The Family Dogg were a British vocal group, noted for their harmony vocals. They are best known for their debut album, A Way of Life, and the subsequent single of the same name.
The Family Dogg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | England |
| Genres | Rock, pop |
| Years active | 1966–1976[1] |
| Past members | Albert Hammond Steve Rowland Mike Hazlewood Christine Holmes Doreen De Veuve Pam "Zooey" Quinn Kevin Lamb Ireen Sheer Sue Lynn Sherri Lynn Pat Arnold |
Career
editThe idea was born when the Anglo-American singers of the Spanish groups, Los Flaps and Diamond Boys, Albert Hammond and Steve Rowland met for the first time at a concert in Madrid in 1964.[1] In 1966, the Family Dogg was formed in England with the participation of the singers Mike Hazlewood and Pam Zooey Quinn. The debut album, A Way of Life was released in 1969, and the title track scored a number 6 hit in the UK Singles Chart.[2] Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin were guest musicians on this album, along with Elton John.[1]
In 1970, the group was renamed 'Steve Rowland and the Family Dogg'.[1] During April–June 1970, they had a number 1 hit in the Netherlands with the song "Sympathy", previously recorded by the group Rare Bird in 1969.[1][3] In 1972, Steve Rowland released a last Family Dogg album, The View from Rowland's Head, with guest musicians Chris Spedding on guitar and Ireen Sheer as singer. This album had two pressings, one in the UK and one in the US. Between the two, were included six cover songs that were written by Sixto Diaz Rodriguez.[1] Five of them were previously recorded on Rodriguez's album, Cold Fact. The sixth, "Advice To Smokey Robinson", was never recorded by Rodriguez.
The Family Dogg also released the singles "Family Dog" / "The Storm" in 1967 (the latter is a song originally written by the Bee Gees in Australia) on the MGM label, and "Silly Grin" / "Couldn't Help It", and "Brown Eyed Girl" / "Let It Rain" in 1968;[4] on the Fontana label.
Their final release in 1976 was a cover version of "Uptown Uptempo Woman".[1]
Christine Holmes (born Christine Authors) had earlier recorded seven solo singles between 1964 and 1971 which were released on the Mercury and Polydor labels, and had appeared as a presenter on the BBC children's show Crackerjack in 1966–69. On 31 December 1974, she appeared on UK television singing on the Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club, introduced by Bernard Manning. Her stage name at that time was Kristine Sparkle, under which she recorded five singles and an album (Image) for the Decca label. She went on to co-write and record "Devil Woman" with Terry Britten, which became a 1976 top 10 hit for Cliff Richard, and released a further seven singles and an album (I'm a Song), under the name Kristine, on the United Artists and husband J. J. Barrie's Power Exchange labels.
Group members
editOriginal line-up
edit- Steve Rowland – vocals, guitar, drums
- Albert Hammond – vocals, guitar
- Mike Hazlewood – vocals, guitar
- Christine Holmes – vocals
- Doreen De Veuve – vocals
- Pam "Zooey" Quinn – vocals
Later members
edit- Ireen Sheer – vocals
- Sue Lynn – vocals
- Sherri Lynn [Brenda Pidduck] – vocals
- Pat Arnold – vocals
Discography
editAlbums
edit- 1969: A Way of Life
- 1972: The View from Rowland's Head[5]
- 1983: Greatest Hits
- 1990: A View From Rowland's Head
- 2000: Sympathy
- 2014: A Way of Life Anthology 1967-1976
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BE (FLA) [6] |
BE (WA) [7] |
GER [8] |
IRE [9] |
NL [10] |
UK [11] | ||
| 1967 | "The Storm" | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1968 | "Silly Grin" | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "Brown Eyed Girl" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1969 | "A Way of Life" | — | — | 38 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
| "Arizona" | — | — | — | — | Tip | — | |
| 1970 | "Sympathy" (as Steve Rowland and the Family Dogg) | 10 | 4 | — | — | 1 | — |
| "When Tomorrow Comes Tomorrow" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" (Netherlands-only release) | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1971 | "Coat of Many Colours" | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1972 | "Sweet America" | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "Rikers Island" (as Steve Rowland and the Family Dogg; US-only release) | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1976 | "Uptown, Uptempo Woman" | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released | |||||||
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Mark Deming. "The Family Dogg | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 195. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl.
- ^ "The Family Dogg – Brown Eyed Girl / Let It Rain – Hansa – Germany – 14 129 AT". 45cat. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ "The Family Dogg | Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". Ultratop.be. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Discographie Japan" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
- ^ "FAMILY DOGG | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
External links
edit- The Family Dogg
- The Family Dogg discography at Discogs
- YouTube channel