#Vanilla fudge songs full
#Vanilla fudge songs tv

And we just started taking Beatles songs, and Motown songs, and all the hits of the day, and putting our approach to it. So, I started to re-imagine other songs, and it was a combination of that band and the voice-over The Rascals, which really morphed into a band called Vanilla Fudge. When I saw that, it changed my life, ’cause that’s what I wanted to do - I wanted to take songs and put my own matter to it. But the first band I saw, they were taking songs and putting arrangements to other people’s songs, slowing them down, and adding all of these dynamics, and drama was a band called The Vagrants. He had a great tone in his guitar and played some great records… Mountain, West, Bruce, and Laing… a lot of history there. Then as time went on, I was exposed to a band called The Vagrants out in Long Island, which spawned Leslie West…Rest In Peace to Leslie… a great guitar player - the greatest tone. And Gene Cornish was great, his presence as rhythm guitarist…I was really turned on by that blue-eyed Soul band, and Felix was my main influence to get a Hammond organ when I was 18 years old - I was so blown away by the sound. Dino Danelli was probably the best drummer I ever saw at that time. Eddie Brigati was a really cool frontman, with the tambourine and the maracas. They didn’t even have the bass player, it was Felix on a Hammond organ, with soulful vocals, he was playing bass pedals, man. Mark: Well, my first major influence was Felix Cavaliere when I went to see a band called The Young Rascals, and they were amazing. We toured the world and had three albums on the Top-100 Billboard charts.Īndrew: What prompted Vanilla Fudge to record slow-down Psychedelic Rock versions of other’s songs? Pretty amazing - Led Zeppelin and Vanilla Fudge were right at the center of the Pop music universe in the late 60s. We went on to tour with Jimmi Hendrix, and when Led Zeppelin came out, they opened for us. Mark: With Vanilla Fudge, we had our first success with “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.” We became an iconic band, and one of the first Progressive Rock bands. I’ve been doing it for 60 years, man.Īndrew: It’s a lifelong thing. I hooked up with Neil Scott, who was a 17-year old promoter, who later became Neil Bogart, the head of Casablanca records, which is the label that launched KISS and Donna Summers in the 70s. I had changed my name…Mark Stevens and The Charmers. It’s called Mark Stevens and The Charmers. We cut records and had a record out when I was maybe 16.

I had some great vocal groups at Bayonne high school. Here I am, 11 years old, still in grammar school, I was out there getting exposed to the crazy, insane world of sex, drugs, and Rock ‘N’ Roll at 11 years old.Īndrew: So, you were exposed to that at such a young age and just took off from there…

#Vanilla fudge songs tv

Mark: I was actually on TV in Washington DC with Sam Cooke and Lane Newton. I actually cut a record when I was 11.Īndrew: That’s very impressive, and quite an accomplishment at that age. I ended up playing in shows when I was 11 years old, in New York. I was playing rhythm guitar and doing Rock ‘N’ Roll songs. I got bitten by the Rock ‘ N’ Roll bug when Buddy Holly came out…that whole thing with The Crickets. I started one finger melodies, and everybody was going, “Wow! Obviously he’s got some kind of talent that was leftover from another life, maybe at that…so young.” So, I just started getting into playing, and my dad started me out with accordion lessons, which was prevalent in the 50s. When he went into the kitchen, I’d sneak over, I must have been maybe five, six years old…I just was born with this natural ability. I was in amazement watching him play the piano, and playing the songs of the day. My uncle, who lived in Bayonne, New Jersey, had an upright piano. You started playing music when you were very young, right? That went really well.Īndrew: So, let’s touch on your musical background. The last gig was at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, PA with Robbie Krieger. We played Virginia and a couple of days in Pennsylvania. And us too, it was great to hit the stage.

People were just yearning for Classic Rock music after two years, which was really cool. I’ll tell you one thing…the Suffolk Theater out in Long Island…I think it was sold out. So, how did your first tour in the two years go?

#Vanilla fudge songs full

So “We Are One” reflects the pandemic, I got a positive message and people are really digging it.Īndrew: I loved the video that came out and I’m looking forward to hearing the full album. My album, There’s a Light will be out this month, November 26th.

About six weeks into the pandemic I had written a song called “We Are One,” which is out now. Andrew: In those two years that you weren’t touring, you were working on your solo album, right?