The Walker Brothers

The Walker Brothers
The Walker Brothers in 1965 (L-R: Gary Leeds, Scott Engel, John Maus)
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Pop music
Years active	1964–1968, 1975–1978
Labels	Philips, GTO
Past members	Scott Walker Gary Walker John Walker

The Walker Brothers were an American pop group of the 1960s and 1970s, that included Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker), John Walker (born John Maus, but using the name Walker since his teens), and Gary Leeds (eventually known as Gary Walker). After moving to Britain in 1965, they had a number of top ten albums and singles there, including the No. 1 chart hits "Make It Easy on Yourself" and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)", both of which also made the US top 20. In between the two was the lesser US hit "My Ship is Coming In".

Formed in 1964, they adopted the 'Walker Brothers' name as a show business touch even though the members were all unrelated — "simply because we liked it." They provided a unique counterpoint to the British Invasion by achieving much more success in the United Kingdom than in their home country, a period when the popularity of British bands such as The Beatles dominated the U.S. charts.

The Walker Brothers Trio was formed in Los Angeles in 1964 by John Walker (lead vocals, guitar), Scott Engel (bass, harmony vocals), and drummer Al "Tiny" Schneider. Before then, John Walker—who had already been using that name professionally for several years—had performed and recorded several unsuccessful singles with his sister as a duo, John and Judy, and Engel had been bass player with instrumental band The Routers. Walker and Engel, with two other musicians, had also toured the Midwest in 1963 as "The Surfaris," although the group included none of the musicians who played on the Surfaris' records. Dropping the word "Trio," Walker and Engel were signed by Mercury Records, recorded a single, "Pretty Girls Everywhere," and became a leading attraction at Gazzari's Club in Hollywood. They also appeared on the Shindig! TV show, developed by Jack Good, and then on a weekly TV show, Ninth Street A Go Go.