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American rock band

The Grass Roots are an American rock band that charted frequently between 1965 and 1975. The band was originally the creation of Lou Adler and songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. In their career, they achieved two gold albums and two gold singles, and charted singles on the Billboard Hot 100 a total of 21 times. Among their charting singles, they achieved Top 10 three times, Top 20 six times and Top 40 14 times. They have sold over 20 million records worldwide. Until his death in 2011, early member Rob Grill and a newer lineup of the Grass Roots continued to play many live performances each year. After his death, the group featured no original band members, with a lineup personally chosen by Grill carrying on the legacy of the group with nationwide live performances.

The name "Grass Roots" (originally spelled as one word "Grassroots") originated in mid 1965 as the name of a band project by Los Angeles songwriter and producer duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. Sloan and Barri had written several songs in an attempt by their record company, Dunhill Records (owned by Lou Adler), to cash in on the budding folk rock movement. One of these songs was "Where Were You When I Needed You", which was recorded by Sloan and Barri. Sloan provided the lead vocals and played guitar, Larry Knechtel played keyboards, Joe Osborn played the bass and Bones Howe was on drums. The song was released under "The Grass Roots" name and sent, as a demo, to several radio stations of the San Francisco Bay area. When moderate interest in this new band arose, Sloan and Barri went to look for a group that could incorporate the Grass Roots name. They found one in The Bedouins, a San Francisco band that won a Battle of the Bands at a Teenage Fair in San Mateo, California. After Fukomoto was drafted into the army, the group went through two replacements before the label found singer Rob Grill, who had a voice that P. F. Sloan regarded as the perfect vehicle to convey his songs in a more commercially accessible manner than Sloan could with his own singing. Grill only played guitar, but had to quickly learn the rudiments of bass to fill that vacancy in the lineup. In 1967 the band was offered the choice to go with their own name or choose to adopt a name that had already been heard of nationwide. In the beginning, they were one of many U. S. guitar pop/rock bands, but with the help of Barri and their other producers, they developed a unique sound for which they drew as heavily on British beat as on soul music, rhythm and blues, and folk rock. Many of their recordings featured a brass section, which was a novelty in those days among American rock bands, with groups like Chicago just developing. The bulk of the band's material continued to be written by Dunhill Records staff (not only Sloan and Barri) and the LA studio musicians who were part of what became known as the Wrecking Crew played the music on most, but not all, of their hits. With Rob Grill as lead singer, they recorded a third version of "Where Were You When I Needed You". The band continued in a similar hit making vein for the next five years (1967–1972). The Grass Roots played at the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival on Sunday, June 11, 1967, in the Summer of Love as "Let's Live for Today" was at number 15 and climbing. In late 1967, the band recorded the album Feelings, which featured much heavier input in the songwriting and playing by the group members themselves, but its failure to sell prompted Barri to take full hold of the reins again, as he moved the band in a more R&B, horn punctuated direction. By this time, Sloan had phased out of his involvement with the band and relocated to New York City to pursue a solo career. On Sunday October 27, 1968, the Grass Roots played at the San Francisco Pop Festival as their hit "Midnight Confessions" (their first record to feature horns, and with Carol Kaye playing the opening bassline This was the first of many line up changes for this version of the band. According to Rob Grill, the band turned down "Don't Pull Your Love" and "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)," the latter supposedly because one of the members had a girlfriend named Rosemary and they thought it was inappropriate to have a song with her name and not the other members' girlfriends. Both songs became regulars they performed live and later included on their 2000 live album The Grass Roots – Live At Last. The Grass Roots, with their new members, played at Newport Pop Festival 1969 at Devonshire Downs, which was a racetrack at the time but now is part of the North Campus for California State University, Northridge. The group played on Sunday June 22, 1969, a week before their hit "I'd Wait A Million Years" reached the Hot 100. In Canada they played at the Vancouver Pop Festival at the Paradise Valley Resort in British Columbia in August 1969. By 1971, Furlong had stopped touring with the group to pursue a solo career, but continued to contribute on records during the rest of the band's time on Dunhill. His touring replacement was Brian Naughton, who left in 1972. Drummer Rick Coonce was gone as well, by the beginning of 1972, and new members Joe Pollard (drums, percussion) and another guitarist named Terry (last name unknown) joined up. Terry was soon replaced by Reed Kailing (vocals, guitars). Drummer Pollard and keyboardist Dennis Provisor left soon after to go out as a duo (although Provisor was featured on the band's 1972 Move Along album) and were replaced by a returning Rick Coonce and keyboard man Virgil Weber (ex Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds and Climax). But Coonce was back for only a short period before he was gone again, turning the drum slot over to original member Joel Larson. Singers Rob Grill and Warren Entner remained the point of focus during these years. The group's songs during 1967–1972 include: "Let's Live for Today", a cover of an Italian hit by The Rokes, "Piangi con me" (U. S. number eight) and "Things I Should Have Said" (U. S. number 23) (1967); "Midnight Confessions" (U. S. number five, their biggest hit) (1968); "Bella Linda" (a cover of an Italian hit by Lucio Battisti, "Balla Linda") (U. S. number 28), "Lovin' Things" (a cover of a UK hit by Marmalade the previous year) (U. S. number 49), "The River Is Wide" (U. S. number 31), "I'd Wait a Million Years" (U. S. number 15) and "Heaven Knows" (U. S. number 24) (1969); "Walking Through the Country" (U. S. number 44) and "Baby Hold On" (U. S. number 35) (1970); "Temptation Eyes" (number 15), "Sooner or Later" (U. S. number 9) and "Two Divided by Love" (U. S. number 16) (1971); "Glory Bound" (U. S. number 34) and "The Runway" (U. S. number 39) (1972). By early 1974, the Grass Roots had left Dunhill (now ABC Records), and Kailing, Weber and longtime member Entner (later a successful manager with groups such as Rage Against the Machine and Quiet Riot) moved on, while former members Terry Furlong and Dennis Provisor returned. But Furlong left permanently by mid 1974 to be succeeded by Gene Barkin, then by Reggie Knighton. The resulting group was Grill, Larson, Provisor, and Knighton. Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, who had penned the group's 1971 hit "Two Divided by Love" and many others, invited the band to join their Haven label, where they released an eponymous album in 1975, The Grass Roots, containing the single "Mamacita", which charted at number 71 on the Billboard Hot 100. Follow up singles failed to chart.

Their 1976 single "Out In The Open" proved to be their swan song on Haven. Knighton left in 1976 and Alan Deane took over, followed by guitarist Glen Shulfer in 1977. ABC Records issued a final greatest hits package of the group titled ABC Collection in 1976, but in late 1977, Grill decided to take a break from performing and later recorded the 14 Greats album on Gusto Records featuring Provisor and himself. This album consisted of 1978 rerecordings of their hits. The group, still managed and booked by Grill (who owned the group's name), in late 1977 continued touring with Larson, Mark Miller (lead vocals, guitar) and Brian Carlyss (bass, backing vocals), joined by Lonnie Price (lead vocals, keyboards) and Randy Ruff (organ, backing vocals) for touring dates and TV appearances until November 1978. Larson was then joined by new players Scott Hoyt (lead vocals, guitars), David Nagy (lead vocals, bass) and Gene Wall (keyboards). Nagy and Larson left in 1979 and were replaced by a returning Carlyss and Reagan McKinley (drums, percussion). During this period, the group appeared on an HBO television special, '60s Rock Scrapbook, filmed at Magic Mountain amusement park in Valencia, California, in October 1979, with Grill and Dennis Provisor making special appearances. Grill launched a solo career in 1979 (assisted on his solo album, Uprooted, by Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac on the song "Rock Sugar"). Grill toured as a solo act in 1979–1980 opening for Fleetwood Mac's Tusk tour with a band led by guitarist Rick Alexander. When interest in bands of the 1960s rose again in 1980, Grill (along with Provisor, Shulfer and new players Steve Berendt (bass) and Luke Meurett (drums)) took back the Grass Roots name and toured the United States and Japan. Guitarist Miller returned to fill in on guitar for Shulfer on some dates with the group in 1981 and Ron Pitt and Mike Daley replaced Berendt and Meurett respectively the same year.

In 1982 Grill went forward with a brand new lineup consisting of seasoned session players. They were Terry Oubre (guitars, backing vocals), Charles Judge (keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals) and Ralph Gilmore (drums, percussion, backing vocals). Another keyboardist, Bob Luna, came in around mid 1982 to substitute for Judge on dates when he was not available. That same year, the new band released Powers of the Night on MCA. This was the last album of new material to be released by the Grass Roots to date. Later in 1982, the Grass Roots performed an Independence Day concert on the National Mall in Washington, DC, attracting a large crowd and setting a record for attendance (over half a million people), at that time, for an outdoor concert for a single musical act. In April 1983, James G. Watt, President Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Interior, banned Independence Day concerts on the mall by such groups. Watt said, "rock bands" that had performed on the Mall on Independence Day in 1981 and 1982 had encouraged drug use and alcoholism and had attracted "the wrong element", who would mug people and families attending any similar events in the future. In 1986 another package had them appearing with The Monkees, Gary Puckett and Herman's Hermits. They were joined in this show by bassist Mark Clarke (ex Uriah Heep and Rainbow) and a horn section and backed up The Monkees and Gary Puckett during their sets, as well. Hanvey and Nelson continued backing The Monkees for their 1987 tour, while the Grass Roots joined Classic Superfest, which also featured Herman's Hermits, Mark Lindsay and Gene Clark's Byrds. For this tour, Mark Tomorsky handled guitar and Michael Lewis (soon replaced by Robbie Barker) was on keyboards. Terry Danauer was also added on bass then, but by October 1987, Hanvey and Nelson were back with Grill, and Joe Dougherty replaced David Page on drums in 1989. In 1991 Rhino Records released a double CD anthology of the group. Mike Stec came in for Danauer on bass in 1992–1993 before Grill took over bass again. From here on the band's lineup was stable.

On January 16, 1999 former Grass Roots members Joel Larson, Virgil Weber and Creed Bratton, along with Paul Downing on vocals and lead guitar (of Herman's Hermits and The Standells), Justin Chats on vocals, keyboards and saxophone, Dan Schwartz on bass and David Olson on backing vocals, were part of a 35th Anniversary Celebration at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles. They shared the stage with Johnny Rivers, Nancy Sinatra, the Robby Krieger Band and Drake Levin and Phil Volk of Paul Revere and the Raiders. In 2000 Grill released a Grass Roots live concert album titled Live at Last, which was followed in 2001 by an album with a symphonic quartet titled Symphonic Hits. Rick Coonce died of heart failure on February 25, 2011, and Rob Grill died on July 11, 2011, from complications following a stroke.

In 2012 the group was again part of the Happy Together Tour and the current band of Dawson, Dougherty, Hanvey and Nelson continued to tour nationwide, oftentimes appearing with other classic rock groups such as John Kay and Steppenwolf, Tommy James and The Shondells, The Buckinghams and Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone. Creed Bratton referred to his time with the Grass Roots in an episode of The Office ("Booze Cruise" in season two) in the deleted scenes on DVD. Again in 2015, they joined The Turtles, The Association, Mark Lindsay, The Buckinghams and The Cowsills for that year's Happy Together Tour. In December 2015, the American Pop Music Hall of Fame released their 2016 inductees: Barbra Streisand, The Grass Roots, Barry Manilow, Neil Sedaka, The Association, Dion, The Lettermen, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Temptations and Three Dog Night. In 2016, the Grass Roots were part of the Flower Power Cruise, joining Peter Asher, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Felix Cavaliere, Micky Dolenz, The Guess Who, Peter Noone, Jefferson Starship, Mark Lindsay, Gary Puckett, The Turtles and Christian Nesmith.

The name Grass Roots was used sporadically by Arthur Lee of Love, in the Los Angeles area. Dunhill Records secured the legal use of the name by releasing a record, which Lee never did. The song "Let's Live for Today" has the identical Italian melody and virtually the same arrangement that was used in an earlier song called "Be Mine Again"; although this song includes the "One, Two, Three, Four" and "Sha La La La La" as in the Grass Roots hit, the lyrics are otherwise different. The version by Dutch band The Skope that was released in 1966 is included on the Pebbles, Volume 15 LP. The band was seen in the Doris Day film With Six You Get Eggroll. They play the song "Feelings" at a crowded dance party. The Grass Roots have appeared on over 50 national television shows, including The Tonight Show, The Today Show, Ed Sullivan, Andy Williams, Sonny & Cher, Good Morning America, VH1 Hit Makers, MTV, and a record 16 times on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. The 1975 The Grass Roots LP is seen in the film FM. The back cover appears in a long DJ broadcast room scene with characters played by Cleavon Little and Martin Mull. The band is mentioned by John Candy's character in the film Uncle Buck. He comments about the music while navigating a teenage party looking for his missing niece. Guitarist Creed Bratton played a character also named Creed Bratton, a fictional version of himself, in the US version of the television show The Office. In a scene that never aired from the episode "Booze Cruise", Bratton's boss, Michael, borrowed the guitar from a cruise ship's band and poorly plays a version of "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple. Bratton then takes the guitar from Michael and proceeds to surprise the rest of the passengers with his excellent playing. The scene then cuts to a confessional, where Bratton talks of his time with the Grass Roots, complete with pictures of the actual band and references to actual tours. In another deleted scene from the episode "Product Recall", a fictional Scranton Times writer notices Bratton was a member of the Grass Roots. He also sang one of his own songs titled "Spinnin' N Reelin in the episode "A Benihana Christmas". In the series finale, it is again mentioned that Creed was a member of the Grass Roots. Creed performs his own song "All the Faces" to close out the episode. The band was mentioned frequently on the nationally syndicated Don and Mike radio show. Don Geronimo sat in with the band several times at performances in the Washington, D. C. area. The Grass Roots version of the Bob Dylan song "Ballad of a Thin Man" was featured in the 1987 Robin Williams film Good Morning, Vietnam. The Grass Roots song "Midnight Confessions" was featured in the 1997 film Jackie Brown. In 2006 former manager Marty Angelo published a book entitled Once Life Matters: A New Beginning, which has numerous stories about his life on the road with Rob Grill and the Grass Roots in the early 1970s. The song "Let's Live for Today" serves as the title music for Apple TV's 2022 Pachinko.