Rich here taking you back to 1969 when the second Blood, Sweat & Tears album (the first to feature their new lead singer, David Clayton-Thomas) was released. In the aftermath of the album's monstrous success, horn bands became all the rage. It was as if Big Band music had been reborn for the Rock Era, and bands like Chase, the Ides of March, Crow, and even Simon & Garfunkel all had hit singles by adding a screeching horn section to their records. In fact, Simon & Garfunkel borrowed the BS&T horn section for their hit single "Keep the Customer Satisfied."
But except for Chicago, virtually all of the horn-oriented bands came and went and were forgotten during this relatively short-lived period. Chicago went on to become one of the biggest selling American bands of all time.
But one band who doesn't deserve to be forgotten is Myrth, who recorded one album for RCA in 1969. The album showed off a musically-savvy band whose catchy horn arrangements, pop-friendly songs, and tongue-in-cheek combinations of psychedelia, funk, and jazz should have been widely embraced. Unfortunately, their producer's decision to include the sampled sounds of a mynah bird squawking throughout the album marred the otherwise excellent songs on the album and limited their airplay. Damn, that bird was obnoxious.
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