The grass roots

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The grass roots
General information
Genre (s) pop
founding 1966
Founding members
Creed Bratton
guitar
 Warren Entner
Robert "Rob" Grill
Rick Coonce

The Grass Roots , also known as The Grassroots , was an American pop band that had their greatest successes between 1966 and 1971.

history

The Los Angeles musicians Warren Entner and Creed Bratton decided in the early 1960s to go to Europe and try their luck there. Although they were quite unsuccessful, they learned a lot about the new English beat music that spilled over to the continent.

In 1966 they returned to California , hired Rob Grill and Rick Coonce and put together a quartet. The first band name was "The Thirteenth Floor". The group performed in small clubs and discos, and often sent demo tapes to large record labels .

One of them landed on the table of producers and songwriters P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri . These two had already written the hit Eve of Destruction for Barry McGuire and had just recorded a version of Bob Dylan's song Ballad of a Thin Man under the name "The Grassroots".

This single was very successful and now a group had to be put together for live performances. Their choice fell on the band Thirteenth Floor, which was henceforth called "Grassroots" and was later renamed "The Grass Roots".

Sloan and Barri made for numerous other hits that the group had to record between 1966 and 1972. The first US Top 10 hit in 1967, Let's Live for Today , featured drummer and studio musician Hal Blaine . After many personnel changes, the band finally broke up in 1972. Warren Entner and Creed Bratton became actors, Rick Coonce opened a chicken farm.

Only Rob Grill remained connected to the music and tried in 1975 to create a formation called "The Grass Roots" with new members. The attempt failed, however, and Grill only returned to the charts in 1979 as a soloist with the song Rock Sugar . He died at the age of 67 on July 11, 2011 after a coma lasting several weeks as a result of a head injury sustained in a fall. Former drummer Rick Coonce had previously died of heart failure on February 25 of the same year.

Discography

Studio albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US
1967 Let's Live for Today US75 (15 weeks)
US
First published: July 1967
Producers: PF Sloan , Steve Barri
1969 Lovin 'things US73 (16 weeks)
US
First published: March 1969
Producer: Steve Barri
Leaving It All Behind US36 (21 weeks)
US
First published: November 1969
Producer: Steve Barri
1972 Move Along US86 (14 weeks)
US
First published: June 1972
Producer: Steve Barri

More albums

  • 1966: Where Were You When I Needed You (released October)
  • 1968: Feelings (release: February)
  • 1973: Alotta Mileage
  • 1975: The Grass Roots
  • 1982: Powers of the Night

Live albums

Compilations

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US
1968 Golden Grass: Their Greatest Hits US25th
gold
gold

(43 weeks)US
First published: November 1968
1970 More golden grass US152 (27 weeks)
US
First published: September 1970
1971 Their 16 Greatest Hits US58
gold
gold

(20 weeks)US
First published: September 1971

More compilations

  • 1976: The ABC Collection
  • 1976: Pop Chronik (2 LPs)
  • 1977: The Story of Pop
  • 1978: 14 greats
  • 1978: Best of the Grass Roots
  • 1985: Temptation Eyes
  • 1985: 14 greatest hits
  • 1987: Greatest Hits Volume One
  • 1987: Greatest Hits Volume Two
  • 1988: Songs of Other Times (with PF Sloan )
  • 1988: Greatest Hits
  • 1989: Vintage Gold (mini album)
  • 1989: Vintage Gold II (mini album)
  • 1991: Anthology: 1965–1975 (2 CDs; release: July 2nd)
  • 1993: A Retrospective
  • 1996: All Time Greatest Hits
  • 2001: Symphonic hits
  • 2001: The Best of the Grass Roots: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection
  • 2007: Midnight Confessions (release: May 14th)
  • 2014: The Complete Original Dunhill / ABC Hit Singles

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
US US
1966 Where Were You When I Needed You
Where Were You When I Needed You 		US28 (9 weeks)
US
First published: April 1966
Authors: PF Sloan , Steve Barri
Only When You're Lonely
Where Were You When I Needed You 		US96 (2 weeks)
US
First published: August 1966
Authors: PF Sloan, Steve Barri
1967 Let's Live for Today
Let's Live for Today 		US8 (12 weeks)
US
First published: April 1967
Authors: Shel Shapiro, Mogol
Original: The Rokes - Piangi con me , 1966
Things I Should Have Said
Let's Live for Today 		US23 (8 weeks)
US
First published: July 1967
Authors: PF Sloan, Steve Barri
Wake Up, Wake Up
Let's Live for Today 		US68 (5 weeks)
US
First published: October 1967
Authors: PF Sloan, Steve Barri
1968 Midnight Confessions
Golden Grass: Their Greatest Hits 		US5
gold
gold

(15 weeks)US
First published: June 1968
Author: Lou Josie
Original: The Ever-Green Blues, 1967
Bella Linda
Golden Grass: Their Greatest Hits 		US28 (9 weeks)
US
First published: September 1968
Authors: Lucio Battisti, Mogol, Barry Gross, Steve Barri
Original: Lucio Battisti , 1968
1969 Lovin 'Things
Lovin' Things 		US49 (7 weeks)
US
First published: January 1969
Authors: Jet Loring, Artie Schroeck
Original: Bobby Rydell , 1968
The River Is Wide
Lovin 'Things 		US31 (11 weeks)
US
First published: March 1969
Authors: Billy Admire, Gary Knight
Original: The Forum, 1966
I'd Wait a Million Years
Leaving It All Behind 		US15 (15 weeks)
US
First published: June 1969
Authors: Mitchell Bottler, Gary Zekley
Heaven Knows
Leaving It All Behind 		US24 (10 weeks)
US
First published: October 1969
Authors: Harvey Price, Dan Walsh
1970 Walking Through the Country
Leaving It All Behind 		US44 (8 weeks)
US
First published: January 1970
Author: Dennis Provisor
Baby Hold On
More Golden Grass 		US35 (10 weeks)
US
First published: April 1970
Authors: Harvey Price, Dan Walsh
Come On and Say It
More Golden Grass 		US61 (6 weeks)
US
First published: September 1970
Authors: Dennis Provisor, Rob Grill, Warren Entner
Temptation Eyes
More Golden Grass 		US15 (18 weeks)
US
First published: December 1970
Authors: Harvey Price, Dan Walsh
1971 Sooner or Later
Their 16 Greatest Hits 		US9 (11 weeks)
US
First published: May 1971
Authors: Adeniyi Paris, Ekundayo Paris,
Gary Zekley, Mitchell Bottler, Ted McNamara
Two Divided by Love
Move Along 		US16 (11 weeks)
US
First publication: September 1971
Authors: Bob Potter, Dennis Lambert, Marty Kupps
1972 Glory Bound
Move Along 		US34 (10 weeks)
US
First published: January 1972
Authors: Dan Walsh, Harvey Price, Steve Barri, Dennis Provisor
The Runway
Move Along 		US39 (9 weeks)
US
First published: June 1972
Authors: Bob Potter, Dennis Lambert
1973 Love Is What You Make It
Alotta Mileage 		US55 (10 weeks)
US
First published: January 1973
Authors: Harvey Price, Dan Walsh
1975 Mamacita
The Grass Roots 		US71 (11 weeks)
US
First published: July 1975
Authors: Barry Mann , Cynthia Weil
Original: Mark Lindsay , 1975

More singles

  • 1965: Mr. Jones (A Ballad of a Thin Man) (released September)
  • 1966: Tip of My Tongue (released November)
  • 1968: Melody for You (release: February)
  • 1968: Feelings (release: March)
  • 1972: Anyway the Wind Blows (released September)
  • 1973: Where There's Smoke There's Fire (released April)
  • 1973: We Can't Dance to Your Music (release: October)
  • 1974: Stealin 'Love (In the Night) (July release)
  • 1976: Naked Man
  • 1976: Out in the Open (with Rob Grill; release: June 7th)
  • 1982: She Don't Know Me

statistics

Albums

Achievement United StatesUnited States US
Number one albums -
Albums in the top 10 -
Chart albums overall 07th

Singles

Achievement United StatesUnited States US
Number one singles -
Singles in the top 10 03
Chart singles overall 21st

Awards for music sales

Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.

Country / Region Gold record icon.svg gold Platinum record icon.svg platinum Sales swell
Awards for music sales
(country / region, awards, sales, sources)
United States (RIAA) United States (RIAA) Gold record icon.svg 3 × gold3 0! P- 2,000,000 riaa.com
All in all Gold record icon.svg 3 × gold3 -

swell

  1. ↑ David Riedel : Rob Grill of the Grass Roots dead at 67 CBS News , accessed April 17, 2012
  2. ↑ a b c Chart sources: Singles albums
  3. ↑ a b c gold / platinum database US

Web links