The Hobbits AKA The Mugwumps - Thirsty Boots (Eric Andersen cover) - Don Scardino - Paul Mace - 1966 скачать в хорошем качестве

The Hobbits AKA The Mugwumps - Thirsty Boots (Eric Andersen cover) - Don Scardino - Paul Mace - 1966

On Sunday, February 9th, 1964, The Beatles appeared on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW and the world was never the same. By the following Sunday, practically every teenage boy across the United States was playing in a newly-formed rock band. In a way, this was the case for a quartet of adolescent males who were already working professionally as actors and/or musicians in New York City. Forming in early 1964, the group was originally comprised of Don “Donnie” Scardino (guitar, vocals), Barry Pearl (guitar, vocals), Rod “Roddy” Hausen (bass) and Iano “John” Valentino (drums). They called themselves The Mugwumps. This line-up of the band backed Scardino when he auditioned for a show that would blossom into THE MONKEES. Scardino was offered the role, but he was performing on the soap opera THE GUIDING LIGHT at that point in time and they refused to release him from his contract. Shortly after this experience, a fifth member was brought into the fold: Paul Mace. By the age of eight, Mace had performed with the New York Metropolitan Opera, and he also studied violin; in 1960, he turned to acting and made his Broadway debut a month before his tenth birthday. Barry Pearl left shortly after Paul joined, and the group was, once again, a quartet. Another band called The Mugwumps, comprised of James Hendricks, Zal Yanovsky (later the guitarist for The Lovin’ Spoonful), Cass Elliott and Denny Doherty (who would soon become half of The Mamas & The Papas), was performing on the New York City folk scene around this time, so the four fresh-faced lads inspired by the British Invasion decided to change their group’s name: They became The Hobbits. For approximately two years, they wrote original tunes, played some covers, performed at school dances, and recorded a few demos. They had aspirations to make a living with their music, going so far as to create a cover for the debut album they hoped to release one day. By 1967, the band members had headed in separate directions. Don Scardino would have a respectable career as an actor for several years before turning his focus to directing and producing, mainly in theatre and television, receiving an Emmy Award (producing) and nomination (directing) for 30 ROCK. Rod Hausen (1951-2004) would become an accomplished pianist, arranger and teacher, working with the likes of Tony Orlando, B. J. Thomas, Engelbert Humperdinck, Pat Benatar, Richard Belzer and Jamie deRoy. Paul Mace (1950-1983) continued with acting, appearing alongside Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler and Perry King in THE LORDS OF FLATBUSH. Barry Pearl also stuck with acting, his best-known role being that of Doody in the movie GREASE. Not much is known about John Valentino, though Scardino heard several years ago that he had passed away. Around early 1966, Scardino, Mace, Hausen and Valentino recorded seven songs at Lynn Oliver's studio in Manhattan. Six are known to have survived. Don Scardino kept the acetates for approximately six decades before dusting them off, digitizing them, and sending the audio files to a guy who was working on a biography about Paul Mace. This is one of them, a cover of Eric Andersen's folk classic, "Thirsty Boots." The Hobbits put a Byrds-esque spin on it. Don Scardino handled the lead vocal, and Paul Mace provided the lead guitar work. The Hobbits: Don Scardino - guitar, vocals Paul Mace - guitar, vocals Rod Hausen - bass John Valentino - drums Photos provided by Susan Kardaras (Rod Hausen's widow), Ed Mace (Paul Mace's cousin) and Don Scardino. The biography about Paul Mace, THE FORGOTTEN LORD: THE STORY OF PAUL MACE, is available in regular print (paperback), large print (paperback), and as an eBook from Barnes & Noble.