|
CHAD & JEREMY
Of the many British Invasion acts that stormed the charts in the wake of the Beatles, Chad & Jeremy possess a subtlety and sophistication unmatched among their contemporaries, essentially creating the template for the kind of lush, sensitive folk-pop embraced by followers from Nick Drake to Belle & Sebastian.
Several decades later, they have been described by one concert reviewer as "Simon and Garfunkel meet Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore." They serve up an appealing blend of vocal harmonies, inventive guitar and piano playing spiced with their unique brand of banter, stories and sardonic wit.
From humble beginnings in coffee houses and folk clubs in London, they were "discovered" by famed movie composer John Barry and recorded a string of hits (Yesterday’s Gone, Summer Song, Willow Weep For Me, If I Loved You, Before and After, Distant Shores). They rode to fame in America with the British invasion but quickly established their own sound and style. Millions of records sold and 11 Top 40 hits were to follow.
As former drama students, they were quickly snapped up by Hollywood ("We had long hair and could string a sentence together") appearing as them-selves in legendary television shows including The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Patty Duke Show, Laredo (a western yet!) and Batman. They hosted Hullabaloo and appeared on all the great variety shows like The Hollywood Palace, Tonight Show, American Bandstand and Andy Williams.
Television success and hit records were not enough to keep the team together, however. As the turbulent sixties drew to a close, they produced their best studio work which Rolling stone praised and pushed the boundaries of psyc-rock called Of Cabbages & Kings and The Ark.
By the end of the sixties, Jeremy realized his true calling was the London stage. They went their separate ways. Jeremy returned to England to pursue an acting career while Chad remained in Los Angeles working as an arranger and record producer, touring with America and as musical Director for The Smothers Brothers.
In the eighties they teamed up again, with another album and starring roles in the British version of the Broadway hit, Pump Boys & Dinettes. Then came the opportunity to tour the U. S. with British Invasion II. After the tour, which garnered laudatory reviews for the duo, Jeremy was obliged to return to Europe to shoot a television series called William Tell, thereby ending their first reunion attempt. Chad escaped from Los Angeles to raise his family in Sun Valley, Idaho where he now lives, recording and teaching music.
Over the years, the two men remained in touch, continuing to write songs and wondering in the back of their minds whether another reunion might be possible. Serendipity intervened in the summer of 2003 with a PBS TV music special. Since then they have performed all over the United States, Hawaii and the Philippines, entrancing audiences with their unique blend of songs old and new, romantic and satirical, humorous stories and anecdotes.
This year is their busiest since 1968. TBO records has released a new album called Ark-eology (a play on their last Columbia LP titled “The Ark”) which contains 18 all new versions of songs from all their previous albums including their greatest hits like Summer Song, Yesterday’s Gone, Distant Shores and Homeward Bound together with key cuts from "Cabbages and Kings" and "The Ark". This CD went all the way to Number 1 on Amazon.com in December 2008! In addition, Actor Billy Bob Thornton covered Yesterday’s Gone on his new album.
Next up will be the release of the one hour documentary titled “Yesterday’s Back” later in the year. The Documentary tells the story of Chad and Jeremy with all of their hits and many TV appearances, as well as current concert footage. It is currently accepted by PBS Rhode Island and is being reviewed by PBS affiliates nationally. The Caswell Cooke Production will be available at concert appearances soon and on chadandjeremy.com. In early 2010 a CD of all new material titled Zanzibar Sunset will be released by TBO records. It will be their first in over 25 years!
From humble beginnings in coffee houses and folk clubs in London, Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde were "discovered" by famed movie composer John Barry and went on to record a string of their hits - Yesterday's Gone, Summer Song, Willow Weep For Me, If I Loved You, Before and After and Distant Shores. As former drama students, they were quickly snapped up by Hollywood ("We had long hair and could string a sentence together") appearing as themselves in legendary television shows including The Dick Van Dyke Show, Patty Duke Show, Laredo (a western yet!) and Batman.
As the turbulent sixties drew to a close, they produced their best studio work (Cabbages & Kings and The Ark), but the lyrics from their biggest hit turned out to be prophetic, "All good things must end some day". Jeremy returned to London to pursue his first calling as an actor and that, seemingly, was the end.
With thirty seven re-releases of their albums, re-runs of their TV shows and their colossal hit, Summer Song, heard not only on oldies radio, but in the movies (Rushmore and Princess Diaries) and the Sports Heaven spots at the 2006 Super Bowl, Chad & Jeremy have retained their own niche in the global, musical consciousness. Serendipity intervened in the summer of 2003 with a PBS TV music special followed shortly thereafter by talk of a reunion tour.
30 years in the re-making, the duo kicks off the long awaited world tour in North America. The appropriately named tour, “Summer Songs For A Rainy Day”, rolls into theaters in North America beginning in the fall of 2006. |
