The Fifth Estate (band)
| The Fifth Estate | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | The D-Men (1963-1965) |
| Origin | Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1963 – present |
| Labels | |
| Website | thefifthestateband |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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The Fifth Estate, formerly known as The D-Men, is an American rock band formed in 1963 in Stamford, Connecticut.
The band began in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1963, as The D-Men. Early on, as The D-Men, the band played many small shows and local clubs but soon gravitated to Greenwich Village and larger clubs where they often played six nights a week for long stretches. They released three singles, two on Veep/United Artists and one on the Kapp labels, which along with much of their later material have become collectors' items and established them as a central part of the garage rock movement. Boston Skyline released a 28-song collection of their music in 1993 and published a 41-page booklet of their story.
The band made a number of appearances on television, including several NYC Clay Cole appearances, where on the first they were on the same taping session as The Rolling Stones when The Stones made their very first American East Coast TV appearance, and Hullabaloo, on which the D-Men performed "I Just Don't Care". The program was at that time co-hosted by Brian Epstein, who expressed an interest in signing them. They later won a Murray the K call-in contest for best new release over The Dave Clark Five and The Animals in 1965. In 1966 they changed their name to "The Fifth Estate".
The Fifth Estate released the single "Love Is All A Game" on the Red Bird label, which became a regional hit, and still receives airplay around the country as they again have become more highly regarded through their connection with the garage band revival and garage rock movements in general. They had a national / international hit in 1967 with a sunshine pop version of "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead", which reached No. 11 on the Hot 100. The song was recorded and released around the world in five different languages (Japanese, Italian, French, German and English), and incorporated parts of "La Bouree," from "Terpsichore" by 17th-century composer Michael Praetorius. According to Cashbox, the song is in the Top 100 record releases of 1967 and has been the biggest hit with the highest American chart position of any Harold Arlen or Wizard of Oz song performed by any artist. That same year, The Fifth Estate recorded their version of "Heigh Ho!", another film theme, this time from Disney's first feature length film, 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Although "Heigh Ho!" made it into the top 40 on the Canadian CHUM chart, sales for both "Heigh Ho!" and their next single, "Do Drop Inn", proved disappointing in the US as each single skimmed the bottom of the American charts. Although not making an impact in America, in 1968 "Morning Morning", an original song that incorporated the band's core guitar and harpsichord driven sound, was a sizable hit in Australia and England on the Stateside label. It now receives substantial radio, Internet and Sirius XM play in the US and around the world.
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