Spanky & Our Gang
...I
don't have any direct connection with the Gang, but set this up as a "fan
page" a few years ago, and as a result, have been in touch with members
and fans of the band since that time. If you have pictures, news, or whatever
about "the gang" that you'd be willing to share, email me and I'll work on making it available
here!
You can send email to Spanky at MizzSpankyMc@aol.com.
You can also visit the Curelyfest website, which
has some news about some of Spanky's recent (and
upcoming) performances, and another fan site at http://www.tunefan.com/spanky_ourgang.htm.
The widow of Gang member Oz Bach also has a site at http://www.spankyandourgang.com/ozbach.
Most of the old Spanky
& Our Gang albums
have been released on CD in one form or another, and a new "Best Of"
compilation was released in 1999. Check amazon.com and elsewhere - be aware
that some of the CDs are available only as rather expensive imports, but they are
out there!
Recent
News and Pictures
Gang member Nigel Pickering recently (May 2002) underwent hip replacement
surgery; a week after the surgery, "he is doing better, one week after the
hip replacement, than he has since the fall. He is doingtherapy,
in a nursing facility for a coupleof weeks, and then it's home for him. When Nigel gets back in the swing of
things, he will be back playing at the Trade
Winds Lounge.
For more Nigel news, click here.
Nigel is also looking for a new home
for the "Grey Goose," the Spanky & Our
Gang Tour Bus. Click here to
see some pictures and information about the bus.
SPANKY AND
OUR GANG
"Spanky And Our Gang" was a vocal/instrumental group,
popular 1967 - 1969. Their folk/rock style was similar to that of the Mamas & the Papas. The Penguin Encycolpedia
of Popular Music (Viking, 1989) contains a brief biography of the group.
As far as I've been able to determine, there is no connection between anyone in
this group and anyone involved in the "Our Gang" comedies of the
1920's - 30's.
The original group formed in 1966,
disbanding in 1969. Two members of the original group re-formed the band in
1975 and put out "Change," a country-western album.
The "Greatest Hit(s)"
album is the only one I've ever seen on CD; the others are available on LP
only, and, as you might guess, rather difficult to come by.
I never saw the original Spanky and Our Gang, but my brother and I did see the
re-formed group in
The song "5 Definitions Of Love" from their first album is the definition of
"love" from Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, set to music. I
remember hearing Blossom Dearie sing the song on Merv Griffin, several years before I found the song on the Spanky And Our Gang album.
My favorite Spanky
And Our Gang album is probably "Anything You
Choose b/w Without Rhyme Or Reason" (or, if you look at the back cover of
the album, it's called "Without Rhyme Or Reason b/w Anything You
Choose." The two sides of the album itself were labelled
"Side 1" and "Side A.") The Live album is pretty good too;
it was recorded in the group's early days, but not released until after the
group broke up.
Members of the group included Elaine
'Spanky' McFarlane, Oz Bach, Malcolm Hale, Nigel
Pickering, John Seiter, Kenny Hodges, and Lefty Baker
(real name Eustace Britchforth). Spanky
and Nigel were members of the 1975 re-formed Spanky And Our Gang.
According to a note in the CD
version of "Spanky's Greatest Hit(s)", Spanky joined the new Mamas and Papas in 1981.