The Magicians (band)
| The Magicians | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1964-1967 |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | Tex and the Chex |
| Past members |
Alan Gordon Garry Bonner Mike Appel Everett Jacobs Rod Bristow Allan "Jake" Jacobs John Townley |
The Magicians were an American garage rock band formed in New York City, New York, in 1965. The group released four singles during their brief recording career with Columbia Records, with their most well-known song being "An Invitation to Cry". Members Alan Gordon and Garry Bonner later became a successful songwriting duo, and the Magicians' material was assembled on a compilation album, in 1999.
The Magicians originated from an interracial rock group called the Tex and the Chex, which assembled a lineup consisting of Alan Gordon (drums), Everett Jacobs (bass guitar), Mike Appel (lead guitar), and Rod Bristow (lead vocals). The band performed regularly at the Cinderella club in the Greenwich Village, and released one obscure single, the Bristow-penned "My Love", on Atlantic Records, in 1964. Gordon co-wrote the song "An Invitation to Cry" with non-member, Jimmy Woods, and demoed it, after being discovered by record producers Bob Wyld and Art Polhemus, with Jacobs and Appel. However, prior to recording the song, Bristow was replaced as vocalist by Garry Bonner as a consequence of the two producers' demand of an improvement at the position. The final product of "An Invitation to Cry" was, as music historian Richie Unterberger described it, "superb moody pop/rock with a touch of blue-eyed soul, enhanced by an imaginative production highlighting ominous distorted guitar riffs, graceful tempo shifts, accomplished vocal harmonies and Bonner's anguished lead vocal". It became a regional hit, and received a wider notice when the song resurfaced on the 1972 compilation album, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968.
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