundgren. George Badonsky attempted a personal management enterprise behind the middling success of H.P. Lovecraft, as well as more obscure acts, but was unable to sustain the effort. He later became owner of a successful Chicago restaurant, "George's".

The four years following the breakup of the original Shadows was a dark creative period with little financial success. The band's repertoire consisted mostly of pop cover songs, which allowed them to survive by playing clubs. The second iteration of the band consisted of John Fisher on bass, Woody Woodruff and Dan Baughman on guitars, and Ken Turkin on drums. Turkin was replaced in early 1969 by Paul Scarpelli, and in 1970 Jack "Hawkeye" Daniels replaced Woodruff on guitar. The band's lineup remained the same for two years, and they recorded "I Am the Hunter," which did well in several B markets. John Fisher was replaced by Edgar Winter alum Jorge Gonzales on bass in 1971, who was subsequently replaced by John Hardy the following year. He was then replaced by studio bassist Don Ferrone.

Over subsequent decades, Sohns fronted varying incarnations of the group on the oldies circuit. The band later enjoyed a resurgence, sparked by the mid-90s release of the original albums in remastered form by Sundazed Records.

In 2006, the Shadows of Knight were part of Little Steven's cross-country "Underground Garage" tour with The Romantics. Those performers also joined the Shadows' Halloween show, along with guest appearances by members of Cheap Trick; this performance was subsequently televised on VH-1 Classic. A CD of new material was released in 2006 entitled "A Knight To Remember." The band is reportedly working on another album for release in the spring of 2008.

External links

• Official website