This group made two LPs in short order, and the group left ABC records to wind up on Atco. The James Gang post Joe Walsh became a revolving door or guitarists and singers, initiated by Canadian Dominic Troiano (formely of Toronto's Mandala) and singer Roy Kenner. Walsh was not able to rectify his songwriting direction with the band's sound and left in '71 to start his Barnstorm project (including former Chylds drummer Joe Vitale). Pete Townsend, among others (the Gang opened several shows for the Who) sang their praises, and group had a successful tour of Europe. The time while these LPs were on the charts were the Gang's short excursion in the palace of rock-n-roll royalty. "Thirds" was similar in style to "Rides Again", but was not able to land the knockout punch that could have made the Gang one of the world's biggest bands. Mary Sterpka, the singer in Lacewing/Measles, sang backgroud vocals. The group recorded a third LP, entitled "Thirds", that offered up the hit "Midnight Man". The first pressing of the LP included a passage of the well known classical theme "Bolero" in "The Bomber" but apparently due to some copyright issue the section had to be deleted. Many fans consider this record the Gang's highpoint, but it also demostrated that the group was working in two not always complimentary directions - the hard blues rock that was their signature since '66, and Walsh's more melodic, progressive compositions. With Peters, the group recorded the "Rides Again", which included the big hit "Funk #49" and radio staples "The Bomber" and "Tend My Garden". Tom Kriss left shortly after the LP release and Dale Peters (from the like minded Case of E.T. The LP, while occasionally a bit too loose, has a strong sense of identity and well written and peformed songs that display a range of melodic rock to bluesy blasters. The Gang debut, "Yer Album" did well on the underground scene and got the band some more exposure. A few more well received shows with the three finally convinced ABC to sign the group to their Bluesway 'underground' label. As rumor has it, an AWOL Ron Silverman meant a that a gig in Detroit had be done as a trio - and went over big time. All the shuffling, and the changing Cleveland music scene (Polished bands like Cyrus Erie had easily surpassed the Gang's popularity) drove the band to consider disbanding. Bill Jeric left, and apparently Ron Silverman returned, if only to fulfill some gig obligations. With Walsh in place, the band hardly missed a beat, and continued to be a huge attraction, at least until the spring of 1968, when Phil Giallombardo left to join the Choir. Meanwhile, the James Gang had been playing the Kent bar scene extensively, and Joe Walsh, who had been trying out many different projects after leaving the Measles (including stints with the Panicks, Chancellors, and an audition with the Human Beingz) jumped at the chance to replace his local guitar idol. He played his last show in December of '67. The group did get plenty of notice, though, so much that Glenn was recruited by the California act Pacific Gas and Electric to be their featured guitarist. Kriss and Giallombardo were still in high school, while Schwartz was a old timer who had played in bands since the late 50s and spent two years in the military. The Gang coupled stellar musicianship with an energetic live show that included Schwartz hanging upside down off the shoulders of Jeric! The band was huge in Cleveland and Kent, where Fox was living at the time. In June of '67 Bill Jeric replaced Ron Silverman. Both sides are really powerful, with Glenn's noted guitar virtuousity in strong effect, it's hard to understand why the labels weren't climbing over themselves to sign the group. The band made their first attempt at recording sometime around April of '67 when they recorded a couple songs at Cleveland Recording, the Zombies "Indication" and "Sometimes I Think About" aka "Willie Jean". Fox, together with bassist Tom Kriss, guitarists Ron Silverman and Glenn Schwartz, and keyboard player Phil Giallombaro, they took the Cleveland scene by storm in early '67 with a repetriore that favored more of the 'underground' sounds including British blues-rock and more obscure songs by the harder rock-n-roll bands of the day. After going through some musicians (including Schwartz's old Pilgrims bandmate Dennis Chandler) the lineup was in place. The original James Gang was founded by drummer Jimmy Fox, who had spend some time in Tom King and the Starfires. The James Gang is really three (or more!) bands, the original band, the Joe Walsh fronted trio, and the various incarnations after Walsh left. The James Gang was one of Cleveland's signature rock-n-roll bands, almost anyone could name songs like "Funk #49", "Walk Away", favorites of the classic rock canon, and still sounding fresh today.
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