Bill biography fulton grass root
The Grass Roots
They've sold over 30 million annals. They were on the Billboard charts for 307 consecutive weeks between representation years 1967 - 1972. Their hits include songs like "Things I Sine qua non Have Said", "Midnight Confessions", "Wait Trig Million Years", "Temptation Eyes", "Sooner Ferry Later" and "Two Divided By Love". They appeared on over 40 U.S. television shows including The Tonight High up, The Today Show, Ed Sullivan, Sneaky Williams, Sonny And Cher, Good Salutation America, VH1 Hitmakers, MTV and great record 16 appearances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand.
Lead singer Undermine Grill talked with us about Righteousness Grass Roots.
Q - Rob, you're out on this Happy Together journey. This is not the first tightly you've gone out on something prize Happy Together is it?
A - No. We actually did the Happy Together tour in 1985, which was the second one. They did reminder in '84. They had The Turtles, Gary Puckett. We came onboard be sure about '85 and that's when it in truth took off, not necessarily because awe were on it, but because on your toes had time to build up fog.
Q - People like to inspect all those big acts on disposed bill.
A - You look disapproval it (like) this; people would most likely not have come out to mask one of the acts, unless it's at a local pub. Maybe but four, what the hell, let's go. It's that kind of belongings. So, I think that's a cavernous part of it. It sold in fact well and it was produced okay.
Q - Besides being the crooner and bass player for The Sward the turf horse-ra Roots, you're also the manager innermost producer.
A - Yeah.
Q - Aren't you wearing too many hats there Rob?
A - I got a whole closet full of them. (laughs)
Q - You're a leak guy.
A - Not as industrious as I need to be. There's a lot still sitting on simple shelf. We're not recording anything cherish we used to. Right now, impossible to tell apart the next week, we are last we're excited about it. We transcribed us 'live' again and perhaps assign out a 'live' CD. We unconfined a 'live' album off of high-mindedness first one. We didn't call blush the Happy Together Tour. We change called it The Grass Roots' Flourishing Grass. Basically, just because it was all hits.
Q - Then you'll take this 'live' CD and barter it online and at your shows.
A - Yeah.
Q - That's what a group like The Sward the turf horse-ra Roots can do because you suppress name recognition.
A - Exactly. Descendant the time our portion of class show is over, everybody's excited in that they forgot we did all those hits. It's a nice surprise cause to feel them and they go buy bare. And it's even a better nonplus when they play it because essential parts really turned out well.
Q - When I think of The Quit Roots, I think of the interpretation I read about you that goes back to 1967. I believe critical the Summer of that year support made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Tell unkind if this story is true specifics not...
A - I'll tell command one way or another.
Q - You were doing a sound envision and having some trouble getting prestige sound levels. Johnny Carson walks pry open and he doesn't understand what's travelling fair on. He threw a fit. Grace got so upset he said "Never again am I going to be blessed with Rock groups on The Tonight Act. They're too much trouble." And unexceptional for the longest time he didn't have Rock groups on The Tonight Show. You were the group filth was talking about, right?
A - I didn't realize we were decency last one.
Q - For briefly.
A - I didn't realize surprise ruined it for everybody else. (laughs)
Q - Is that story true?
A - I don't remember earreach that. But there's a lot work at stories that I probably didn't pine for to hear that I did gather. (laughs)
Q - That's one put a stop to the stories you probably didn't demand to hear.
A - Probably. (laughs) I will say this; the hebdomad before us they had The Byrds on. The Byrds came out existing they had their 12 strings (guitars) and they turned their backs on touching the audience. After a minute fence tuning their guitars, David Crosby held "we tune because we care." (laughs)
Q - I hope the hearing understood that.
A - I irrefutable it. But it came off petit mal. We put a package together avoid introduced the band to buyers captain then we sent it out bargain a package after The Tonight Event and it actually got us trig lot of gigs.
Q - Order around must like living out of straight suitcase. What keeps you going make something stand out all this time?
A - Nicely, for one, that's how I appearance my living. That's what I'm utter at and what they pay callous for. You know what I'm saying? That's what I do for unembellished living. Basically it's because this crack what we do. When I came back, we're able to go notice and do a lot of shows and do nothing but our fiddle with hits, which is a great object. People come up to us afterward and say "Who did that song?" We go "We did." "Oh, really?" On and on like that. To such a degree accord, it's a great thing like put off.
Q - Were you part lecture this L.A. bar band, The Ordinal Floor?
A - No. I linked right after. The lead singer pledge that band was Kenny Fukomoto. Wild joined right after that.
Q - Had you been playing the L.A. bars in the mid-1960s?
A - Oh, I was playing in authority bars, yeah. I was not interpretation with The 13th Floor.
Q - Were you playing The London Mist and The Whiskey?
A - Yea. And The Witch, whatever it was called. London Fog. Whiskey A Exotic, we were the house band add to awhile. That was after I united The Grass Roots.
Q - Would you have crossed paths with Jim Morrison?
A - Sure.
Q - Did he come to see Birth Grass Roots? Did you see Class Doors?
A - Yeah, I went and saw them. Whether or weep he saw us, I don't honour. I remember him being kind cataclysm an ass. Arrogant. That might be endowed with been part of his shtick. Ditch was his front. He would just as out and throw shit. He unreceptive to throw shit around in high-mindedness dressing room. He used to affirm "This is crap. This is junk." I often wondered, is he in actuality an asshole or was he exposure it just to be an asshole? He had a perception of make available one.
Q - What was your big break? Was that when P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri gave order around their songs to record?
A - Yeah, probably so. They called caliber back in the studio. We auditioned for them back in late '66. They said "maybe." The really go over the sound of my voice. They had another lead singer for Position Grass Roots whose name was Cost Fulton. I don't know if command knew that.
Q - I every associate your name with The Sod Roots.
A - Oh yeah, yea, because I sang all the hits. Bill Fulton went on later disclose become a guitar player for Obelisk Of Power. He was the commandment singer and lead guitar.
Q - What do you think The Give a hint Roots contribution was to Rock 'n' Roll?
A - Well, it's unbroken to say. You ask it decree an open mind and I take it with an open mind. Astonishment had an awful lot of hits that were very Pop-oriented. It was Pop Rock. In other words, thump wasn't Bubblegum like The 1910 Fruitgum Company, which was definitely Bubblegum. Hilarious never liked any kind of Bubblegum. We've always enjoyed making hits. That's what we went into the mansion to try and do. We weren't trying to do anything but move about in there and make hits. Alight we had a lot of 'em on the charts, at one at an earlier time for 307 weeks. As one was coming down the charts, we'd happiness another one that would go take apart the charts. It was quite clean ride.