The Chesterfield Kings


The Chesterfield Kings were a rock band from Rochester, New York, who began as a retro-1960s garage band, and who have heavily mined 1960s music, including some borrowing from the 1960s recordings of The Rolling Stones. Core members were former Distorted Level singer, underground music journalist and avid record collector Greg Prevost, and Andy Babiuk ; others have come and gone. The band, named after a defunct brand of unfiltered cigarette, was instrumental in sparking the 1980s garage band revival that launched such groups as the Unclaimed, Marshmallow Overcoat, The Fuzztones, The Malarians, Mystic Eyes, The Cynics, The Optic Nerve, the Secret Service, and the Stomachmouths.

History

The early Kings were a late-1970s recreation of a mid-1960s garage band sound. Their self-released first single was a cover of The Brogues' 1965 "I Ain't No Miracle Worker" b/w The Heard's 1967 "Exit 9". In a deliberate effort to create their own rare garage-band collectible singles, only 100 copies were pressed.
Their first broader public exposure came when a track on Greg Shaw's 1981 Bomp! Records compilation Battle of the Garage netted them a series of dates at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City. They continued with this 1960s garage sound through the mid-1980s, releasing two albums—Here are the Chesterfield Kings which contained entirely cover songs, and Stop! which introduced their first originals. They then turned to a harder-edged rock sound for Don't Open Till Doomsday and Berlin Wall of Sound featuring the blues guitar work of new band member Paul Rocco. The group's next album was an acoustic blues record Drunk On Muddy Water.
Their Let's Go Get Stoned was a mix of slightly post-Aftermath Stones covers and originals in the Stones' style. Surfin' Rampage featured pop harmonies; Where the Action Is was a return to garage band roots, a mix of covers and 1960s-styled originals.
The Mindbending Sounds of the Chesterfield Kings pays tribute to the more baroque side of the 1960s underground, evoking at times the sound of the Electric Prunes, and featuring appearances by Jorma Kaukonen on two tracks.
Their Psychedelic Sunrise was an extension of sorts of the group's previous album.
Got Live…If You Want It was a dual live recording and DVD set, as well as the group's final release.
The Kings' full-length feature film Where is the Chesterfield King? is described on their web site as "A comedy/drama in the vein of The Bowery Boys, Batman, The Monkees Show, A Hard Day's Night, Hawaiian Eye, and The Munsters, with a little Three Stooges slapstick to boot…"
In 2011, Prevost took the solo route releasing a 45 "Mr. Charlie" b/w "Rolling Stone Blues" in 2012, and in 2013 releasing the blues-rock album Mississippi Murderer. Mean Disposition is a division of Penniman Records out of Barcelona, Spain.

Line up

Albums