Sopwith Camel
One Way Records
The Sopwith Camel established itself by being the first of the 60s San Francisco bands to score a national Top 40 hit, the novelty tune, Hello, Hello. Their sound was far from psychedelic, running to light folk-rock. The band's self-titled debut album was released in 1967. They broke up that same year, when they weren't able to duplicate the success of the single. Reforming in 1971, they released one more album before breaking up again in 1974.
Syndicate Of Sound
Sundazed Music
Their 1966 single, "Little Girl" was Syndicate of Sound's sole nationally charting single. They whipped out an album in just a couple weeks, and toured nationally with bands like the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds. Three unsuccessful singles and a draft notice received by the band's drummer led to its breakup in 1970. Although they didn't break out nationally, the band's sound is generally considered to have been a major influence on what became psychedelic rock.
The List Goes On
Great Society was fronted by Grace Slick before she moved to Jefferson Airplane. Solo artists like Janis Joplin (Big Brother and The Holding Company) and Tracy Nelson (Mother Earth) became better known than the bands they emerged from. The Warlocks became Grateful Dead. The Tikis were unknown outside the Bay Area, but recorded a national hit single, "59th Street Bridge Song" in 1967, using the name Harper's Bazaar.And then there were the bands who never got a record deal, never had a hit single, never broke through: The Vejtables, Notes From The Underground, Savage Resurrection, Country Weather, Luther Pendragon, and Mourning Reign are just a few of those who nonetheless have a lasting place in the history of the San Francisco Sound.
