Take a Beau

At the height of Beatlemania, San Francisco quintet The Beau Brummels crashed the British invasion party with a chart-busting sound that shifted from beat pop to embryonic country rock and psychedelia. But as their creativity grew, sales and label backing fell away. Richie Unterberger recounts their story with help from some of the original California dreamers.

- By Richie Unterberger

The Beau Brummels in 1964 (clockwise from top): John Petersen, Sal Valentino, Ron Meagher, Ron Elliott, Dec Mulligan Opposite: New Beaus – the original line-up in 1964

When Laugh, Laugh hit the US Top 20 in early 1965, many Americans thought they were hearing the latest British Invasion band. The intoxicating blend of major and minor melodies, the bittersweet harmonies, even the Beau Brummels name – all sounded more like Liverpool than California. So did their Top 10 follow-up, Just A Little, spotlighting a haunting mix of electric and acoustic guitars, paced by Sal Valentino’s heart-rending vocals.

Although they did have an Irishman in their initial ranks, The Beau Brummels were from San Francisco. While these were their only two big hits, they recorded a boatload more material over the next five years, moving from Merseybeat-inspired sounds to folk-rock, orchestrated psychedelia, and country-rock. They’re the only group that worked closely with both Sly Stone and Randy Newman before either of those icons became famous.

All the recordings they released in the 60s, and a lot of what they didn’t release, are on the 8CD box, Turn Around: The Complete Recordings 1964-1970. Boasting 228 tracks, it’s astonishing in both its quantity and range, from rudimentary 1964 demos to some of the earliest country-rock cut in Nashville.