Where Were You When I Needed You
| Where Were You When I Needed You | ||||
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| Studio album by The Grass Roots | ||||
| Released | October 1966 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock, pop | |||
| Label |
Dunhill (LP) Varèse Sarabande (CD 1994) Rev-Ola Records (CD 2005) |
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| Producer | P.F. Sloan, Steve Barri | |||
| The Grass Roots chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    |
Where Were You When I Needed You is the first album released by the Grass Roots. Most of the album is performed by the songwriter/producer duo of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri. Some of the album features members of a San Francisco band that became the first Grass Roots. The members who recorded are vocalist Willie Fulton and drummer Joel Larson. The A and B side singles released are "Mr. Jones (Ballad Of A Thin Man)", "You're a Lonely Girl", "Where Were You When I Needed You", "(These Are)Bad Times", "Only When You're Lonely", "This Is What I Was Made For", Tip of My Tongue" and "Look Out Girl".
Sloan and Barri had written the song "Where Were You When I Needed You" for the Hermans Hermits movie Hold On! The Hermits chose not to release the song as the follow-up single to the Sloan and Barri song, "A Must to Avoid". Sloan and Barri persuaded their boss, Dunhill Records head Lou Adler, to let them record a single version of the song in 1965. The demo was sent to several radio stations in San Francisco area and received a favorable review. However, Dunhill insisted that they find a "real group" to tour as the Grass Roots, since they were too valuable to Dunhill as songwriters for the label to allow them to perform live concerts or make TV appearances.
Sloan and Barri chose a San Francisco band to become the Grass Roots. The band consisted of lead singer/lead guitarist Fulton, rhythm guitarist Denny Ellis, bassist David Stensen and drummer Larson. The band quickly had no shortage of live performances, as they became a resident band at the Los Angeles club "The Trip" and made frequent appearances at San Francisco's Avalon Ballroom. They also supported the Dunhill artists The Mamas and the Papas, Johnny Rivers and Barry McGuire on their TV performances. However, with the exception of Fulton's vocals and Larson on drums, they did not appear on the Grass Roots records, which featured Sloan and various session musicians.
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