Shadows Of Knight: 4 Albums(Dark Sides 1994 + Gloria 1966 + Back Door Men 1966 + Alive In '65 2018)

 

The Shadows of Knight are an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, who play a form of British blues mixed with influences from their native city.
Initially formed in 1964 as simply the Shadows, the band learned in spring 1965 of an existing British group, the Shadows. Whiz Winters, a friend who worked for their manager, Paul Sampson, in his record shop, came up with the name "The Shadows of Knight" to tie into the British Invasion in music of that time, and because all four of the band members attended Prospect High School in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, whose sports team had the name the "Knights".

                                                       

                                                                              

They released three albums in their first five years of existence. Founding members included Warren Rogers (lead guitar), Roger Spielmann (rhythm and lead guitar/vocals) Norm Gotsch (rhythm guitar),

Wayne Pursell (bass guitar), Tom Schiffour (drums) and Jim Sohns (vocals). Sohns was 16 at the time. During 1965, Joe Kelley was recruited to play bass, replacing Pursell. Kelley swapped bass and lead duties with Rogers in late 1965 - at the time of the "Gloria" recordings. Guitarist and vocalist Jerry McGeorge replaced Norm Gotsch in late 1965 after Gotsch was drafted into the U.S. military. David "Hawk" Wolinski, who later worked with Rufus and Chaka Khan, replaced Rogers on bass in late 1966.

       

                                                                       

The Shadows of Knight soon released the Gloria album, followed by the Back Door Men LP, in the

summer of 1966. Subsequent singles included their version of the Bo Diddley song "Oh Yeah" (which reached No. 39 nationally), "Bad Little Woman" (No. 91), and the powerhouse "I'm Gonna Make You Mine" (No. 90), which can be seen as a precursor to hard rock.[citation needed] However, none of these releases approached their initial commercial success. Failure to find a winning followup to "Gloria" handicapped the band's earning power and led to its disintegration.

      

                                                                             
By mid-1967, the only original member of the Shadows of Knight remaining was vocalist Jim Sohns,

who, through simple default, inherited the band's name and legacy. Contrary to claims Sohns owns the band's name. The band name is now solely owned, via trademark registration (trademark numbers 5529482 and 5255086). Roger Spielmann quit the band in 1967 in order to avoid the Vietnam draft, and currently lives in Canada.[citation needed] In 1968, Dunwich sold the master tapes to its Shadow of Knight recordings to Atlantic Records for one dollar. Sohns then moved the band from Chicago to New York, where it signed with Buddah Records. 

     

                                                                                 
Sohns had hoped to take the band in a British power-rock direction, but the Super K record label pulled them into a more commercial orientation, pairing the band with bubblegum groups such as the 1910

Fruitgum Company and the Ohio Express on tour. In 1969, the second generation Shadows of Knight released "Shake" on Buddha's short-lived subsidiary Team Records; the track eventually climbed to No. 46 (No. 37 Canada Dec.68). That same year, without the band's knowledge or consent, the unsuccessful update "Gloria '69" was released by Dunwich. It consisted of new bass and guitar tracks overdubbed by Peter Cetera (later of Chicago) and Jim Donlinger (a member of Aorta), both Chicago rock veterans.

      

                                                                             
Tom Schiffour left the band in spring 1967, first to be replaced by a young local fan of the band, Bruce Bruscato. He was subsequently replaced by Tom Morris. The original band fragmented further when McGeorge departed for acid-rock band H.P. Lovecraft, while Kelley left to front his own blues band. Hawk Wolinski also left the band to form Bangor Flying Circus with Schiffour and guitarist Alan De Carlo. Schiffour was later replaced by drummer Michael Tegza, also of the (by then-defunct) H.P. Lovecraft.

Studio Albums

1966     Gloria     Dunwich Records 666
1966     Back Door Men     Dunwich Records 667
1969     Shadows of Knight     Super K SKS 6002
2007     A Knight To Remember     Bassic-Lee Music

DARK SIDES (BEST OF) 1994

 

The Shadows Of Knight ‎– Dark Sides (The Best Of)
Label: Rhino Records ‎– R2 71723
Format: CD, Compilation, Remastered
Country: US
Released: 1994
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock

TRACKS

                                                                                  

01. Gloria  (Written-By – Morrison)    
02. Dark Side  (Written-By – Sohns, Rogers)    
03. Oh Yeah  (Written-By – McDaniel)    
04. Light Bulb Blues  (Written-By – Sohns, McGeorge, Kelley)    
05. It Always Happens That Way  (Written-By – Sohns, Rogers)    
06. I Got My Mojo Working  (Written-By – Preston Foster)    
07. You Can't Judge A Book (By The Cover)  (Written-By – Dixon)    
08. Bad Little Woman  (Organ – Dave "The Hawk" Wolinski) (Written-By – Rosbotham, Armstrong, Demick, Tinsley, Catling)    
09. Gospel Zone  (Written-By – Schiffour)    
10. I'll Make You Sorry  (Written-By – Kelley)    
11. I'm Gonna Make You Mine  (Written-By – Carr, D'Errico, Bayer)    
12. Peepin' And Hidin'  (Electric Piano – Dave "The Hawk" Wolinski, Lead Vocals – Joe Kelly)  (Written-By – Reed)    
13. Willie Jean  (Arranged By – Pye) (Written-By – Trad)    
14. The Behemoth  (Written-By – Pye)    
15. Someone Like Me  (Bass – Dave "The Hawk" Wolinski) (Written-By – McDowell, Novak)    
16. Three For Love  (Lead Vocals – Jerry McGeorge) (Written-By – Kelley)    
17. Shake  (Written-By – Levine, Resnick)    
18. My Fire Department Needs A Fireman  (Written-By – Katz, Kasenetz)    
19. Alone  (Written-By – Levine, Feldman)    
20. I Am The Hunter (Lead Guitar – Jack "Hawkeye" Daniels) (Written-By – Sohns, Fisher)

Musicians

Bass – John Fisher
Bass, Lead Guitar – Warren Rogers
Drums – Kenny Turkin, Tom Schiffour
Lead Guitar – Woody Woodruff
Lead Guitar, Bass, Blues Harp – Joe Kelly
Lead Vocals, Tambourine, Maracas – Jim Sohns
Rhythm Guitar – Dan Baughman
Rhythm Guitar, Other [Feedback] – Jerry McGeorge   
Producer [Original Recordings] – Arthur Resnick (tracks: 17, 19), Bill Traut (tracks: 1 to 4, 8 to 11, 13 to 16, 20), George Badonsky (tracks: 1 to 4, 8 to 11, 13 to 16, 20), Jeff Katz (tracks: 18), Jerry Kasenetz (tracks: 18), Joe Levine (tracks: 17, 19)
Remastered By – Bill Inglot, Ken Perry

MP3 @ 320 Size: 122 MB
Flac  Size: 283 MB

GLORIA  1966

                                                                              

Gloria is the first album by the Shadows of Knight, released in 1966 on Dunwich Records 666. The Shadows of Knight are primarily known for their hit version of the Van Morrison penned Them band's "Gloria", but the band today is regarded as one of the original punk bands. 

TRACKS

                                                                                 

01. Gloria (Van Morrison) – 2:34
02. Light Bulb Blues (Jerry McGeorge, James Alan Sohns) – 2:32
03. I Got My Mojo Working (McKinley Morganfield) – 3:28
04. Darkside (Warren Rogers, James Alan Sohns) – 2:00
05. Boom Boom (John Lee Hooker) – 2:28
06. Let It Rock (Chuck Berry) – 1:52
07. Oh Yeah (Ellas McDaniel) – 2:45
08. It Always Happens That Way (Rogers, Sohns) – 1:52
09. You Can't Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover (Willie Dixon) – 2:37
10. (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man (Dixon) – 3:52
11. I Just Want to Make Love to You (Dixon) – 3:49

Bonus tracks on LP and CD reissue, 1998

12. Oh Yeah (alternate version) (McDaniel) – 2:45
13. I Got My Mojo Working (alternate version) (Morganfield) – 3:14
14. Someone Like Me" (single release not on original album) (David MacDowell, Rich Novak) – 2:18
                                                                                     

Musicians

Jim Sohns – vocals
Warren Rogers – lead guitar, backing vocals
Jerry McGeorge – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Joe Kelley – bass guitar
Tom Schiffour – drums

MP3 @ 320 Size: 90.8 MB
Flac  Size: 213 MB

BACK DOOR MEN  1966

                                                                                 

Back Door Men is the second album by The Shadows of Knight. Both this album and its predecessor, Gloria, were released in 1966 and are considered to be seminal garage band albums. As noted by one

reviewer, "The original LP version of this album, the second by the legendary white Chicago garage punk/blues outfit, was one of the most sought-after artifacts of mid-'60s punk rock. Back Door Men was a loud, feedback-laden, sneering piece of rock & roll defiance, mixing raunchy anthems to teenage lust (Gospel Zone', 'Bad Little Woman'), covers of Chicago blues classics (Willie Dixon's 'Spoonful', Jimmy Reed's 'Peepin' and Hidin'), raga rock ('The Behemoth'), folk-rock ('Hey Joe', 'Three for Love', 'I'll Make You Sorry'), and a blues-punk grab off of commercial Top 40 ('Tomorrow's Gonna Be Another Day'), all on one 12" platter. What makes the record even more startling is that every one of these tracks, however far afield they go from one another, works.".

TRACKS

                                                                                    

  
01. Bad Little Woman (Herbie Armstrong, Victor Catling, Rod Demick, Brian Rosbotham, Tito Tinsley) – 2:37
02. Gospel Zone (Tom Schiffour) – 3:19
03. The Behemoth (Harry Pye) – 2:34
04. Three for Love (Joe Kelly) – 3:11
05. Hey Joe (Billy Roberts) – 5:42
06. I'll Make You Sorry (Kelly) – 2:42
07. Peepin' and Hidin' (Jimmy Reed) - 3:01
08. Tomorrow's Going to Be Another Day (Tommy Boyce) – 2:23
09. New York Bullseye (Pye) – 2:43
10. High Blood Pressure (Huey "Piano" Smith, Johnny Vincent) – 3:38
11. Spoonful (Willie Dixon) – 2:57

Bonus tracks on LP and CD reissue, 1998

12. Gospel Zone (single version) (Schiffour) – 3:20

13. Willie Jean (single) (Hoyt Axton, incorrectly identified as "Traditional; arranged by Harry Pye") – 2:50
14. I'm Gonna Make You Mine (single) (William Carr, Carl D'Errico, Carole Bayer Sager) – 2:30[3]

Musicians

David "Hawk" Wolinski – organ, piano, keyboards
Joe Kelly – guitar, harmonica, harp
Jerry McGeorge – guitar, rhythm guitar, feedback
Warren Rogers – bass guitar
Tom Schiffour – drums
Jim Sohns – maracas, marimba, tambourine, vocals

Flac  Size: 260 MB

ALIVE IN '65  (2018)

 

The Shadows Of Knight ‎– Alive In '65 !
Label: Sundazed ‎– BRCD 145, BeatRocket ‎– BRCD 145
Format: CD, Album, Mono
Country: US
Released: 18 May 2018
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock

Until now, little has been written about the Shadows of Knight’s Pre-Dunwich days. For sure, no recordings have surfaced from the period prior to “Gloria” taking hold on the hit parade. But back in

Chicago’s north-west suburbs, one year earlier, they were already #1; at least with the clamoring teens that packed The Cellar club in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Norm Gotsch was a founding member of the Shadows of Knight; and along with Warren Rogers, one of the group’s original guitarists. He was responsible for recording the Shadows of Knight live set that makes up this raw ‘n’ alive archival release. Norm, along with Rogers, was also there from the band’s inception. Here he helps unravel the Shadows of Knight’s rarely-documented early history!

TRACKS

 

01. Not Fade Away     2:04
02. Money     2:48
03. You Really Got Me     2:06
04. Introducing The Band     0:52
05. Carol     3:15
06. Rawhide     1:39
07. Memphis     2:01
08. Break Time     0:41
09. It's All Right     2:23
10. Heart Of Stone     2:39
11. All Day And All Of The Night     2:20
12. I'm A King Bee     3:01
13. Louie Louie     2:35
14. (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66     2:36

MP3 @320 Size: 74.4 MB
Flac Size: 120 MB