Joel Larson

Joel Larson is a rock drummer and percussionist from California. He was born on April 29, 1947, at St. Francis Hospital in San Francisco. He lived near Lincoln Park until he was 12 years old. He took up drumming at the age of 12 and moved near Avalon Park until he was 17. During these five years he honed his skills in the rock music scene of the early sixties. He later joined The Grass Roots.[1]

Joel Larson
Born	(1947-04-29) April 29, 1947 San Francisco, California, USA
Genres	Folk, rock, pop
Instruments	Drums, percussion
Years active	1965–present
Labels	Dunhill, ABC, Columbia, A&M, Haven
Associated acts	The Grass Roots The Mamas & the Papas Johnny Rivers Barry McGuire Gene Clark Group The Turtles The Merry-Go-Round Lee Michaels The Buckinghams Paul Revere & The Raiders
Website	Joel-Larson.com

The Bedouins

In 1965, Larson joined a band called The Bedouins and helped them win a Battle of the Bands in San Mateo. Word began to spread about the band. In late 1965, they were asked to come to an audition at the San Francisco Whisky A Go Go. They performed for nightclub owner Elmer Valentine and Lou Adler who was the head of the new label Dunhill Records in Los Angeles. They were selected to become The Grass Roots, a new folk rock group created by Adler and producer/songwriters P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri.[1]

The Grass Roots

The original Grass Roots were Denny Ellis on rhythm guitar, Willie Fulton on vocals and lead guitar, Larson on drums and Dave Stensen on bass. They moved to Los Angeles and took part in recording sessions and played live performances in the exploding LA music scene. They were one of the first house bands for The Trip on the Sunset Strip. All of The Grass Roots were under the age of 18 so their parents had to sign their contracts with Dunhill Records. They performed as the back up band for The Mamas & the Papas and Johnny Rivers. They appeared on the first color broadcast of The Ed Sullivan Show. They performed with Barry McGuire in support of his number one hit "Eve of Destruction". After about a year of live performances and networking in the Los Angeles rock music scene, the group wanted to have more creative control and input on the selection of songs to perform and record. Dunhill Records had a formula for the group already in mind and did not want to vary from it. The group minus Larson returned to San Francisco and continued to perform until Dunhill Records decided to replace them. Larson was offered to continue with new group members but decided to take an opportunity to play with Gene Clark of The Byrds fame.[1]

The Merry-Go-Round and others

Larson then met Emitt Rhodes and formed The Merry-Go-Round in early 1967. The Merry-Go-Round performed at the Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival in 1967 on both days of the music festival. They closed the show on Saturday June 10 and were the second to the show closer on Sunday June 11. This music festival is important because it occurred before The Monterey Pop Festival but did not have a movie to document it for the ages (see List of electronic music festivals). Larson also played with The Turtles in the late 60s. Starting in 1970, he played with Lee Michaels and helped produce the huge radio hit "Do You Know What I Mean".[1]

Rejoined The Grass Roots

In 1971, Larson rejoined The Grass Roots and played with them through the end of their heyday in 1975. He toured nationwide with the group on a heavy schedule in support of Their 16 Greatest Hits, Move Along, Alotta' Mileage and The Grass Roots (Haven Records) albums and associated singles. He also recorded with the group in the studio when returning from the road.[2] From 1976 on, he continued to tour performing their hits in support of the group's last greatest hits album titled The ABC Collection until the early eighties.[1]

Later happenings

In the new wave era, he worked as a dance night promoter in Los Angeles with live broadcasts through radio. He then entered into property management and real estate investment while continuing as a musician in Los Angeles playing with members of The Buckinghams and Paul Revere & The Raiders.[1]

In 2000, Larson started working behind the scenes in the movie and TV entertainment industry as a driver and transportation coordinator. He has built a long list of credits which include major motion pictures such as Mission: Impossible III (2006), The Bucket List (2007), Iron Man (2008), I Love You, Man (2009), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011) and The Avengers (2012). In television, he has worked for multiple years on the Chuck Lorre hit shows Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory, Mike & Molly and Mom.[3] Larson continues as a musician playing live performances with other notable musicians in the Los Angeles area to the present day.

Revisiting classic music groups

In 2009, Larson was playing and recording with The Merry-Go-Round co-founder and solo artist Emitt Rhodes and Counting Crows co-founder Matt Malley. In 2010, Larson took part in the US Premiere screening for "Emitt Rhodes - The One Man Beatles" film at the Rhino Records Pop Up Store in Westwood, California. In 2011, former Gene Clark Group members Chip Douglas, Bill Rinehart and Larson took part in the High Moon Records label launch party at the Roxy in Los Angeles. They celebrated the release of Gene Clark's "Two Sides To Every Story" and Love's "Black Beauty". There was a musical tribute to Gene Clark and Arthur Lee.[1] In 2014, Larson participated with a panel of music celebrities including Henry Diltz, Danny Hutton, Micky Dolenz and Gail Zappa at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles discussing the new exhibit "California Dreamin', The Sounds of Laurel Canyon 1965 - 1977".[4]

Larson was in the heat of the action in the rock music and cultural explosion that took place in California in the 60s. He has left a musical legacy by his work in many rock groups that will be enjoyed by listeners for many years to come. He continues in the entertainment industry helping to coordinate the smooth production of film and TV offerings.[1]

Discography

Singles

(All singles are with The Grass Roots except as noted)

Release date	Title	Flip side	Record label	Chart positions
				US Billboard	US Cashbox	UK
1966	Mr. Jones (Ballad Of A Thin Man)	You're A Lonely Girl	Dunhill	121
	Where Were You When I Needed You	These Are Bad Times	Dunhill	28	33
	Only When You're Lonely	This Is What I Was Made For	Dunhill	96	77
1967	Tip Of My Tongue	Look Out Girl	Dunhill
	Live	Time Will Show the Wiser	A&M - The Merry-Go-Round	63
	You’re A Very Lovely Woman	Where Have You Been All My Life	A&M - The Merry-Go-Round	94
	She Laughed Loud	Had To Run Around	A&M - The Merry-Go-Round
1968	Listen Listen	Gonna Leave You Alone	A&M - The Merry-Go-Round
	'Til The Day After	Highway	A&M - The Merry-Go-Round
1970	Uummmm My Lady	What Now America	A&M - Lee Michaels
1971	Do You Know What I Mean	Keep The Circle Turning	A&M - Lee Michaels	6
	Can I Get a Witness	You Are What You Do	A&M - Lee Michaels	39
1972	Glory Bound	Only One	Dunhill	34	22
	Runway, The	Move Along	Dunhill	39	29
	Anyway The Wind Blows	Monday Love	Dunhill	107
1973	Love Is What You Make It	Someone To Love	Dunhill	55
	Where There's Smoke There's Fire	Look But Don't Touch	Dunhill
	We Can't Dance To Your Music	Look But Don't Touch	Dunhill
	Stealin' Love (In The Night)	We Almost Made It Together	Dunhill
1975	Mamacita	The Last Time Around	Haven	71
	Naked Man	Nothing Good Comes Easy	Haven
1976	Out In the Open	Optical Illusion	Haven

Albums

(All albums are with The Grass Roots except as noted)

Release date	Title	Record label	Chart positions
			US Billboard	US Cashbox	UK
1966	Where Were You When I Needed You	Dunhill
1967	Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers	Columbia
	The Merry-Go-Round	A&M	190
1970	Lee Michaels - Barrel	A&M	51
1971	Lee Michaels - 5th	A&M	16
	Emitt Rhodes - The American Dream	A&M	194
1972	Move Along	Dunhill	86
1973	Alotta' Mileage	Dunhill	222
1975	Self Titled	Haven
1976	The ABC Collection	ABC

References

1. http://joel-larson.com/html/biography.html/ Archived 2018-08-21 at the Wayback Machine Joel Larson's official website
2. http://joel-larson.com/html/interview.html Joel Larson Official Interview
3. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1211786/ Filmography
4. http://www.grammymuseum.org/on-display/special-exhibits/laurel-canyon/ Grammy Museum Exhibit

External links

• Joel Larson on IMDb
• Joel-Larson.com — Official site
• The-GrassRoots.com — Official site