The Chambers Brothers

The Chambers Brothers are an American psychedelic soul band, best known for their eleven-minute 1968 psychedelic soul hit "Time Has Come Today". The group was part of the wave of new music that integrated American blues and gospel traditions with modern psychedelic and rock elements. Their music has been kept alive through frequent use in film soundtracks. There were four brothers, though other musicians were also in the group.Originally from Carthage, Mississippi, the Chambers Brothers first honed their skills as members of the choir in their Baptist church. This arrangement ended in 1952 when the eldest brother, George, was drafted into the Army. George relocated to Los Angeles after his discharge, and his brothers soon joined him. Beginning in 1954, the foursome played gospel and folk music throughout the Southern California region, but remained little known until 1965 when they began performing in New York City.Consisting of George (September 26, 1931 – October 12, 2019) on washtub bass (later on Danelectro and Gibson Thunderbird bass guitar), Lester (b. April 13, 1940) on harmonica, and Willie (b. March 3, 1938) and Joe (August 22, 1942 – August 15, 2024) on guitar, the group started to venture outside the gospel circuit, playing at coffeehouses that booked folk acts. They played at places like The Ash Grove, a very popular Los Angeles folk club. It became one of their favorite haunts and brought them into contact with Hoyt Axton, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Reverend Gary Davis, and Barbara Dane. When Barbara Dane spotted the brothers at the Ash Grove, she knew they would be perfect to do the freedom songs that people wanted to hear then. Dane became a great supporter, performing and recording with the brothers. Dane took them on tour with her and introduced them to Pete Seeger, who helped put the Chambers Brothers on the bill of the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.During the late 1960s to early 1970s, the group was managed by Charles LaMarr aka Charles La Marr.Liner notes on album releases can give the impression that there was no drummer for the Chambers Brothers before Brian Keenan. The notes by Chris Welch for the 1999 People Get Ready & Now compilation album on Repertoire REP 4734-WY say, "They added a white drummer, BRIAN KEENAN, when they were too busy singing and performing to have time to provide the more traditional handclapping rhythms." However, the Chambers Brothers had an early Drummer called Michael Konnic (aka Mike Konnic)." According to George Chambers, the group tried out a few drummers before they met Brian Keenan.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.