The Ace of Cups

The Ace of Cups
Denise Kaufman and Mary Ellen Simpson
Background information
Origin	San Francisco, California, United States
Genres	Rock, R&B, folk rock
Years active	1967–1972
Website	http://www.theaceofcups.com/
Past members	Mary Gannon Marla Hunt Mary Ellen Simpson Diane Vitalich Denise Kaufman — Joe Allegra Jerry Granelli Noel Jewkes Lolly Lewis

The Ace of Cups was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1967. It has been described as one of the first all-female rock bands.

The members of the Ace of Cups were Mary Gannon (bass), Marla Hunt (organ, piano), Denise Kaufman (guitar, harmonica), Mary Ellen Simpson (lead guitar), and Diane Vitalich (drums). Lead vocals were sung by all members of the band except Vitalich, and all five sang backup. The songwriting, too, was divided among the band members.

Gannon was born in New York and moved to San Francisco in the early 1960s. She played bass for a short while in a band called Daemon Lover. Hunt, who had grown up in Los Angeles, had been playing the piano since she was three. Like Gannon, she also moved to San Francisco in the early 1960s. Hunt was introduced to Gannon through a mutual friend, and Gannon suggested that they form an all-female rock band.

Simpson was from Indio, California. She began playing the guitar when she was 12. Like Gannon and Hunt, she moved to San Francisco in the early 1960s. Vitalich, a San Francisco native, was a veteran of several bands. She once played drums with Bill Haley and the Comets. Simpson and Vitalich joined Gannon and Hunt's band around the same time.

The last woman to join the Ace of Cups was Kaufman. She also had the most colorful background of the group. Kaufman had been arrested during the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley, and she was involved with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters (who dubbed her "Mary Microgram"). In a 1995 interview, Hunt remembered her first impression of Kaufman: