Crazy Elephant - Crazy Elephant (us 1969 extremely rare original)Soul, Classic Rock
Crazy Elephant was one of the seemingly endless aliases employed by the Kasenetz-Katz production
duo to market their bubblegum hits of the late 1960s. Primarily a vehicle for session vocalist
Robert Spencer -- previously known for his performance with the Cadillacs' post "Speedo" --
Crazy Elephant was the name appended to the Kasenetz-Katz production of the song "Gimme Gimme
Good Lovin'"; after the master was rejected by Buddah Records, the Super K Productions duo's
primary outlet, they instead shopped the track to the Bell label, for whom it fell just shy of
the U.S. Top Ten in 1969. Despite the single's success, however, Crazy Elephant failed to reach
the charts again, instead becoming yet another interchangeable cog in the Kasenetz-Katz hit
machine.
Biography by: Jason Ankeny
After failing to secure a recording contract with Buddah Records, the Kasenetz-Katz production
team-sponsored band Crazy Elephant found a home with Bell Records and released a self-titled
album. This Rock in Beat release is a straight reissue of that lone album from the band
originally released in 1969 and includes one bonus track. The album contains mainly original
compositions by band members and Kasenetz and Katz together with an odd psychedelic R&B cover
of Otis Redding's "Respect" and the very strange heavy version of the Leonard Bernstein song
"Somewhere." While the music on this album does have a bubblegum feel to it, the entire album
is more overtly psychedelic with swirling organ, fuzz guitars, and even horns, in the style of
a less heavy Vanilla Fudge or Rare Earth. Crazy Elephant did manage to produce a hit single in
1969 with the song "Gimme, Gimme Good Lovin'" that featured vocals by Robert Spencer, former
lead vocalist from the '50s band the Cadillacs.
Review by: Keith Pettipas
Tracks:
A1 Respect 0:00
A2 Pam 7:32
A3 Come To The Farm 10:12
A4 Somewhere 13:42
A5 My Baby (Honey Pie) 17:18
B1 Sunshine, Red Wine
Co-producer – Jimmy Woods*
19:36
B2 (Heartless) Hertie Gertie 22:10
B3 Love Strike 25:16
B4 Try This When You're Ready 27:42
B5 Higher And Higher 30:43
B6 Gimme Gimme Good Lovin' 34:21
Producer – Artie Resnick*, Joey Levine
The band
Robert Spencer (vocals)
Kenny Cohen (flute, saxophone, vocals), who later performed with The Eagles, Santana, Rod Stewart and B. B. King
Bob Avery (drums), who also played with The Music Explosion
Larry Laufer (keyboards, vocals)
Hal King (vocals)
Ronnie Bretone (bass)
