"The
feeling
Stevie Nicks
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Clockwise
from front:
Cooker (Norman Desrosiers)_- Vocals, harmonica
Pete Hendleman - Lead guitar
Bobby Cortez - Drums
Gordon (Gordie) McLaren - Bass
Ronnie Peters - Guitar
Steve Venet (not pictured) - producer
The Groupies were from New York City--bad boys
with a hard musical edge-- bluesier than the Rolling Stones, who could have been
considered pretty, standing next to the Groupies. They were scruffy
and arrogant and had been spoiled rotten by Ahmet Ertegan, president then, of
Atlantic Records.
At one time, the Groupies were the number two band in New York--the Rascals being number one. This is unusual because the Groupies did not have a hit record. Their reputation was built solely on their live performances. Everybody, including Ahmet, figured they had a big career ahead, but the Groupies kept screwing up. One of the worst screw-ups, was when they were scheduled for a concert appearance in Philadelphia. The Groupies cashed in the plane tickets and flew to Los Angeles instead. That may have been the straw that broke Ahmet's backing. The Groupies, however, were only sixteen and seventeen years old, and had no handle on responsibility.
The following magazine articles
confirm their stature:
Cooker eventually took off in a
solo career. His album, Bout Time, sold fairly well. He also had two hit singles
which climbed up the charts on the east and west coasts, but he never became
known in the central regions. "Try, Try, to Fall in Love" was a single that has been recorded by many other artists
such as Rick Nelson and the Dillards. I know there was a time when "Try, Try..."
seemed to be the theme song of L.A. They were playing it constantly and every DJ was scrambling
for an interview with Cooker--including Wolfman Jack.
Photo shoot Playlist Groupies' limo
Kim Fowley introducing the Groupies at Fantasy
Fair:
http://www.dslextreme.com/~nhopper/Groupies.html