William Penn Fyve

William Penn Fyve were a garage rock group from Palo Alto, California who recorded the psychedelic classic "Swami". Their membership included Gregg Rolie and Mickey Hart.

William Penn Fyve
aka
William Penn V
OriginPalo Alto, California
GenresRock, garage, psychedelic rock
Years activeMid to late 1960s
LabelsThunderbird
Beatrecords.com
Associated actsWilliam Penn and His Pals
Past membersRon Cox
Mike Dunn
Neil Holtmann
Dave Lovell
Steve Sweet
Gregg Rolie

Background

The group started out in late 1964 at the College of San Mateo calling themselves The DiscCounts. The original founding lineup was made up of Ron Cox on drums, Mike Dunn on guitar, Neil Holtmann on vocals, and Steve Sweet on bass.[1] The group had a similar visual style to that of Paul Revere & the Raiders revolutionary attire.[2][3] With the exposure by Radio KYA, KFRC and KLIV, the group was one of the San Francisco Bay Area's most well-known popular groups at the time and were star attractions in their own shows. They opened for some major national as well as international acts. One long term member was Gregg Rolie who would later be in Santana and Journey. Mickey Hart was also a member of the band at one stage.[4] The one single they released, "Swami" is considered a pop / psychedelic classic.[5][6] They are also referred to as William Penn and His Pals.[7]

Similarly named groups

There may be some confusion over similarly named groups from the same era. There was one group around at the same time with a similar name, William Penn & the Quakers who had a few singles including "California Sun" released on Len Stark's Philadelphia based Melron label. It is apparently a different group.[8][9][10][11] There was also another similarly named band, Wm Penn and the Quakers who recorded for Twilight Records and for the Duane Records label from Sunnyvale, California.[12][13]

Career

In early 1965, with the current line up of Ron Cox, Mike Dunn, Neil Holtmann, and Steve Sweet, they added another member, keyboard player Dave Lovell. A few months after that, there were some changes to their line up and guitarist Mike Shapiro and bassist Steve Leidenthal came on board, replacing Mike Dunn and Steve Sweet. Then they changed their look to the revolutionary style.[14] In 1966 Gregg Rolie came into the group, replacing Dave Lovell.[15][16] Also that year, they auditioned for Scorpio Records but were unsuccessful in their bid. Neil Holtman was also fired from the group that year.[17][18][19] A song about a guru during a hallucination was written and became the song "Swami".[20] In 1966 or 1967, their single "Swami" / "Blow My Mind" was released on Thunderbird 502.[21][22]

They broke up around 1967 / 1968 after having an argument with Vern Justus over finances.[23][24]

Greg Rollie later joined The Santana Blues Band after Carlos Santana caught them at the Longshoremen's Hall in San Francisco and asked him to join the new band he was putting together.[25]

A CD album with early recorded material was released in the 2000s which included an alt-version of "Blow My Mind". It is believed that Mickey Hart plays drums on that version.[26] Two of their songs, "Blow My Mind" and "Swami" are included on the Trash various artists CD compilation.[27]

Line up

Version #1
  • Ron Cox ... drums
  • Mike Dunn ... guitar
  • Neil Holtmann ... vocals
  • Dave Lovell ... Keyboards
  • Steve Sweet ... bass

Following versions
  • Ron Cox ... drums
  • Mickey Hart ... drums
  • Neil Holtmann ... vocals
  • Dave Lovell ... keyboards
  • Gregg Rolie ... keyboards, vocals
  • Mike Shapiro ... guitar
  • Steve Leidenthal ... bass
  • Jack Shelton ... guitar

[28][29]

Discography
Compilation appearance
Act Release Catalogue Year Notes #
William Penn Fyve " Swami" / "Blow My Mind" Thunderbird 502 1966 [30]
Album
Act Release Catalogue Year Notes #
William Penn and His Pals William Penn and His Pals Beatrecords.com BEATR 011CD 2009 CD[31]
Compilation appearance
Act Release Catalogue Year Featured track Notes #
Various artists Pebbles Volume 3 "The Acid Gallery BFD Records BFD-5020 1979 "Swami" as William Penn V
LP
Various artists Sounds Of The Sixties San Francisco Part 2 Phantom PLP-1005 1985 "Swami", "Blow My Mind" as William Penn Fyve
LP
Various artists Pebbles, Volume 2 ESD Records ESD-80262 1990 "Swami" as William Penn V
CD
Various artists Great Pebbles
31 Original '60s Punk & Psych Classics		 Bomp MSI 13868 1993 "Swami" as William Penn Fyve
CD[32]
Various artists The Essential Pebbles Collection Volume One AIP Records AIP CD 1058 1998 "Swami" as William Penn V
2 CD
Various artists Trash Box: Wild Psychotic Garage Punk!!! Hit Records CD BOXX 1 2004 "Blow My Mind", "Swami" as William Penn Fyve[33][34][35]
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References
  1. Psychedelicized & MileHighMusic - William Penn V
  2. Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Indexes, Volume 10, Colin Larkin - Page 476
  3. Psychedelicized & MileHighMusic - William Penn V
  4. Forced Exposure - WILLIAM PENN AND HIS PALS 1 Title
  5. Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Indexes, Volume 10, Colin Larkin - Page 476
  6. Forced Exposure - ARTIST PENN AND HIS PALS, WILLIAM TITLE William Penn And His Pals
  7. Dead Disc - William Penn and His Pals / William Penn Fyve
  8. Cash Box, November 11, 1967 - Page 26 Best Bets
  9. Record World, Vol. 21, No. 1021 February 11, 1961 - Page 51 Active Melron
  10. Dead Disc - William Penn and His Pals / William Penn Fyve
  11. Global Dog Productions - 45 Discography for Melron Records
  12. 45Cat - Wm. Penn And The Quakers - Discography
  13. Garage Hangover, March 25, 2013 - Duane Records discography
  14. Psychedelicized & MileHighMusic - William Penn V
  15. Dead Disc - William Penn and His Pals / William Penn Fyve
  16. Asic - William Penn and His Pals Biography by Jason Ankeny
  17. Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Indexes, Volume 10, Colin Larkin - Page 476
  18. Forced Exposure - ARTIST PENN AND HIS PALS, WILLIAM TITLE William Penn And His Pals
  19. Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Indexes, Volume 10, Colin Larkin - Page 476
  20. Fuzz, Acid and Flowers
    A Comprehensive Guide to American Garage, Psychedelic and Hippie Rock (1964-1975), Compiled by Vernon Joynson
    ISBN 1899855068, 9781899855063 - Page 247
  21. 45Cat - William Penn Fyve - Discography
  22. The Grateful Dead FAQ, By Tony Sclafani - William Penn and his Pals
  23. Forced Exposure - ARTIST PENN AND HIS PALS, WILLIAM TITLE William Penn And His Pals
  24. Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Indexes, Volume 10, Colin Larkin - Page 476
  25. Best Classic Bands, 25 Oct 2019 - Gregg Rolie: From Santana to Journey and Beyond by Jeff Tamarkin
  26. The Grateful Dead FAQ, By Tony Sclafani - William Penn and his Pals
  27. Hi-Fi Answers, 17 February 2020 - ‘The Box of Trash’, consists of the best of the legendary Pebbles series of 60s psychedelic rare gems
  28. AllMusic - William Penn and His Pals, Artist biography by Jason Ankeny
  29. Fuzz, Acid and Flowers
    A Comprehensive Guide to American Garage, Psychedelic and Hippie Rock (1964-1975), Compiled by Vernon Joynson
    ISBN 1899855068, 9781899855063 - Page 247
  30. Cosmic Mind at Play - Classic Singles #96: The William Penn Fyve – Swami / Blow My Mind (1966)
  31. Forced Exposure - ARTIST PENN AND HIS PALS, WILLIAM TITLE William Penn And His Pals
  32. Rokkets.com - Great Pebbles - 31 Original '60s Punk & Psych Classics
    AYUKAWA MAKOTO KOMPILATION
  33. Hi-Fi Answers, 17 February 2020 - ‘The Box of Trash’, consists of the best of the legendary Pebbles series of 60s psychedelic rare gems
  34. Discogs - Various – Trash Box
  35. Garage rock: la prima e più completa guida sul genere che ha segnato gli anni '60, By Alessandro Bonini, Emanuele Tamagnini - Page 166 LES COMPILATIONS
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