The Grass Roots
(57.2 pts)
- 3 Top 10 hits
- 3 Top 20
- 8 Top 40
- 7 Top 100 hits
- “Midnight Confessions“ peaked at #5 in 1968
Casey Kasem created the American Top 40 radio countdown show in 1970, which he hosted until 1988 when he retired for the first time.
In the wake of the radio icon stepping down, opportunity opened up for competing countdown shows:
Including Out of Order, a countdown show hosted by KROQ DJ Jed the Fish.
As the title states, the top alternative rock songs of the week were introduced at random.
This has nothing to do with The Grass Roots – but everything to do with me…
…including an artist in my initial top 10 that Stereogum Writer Tom Breihan mentioned TEN times, barely behind:
- Biz Markie,
- Me First and the Gimme-Gimmes,
- and cocaine.*
(*Which I found in 30 different articles… though I may have missed some.)
Yet somehow, I missed every one of those 10. My apologies.
“How about a nice ‘Long Distance Dedication,’ to cheer you up?”
So, as a result: Dan Fogelberg jumped up one notch to #9, and The Grass Roots (which I just researched after realizing this) are in at #10.
On with the (out of order) countdown:
The Office was a pillar of pop Americana through its 201-episode run.
Even a decade after its cancellation, its popularity continues to skyrocket, and with it, word of a possible reboot (after the end of the recent writers’ strike, it was confirmed to be in the works). No word on who will return to Dunder Mifflin, but each character has their supporters.
Including one Creed Bratton, who received five nominations as a fictionalized version of himself.
Creed is probably used to this role, since he was a fictionalized front for The Wrecking Crew in the ‘60s.
The mid-to-late-’60s was the peak time for The Wrecking Crew:
The ace collection of L.A. studio musicians. Many artists we’ve come to know and love weren’t actually on the albums under their names.
Many of them wound up hitting #1 anyway — Tom mentions the Wrecking Crew in at least 25 different entries in The Number Ones…
But he never covered The Grass Roots.
(BTW, Creed is the guitarist in this video:)
Wrecking Crew musician P.F. Sloan, songwriter Steve Barri and record producer Lou Adler were the masterminds behind the Grass Roots.
Adler has been included in The Number Ones a number of times: for:
- “Monday, Monday” (8),
- “Poor Side of Town” (4),
- and “Eve of Destruction” (6).
“Eve of Destruction” was also written by Sloan/Barri. They hoped to follow up that success with “Where Were You When I Needed You.” Recorded by the Wrecking Crew – but under the name Grassroots (one word, at the time,) it became a local success. Adler encouraged the duo to find a band to act the part.
They found one: The Bedouins.
They were the winners of a teenage Battle of the Bands contest in San Mateo, California.
The band moved to Los Angeles; their parents signed the contracts with Dunhill Records (they were underage.)
The songs were quickly re-recorded and released with the Bedouin band members on the cover. However, only two Bedouins appear on the record: drummer Joel Larson and singer Willie Fulton.
For a while, the arrangement worked well. The Grass Roots supported other artists on the Dunhill label, and they played a ton of shows. But much like The Monkees, the band chafed while acting as a front for the Wrecking Crew.
After a single album and three singles, the Bedouins quit, and Dunhill Records needed to find another group to play the band.
Enter: The 13th Floor
A band created by Warren Entner and Creed Bratton, who met in Israel.
They’d showed some promise in an audition tape for Dunhill, especially after bassist and lead vocalist Rob Grill joined the band, a role he kept until his death in 2011.
Grill’s voice matched best with Sloan’s vision, and the group stepped in as The Grass Roots to “record” Let’s Live for Today. Careful to avoid alienating the new Grass Roots, The 13th Floor were allowed to contribute four songs to the album, the title track of which became a Top 10 smash (it’s a 6:)
The next album, Feelings, flopped. Maybe that’s because it wasn’t the Wrecking Crew. The band members played all the instruments, wrote half the songs, but none of the singles charted.
Sloan left Dunhill Records, and Barri called for reinforcements; in particular, a former rockabilly star from Cleveland. While in Cleveland, Lou T. Josie went by ‘Jimmy King’ and was a local celebrity. But in 1961 he moved to Los Angeles and reverted to his birth name.
His songwriting credits included a few minor hits (such as “Hey Harmonica Man” for Stevie Wonder.) But the folk-rock song Josie gave to The Ever-Green Blues Band became a smash:
The Ever-Green Blues Band were a seven-piece band big on the East L.A. music scene. Josie caught their act, offered to mentor them and helped produce their debut. “Midnight Confessions” became a hit in LA, and according to urban myth, after Sloan/Barri heard it they bought the rights to it for a hundred bucks and a bag of weed.
“Midnight Confessions” was re-recorded in the spring of 1968 and released in June.
It’s a bit slower than the original, and a bit tighter because the Grass Roots didn’t record it – it’s the Wrecking Crew. The song is a great example of the mid-1960s Californian sound, a blend of all sorts of influences that work. The song opens with Carol Kaye’s bass, then trumpets and trombones come crashing in; the first time horns were used on a Grass Roots tune.
Rob Grill sounds excited and frustrated at the possibility of love, even if he doesn’t stand a chance – after all, the object of his affection is married.
It’s tearing him apart. And while Hal Blaine’s driving percussion, the sharp Hammond organ and horns could give a sense of despair, I don’t hear it.
I barely remembered the song before I began writing this, but each time I listen to it I marvel at something different within the song. “Midnight Confessions” feels like an All-Star Game: it’s not the best game to watch, but a place where every musician gets to showcase their talents.
The Grass Roots’ team quickly cashed in on this latest success. Over the next four years, they released five albums and 15 singles, all of which charted. They moved towards a more soulful approach which caused Creed to leave the band, replaced by keyboardist Dennis Provisor, and hit the top 10 one more time with “Sooner or Later,” their take on Philadelphia Soul (it’s an 8).
The Grass Roots never charted again after 1972’s Move Along.
But the band continued on in various iterations. No need for a reboot, The Office style: over 50 musicians have called the Grass Roots their band since Adler, Sloan and Barri put together a few songs, and the band continues to perform today.
Not including Creed.
GRADE: 7/10
TRIVIA: Hard rock bands have found reaching the top of the Billboard charts difficult, unless they bring out a power ballad. Despite twenty-five albums, Nazareth is essentially a United States one-hit wonder, reaching #8 with their power ballad, 1974’s “Love Hurts.” Under which stadium rockers’ power ballad did Tom mention them? (Tom didn’t rate them; “Love Hurts” is a 5.)
Supertramp was mentioned thrice (sorry about that) in Tom’s column — once under Gilbert O’Sullivan, another under Usher and Alicia Keys’ “My Boo” for providing the sample to Fabolous’ “Breathe,” and finally “Romantic” by Karyn White, since she was a backup singer for the band! (Supertramp’s highest-charting single is the 1979 release “The Logical Song”, which peaked at #6. It’s a 6.)
BONUS BEATS: Quentin Tarantino is known for incorporating older songs into his movies, and “Midnight Confessions” is no different — here’s a sequence from Jackie Brown where Bridget Fonda and Robert De Niro listen to it with varied levels of enthusiasm:
(“Street Life” was Randy Crawford & The Crusaders’ biggest hit at #36)
BONUS BONUS BEATS: There have been a lot of remakes of “Midnight Confessions,” and most stay faithful to the original(s), so let’s go with Phyllis Dillon’s reggae version recorded right before she retired from making music in 1971.
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Thanks, thegue, for this write-up. I knew I liked a lot of this group’s work but couldn’t explain why. Your research helped me figure it out. Those studio musicians had a sound that was catnip to my ears. “Sooner or Later” remains my favorite song ever, the one I go to when I need a change of mood stat. “Midnight Confessions,” “Two Divided by Love,” “Temptation Eyes” and “I’d Wait a Million Years” are all close behind. I like “Let’s Live for Today,” but not as much, just because I’m a little too young to be a true Summer of Love type. Look forward to seeing who’s next.
That’s a convoluted story, had to read it twice to follow all the comings and goings. Then seeing reference to 13th Floor my mind expected to see Elevators appended to the name. That would have been a whole other wild story though.
Yet another in the ever expanding list of artists that failed to muster any chart appearance over here. Having listened to the three songs you’ve included I couldn’t say why they didn’t travel. All have the feeling of familiarity, totally in tune with their times and I’d go with a 7 or 8 for them all.
I’m trying desperately to keep these entries to under 1500 words, but in telling the entire history of these bands it’s really, REALLY hard.
It’s going to get worse as these bands became more successful! (sorry mt!)
When writing about Grill’s vocals in “Midnight Confessions”, I really wanted to include this meme, but couldn’t find the appropriate place within the article. mt did an AMAZING job with some of the others, including a picture of the young Bedouins!
https://images.app.goo.gl/3o9cT31AaP8MWksu6
Great article thegue… love me some Grass Roots (“Temptation Eyes” shoulda been a Top Ten), and Tommy Wiseau is the icing on the cake.
So, who did you originally have at #9 (that Tom has mentioned)? Did I miss that reveal somewhere else?
That artist has moved up to #8, so they’ll be revealed next Wednesday!
Ah gotcha… I guess I should rephrase the question then: Have you already revealed the artist that did get removed, or will that be upcoming?
Great question – I’ll have to sweat out those details.
Good work, thegue! The Grass Roots are a band that I didn’t like as a kid/teen. But as an adult it was “Temptation Eyes” that finally made me reconsider. That song slaps…the chorus is absolutely amazing. Later I realized that “Midnight Confessions” was pretty good, too. I like some of their other songs ok, but those two are my favorites. They really capture that late 60s American sound. And what a twisted backstory.
The Grass Roots were one of those bands that I keep forgetting about. Good songs, good performances, I’m always happy to hear them but never remember them when it’s time to pick something to listen to. Maybe I subliminally know that they’re not a real band and I hold it against them?
Calling Dr. Freud!
Thrilled to see you cover this band. My brother had a Grass Roots greatest hits album that he leant me and I played it pretty much to death around the time my wife and I had started dating. The song “Sooner or Later” held great significance to us and actually helped get us together. So when the Grass Roots were playing at Taste of Joliet (Rob Grill was the only original member left, but that was fine with us), we managed to squeeze in seeing them, in between two weddings we had to attend that day. We sang along with any song that was on that album I had, which was most of the songs they did. When we got married a year or so later, Sooner or Later was for sure played at our reception.
There is a lot of backstory on The Grass Roots in the 2012 book The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll’s Best Kept-Secret by Kent Hartman, a great book. Creed Bratton was born William Schneider and according to the book, came down from a mountain one day and announced that his new name was Creed Bratton. The book also states that he left the band at the height of their popularity because he felt they should be true to themselves and their music instead of being part of the studio manufactured façade. He implored them to see what was happening to them, but no one else in the band was willing to give up the fame and fortune and the spoils that came with it. It must have caused a lot of conflict to have been an actual band that was asked to be a completely different band and become part of what was somewhat of a charade. As a musician, I can see why the Bedouins walked away from it and why Creed eventually did as well. That doesn’t stop me from loving their music. Midnight Confessions is a 10 in my world!
My sister had that same album! We played it a LOT. Some really good stuff in there.
OK, I have to know the story here – how did “Sooner or Later” help you and your wife get together?
It’s a pretty good song – one of those 60s songs I’d heard but never actually knew who it was recorded by.
As thegue detailed, Grass Roots were nearly the very definition of manufactured pop, but none of that matters when a song hits you in just the right spot. Sometimes a upbeat, fun pop song about love speaks its truth and is exactly what you need at the exact time you need it.
The idea of hit factories creeps me out. When the product is truly out of this world, I can forget my misgivings, but these songs here don’t reach the transcendent heights of “Be My Baby” (or even “TT” by TWICE), so I just can’t cop to the plastic fashion of the Man, man.
Still, very interesting stuff.
Good stuff! I will always remember the Grass Roots as part of my earliest recollections of listening to the Top 40 AM station and starting to purchase 45s. Three Dog Night and Guess Who are right there with them. My fave GR tracks would be Two Divided By Love, Midnight Confessions, and Sooner or Later. I did not know of the Wrecking Crew connection. Props to the Crew and Tarantino, who expertly soundtracks his films.
P.S. Stereogum has interviewed Creed, and it was awesome:
https://www.stereogum.com/2091616/creed-bratton-the-office-song-of-the-summer-weeknd-beyonce-drake-lady-gaga/interviews/qa/
I remember them being all over the radio at the time, but “classic” rock stations never really picked them up. Not sure why, as some of their music stands up really well. Maybe they could give “More than a Feeling” a rest and throw in some Grass Roots.
When I was listening to “oldies” stations in the 90s, Grass Roots was all over that format. That’s how I originally came to be familiar with them. Bands like Grass Roots, Buckinghams, Paul Revere, The Turtles and such were Top 40 bands but not part of the AOR format from which classic rock was spawned, so those band won’t normally get played in that format. There is definitely a line drawn in the sand, though it doesn’t always make sense. How are the Beatles more classic rock than those bands?
Yes, there are definitely a number of great bands that were deemed to fall slightly on the pop side and therefore not eligible to be “classic rock.” I think just about everything before 1967 except the odd Kinks or Stones track falls on the wrong side, and even with the Beatles the classic rock stations would have leaned toward heavier tracks like “Come Together.” The Grass Roots were mostly post-1967, but they were too light for classic rock. Three Dog Night is their closest analogue, I’d say. Relying heavily on outside songwriters also probably lost you points with classic rock programmers.
That all makes total sense.
Back in the before times when we used to go to stores to rent movies my wife had a single rule: no Tarantino. The only exception to that rule was Jackie Brown.
I was struggling to wrap my brain around the fact of Phyllis Diller having recorded this song, but duh. I really like that reggae version.
A little bit more of Grass Roots trivia I could not fit into this article:
How’s that for some trivia??
Since their hit years came mostly before my time, the Grass Roots perplexed me as a hit making machine. Let’s Live for Today seemed as wedded to its Sixties roots as much as Sooner or Later reflected the lighter pop sound of 1971, and the idea that the same group did both was harder for my mind to accept than, say, The Rolling Stones going from Satisfaction to Miss You, as the vibe seemed pretty consistent over 13 years even as it matured. Your excellent article explained why that happened.
By the way, there was never a wink-wink reference to Creed and the Grass Roots on any episode of The Office, was there? I would’ve loved that as a sort of in-joke if there was, but if not, no worries. Still, if it gets a reboot, I’d love to see that happen.
In the series finale, it’s finally revealed that Creed was in fact a former member of the Grass Roots, but there were deleted scenes from a couple of earlier episodes that also mentioned this. (Of course most of the surrounding details are fictionalized for laughs.)
Thanks for the 411!
Did The Grass Roots need a better name? I know all of these songs you posted, thegue, without ever connecting them to one source.