The Chambers Brothers

他們最多被介紹為民謠、迷幻樂隊，還包括福音歌曲元素。Chambers兄弟：貝斯手 George, 吉他 Willie和Joe, 豎琴 Lester ，同一血脈的他們是否因基因相連而產(chǎn)生的統(tǒng)一感？他們來自西海岸Lee County, MS，一個佃農(nóng)耕種的貧困家庭，且都是當(dāng)?shù)亟烫贸姲喑蓡T。1952年George服兵役后，他們在洛杉磯重新組團(tuán)，并在1954年的南加州粉墨登場，但一直到1965年紐約演出后才多少算是有些知名度，并參與Newport民謠節(jié)演出。后來加入的白人鼓手Brian Keenan，在當(dāng)時種族歧視尚算嚴(yán)重的社會環(huán)境下尤為難得，而且他給這個樂隊帶來了搖滾風(fēng)格，錄制了第一張LP－People Get Ready，并開始頻繁在一些俱樂部或是藍(lán)調(diào)小酒館演出。
1968年他們簽約哥倫比亞唱片公司，發(fā)行專輯Time Has Come Today，這張顛峰之作無論從音樂成就還是產(chǎn)品銷量上成為他們之后都無法跨越的高度，其中同名歌曲更是在音樂電臺中占據(jù)了牢不可破的地位。哥倫比亞公司在90年代發(fā)行了 2000張 CD，并收錄一些 1966-67 non-LP B-sides歌曲。
雖然被譽(yù)為BOB DYLAN的接班人，但可惜的是他們沒能繼續(xù)下去。1972年，在發(fā)行最后一張專輯Unbonded. Right Move后，樂隊解散。不過幸運(yùn)的是，之后他們?nèi)耘紶枙约彝ソM合的方式演出。
by Jason Ankeny
Like their West Coast contemporaries Sly and the Family Stone, the Chambers Brothers shattered racial and musical divides to forge an incendiary fusion of funk, gospel, blues, and psychedelia which reached its apex with the perennial 1968 song Time Has Come Today. The Chambers siblings — bassist George, guitarist Willie, harpist Lester, and guitarist Joe, all of whom contributed vocals — were born and raised in Lee County, MS; the products of an impoverished sharecropping family, the brothers first polished their vocal harmonies in the choir of their Baptist church, a collaboration which ended after George was drafted into the army in 1952. Following his discharge he relocated to Los Angeles, where the other Chambers brothers soon settled as well; the foursome began performing gospel and folk throughout Southern California in 1954, but remained virtually unknown until appearing in New York City in 1965. The addition of white drummer Brian Keenan not only made the Chambers Brothers an interracial group, but pushed their music closer to rock & roll; a well-received appearance at the Newport Folk Festival further enhanced their growing reputation, and they soon recorded their debut LP, People Get Ready.
As the Chambers Brothers toured rock clubs (including the famed Fillmore in San Francisco) and R&B venues (most notably the Apollo Theatre) alike, their music increasingly embraced elements of both; after recording 1968s Shout! for the Vault label, the group signed to Columbia to issue Time Has Come Today, scoring a major pop hit with the title track, an 11-minute psychedelic soul epic in its original album incarnation. The follow-up, A New Time—A New Day, yielded another Top 40 hit, a cover of the Otis Reddings classic I Cant Turn You Loose, but subsequent efforts including 1969s Love, Peace and Happiness and 1970s Live at Fillmore East failed to maintain the commercial momentum. Upon completing 1972s Oh My God!, the Chambers Brothers disbanded, only to reunite two years later for Unbonded. Right Move appeared in 1975, and although no new studio records were forthcoming, the group regularly performed live in the decades to follow, with the brothers also pursuing individual projects; the Chambers Family Choir, a gospel group including the siblings own children, remained a priority as well.