Vanilla Fudge was one of the first American groups to infuse psychedelia into a heavy rock sound to

create “psychedelic symphonic rock” an eclectic genre which would, among its many offshoots,

eventually morph into heavy metal. Although, at first, the band did not record original material, they

were best known for their dramatic heavy, slowed-down arrangements of contemporary pop songs

which they developed into works of epic proportion. Originally, Vanilla Fudge was a blue-eyed soul

cover band called The Pigeons, formed in New Jersey in 1965 with organist, Mark Stein, bassist, Tim

Bogert and drummer, Joey Brennan, and guitarist, vocalist and US Navy veteran, Vince Martell. They

built a following by gigging extensively up and down the East Coast, and earned extra money by

providing freelance in-concert backing for hit-record girl groups. In early 1966, the group recorded a

set of eight demos that were released several years later as “While the World Was Eating Vanilla

Fudge.”

The East Coast, in particular, New York, and New Jersey, created a sound all its own. Inspired by

groups such as The Rascals and The Vagrants( fronted by guitarist, Leslie West of “Mountain” fame),

The Pigeons reworked many of their own existing arrangements of covers to reflect their unique

interpretation of this “East Coast Sound.” In late 1966, drummer, Joey Brennan, moved out to the West

Coast; the Pigeons immediately drafted drummer and vocalist, Carmine Appice, a disciple of the

renowned Joe Morello (Dave Brubeck Band) and a seasoned veteran of the club scene. In early 1967,

The Pigeons manager, Phil Basile, convinced producer, George "Shadow" Morton (producer for The

Shangri-Las and Janis Ian), to catch their live act. Impressed by their heavy-rocking, trippy and

psychedelic version of The Supremes’ "You Keep Me Hangin’ On," Morton offered to record the song

as a single. This resulted in a deal with the Atlantic subsidiary Atco, which requested a name change.

The band settled on Vanilla Fudge; they were a white group singing and playing with the soul of the

brothers. The band toured extensively behind its covers-heavy, jam-oriented debut album, Vanilla

Fudge, to expand their fan base. Vanilla Fudge, the album, was released on June 2, 1967 the day after

The Beatles’ released their Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The Vanilla Fudge first album

rose up the charts to # 4 without the aid of a big hit single.

In 1968, Vanilla Fudge headlined the Fillmore West with Steve Miller. The group then performed "You

Keep Me Hangin’ On" on The Ed Sullivan Show, and released their second album, “The Beat Goes

On.” Despite its avant-garde conceptualization and execution, the LP was a hit and climbed into the

Top Twenty. That summer, Atco reissued "You Keep Me Hangin’ On," and the second time around it

climbed into the Top Ten. It was followed by Renaissance, one of Vanilla Fudge’s best albums, which

also hit the Top Twenty. The band had three albums in the Top One Hundred, two of which were in

the Top Twenty and one in the Top Five Single. The band toured with Jimi Hendrix, played dates equal

billed or headlined with groups such as Cream, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, among many others;

late in the year, they toured with the fledgling Led Zeppelin as their opening act