Battle of the Bands Update

The Electric Prunes

We had a couple of upsets this week on the Battle of the Bands unfolding on Dr. John's Record Shelf. First, in the Northwest Bracket, the no. 12 seed Electric Prunes knocked off no. 5 Grateful Dead, and in the Southwest, the Bobby Fuller Four (12) cruised past the Allman Brothers (5).

Bobby Fuller Four

"I Fought the Law" was the song that carried the Bobby Fuller Four into Round 2 on a unanimous decision by the judges (guest judge this week: Richard Dobes of Bonney Lake, WA) over "Midnight Rider" by the Allmans. "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night" by the Prunes earned them a 2-1 split decision. Art Vandelay was swayed by the reference to his hometown of Buffalo in the Dead's Truckin', but Richard and I were won over by the psychedelic sounds of "I Had Too Much to Dream."

There are seven more weeks in Round 1 of our competition. You can see the full slate of matchups, by region, here, here, here, and here. Those groups that have already advanced to Round 2 include The Byrds, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Gants, the Cowsills, the Outsiders, Steppenwolf, Spirit, the Beach Boys, the Sir Douglas Quintet, the Kingsmen, the Standells, the Crickets, the Shadows of Knight, the Remains, and the New York Dolls. The whole competition will continue to unfold over the next few months on my radio show, which can be heard Sunday nights at 5:00 at 90.9 fm if you happen to be in SW Montana (at 90.9 fm).