The Vagrants
There have been several bands called the Vagrants. Most of you would know the Vagrants from the 60's with Leslie West. There is also a barber shop quartet based in LA. and a rock outfit from Australia (see below).
The original Vagrants were a Long Island-based rock and blue-eyed soul group from the 1960s. The group was composed of Peter Sabatino on vocals, harmonica, and tambourine, Leslie West on vocals and guitar, Larry West on vocals and bass guitar, Jerry Storch on organ, and Roger Mansour on drums.
By 1965, the group had developed a professional press kit and had gained the interest of the semi-professional Southern Sound record label and soon released a single: Oh Those Eyes b/w You're Too Young. Though the single wasn't very popular, it did gain the attention of directors Vince Scarza and Douglas Hickox, who were directing a Beach Party film called "Disk-o-Tek Holiday," which featured various music artists performing songs throughout the film. The clip that featured The Vagrants performing "Oh Those Eyes" is now considered a classic piece of mid-sixties history. However, The Vagrants weren't that thrilled with just one single and an unpopular sequence in a Beach Party film, and were soon signed to the "folkie" label Vanguard. It was then that the group released their first minor hit: I Can't Make a Friend, which is frequently found on garage band compilations and is one of their most recognizable early efforts. Still unhappy, though, was Felix Pappalardi, a record producer that would later work with Cream, The Youngbloods, and Joan Baez. Pappalardi worked hard to sign the group to Atco Records, a sublabel of the famous Atlantic Recording Corporation. In the Eastern United States, a cover of Otis Redding's "Respect" became a smash hit. However, a few months later, Aretha Franklin's "Respect" was more of a success, therefore hurting the sales of The Vagrants' version. It wasn't long after the group released "Respect," however that guitarist Leslie West decided to reach further heights by forming his own group, Mountain with Felix Pappalardi. The formation of Mountain was extremely beneficial to West, though; he had many hits with the group: Mississippi Queen, For Yasgur's Farm, Nantucket Sleighride, Dreams of Milk and Honey, and Never In My Life among others. Though The Vagrants existed for such a short time, their impact on Long Island rockers is amazingly vibrant. A compilation of all of the group's singles (excepting both sides of the "Oh Those Eyes" 45) was released on a full-length record titled The Great Lost Album in 1986, upon which both Leslie and Larry West are credited by their birth names, Leslie and Larry Weinstein.
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The Vagrants (Australia)
They tour extensively in Europe every year and are about to release a new album called "Stand Up" which is mostly a high energy rock album. April / May 2011 in Germany.
The last album recorded by them is "Be True" which is mostly rock album.
Their latest bio can be read on their website but a snippet of it is as follows:
The Vagrants chose their name from a life on the road and it gives their music its diversity, raw energy, edge and sweet tones. The Vagrants have been gigging for years doing over 400 gigs. The Vagrants music is rock at its finest, and is compared to
AC DC, Pink, Ben Harper, Evanescence, Black Crows, Janis Joplin.
The Vagrants have recently been signed to a world wide deal with Warner Chappel, after a blistering showcase at Popkomm in Berlin. The Vagrants front woman Renate Ludwig has amazed audiences at hundreds of festivals, international fundraisers, and world-class clubs and venues in Australia, US, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic with her ballsy voice and intense stage presence.
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