Their follow-up single, 'Just a Little,' performed even better and became their highest-charting hit at number eight. Produced by Sylvester Stewart (later known as Sly Stone), the band's debut, 'Laugh, Laugh,' immediately put the Brummels on the map, rising all the way to number 15 on the pop chart. Spotted by local DJ Tom Donahue at San Mateo's Morocco Room, the Brummels were quickly signed to Donahue's small San Francisco-based label, Autumn Records.

A pair of reunion albums were made in 19, but they failed to match the exceptional quality of the group's original 1960s run.įriends since childhood, Valentino and Elliott formed the band in early 1964, bringing on board rhythm guitarist Declan Mulligan, bassist Ron Meagher, and drummer John Petersen to help them play a series of club residencies around the Bay Area. By the late '60s, the Brummels' mainstream popularity had all but died, and yet they went on to release their two best albums in 1967's enchanting Triangle and its 1968 follow-up, the eclectic, countrified Bradley's Barn. Defined by the partnership of singer Sal Valentino and guitarist/singer Ron Elliott, the influential group went on to notch a small clutch of mid-'60s hits including 'Just a Little' and 'You Tell Me Why,' while anticipating both the folk-rock and country-rock genres ahead of better-known bands like the Byrds. Often credited as early architects of the San Francisco sound, the Beau Brummels found success right out of the gate with their 1964 debut single, 'Laugh, Laugh.' With its autumnal folk-pop jangle and moody melodic hooks, the song bore enough resemblance to the burgeoning British Invasion that many fans mistook these young Americans for Brits.

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