The Chambers Brothers -

The Chambers Brothers were an American soul-psych band from Los Angeles, formed in 1954. After a pair of mid-’60s albums on Vault, they released four albums on Columbia between 1967 and 1971. There biggest hit was an edit of their 11-minute album track “Time Has Come Today” from their 1967 release The Time Has Come.

Members: Willie Chambers (vocals, guitar), George Chambers (vocals, bass), Joseph Chambers (vocals, guitar), Lester Chambers (vocals, harmonica), Brian Keenan (drums, 1965-72), Art Ramsey (drums, percussion, 1974-75), Gregg Chambers (drums, percussion, 1976-77)

Background

The Chambers Brothers formed in Los Angeles in 1954 when singer–bassist George Chambers reunited with singer–harmonicist Lester Chambers and singer–guitarists Willie and Joe Chambers after the brothers left Mississippi for Southern California. They came from a sharecropping family of thirteen children and learned group singing through family music and the choir at Mount Calvary Baptist Church. George left the church group after the U.S. Army drafted him in 1952. He moved to South Los Angeles after his discharge, where Willie, Lester, and Joe joined him in 1954 and established the quartet. George initially played washtub bass while Lester played harmonica. Willie and Joe played guitars.

The quartet worked gospel engagements around Southern California before club owner Ed Pearl booked them at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles. An Ash Grove gospel program placed them with Barbara Dane and other folk-blues performers by the end of 1961. The Chambers Brothers Quartet made the gospel single “I Trust in God” (b/w “Just a Little More Faith”) for Los Angeles label S B W in 1962.

Their club contacts also led to recording work with Hoyt Axton, who featured them on the Horizon singles “This Little Light” (b/w “Thunder ’n Lightnin’”) and “Greenback Dollar” (b/w “One More Round”) that December. Axton retained the group for “Grizzly Bear” (b/w “Gypsy Woman”) the following year, while singer Nathan McKinney recorded “Never Fall in Love” (b/w “Soldier Boy”) with the brothers for Ray-Co.

Barbara Dane recruited the group for East Coast appearances and introduced them to Pete Seeger, who helped secure a place at the Newport Folk Festival in July 1965. The brothers performed there with drummer Sam Lay on part of their program, and Vanguard later included “I Got It” from Newport on a festival collection. The group also recorded the Joe and Willie Chambers composition “Call Me” for Vault (b/w “Seventeen”) and performed the song on Hollywood a Go Go in June. Drummer Mike Konnic worked with the brothers around this period; Jesse “Nicky” Cahn followed after Newport before Brian Keenan became the regular drummer.

Vault director Jack Lewark subsequently asked producer Ed Michel to record the Chambers Brothers at the Ash Grove. Michel enlisted engineer Wally Heider, who operated a mobile recording setup from outside the club. A tape-machine problem rendered the first set unusable, so the group repeated the program for the recording that supplied the principal material for People Get Ready.

People Get Ready

The Chambers Brothers released their debut album, People Get Ready, in 1966 on Vault Records.

The live program draws from blues, R&B, and gospel repertoire by Jimmy Reed (“Yes Yes Yes,” “You’ve Got Me Running”), Hank Ballard (“Tore Up”), Lowell Fulson (“Reconsider Baby”), and The Impressions (“People Get Ready”). Joe and Willie Chambers contribute “Call Me” and arrange the traditional “Hooka Tooka.”

“Reconsider Baby” simmers over slow blues changes as harmonica takes a spare solo turn. “People Get Ready” settles into close harmony with measured devotional phrasing. “Call Me” bounces around a repeating riff and brisk dance beat. “It’s All Over Now” trades baritone and tenor passages across rough-edged group harmonies.

A1. “Yes Yes Yes” (3:20) – Reed
A2. “Tore Up” (3:00) – Ballard
A3. “Reconsider Baby” (4:45) – Fulson
A4. “You’ve Got Me Running” (3:05) – Reed
A5. “People Get Ready” (2:30) – Curtis Mayfield
A6. “Money (That’s What I Want)” (2:53) – Gordy, Bradford

B1. “You Can Run” (3:35) – Taylor
B2. “Hooka Tooka” (2:50) – arranged J. Chambers, W. Chambers
B3. “Call Me” (3:15) – J. Chambers, W. Chambers
B4. “Summertime” (4:10) – Heyward, Gershwin
B5. “Your Old Lady” (2:50) – Curtis, Glick, Isley
B6. “It’s All Over Now” (5:41) – B. Womack, S. Womack

Live recording took place in 1965 at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles, where producer Ed Michel, a former house bassist at the club, worked with mobile-recording specialist Wally Heider. Heider operated from a tape machine in his station wagon; after a machine fault spoiled most of the first set, the Chambers Brothers repeated the program for the audience.

Vault co-founder Ralph Kaffel designed and photographed the sleeve, which places a dark stage image beside a red title strip with the Ash Grove and Unicorn venue names.

Barbara Dane and The Chambers Brothers

Barbara Dane and the Chambers Brothers released their collaborative album, Barbara Dane and The Chambers Brothers, in 1966 on Folkways Records.

The program combines civil-rights freedom songs with contemporary folk material, including Judy Collins (“It Isn’t Nice”), Bertha Gober (“We’ll Never Turn Back”), and Fariña–Marden (“Pack Up Your Sorrows”). Willie and Joe Chambers use guitars while George Chambers shifts to washtub bass. Lester Chambers adds harmonica behind Dane and the quartet.

“It Isn’t Nice” gathers a firm beat beneath low hums and answering group harmony. “You’ve Got to Reap What You Sow” rises from Dane’s low quiver into split-stereo replies from Chambers Brothers. “You Can’t Make It By Yourself” leans on close group harmony beneath Dane’s lead. “Pack Up Your Sorrows” hurries between solo lines and group answers.

“We’ll Never Turn Back” darkens through unaccompanied major-to-minor harmony shifts. “Come By Here” claps through Dane’s solo calls and Chambers Brothers replies. “Freedom Is a Constant Struggle” swells as major harmony turns minor beneath sustained group lines. “Go Tell It on the Mountain” answers each solo call with a direct group reply.

A1. “It Isn’t Nice” (4:09) – Malvina Reynolds, Barbara Dane
A2. “You’ve Got to Reap What You Sow” (3:28) – Dane, traditional
A3. “You Can’t Make It by Yourself” (4:50) – Dane
A4. “Pack Up Your Sorrows” (3:33) – Fariña, Marden
A5. “I Am a Weary and a Lonesome Traveller” (4:17) – Hays, Lowenfels

B1. “We’ll Never Turn Back” (6:19) – Gober
B2. “Come By Here” (5:32) – traditional; arranged Dane, Chambers Brothers
B3. “Freedom Is a Constant Struggle” (4:21)
B4. “Go Tell It on the Mountain” (2:59) – traditional

Prolific Folkways designer Ronald Clyne designed the package around a Mark Roth cover photograph, which groups Dane and the four brothers around a single microphone beneath an ochre title panel. Clyne worked across hundreds of Folkways sleeves, including contemporary designs for Modern Brazilian Poetry and Music of Chad.

Now!

The Chambers Brothers released their second Vault live album, Now!, in 1967 on Vault Records.

The live set concentrates on R&B and early rock-and-roll material by Big Joe Williams (“Baby Please Don’t Go”), Ray Charles (“What’d I Say”), Larry Williams (“Bony Maronie”), and Jimmy Reed (“You Don’t Have to Go”). The original LP combines the spoken introduction and “High Heel Sneakers” as one side-opening band.

“What’d I Say” blazes with fervent group cries across an extended live take. “Long Tall Sally” races through animated group cries and a corkscrew riff. “Bony Maronie” charges through rowdy group singing and a loose solo break. “C.C. Rider” lingers over slow blues changes with elongated phrases. “So Fine” surges through close harmony over a steady beat and bluesy guitar.

A1. “Introduction to / High Heel Sneakers” (5:06) – Higginbotham
A2. “Baby Please Don’t Go” (3:45) – Williams
A3. “What’d I Say” (8:12) – Charles
A4. “Long Tall Sally” (3:03) – Johnson

B1. “Bony Maronie” (3:42) – L. Williams
B2. “It’s Groovin’ Time” (3:33) – Perry
B3. “You Don’t Have to Go” (2:58) – Reed
B4. “C.C. Rider” (4:31) – Willis
B5. “So Fine” (6:20) – Gribble

Vault assembled Now! from 1965 live recordings at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles and the Unicorn in Boston, with Challengers leader Richard Delvy credited as re-recording supervisor. Delvy came to the project amid mid-Sixties production work with the Challengers. Ralph Kaffel designed the Vault sleeve, whose front fills with orange, yellow, white, and blue flowers around a circular Vault emblem.

The Time Has Come

The Chambers Brothers released their first Columbia studio album, The Time Has Come, in November 1967 on Columbia Records.

The studio program pairs five Chambers-linked originals with outside songs by Rudy Clark (“All Strung Out Over You”), Betty Mabry (“Uptown”), and Jackie DeShannon (“What the World Needs Now Is Love”). Gary Sherman arranged the album for the five-piece lineup.

“All Strung Out Over You” races through a brisk dance beat with tight group drive. “I Can’t Stand It” pivots around falsetto replies and tightly interlocked band parts. “In the Midnight Hour” twangs through bright riff figures before a harder closing run. “So Tired” drifts through a slow minor-key lament under broad group harmony.

“Uptown” surges on a heavy, driving beat. “Time Has Come Today” tolls through two-pitch cowbell ticks and repeated calls, then dissolves under echo, fuzz guitar, and warped tape effects as repeated figures slow to a crawl.

A1. “All Strung Out Over You” (2:30) – Clark
A2. “People Get Ready” (3:52) – Mayfield
A3. “I Can’t Stand It” (2:42) – L. Chambers
A4. “Romeo and Juliet” (4:32) – L. Chambers
A5. “In the Midnight Hour” (5:32) – Cropper, Pickett
A6. “So Tired” (4:05) – Chambers Brothers, Goodwin

B1. “Uptown” (2:56) – Mabry
B2. “Please Don’t Leave Me” (3:00) – G. Chambers
B3. “What the World Needs Now Is Love” (3:19) – David, Bacharach
B4. “Time Has Come Today” (11:06) – J. Chambers, W. Chambers

Sessions spanned August 1966 through August 1967 with Columbia producer David Rubinson, who worked across 1967/68 albums by Moby Grape (Moby Grape, Wow, Grape Jam), the United States of America (The United States of America), and Taj Mahal (Taj Mahal, The Natch’l Blues).

Columbia art director Howard Fritzson directed the sleeve amid contemporary work on Leonard Cohen (Songs of Leonard Cohen) and Nina Simone (Nina Simone Sings the Blues). San Francisco music photographer Jim Marshall supplied the original album photography.

Columbia issued “All Strung Out Over You” in December 1966 (b/w “Falling in Love”), followed by “I Can’t Stand It” in April 1967 (b/w “Please Don’t Leave Me”). “Uptown” became a September 1967 single (b/w “Love Me Like the Rain”).

In December 1967, Columbia paired a 3:05 edit of “Time Has Come Today” with “People Get Ready.” Columbia reissued the title in July 1968 with a 4:45 edit, which reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The Time Has Come reached No. 4 on the Billboard pop albums chart and No. 6 on the Black albums chart.

Groovin’ Time

The Chambers Brothers released Groovin’ Time in 1968 on Folkways Records.

Folkways compiled the album from recordings by the original four-brother configuration, made before Brian Keenan joined the group. The program draws from gospel and secular blues material, while “Chain Gang Thang” recasts Adderley’s “Work Song” as an electric instrumental.

“Hooka Tooka” races from first note to fade on a lively, freewheeling beat. “Down in the Alley” crawls through a slow beat beneath close group harmony. “Rough and Rocky Road / I’ll Fly Away” rises from church-rooted harmony over rhythm guitar into a more animated “I’ll Fly Away” passage.

“Groovin’ Time” coils through slow, sinuous phrases. “Yes, Yes, Yes” rolls on a four-to-bar beat beneath repeated yes phrases. “Oh Baby, You Don’t Have to Go” drives a firm beat beneath repeated pleas. “Chain Gang Thang” lopes through an instrumental passage into a cowbell-marked mid-song turn. “So Long Baby” stomps through a rough-cut, earthy beat.

A1. “Hooka Tooka” (3:17)
A2. “Down in the Alley” (3:08)
A3. “Rough and Rocky Road / I’ll Fly Away” (5:54)
A4. “Who Lives by the Law” (4:34)

B1. “Groovin’ Time” (3:40)
B2. “Yes, Yes, Yes” (3:32)
B3. “Oh Baby, You Don’t Have to Go” (2:49)
B4. “Chain Gang Thang” (2:39)
B5. “So Long Baby” (4:40)

Folkways credits Robin McBride as producer, with Mel Kaiser and Moses Asch as recorders for Groovin’ Time, a set by the original four-brother lineup.

Craig Mierop designed the sleeve amid Folkways assignments that also included Little Brother Montgomery (Farro Street Jive).

Shout!

The Chambers Brothers released Shout! in September 1968 on Vault Records.

Vault assembled the album from recordings made circa 1965–66, before Brian Keenan became the regular drummer. Side one contains live material, while side two collects studio recordings that include the earlier Vault single pairing of “Love Me Like the Rain” and “Pretty Girls Everywhere.” Joe Chambers wrote “Seventeen” and “It Rained the Day You Left”; Keenan wrote “Love Me Like the Rain.”

“Johnny B. Goode” ricochets through heavy Echoplex echo and a harmonica-led main figure. “Blues Get Off My Shoulder” smolders through slow, brooding lines over heavy piano chords. “I Got It / Shout” surges from group chants into an extended, echo-drenched instrumental passage with distorted guitar.

“Seventeen” lingers on slow, dark lines punctuated by high falsetto replies. “Rained the Day You Left” circles through chiming figures and tambourine accents. “Love Me Like the Rain” settles into gentle chord picking beneath a low-pitched lead.

A1. “Johnny B. Good” (3:00) – Berry
A2. “Blues Get Off My Shoulder” (5:00) – Parker
A3. “I Got It / Shout” (11:00) – O. Isley, R. Isley, R. Isley

B1. “There She Goes” (3:15) – W.M. Chambers
B2. “Seventeen” (3:15) – J. Chambers
B3. “Pretty Girls Everywhere” (2:45) – Church, Williams
B4. “It Rained the Day You Left” (3:05) – J. Chambers
B5. “So Fine” (2:05) – Otis
B6. “Love Me Like the Rain” (4:45) – Keenan

Vault assembled Shout! from live and studio recordings made in 1966, then packaged the album with a later stage photograph from the July 28, 1968, Stanford Summer Rock concert at Frost Amphitheatre.

The photograph catches the Chambers Brothers at a bill that included Quicksilver Messenger Service, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and the Santana Blues Band, with Carlos Santana visible at stage right.

Vault issued “Shout Part 1” in November 1968 (b/w “Shout Part 2”), and the single reached No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

A New Time – A New Day

The Chambers Brothers released their second Columbia studio album, A New Time – A New Day, in October 1968 on Columbia Records.

The program combines original material with songs by Otis Redding (“I Can’t Turn You Loose”), Pete Seeger (“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”), and The Temptations (“I Wish It Would Rain”). “Rock Me Mama” and the seven-minute title piece occupy the longer positions on side two.

“I Can’t Turn You Loose” races through a fast beat and handclaps. “Do Your Thing” bounds into a long breakdown marked by communal claps. “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” swells through fervent church-rooted group harmony. “I Wish It Would Rain” rises through church-rooted group lines. “Rock Me Mama” grinds through a slow, earthy beat under church-bred group phrases. “Satisfy You” eases through slow, unhurried lines.

A1. “I Can’t Turn You Loose” (4:54) – Redding
A2. “Guess Who” (4:20) – J. Belvin, JoAnn Belvin
A3. “Do Your Thing” (3:18) – Keenan, G. Chambers, J. Chambers, L. Chambers, W. Chambers
A4. “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” (3:38) – Seeger
A5. “Love Is All I Have” (2:44) – Keenan
A6. “You Got the Power – To Turn Me On” (3:20) – W. Chambers

B1. “I Wish It Would Rain” (3:22) – Strong, Whitfield, Penzabene
B2. “Rock Me Mama” (6:07) – arranged Chambers Brothers
B3. “No, No, No Don’t Say Good-By” (4:18) – W. Chambers
B4. “Satisfy You” (3:54) – St. Clair, O’Brien
B5. “A New Time – A New Day” (7:24) – Keenan, J. Chambers

Tim O’Brien produced A New Time – A New Day after joining Columbia in 1968; his first label project, the Flavor single “Sally Had a Party,” carried O’Brien writing, arrangement, and production credits. Fred Catero and Roy Segal engineered the Chambers sessions. Catero came to the album amid 1968 engineering on Big Brother & the Holding Company (Cheap Thrills), Blood, Sweat & Tears (Child Is Father to the Man), and the Al Kooper–Mike Bloomfield–Stephen Stills project Super Session.

The Columbia sleeve arranges cropped member portraits in narrow vertical panels between black, red, yellow, and cream geometric bands.

Columbia issued “I Can’t Turn You Loose” in October 1968 (b/w “Do Your Thing”), and the single reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

A New Time – A New Day reached No. 16 on Billboard Top LPs and No. 24 on Best Selling Rhythm & Blues LPs.

Love, Peace and Happiness

The Chambers Brothers released the double album Love, Peace and Happiness in November 1969 on Columbia Records.

The two-record set pairs a studio LP with Live at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East. The studio disc contains five shorter songs and the sixteen-minute title suite; the Fillmore disc draws from gospel standards and R&B material, with Joe Cuba–Jimmy Sabater composition “Bang Bang” among the live selections.

“Have a Little Faith” pleads through church-rooted group lines and drawn-out cries. “Let’s Do It (Do It Together)” bounds around a prominent bass figure beneath rousing cries. “If You Want Me To” charges through a driving beat with fervent group calls. “Wake Up” rips through a short, hard-driving riff beneath church-bred shouts.

“Love, Peace and Happiness” broods through a slow shuffle, mid-song near-silence, rising swell, and drawn-out wah-wah guitar. “Wade in the Water” grinds through a gruff repeated figure and extended solo passages. “Undecided / Love! Love! Love!” settles into close, quartet-style harmony.

A1. “Have a Little Faith” (5:14) – S. Turner
A2. “Let’s Do It (Do It Together)” (4:34) – S. Turner
A3. “To Love Somebody” (4:36) – B. Gibb, R. Gibb
A4. “If You Want Me To” (3:59) – S. Turner
A5. “Wake Up” (2:18) – Hirschhorn, Hamlisch

B1. “Love, Peace and Happiness (L+P=H in Three Movements)” (16:16) – Chambers Brothers

C1. “Wade in the Water” (10:20) – traditional; arranged Julius Chambers
C2. “Everybody Needs Somebody” (6:28) – Julius Chambers
C3. “I Can’t Turn You Loose” (2:54) – Redding

D1. “People Get Ready” (4:14) – Mayfield
D2. “Bang Bang” (7:20) – Cuba, Sabater
D3. “You’re So Fine” (4:37) – Finney, West, Schofield
D4. “Medley: Undecided / Love! Love! Love!” (4:05) – Shavers, Robin / Wyche, McRae, David

Rubinson produced the studio half of Love, Peace and Happiness, with Jim Conniff and Mark Friedman engineering under executive engineer Fred Catero. O’Brien produced the companion live disc at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East in New York, where Glen Kolotkin, Sy Mitchell, and Terry Dunavan recorded the performance.

Mark Banning directed the gatefold package around a front photograph from Columbia Records Photo Studio. The gatefold distributes member, performance, back-cover, and cloud imagery among Jim Marshall, Gino Rossi, Don Nathans, Israel Harris Moyston III, Virginia Team, and George Chambers.

Columbia issued “Wake Up” in May 1969 (b/w “Everybody Needs Someone”), and the single reached No. 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Have a Little Faith” followed in September 1969 (b/w “My Baby Takes Care of Business”).

Columbia lifted “Love, Peace and Happiness” in January 1970 (b/w “If You Want Me To”), which reached No. 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Let’s Do It (Do It Together)” followed in April 1970 (b/w “To Love Somebody”) and reached No. 103 on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart.

Love, Peace and Happiness reached No. 58 on Billboard Top LPs.

Feelin’ the Blues

The Chambers Brothers released Feelin’ the Blues in July 1969 on Vault Records.

Vault compiled eight live and studio recordings from the group’s earlier label period, with material that ranges from Ray Charles (“I Got a Woman”) and Bobby Parker (“Blues Get Off My Shoulder”) to the traditional standards “House of the Rising Sun” and “Just a Closer Walk with Thee.”

“I Got a Woman” rolls through a midtempo beat as lead phrases meet group replies. “House of the Rising Sun” broods through slow, dark lines with lead-and-group replies. “Blues Get Off My Shoulder” smolders through similarly slow, brooding lines.

A1. “Girls, We Love You” (3:33) – Chambers
A2. “I Got a Woman” (6:32) – Charles, Richard
A3. “House of the Rising Sun” (6:24) – traditional

B1. “Don’t Lose Your Cool” (1:16) – J. Chambers
B2. “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” (5:57) – traditional
B3. “Blues Get Off My Shoulder” (3:22) – Parker
B4. “Travel on My Way” (4:04) – traditional
B5. “Undecided” (3:06) – Shavers, Robin

Vault assembled Feelin’ the Blues from live and studio tapes nearly four years old by the album release, with Lucky Young credited for audio production. Craig Simpson supplied the sleeve photography for the archival package.

Vault lifted “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” in June 1969 (b/w “Girls, We Love You”). “Blues Get Off My Shoulder” later reappeared with “House of the Rising Sun” on a Vault single.

New Generation

The Chambers Brothers released New Generation in January 1971 on Columbia Records.

New Generation marks the group’s first self-produced Columbia set, with orchestrations by Joe Chambers and drummer Brian Keenan. Keenan made his final Chambers Brothers studio-album appearance before his departure later that year.

“New Generation” stretches through an extended rave-up with feedback and firm guitar lines. “Going to the Mill” testifies through direct church-rooted phrases.

A1. “Are You Ready” (3:47) – J. Chambers
A2. “Young Girl” (3:35) – L. Chambers, W. Chambers
A3. “Funky” (2:52) – L. Chambers
A4. “When the Evening Comes” (6:37) – LaMarr
A5. “Practice What You Preach” (3:29) – J. Chambers

B1. “Reflections” (5:20) – G. Chambers, Keenan
B2. “Pollution” (1:45) – J. Chambers
B3. “New Generation” (11:54) – J. Chambers, LaMarr
B4. “Going to the Mill” (5:15) – J. Chambers, LaMarr

The Chambers Brothers produced New Generation themselves, with Jerry Smith credited as recording engineer and Jim Reeves as engineer. Brian Keenan and Joe Chambers supplied the orchestrations.

Abdul Mati Klarwein created the cover amid 1970/71 album work for Miles Davis (Bitches Brew, Live-Evil) and Santana (Abraxas). The back cover credits Hunstein and Sandy Speiser for photography.

Columbia first issued “Are You Ready” in February 1969 (b/w “You Got the Power to Turn Me On”), and the single reached No. 113 on Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100. “Funky” followed in late 1970 (b/w “Love, Peace and Happiness”) and reached No. 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 40 on the R&B chart. “New Generation” became a May 1971 single (b/w “When the Evening Comes”).

New Generation reached No. 145 on Billboard Top LPs and No. 36 on Best Selling Soul LPs.

Unbonded

The Chambers Brothers released Unbonded in 1973 on Avco Records.

Unbonded contains ten outside songs under arranger-conductor Tony Camillo, including The Supremes (“Reflections”), Hank Ballard (“Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go”), Robbie Robertson (“The Weight”), and Curtis Mayfield (“Gypsy Woman”).

“Reflections” settles into full-group harmony. “Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go” surges through ensemble lines under rich studio layering. “Good Vibrations” swells through full-group harmony and layered production. “Do You Believe in Magic” gathers soulful group lines inside a polished studio treatment.

A1. “Reflections” (4:29) – Holland, Dozier, Holland
A2. “Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go” (3:20) – Ballard
A3. “The Weight” (4:51) – Robertson
A4. “1-2-3” (3:32) – White, Madara, Borisoff
A5. “If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don’t Want to Be Right” (5:43) – Hampton, Banks, Jackson

B1. “Good Vibrations” (4:39) – Wilson, Love
B2. “Gypsy Woman” (2:51) – Mayfield
B3. “I (Who Have Nothing)” (3:29) – Donida, Leiber, Stoller, Mogol
B4. “Do You Believe in Magic” (2:59) – Sebastian
B5. “Looking Back” (2:20) – Hendricks, Benton, Otis

Jimmy Ienner produced Unbonded amid 1973/74 work on the Raspberries (Side 3, Starting Over), Three Dog Night (Hard Labor), and Grand Funk Railroad (All the Girls in the World Beware!!). Ed Stasium engineered in sequence with albums by Gladys Knight & the Pips (Imagination, I Feel a Song), Cecil Holmes (Music for Soulful Lovers), and Skull Snaps (Skull Snaps). Tony Camillo arranged and conducted the sessions.

Sid Maurer directed the package with album design by Michael Mendel, whose 1973/74 work included the Stylistics (Rockin’ Roll Baby), and B.T. Express (Do It ‘Til You’re Satisfied). Francis Ing supplied the cover photograph; Raeanne Rubenstein contributed the backliner images.

Avco lifted “Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go” in February 1974 (b/w “Do You Believe in Magic”), which reached No. 106 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 76 on Hot Soul Singles. “1-2-3” followed in June 1974 (b/w “Looking Back”).

Unbonded reached No. 44 on Billboard Soul LPs during its 1974 chart run.

Right Move

The Chambers Brothers released Right Move in February 1975 on Avco Records.

Right Move combines Chambers material with songs by Bob Marley (“Stop the Train”), Charles Calhoun (“Smack Dab in the Middle”), and Elvin Bishop (“Stealin’ Watermelons (Somethin’ You Got)”). Drummer Jerome Brailey and keyboardist Jeff Levine join the four brothers, while steel drummer Andy Narell appears on “Stop the Train.” Saxophonists Martin Fierro and Skip Mesquite appear on separate titles; clarinetist Jim Rothermel joins Mesquite on “Smack Dab in the Middle.”

“Crazy ’Bout the Ladies / Pretty Girls Everywhere” races through a raucous medley. “Miss Lady Brown” swells through tape-replay strings above a break-heavy beat. “Smack Dab in the Middle” harmonizes through street-corner group lines. “Who Wants to Listen” bends octave string figures into a substantial mid-song break. “We’ll Sing Together” testifies through church-rooted group harmony.

A1a. “Crazy ’Bout the Ladies” – Crane
A1b. “Pretty Girls Everywhere” – Church, Williams
A2. “Stop the Train” (5:47) – Marley
A3. “Miss Lady Brown” (4:30) – L. Chambers
A4. “Lotta Fine Mama” (3:07) – Crane

B1. “Smack Dab in the Middle” (4:48) – Calhoun
B2. “Stealin’ Watermelons (Somethin’ You Got)” (5:40) – Bishop
B3. “Who Wants to Listen” (6:13) – J. Chambers
B4. “We’ll Sing Together” (4:39) – G. Chambers, Levine

Sessions took place at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, where David Rubinson & Friends produced Right Move with associate producers Bruce Good and Jeff Cohen. Fred Catero engineered with Valerie Clausen amid 1975 work on the Pointer Sisters (Steppin’), Bobby Womack (Safety Zone), and Herbie Hancock (Man-Child); George Horn mastered the album at Columbia Studios in San Francisco.

The Avco sleeve credits Ren Deaton across art direction, graphics, and photography.

Avco lifted “Stealin’ Watermelons (Somethin’ You Got)” in September 1975 (b/w “Miss Lady Brown”).

Live in Concert on Mars

The Chambers Brothers released Live in Concert on Mars in October 1976 on Roxbury Records.

Concert on Mars presents the reunited four brothers with drummer Gregg Dickerson, who joined the group under its new Wes Farrell Organization agreement. Steve Cropper adds guitar to the Willie Chambers composition “Superstar,” while the second side consists of a seventeen-minute medley built from “Stealing Watermelons” and “Mama Your Daughter (Is Hot Enough to Burn Water).”

“Superstar” stretches into an extended live jam with added guitar figures. “Stealing Watermelons / Mama Your Daughter” segues through a continuous medley of linked passages.

A1. “Superstar” (7:37) – W. Chambers
A2. “Me and Your Mother” (4:17)
A3. “Midnight Blue (Who Are You)” (8:44)

B1. “Medley” (17:04)
“Stealing Watermelons (Is Something You Got)”
“Mama Your Daughter (Is Hot Enough to Burn Water)”

After signing with the Wes Farrell Organization in 1976, the Chambers Brothers entered the studio with Chelsea founder Wes Farrell, whose recent album work included Lulu (Lulu, Heaven and Earth and the Stars). Farrell produced Live in Concert on Mars for the Roxbury imprint; Steve Cropper added guitar to “Superstar.”

The Chambers Brothers recorded the performances at Record Plant before an invited audience. The Roxbury sleeve uses a cosmic illustration built from multicolored light streaks across a dark field.

Later Activity

After Live in Concert on Mars, the Chambers Brothers continued through intermittent sessions, gospel work, and reunion performances. Lester Chambers sang backing parts on Bonnie Raitt’s “About to Make Me Leave Home” from Sweet Forgiveness. Willie, Joe, and George Chambers subsequently joined Lee Oskar on “Haunted House” from the 1978 album Before the Rain.

Lester established his own Blues Band in Los Angeles and held a residency at the Improvisation nightclub by early 1980. He moved his activity to New York, where he appeared at Tramps and joined an Agent Orange benefit with performers from the local rock circuit. Alfabet Management signed Chambers in 1983, and Masterpiece issued his Victor Dishy composition “Ain’t It Nice to Know” the following year. Chambers also formed the Chambers–Brooks Band with former Electric Flag bassist Harvey Brooks, keyboardist Jeff Levine, and saxophonist Baron Raymonde. The group played East Coast clubs in 1984 and toured the Caribbean later in the decade.

The four brothers reunited for Maria Muldaur’s gospel concerts at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, released by Takoma as Gospel Nights in 1980. The Chambers Brothers and Chambers Family Choir also appeared at the Hollywood Bowl Survival Sunday anti-nuclear benefit in June 1981 with drummer Lee Szymborski. George Chambers increasingly concentrated on gospel work and later served as a church deacon.

Joe Chambers appeared as the U.S. president in the Angry Samoans video for their version of “Time Has Come Today,” recorded for the 1982 album Back from Samoa. Joe and Willie formed the Chambers Brothers Band in 1984 with Chris Chambers, Duke Williams, drummer Corey Spagnolo, and keyboardist Cotton Kent. The lineup recorded “Here We Go,” “Let’s Get Funky,” and “You Are My Life” at Rusk Studios. The group followed with the four-track 12-inch The Chambers Brothers Are Back in 1985. Joe and Willie later sang backing parts on “Life on the Train” from Maria Vidal’s 1987 self-titled album.

Former Chambers Brothers drummer Jerome Brailey joined George Clinton’s Parliament–Funkadelic organization after leaving the Chambers orbit and remained with the collective through 1978. Brailey co-wrote Parliament’s “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)” and played across the P-Funk catalog before working with Glenn Goins on Quazar. After Goins died, Brailey completed the Quazar project and formed Mutiny, which released the 1979–83 albums Mutiny on the Mamaship, Funk Plus the One, and A Night Out with the Boys.

Original drummer Brian Keenan settled in Stamford, Connecticut, where he established a recording studio after leaving the group. Keenan died from heart failure on October 5, 1985, at age 42.

Discography:

People Get Ready (1965)
Barbara Dane and The Chambers Brothers (1966 • Barbara Dane + Chambers Brothers)
Now (1967)
The Time Has Come (1967)
Groovin’ Time (1968)
Shout! (1968)
A New Time – A New Day (1968)
Love, Peace and Happiness (1969)
Feelin’ the Blues (1970)
New Generation (1971)
Unbonded (1973)
Right Move (1975)
Live in Concert on Mars (1976)