If you remember “Sugar Shack” in 1963, you will remember Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs.
Gilmer was superimposed on the band for that song. The Fireballs had a couple of minor hits before that (Torquay, Bulldog). I saw the Fireballs just last week in Raton, New Mexico (population of about 5,000) where they all grew up and continue to live and play music.
According to George Tomsco, the leader of the group, they got together in 1958 and their music has appeared in such films as Forrest Gump, Congo and From Dusk 'til Dawn.
Feh. Purple is Purple except when David Coverdale was doing lead vocals - though he did have the good grace to alter the lyrics of Smoke on the Water to reflect this. Blackmore only happened to be in the best line-up.
Lord recently announced his permanent retirement from the band with some regret; he has a problem with his hands and he can’t play the tunes any more.
No, two out of three definitely wouldn’t be Cream. Clapton and Baker were both in Blind Faith and in various combinations they’ve made some guest appearances on each other solo albums.
If you accept duos as “bands,” the Everly Brothers, Phil and Don, are together, and touring with Simon & Garfunkel this year. (They may seem more a Fifties group than a SIxties group, but they had some big hits in the early Sixties, too).
Until just a few years ago, when founding member Lawrence Payton died of cancer, all of the original Four Tops were still together. The original members (Payton, Duke Fakir, Obie Benson and Levi Stubbs) stayed together for about 40 years.
ZZTop has had the same 3 man lineup (Frank Beard, Dusty Hill & Billy Gibbons) since the band was formed in 1970. And TECHNICALLY, 1970 is part of the decade of the Sixties!
The 3 original members of Grand Funk Railroad: Mark Farner, Don Brewer and Mel Schacher <sp> toured together a couple years ago. Although I don’t think Mark Farner was a part of the most recent tour.
Rush has been together since 1974 (and uninterruptedly since 1975, when Neil Peart became the drummer), consistently putting out gold, platinum or multiplatinum albums.
Also Fleetwood Mac – and I’m pretty sure the original lineup (Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Peter Green, and Jeremy Spencer) are all still alive, but no touring as far as I know. I remember seeing both Peter Green and Mick Fleetwood on the Martin Scorcese “Blues” series on PBS last year.
Um Kalhoun,…
The Monkees DO count
and yes, there has been a few riunion tours
Mike doesn’t go, cause he’s spending his white-out money. Although I think he did do a show or so with them in L.A.
nitroglycerine Paul Revere and the Raiders now tour with only Paul Revere as the original member. They literally have had dozens of personnel changes but perhaps their most famous lineup occurred when they released the songs “Just Like Me”, “Kicks”, “Hungry”, etc. Those people are still living except their drummer Michael “Smitty” Smith who passed away in 2001.
? and the Mysterians are still at it too, and IIRC with the original lineup.
A bit off topic, but some other nuggets era rockers that are still at while not in their original bands are the MC5s Wayne Kramer, The Rationals’ Scott Morgan, who had an underground hit singing on a 7" by The Hellacopters and Fred Cole of The Lollipop Shoppe who was one of the few garage rockers to be a part of the punk scene that came after and is still making records with his wife in the awesome band Dead Moon
Yes, thanks. Nor was it the first from the 70’s mentioned. I would also suggest that the OP requested “fully intact” would eliminate nearly every band that has been mentioned. But thanks for your observation regarding the parameters established in the OP.
The Association were recently featured in Goldmine Magazine and their Catalog
has been reissued on CD.
Concerning LOVE…
only Arthur Lee, Johnny Echols and Don Conkin are alive
Brian Maclean, Ken Forsi and Flutist Tjay Cantrelli have passed
