"No one who saw them can forget them..."
If you were a rock 'n' roll fan in the mid-'60s, in the New York/Long Island/New Jersey area, you know that The Vagrants made an impression that went far beyond record sales and chart statistics. They always seemed to be "next" in the line of NY groups that included The Rascals, Lovin' 5poonful and Blues Project, but despite a reputation as a dynamic live act, The Vagrants never broke through to a mass audience. (The group's lead guitarist, Leslie West, went on to fame on a grand scale with Mountain and West, Bruce and Laing, and the group influenced such subsequent bands as Vanilla Fudge).
For the fans of The Vagrants and Of '60's rock in general, Arista has put together the first-ever Vagrants album, compiled from the group's rare singles and previously unreleased studio sessions. This album is a long overdue tribute to one of '60's rock's most undeservedly neglected bands.
There were four of us in the car, and my three companions were flipping through the mountain of cassettes next to the driver's seat. Jeff Backer came across one of the two cassette boxes labeled "Vagrants."
"Is this THE Vagrants?"
Lauren Moran came from Cleveland, and like most people who grow up outside of New York, she'd never heard of The Vagrants.
"This was Leslie West's first group," Jeff explained. "The one before Mountain."
Mike Corbett picked up the story. "The first thing I think of when I think of The Vagrants is 'Respect.' I must have seen them dozens of times, at the Action House, at Ungano's, at the Cheetah, and 'Respect' was always the high point of the show."
"What luck," Jeff chimed in. "Just when the band's best friends The Rascals were starting to hit with songs like 'Good Lovin',' The Vagrants had this amazing version of'Respect on Atco, and everyone knew it had to be a smash."
Lauren asked, 'Was that 'Respect,' as in Aretha Franklin?
"Sure was," said Jeff. "Same record company, same summer. 1967."
"Is that why it didn't make it?"
"I'm sure it didn't help."
"To this day," Jeff said, 'I can still picture the way they looked on stage. Leslie West must have weighed three hundred pounds, and he used to just stand there, playing incredible guitar."
Mike said, "And lead singer Peter Sabatino was just the opposite constantly in motion, twirling his tambourine, tossing the mike all over the stage and never dropping it."
"Never," Jeff emphasized. "And what about Roger Mansour, the drummer? You could watch him play for an hour and never see
his face through his shoulder length hair. Man, could he play. Next to Dino of The Rascals, he was the area's most exciting drummer."
As 'Respect' ended and 'I Can't Make A Friend' began, Jeff continued. "Oh, there was Larry West, Leslie's kid brother on bass. He used to tell people he wasn't born, he was hatched out of his brother's side."
Mike said, "He would always keep his right leg totally still while pumping his left leg to the beat of the song."
We were quiet as the tape switched to "Beside The Sea" and then "I Don't Need Your Loving." When "Young Blues" came on, with that New York organ sound, Jeff finished the line-up. "Jerry Storch was the organ player. A Hammond B3 organ with Leslie speakers. The signature of the Long Island sound. Felix from The Rascals played one, and then every band that sprung up had to have an organ with Leslies. The Soul Survivors, The Illusion, and the bands that came after, like Vanilla Fudge..."
"And The Hassles," I added. "Their organ player was Billy Joel." Jeff mused, "As hard as it was to believe that 'Respect' didn't make it, it was even crazier that 'And When It's Over' didn't become a hit. Is that on this tape?"
"It's on this other one," I said and put it on.
"They did this song when they opened for The Doors at the Village Theatre, right before it became the Fillmore East. They were great that night."
Mike reflected sadly, "This was from the lost days of The Vagrants, right before Leslie and Felix Pappalardi got together on Leslie's solo album that turned into "Mountain."
"Felix co-wrote and produced this track," I said, as "A Sunny Summer Rain" came on.
"Can I borrow these tapes?," Jeff asked me.
My first impulse was to say no, as if I worried that something might happen to them and I'd lose these souvenirs forever.
"Sure."
"What else is on these cassettes?," Jeff asked me.
"After this," I said, "comes 'The Final Hour.' It's really an incompleted take. They never even finished the lyrics."
'You've got that on tape?"
"Then comes an instrumental version of Willie Dixon's 'My Babe' that they did in the studio one night, and Leslie West singing James Brown's 'I Love You, Love You (Yes I Do)'.'
Lauren asked, "How many albums did The Vagrants make?"
Jeff said, "They never got to make an album. It's really a shame, and typical of their luck."
Mike said, "Someone should put out all these songs on an album. There must be more than just the three of us who lived through the Vagrants era and would like an album to remember it all.
I agreed completely, and made a resolution to help put together a Vagrants album. The band and their fans deserve it. An now they've got it. Now if we can only get them to reunite, and re-open the Action House...
-Jim Cowley