SPANKY & OUR GANG Band History |  

No group sounded better coming from a transistor radio on a sweltering summer day in 1967.

One of those groups that when I hear them I'm transported through time.

This band has a special place in my heart--always will. On the heels of losing my Mom in 1965, I had an increased desire to connect with popular music of the day, and WABC NYC was my transistor radio's favorite tune spot. I spent many days at the window pane looking at the sky--asking why? In the background, in 1967, I heard this group with Spanky's soaring vocals giving me comfort...at 11 years of age...a kid needs comfort. Thanks SAOG!

When she sings, "I remember children feeding flocks of pigeons. I remember sunshine and you were mine..." always choked me up. She put a lot of emphasis with her vocal.

My first exposure to them (besides occasionally hearing Sunday Will Never Be The same as a child) was I'd Like to Get to Know You. THe production, songwriting, orchestration, vocals are OUT OF THIS WORLD! It's very haunting as well... Malcolm Hale was a great player.. The break between the 1st half of the song and 2nd half are mind-blowing. It reminds me of Some Velvet Morning in a very haunting way.

“Anything You Choose B/W Without Rhyme or Reason” is an incredible piece of sonic art.

I can't believe Sunday Morning only reached #30!! That's my favorite Spanky song! This band is amazing.

It was sad that the group disintegrated after the death of guitarist Malcolm Hale. He left us way too soon!

Their cover of brother can you spare a dime has to be my favorite

I was a sophomore in high school when "I like to get to know you" was released and still today as then, I find this song very magical and by far my favorite of this group. Especially the ending movement which begins with the classical guitar and string ensemble with the haunting sustained electric guitar and heavily echoed vocals! It never fails to take me back to that time in my life that was very meaningfull to me and always will!!

They are my favorite along with The We Five.Thank you

I once read where Tim Hauser was so inspired by listening to Spanky & Our Gang’s harmonies, it helped him get the motivation to go out & form The Manhattan Transfer!

In the early 80's I attended the FIRST gig of the NEW Mamas and Papas at the Sands Hotel in Vegas. John , Denny, Spanky and McKenzie Phillips (bonus Scott McKenzie in the band and sang San Francisco). Opening act Gary Puckett. Michelle Phillips was at the table next to me. I met McKenzie Phillips and Gary Puckett. WHAT A NIGHT....Both acts were WONDERFUL !!!! Thanks for the video.

Spanky had a beautiful voice and sounded a lot like Judith Durham of The Seekers❤

Nice mention of "Jane"...part of a musical triptych 13587..., Jane, and Since You've Gone. Thanks for putting together this piece.

So cool that you mentioned the free design. They're one of the most amazing bands out there. I think they're equal with the Beach Boys as far as complex music with harmonies.

Thanks, Matt. And She's Mine was an especially good pop song that deserved a better fate on the charts. It did make the original 12-song greatest hits album though.

I was honored to see the New Mama's and the Papa's in 1982, featuring Elaine, Scott Macenzie, John Phillips, and Macenzie Phillips. They put on a great show and Elaine and Scott sang some of their old songs as well.

'Yesterday's Rain' was nothing less than genius, it really should have been a smash hit. I always looked at Spanky and our gang as a perfect bookend with the 5th Dimension these two bands, one Black the other white were busting at the seams with unbelievable talent.

Thanks for featuring the band. I have all of their albums. Never huge over here in the UK but just so great to listen to.

I always consider these guys the locally popular but internationally underrated cousins of the Mamas and Papas

MAGNIFICENT PIECE.

I have only just discovered this documentary and I have enjoyed listening to it I was born in 1962 and I remember this group Spanky and the Gang very well i was quite young but I have very vivid memories of some of their songs that were absolutely fantastic and upon finding this it brought a lot of memories flooding back I am now a 60yr old man and I often sit back with a drink in my hand and listen to Spanky and the Gang and to other groups and music that was around at the same time and get totally lost down memory lane they were absolutely bloody brilliant and wonderful times that will live with me forever if only I could turn the clock back or find a time machine and go back in time Thank you for producing this video I enjoyed watching and listening to it please keep up your brilliant work greetings from Swansea South Wales UK 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿😊🎶🎶🎶

What a great video, what about The Cyrkle?

These people had real talent check out their live performances. Malcom's death and Elaines having a child ended this group.{ I'd like to get know you } should have been a huge hit . The vocals and time changes are incredible. I am a Musician and you can't duplicate these great songs they had. RIP Malcom, Lefty, Nigel, Kenny and Oz you left your mark on this world.

Also...by the way, your show is definitely the best of it's kind!!! Love it..

Just watched an interview from 1995 with "Spanky" and Art Fein.❤ her.

Thank you I asked for this I’m glad you did this Spanky Mcfarlane has one my fave voices of the era

I have always loved this band,I'd Like To Get To Know You,Lazy Day,And Sunday Will Never Be The Same,are my favorites.Great Job.

My favorite is their third album. I have to admit, during my large purge I sold all of their records. I’m wishing I had not now. Yesterdays Rain is easily my favorite track. You called it, great harmonies.

They are indeed one of the best vocal bands of the 1960s!!! Thanks for presenting.

Great video. Spanky & Our Gang were a special group. Beautiful and engaging songs. Always wondered why they turned down John Stewart's "Daydream Believer"? The gang has a special place in my heart.

Sunday Will Never Be the Same is my favorite song of 1967 and easily a desert island pick for me. Distance, the flip side, was a great song, too. Thanks for giving your time to a very talented but nearly forgotten band.

Great content! "Like to Get to Know You" is one of my all time favorite songs (especially the almost haunting coda.)

Wow, thank you, that was really nice. Sixties was a crazy great time.

Their version of Everybody's Talking is one of my favorites. It Ain't Necessarily Byrd Avenue has great lyrics and a wonderful story packed in 2 minutes. This group is one of the best from the 60s.

Thanks, Matt! Another excellent job that again took a lot of heartfelt work. Your fans appreciate it. Spanky and Our Gang was not one of my favorite 60s groups but the fresh, clean sound was easy listening while I waited for a more favored song on the radio. When you talk about harmonies, I do think the Beach Boys deserve some credit. It amuses and surprises me that the Beach boys provide some of my favorite running and workout music in 2021. The Beach Boys were explicitly influenced by the Four Freshmen who in turn had been influenced by one of my favorite, yet unheralded harmonic groups - the Hi-Lo‘s! Could be a bit corny, as were the Kingston Trio, but you have to give them credit for filling a great need of their time. Matt I suppose you also enjoy classical chorale. PS if you listen to some old recordings of Beach Boy rehearsals, easily available on RU-vid, the harmonics they strive for can be incredible. And even their fans often don’t realize how hard the BB worked to refine their craft. Again Matt thanks for unlocking your music vault and flooding us with beautiful musical memories. The 60s was a most special decade for those lucky enough to actually live it. For young musicians and historians, dig into the 1960s and be transported. It’s amazing!

The Greatest Sunshine 🌞 Pop Rock Band of All Time PERIOD!!!!!

Thanks so much for this great podcast on this group which I love. I am more familiar with you great Beatles podcasts. Love to see that collection behind you sometime!

...Terrific video. Thank you for your awesome work...

I'm so glad you did this video. It's funny cuz I was just playing the song give a damn before I found this. One thing I was hoping you would do was compare the single version of the song Sunday morning compared to the album version. The single version has a part where it stops comes back in and fades really fast compared to the album version where the band gets to have a good time toward the end of the song and then the producer comes in and they're talking and it's just really really cool.

HEY! thanks for explaining all that. I like them.

One of my favorite bands and they are so underrated! Maybe bad management or a record company that didn't know how to promote them. “Anything You Choose B/W Without Rhyme or Reason” is pure genius!

Better than the so-called music of today. I was 12 years old.

SPANKY AND OUR GANG ,did a LARRY NORMAN COVER, I WISH WE'D ALL BEEN READY,a great cover, it's off their CHANGE album on EPIC RECORDS 1975

I may have to pick up that Rhino compilation. Very nice overview.

Disappointed that you didn't mention the death of Lefty Baker. He left us too soon. Loved him as lead singer of "I'd Like to get to know you."

Although AM radio certainly could never do justice in reproducing the actual sounds that were cut on the discs, there was nevertheless something ethereal about the sound as it played on our transistors and car radios. It was truly otherworldly. I was just a lad in the late 60s, but I well remember my brother frequently having the radio on. The sound was, and still is overwhelmingly evocative of a world that from far away places like California or even England--that mysterious land of musical legend where groups like the Beatles produced such magical sounds. Music is evocative and we merely need to hear clips like those that Matt has so graciously served up to us to be transported back to those ethereal sounds coming over the static crackle and pop of the AM frequency band. As always Matt, thank you for providing this most excellent content.

A truly excellent band.

From Lodi CA, THANK YOU!❤

I just recently bought their Anything You Choose album (mainly because of your video) and to me, when they get jazzy, they remind me of The Manhattan Transfer.

Thank you, Matt. This one too was really enjoyed.

Matt, this was very informative. One band I've started become more familiar with is The Left Banke. I'd love to find out more about them. Their first album is one of my current favorites. Spanky And Our Gang is another one I've recently begun listening to.

Thanks for giving some attention to Spanky & Our Gang ... definitely more than their singles !

Very nice, Matt! Love reminiscing with your great videos. I have wonderful childhood memories, listening to Spanky. Really appreciate your pics & needle drops, so much fun to see and hear them again. 👍🏻

Great video

Their stuff reminds me a lot of the Cowsills at that time.

Very interesting, always wondered about their history but never found much, thanks for putting this up. Spanky had such a great voice, so strong and clear...as well as the the other members!

I have always loved the PEACE POP artists...

When it came to vocal harmonies the closest thing to a British invasion harmony group were The Seekers but they were technically Australian. The Bee Gees cannot be considered because they were technically from 1966 to 1970 a band, and not three vocalists.

Thank you for this informative history of one of Chicago's best vocal groups.

Great job Matt, I remember many of these songs so well. You do such a good job of getting people in touch with some music that shouldn't be forgotten.

Another great episode, Matt. I never realized until today how much the reminded me of The Seekers.

Love this group!!! Can't wait to watch this, what a treat!! 😄✌

They sounded fantastic on an A M transistor radio! That was a MAGICAL TIME for music. Spanky at the beach, the Doors on the car radio on the way home...

Oz Bach lived near me in Brevard, NC. Incredible musician! Nice guy. I wish he had stayed with the group but I don’t think he had any regrets. RIP Oz.

'Lazy Day' is my favorite!

I'm happy to see this your post today. Spanky & Our Gang is a favorite group of mine. Regretfully, the band's career didn't last longer.

i know this series doesn’t get as many views as the beatles content but this kinda stuff is my favorite stuff on the channel, fantastic way to find new bands and a great overview and preview of them in a way, never heard of this group ever until now

I always confuse this group with The Seekers who was a contemporary band with Spanky and had the hits Georgy Girl and I'd Like to Get to Know You. Very similar groups even down to the female lead singers. They are also another good group to do a show on.

I didn’t know anything about this band. The name is kind of funny sounding. I’m familiar with some of the songs you played and I’m a fan. I just never they were from a band called Spanky and the Gang. Watching this video makes me want to check out more of their music.

Your channel has helped me not only discover cool music from the 60's but at the same time is helping me with my own channel format.

Thanks, Matt. Your research on these bands is just great!

Their 1975 release Change intrigues me a lot. Never released on CD. You can hear them performing some of the new songs live on Don Kirchner's Rock Concert. September 26, 1975. It's really good and seems to get almost no attention.

I absolutely love these. You do a wonderful job! Thank you.

I'd Like To Get To Know You always struck me as their most original and impactful song.

Matt....thanks for this great history of a great band. One correction though: Nigel's last name was Pickering, not Pinkering. As a matter of fact his name was not actually Nigel either...he was Fred or sometimes Freddy before adopting the name Nigel for career and possibly other reasons. I was friends with his son Wayne in the 60s (Wayne did not know his father or have any idea his father was in a Rock band). I have a clear memory of GIVE A DAMN being played on some brave radio station and Wayne questioning the appropriateness of that 'bad word'! I used to tell him that I had seen some guy who looked just like him on a TV variety show.....little did we know!

I was, and still am, a huge fan of Spanky & Our Gang. I have all of their albums, yes, on vinyl. If you'd love to check out one of my favorites, that was not a hit, (but should have been for a nostalgia thing), give STARDUST a listen to. It's from the LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU album. The harmonies on this song are just incredible. Kind of reminds me of Manhattan Transfer, before anybody even knew who they were. Give STARDUST a listen. I think it will really amaze you. Thanks for this fantastic video Matt. Great job.

Thanks. Heard their songs on the radio. But I never really knew much about them. Good review. Thanks.

LOVE Spanky & Our Gang. I still have a second (unopened) copy of the 3rd album- so totally under appreciated! "Yesterday's Rain" is classic.. but so are so many other tunes. The Live Album (recorded in Coconut Grove, FL) brings me back to the swinging '60s. Great musicianship throughout- topped by that 5+ part harmony and of course, the amazing lead vocal of Elaine (Spanky) McFarlane. Classic!

Great choice! I really enjoyed learning about this group who I only knew in passing prior. One tiny nit: I wouldn't have included them in the same like sub genre as Peter Paul and Mary. Mamas/Papas yes. Byrds, Association, Turtles yes. But those groups were all distinctly late-60s-mod, visually colorful and highly produced and electric and "what's happenin' now" kinda vibe (even if some had previous association with the true folk scene). Peter, Paul and Mary were exactly early 60s folk. They were simple and natural and stood there stoically in a skirt and tweed sports jackets (with elbow patches lol) with their 2 acoustic guitars and sang mostly just plain folk songs. Sure they harmonized but so did the Lennon sisters. In fact PP&M distinctly set themselves apart from the likes of Mamas/Papas with whimsical barbs in their song I Dig Rock & Roll Music. PP&M were more tied to the early 60s true folk scene, even if Spanky & co hung out with Leonard Cohen.

Some of the very best, most intelligently presented and objective sounding narrative presentation I’ve ever heard in any doc or docu-series. Cheers and well done, sir.

My name is John Madden from Pawtucket Rhode Island I was born in 1966 I love Spanky and Our Gang and I I love their music and there's like three or four songs I like but my go-to song is I like to get to know you back in 1968 that's my favorite song I was growing up listening to it in the 70s and early 80s I love it

Would love to see you do something on 70's artist Lee Michaels. Underrated and forgotten, he was also one of the greatest keyboard players of the 70"s.

Loving this channel being a 60’s fanatic.

They had some really good songs.

My favorite channel on RU-vid...Thank you Matt

They were TOTALLY unique. Harmonies like NO other group. Even though I was a professional multi- instrumentalist for 50 years I CANNOT dissect them. They overwhelm me. I don’t understand why they were not more popular.

"Lazy Day" is forever in our history...

I can see where Eclection, in the UK, got it from.

Matt, a big thanks for your excellent work on the Spanky & Our Gang video. So much good material, excellent production and flawless performance makes for an unforgettable experience that lives on today. Keep up the great work and my best to you.

The 1975 reunion album change was made without lefty baker. This was because he died of cirrhosis of the liver on August 11, 1971 at the age of 32.

A great combination of beautiful melodies with wonderful vocal harmonies. This is my opinion about the Spanky & Our Gang's music legacy. I can hear country, folk-rock, psychedelic sounds and other sounds. Are their album collection still available to purchase? Congratulations, one more time, for this very good explanation!

Their version of brother can you spare a dime off the live album is excellent

Great video, Matt. Their music for the times was welcomed. Another great group to talk about around that time was the Young Rascals. They had many chart-topping hits. Be well.

Another informative video. Would love you to feature more 60's groups. Suggestions would be the Young Rascals and the Livin Spoonful.

Good capsule documentary. 👍 FWIW my fave spanky & our gang songs are their version of fred neil's "everybody's talking", which was one of the first covers of that song ever done (and PRIOR to harry nilsson's famous mega-hit version btw), and "yesterday's rain" by lefty baker. Too bad there's hardly anybody remaining from this group in 2021....RIP malcom, lefty, oz, nigel & kenny. Glad there seems to be a resurgence of interest in this band,though.....they deserve to be recognized as one of the best late '60s American bands.

Sunshine pop

_' I'd like to get to know you '_ is interesting. Sounds like something _The Beatles_ would write ... 😏 🎶

Another excellent video. Great research and depth As always. As a kid in the 60s I recognize That all too familiar color of the label on the 45s going around and round you showed. Thank you, it triggered something in my memory and for a few moments I was back there again. I had hundreds of them as a kid. Was that Roulette records? Lazy day was one of the first records I went and bought with my own money. I think I also remember buying Moni Moni by Tommy James and the Shondells also had that familiar color. Used to hear a lot of rumors about Roulette records. Once again Matt, thanks for doing research research that I’m too lazy to do.