King Harvest
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| King Harvest | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Genre(s) | Rock, pop rock |
| Years active | 1970s |
| Label(s) | Perception A&M Records |
| Members | |
| Dave "Doc" Robinson Ron Altbach Ed Tuleja Rod Novak |
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| Former members | |
| Sherman Kelly Wells Kelly David Montgomery |
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King Harvest was an American rock band.
Formed by a group of four American expatriates in Paris, France in 1970, King Harvest was best known for its one US hit single, "Dancing In The Moonlight", in 1973. Although the band had a constantly fluctuating membership, it always included its four core co-founders: Dave "Doc" Robinson (lead vocals/bass/keyboards), Ron Altbach (keyboards), Ed Tuleja (guitar), and Rod Novak (saxophone), all of whom had previously attended Cornell University. At one time, the band consisted of three keyboardists, with Sherman Kelly (who wrote "Dancing in the Moonlight") joining Altbach and Robinson. Sherman Kelly's brother, drummer Wells Kelly, who would later go on to form the band Orleans also served a brief stint in the group both in Paris and in the US. It was Wells who introduced the group to the song, but he left Paris before they recorded "Dancing in the Moonlight." It is unclear who plays drums on the original recording of the single. Australian Drummer David Montgomery, formerly of the band Python Lee Jackson, came on board after the band's debut album and toured with the band during the spring of 1973. Other members at various times included another Python Lee Jackson alumnus Tony Cahill (bass guitar) and Bobby Figueroa (drums). All members had been involved previously with other bands and done session work.
In 1972, the original four members signed to the small Perception label. Their first single, leased by Perception from the French company Musicisc, was Kelly's "Dancing in the Moonlight," a soulful pop song that he and Robinson had performed with their earlier band, Boffalongo. It reached number 13 in the US in early 1973 but King Harvest's future singles were unable to match its success. The original line-up recorded one album titled after the hit single, which failed to break into the Top 100. They made other singles, including a cover of The Four Seasons song "Hickory", but by the mid-70s had disbanded. A new version, which included the four original members, was formed in 1974. With support from Beach Boys members Carl Wilson and Mike Love, they were signed to A&M Records and made another album, but, failing to achieve any hits, they subsequently broke up. Novak, Altbach, Tuleja, and Figueroa toured with the Beach Boys. Tuleja played on Dennis Wilson's 1977 solo Pacific Ocean Blue, while Altbach and Robinson performed with Love in his band Celebration.
King Harvest released their The Lost Tapes album in September 2007, which was featured on TJ Lubinsky's My Music DVD entitled The 70's Experience Live produced for PBS-TV.
King Harvest's Dancing in the Moonlight was licensed for the Walmart 2008 TV commercial season.
