Merryweather (band)
Merryweather was a late Sixties Canadian rock band that relocated to California in the autumn of 1968 and recorded for Capitol Records. The band was led by singer/bass player Neil Merryweather and most of the band subsequently formed Salt and Pepper with Rick James
Early years
After leaving Bruce Cockburn’s group, The Flying Circus in March 1968, Neil Lillie (born in Winnipeg on December 27, 1945) joined forces with keyboard player Ed Roth (born in Toronto on February 16, 1947) and singer Jimmy Livingston (born in Toronto on February 28, 1946) to form a new band.
All three had worked together previously in The Just Us, The Tripp and Livingstone’s Tripp and when Lillie left to join Rick James briefly in the final version of The Myna Byrds in May 1967, Roth and Livingston changed the band’s name to Livingstone’s Journey.
Adding ex-Fraser Loveman Group guitarist Dave Burt (born in Hamilton, Ontario on September 19, 1948) and drummer Gary Hall, the new group, initially called New King Boiler began rehearsing in Lillie’s grandmother’s basement in May 1968. Apparently, Gary Hall drank so much coffee that Lillie’s grandmother called him ‘Coffee’, so the band started to call him ‘Coffi’.
Signs to Capitol Records
Renamed Heather Merryweather after a song the band performed whose lyrics were written by a band friend, June Nelson, the group soon shortened it to simply Merryweather. After recording a lone unreleased track “Heather Merryweather” in the autumn, the band drove down to Los Angeles but Livingston dropped out before the band signed to Capitol Records in the spring of 1969.
Shortly before the release of the band’s eponymous debut, produced by John Gross, Lillie changed his surname and became Neil Merryweather. The band’s second (double album) was recorded in Los Angeles with the same line-up but also featured help from Chicago musicians Steve Miller, Barry Goldberg and Charlie Musselwhite and ex-Traffic guitarist Dave Mason. The group was advertised as playing at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood with Mountain on July 29, 1969.
Rick James
Merryweather performed at Thee Experience in Los Angeles on September 21-23, 1969 and appeared at Balboa Stadium, San Diego with Country Joe & The Fish, Poco, Chicago and Framework on October 12, 1969, after which Burt left (followed by Hall and Roth) and joined forces with Rick James in a group called Salt and Pepper.
Aftermath
Merryweather went on to record an interesting album for the small Kent label with some Canadian friends in early 1970. The resulting album, credited to Merryweather, ex-Ugly Ducklings drummer Robin Boers, guitarist John Richardson from Nucleus (and before that Lords of London) and ex-49th Parallel member JJ Velker only attracted limited interest in Canada and he soon formed a new outfit (including Hall) and signed to RCA.
His first album for that label featured his girlfriend ex-C K Strong singer, Lynn Carey, whom he subsequently formed Mama Lion with. Merryweather went on to record with a new band called The Space Rangers.
Trivia
Merryweather and Roth very nearly became the rhythm section in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young but turned down an offer because “Word of Mouth” had just been released and they wanted to commit to the band.
Discography
- LP Merryweather (Capitol SKAO-220) 1968
- LP Word of Mouth (DBLP) (Capitol ST BB 278) 1969
Sources
- Nick Warburton interview with Neil Merryweather and Dave Burt, 2005 and 2006
- Rolling Stone review, October 18, 1969