(Translated from
my original Italian text
by Ornella C. Grannis)
The founders of San Francisco acid-rock, the first band to break away
from the conventions of the Merseybeat, and to ingest massive doses of
LSD, were the Charlatans. The group was built around two folksingers,
singer and drummer Dan Hicks and guitar player Mike Wilhelm, and one
underground light show experimenter, George Hunter.
In the summer of 1965 in Virginia City, Nevada, the Charlatans and a
small following of hippies took over the Red Dog Saloon and held concerts
six days a week. The premises, where Hunter created the first light shows,
and psychedelic guru Ken Kesey had become a fixture, were soon filled by
young people from the neighboring towns. When the police chased them out
of Virginia City, the hippie gathering moved to San Francisco. What
happened afterwards in San Francisco was nothing but the continuation of
what the Charlatans and their friends had started in Nevada.
But only after many years scanty and faded echoes of their sound reached
vinyl. The album they recorded in 1967 with singer Lynne Hughes, that
includes Codine and The Shadow Knows, was released after ten years with
the title The Charlatans (Groucho, 1977).
After losing Hicks and Hunter, Mike Wilhelm and the remaining members
recorded The Charlatans (Philips, 1969), a record that has nothing acid
about it.
Mike Wilhelm went on to form the Loose Gravel, whose songs can be found
on the live album Thanks For The Memories (Bucketful Of Brains, 1992);
then he joined the Flamin' Groovies. He also recorded a solo album, Mean
of Frisco (1985).
Dan Hicks formed the Hot Licks, a western swing band. Original Recordings
(Epic, 1969), which includes the acoustic How Can I Miss You If You Won't
Go Away, Canned Music and I Scared Myself originated a genre of folk-jazz
ballad that has nothing in common with the acid-rock of the Charlatans.
With a lineup that included Sid Page at the violin, John Girton at the
guitar, Jaime Leonard at the bass, and two female vocalists, the band
produced songs that were both intelligent and witty on Where' s The Money
(Blue Thumb, 1971), Striking It Rich (Blue Thumb, 1972) and Last Train To
Hicksville (Blue Thumb, 1973), all collected on Return To Hicksville
(Hip-O).
Hicks came back with Beatin' The Heat (Surfdog, 2000), credited to the Hot
Licks, although only Sid Page remains of the original lineup, an album
worthy of the multi-form roots-rock that characterized his earlier works.
(Original text by Piero Scaruffi)
The jazzy acoustic
Shootin' Straight (1994) includes the original versions of
Who Are You and 13-D.
Tangled Tales (2009) proved that Hicks was a songwriter and arranger
as good as any of the new generations. His
Tangled Tales as well as the songs recycled from
Shootin' Straight
(Who Are You and 13-D in particular)
would have been standout tracks on many of the hyped albums of that year.
Guests include veterans such as David Grisman, Charlie Musselwhite and Richard Greene.
Dan Hicks died in 2016.
Mike Wilhelm died in 2019.
