Zorba And The Greeks (US - Oregon, Surf / Garage Rock) - mało znane zespoły
Serdeczne podziękowania dla Chrisa Johnsona za materiały i informacje o zespole.
W 1965r. grupa nastolatków z Roseburg, Oregon, US (Roseburg High School) założyła zespół o
nazwie Zorba And The Greeks :
- Dennis Senff - drums, trumpet
- Chris Johnson - organ, keyboards, trumpet
- Frank Murphy - lead vocals
- Chuck Myrin - lead guitar
- Jeff Jones - saxophone
- Les Stephens - bass.
Chris, Dennis i Jeff byli wcześniej członkami lokalnej grupy o nazwie The Cavaliers.
W okresie działalności (1965 - 1967) grupa Zorba And The Greeks występowała na całym zachodnim
wybrzeżu (Kalifornia, Oregon, Waszyngton), ciesząc się dużą populatrnością, m.in. w Redding, CA i Arcada, CA. Otwierała koncerty wielu znanych w tamtym czasie zespołów.
Latem 1966r. podczas sesji nagraniowej w Golden State Records w San Francisco, zarejestrowała cztery
własne, oryginalne piosenki, które zostały wydane na dwóch singlach :
- " One And Only Girl " (Senff)
- " You've Had Your Chance " (Johnson)
(1966, Golden State Records, GSR - 597A)
https://www.metacafe.com/watch/12208254/zorba-and-the-greeks-us-oregon-shockwave-single-a-side-1966/
- " Memories Of You " (Johnson)
(1966, Golden State Records, GSR - 597B)
odtwarzane przez lokalne stacje radiowe w miastach w których zespół miał występować.
W 1967r. po kilku zmianach personalnych grupa zmieniła nazwę na The Goode Life by latem tego samego
roku zakończyć działalność.
Tylko Chris i Dennis kontynuowali kariey muzyczne, grając w wielu zespołach.
Chris dołączył do grupy o nazwie The Gas Company (która póżniej stała się zespołem o nazwie Hercules
And The Chicken Fat People, a natępnie Ouroboros - trwa to do dziś) . Grupa otwierała występy wielu
znanych artystów - Grateful Dead, Yardbirds, Beau Brummels, Chambers Brothers i wielu innych.
Był także w wielu innych zespołach (także w grupach jazzowych), m.in. : The Sensations, The Twanna
Turner Review - córka Ike Turnera, Grateful Dead Tribute (Winterland).
Dennis Senff nadal gra w różnych grupach rockowych, country, jazzowych i Dixieland.
Chris jest profesorem na oddziale okulistyki w kilku szkołach medycznych. Dennis Senff był właścicielem
sklepu muzycznego. Chuck Myrin był nauczycielem i inżynierem elektroniki. Les Stephens był sprzedawcą.
Jeff Jones pośrednikiem w handlu nieruchomościami.
Frank Murphy zajmował się marketingiem i public relations, zmarł w 2013r.
Około 9 lat temu Zorba And The Greeks zebrali się ponownie i zagrali na zjeżdzie licealnym.
Chris Johnson :
" ...Not all of the members of Zorba and the Greeks stayed with music, although we did have a reunion about 9 years ago and played for our high school reunion. I will elaborate more on things. Two members - myself and the Drummer Dennis Senff have remained with music and have played in a number of groups since then. After I left Zorba and the Greeks (I was Zorba and we actually wore togas), I joined a group called the Gas Company, which later became Hercules and the Chicken Fat People and later Ouroboros. Our photo is in the very first issue of Rolling Stone (an Advertisement for Roger Cauklins Music). We were a warm up band for some of the famous groups (Grateful Dead, Chambers Brothers, Yardbirds, Beau Brummels, and many others). We did all original tunes, and had a horn section, an electric violin player and the standard rock instruments. We have been together for more than 50 years, and we are nearly finished with writing a book about our musical introductions, the forming of the group, our interesting adventures, and what we are doing now. I was also in some other groups (The Sensations, the Twanna Turner Review – Ike Turner’s daughter) and a Grateful Dead Tribute band (Winterland) and many others. Also have been with some jazz groups as well...."
"... Zorba and the Greeks were formed in 1965. We had one rock band before them called The Cavaliers (Jeff Jones, Chris Johnson, Janice Senff and Dennis Senff). The members of Zorba and the Greeks were Dennis Senff (drums, trumpet), Chris Johnson (organ, keyboards, trumpet), Jeff Jones (saxophone). Les Stephens (bass) Frank Murphy (lead vocal), and Chuck Myrin (lead guitar). Zorba and the Greeks played all over the west coast (California, Oregon, Washington) at teen clubs, armories, fairgrounds buildings, etc. We were the top requested band in Arcata, California and Redding, California. We were also a warm up band for some of the big name bands at that time. The 45 records (two of them) were recorded during the summer of 1966 at Golden State Records in San Francisco. Two 45s were recorded. Here are the titles and the person that wrote them: Memories of you (Johnson), Shockwave (Myrin), You’ve had your chance (Johnson), One and Only Girl (Senff). The records were released, but they were mainly played by local radio stations in the towns we were scheduled to play in. We did sell a few of them (a few years ago, some of them were sold for about $ 200.00 each to an individual in Europe). We also sold some at dances and gave some away as door prizes.
All the musicians went to Roseburg High School. The group changed its name in 1967 to The Goode Life, added a few players, and disbanded in the summer of 1967. That was when Chris Johnson quite that band and joined The Gas Company (later to become Hercules and the Chicken Fat People and Ouroboros – still going today). Les Stephens, Jeff Jones, Frank Murphy and Chuck Myrin did not continue playing music after that (although we did have a reunion about 10 years ago – I am including a JPEG photo of a practice session). Dennis Senff continued to play in various rock, country, jazz, and Dixieland groups after that and still is in about 5 or 6 bands to date. Chris Johnson continued to play in various rock and blues bands (Hercules and the Chicken Fat People, Ouroboros, The Sensations, The Twanna Turner Review, Winterland, a Grateful Dead Tribute band) and various jazz groups and Dixieland jazz groups. I have attached JPEGS of Zorba and the Greeks and a couple of practice sessions of our 40th year reunion. Because of the size, I am send them in two emails. Apologies for the quality of the JPEGS – that’s the best I can do right now. Following this, Chris Johnson became a Professor in an Ophthalmology Department in several medical schools. Dennis Senff owned a music store, Chuck Myrin was a teacher and electronics engineer, Frank Murphy was in marketing and public relations, Les Stephens was a salesperson and Jeff Jones was a realtor. In Hercules and the Chicken Fat People and Ouroboros (other than Chris Johnson), Rick Roll (lead guitar) became a county judge, Paul McKee (bass) was the vice president of an insurance company, Gregg Gorthy (drums) was an engineer for Hewlett Packard, and Mike Butler (lead vocal and rhythm guitar) had several country songs in the top 100 and made music his career. I am not sure what happened to the members of the horn section or the electric violinist. ... "
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