Sopwith Camel
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1965) - Bobby Collins -- bass - Peter Kraemer -- vocals, percussion, harmonica, kazoo - Terry MacNeil -- guitar, piano, vocals
line up 2 (1965) NEW - Rodney Albin (RIP 1984) -- electric viola NEW - Dan Duncan -- bass (replaced Bobby Collins) NEW - Fritz Kasten -- drums, percussion - Peter Kraemer -- vocals, percussion, harmonica, kazoo - Terry MacNeil -- guitar, piano, vocals
line up 3 (1965-67) NEW - Martin Beard (RIP 2015) -- vocals, bass (replaced Dan Duncan) - Peter Kramer (aka Peter Kraemer) -- vocals, sax - Terry MacNeil (aka Nandi Devam) -- vocals, keyboards, guitar NEW- Norman Mayell (RIP 2022) -- drums, percussion (replaced Fritz Kasten) NEW - Williams Sievers (aka William Truckaway) -- rhythm guitar, bass, trumpet, percussion
line up 4 (1971-72) - Martin Beard (RIP 2015) -- vocals, bass NEW - Bob Fieldman -- sax, flute - Peter Kramer (aka Peter Kraemer) -- vocals, sax - Terry MacNeil (aka Nandi Devam) -- vocals, keyboards, guitar - Norman Mayell (RIP 2022) -- drums, percussion
line up 5 (1972-73) - Martin Beard (RIP 2015) -- vocals, bass - Peter Kramer (aka Peter Kraemer) -- vocals, sax - Terry MacNeil (aka Nandi Devam) -- vocals, keyboards, guitar - Norman Mayell (RIP 2022) -- drums, percussion
line up 6 (1973) - Martin Beard (RIP 2015) -- vocals, bass - Peter Kramer (aka Peter Kraemer) -- vocals, sax - Terry MacNeil (aka Nandi Devam) -- vocals, keyboards, guitar - Norman Mayell (RIP 2022) -- drums, percussion NEW - Jimmy Stringfellow -- guitar, sax, piano, organ
line up 7 (1973-74) - Martin Beard (RIP 2015) -- vocals, bass - Peter Kramer (aka Peter Kraemer) -- vocals, sax - Norman Mayell -- drums, percussion - Jimmy Stringfellow -- guitar, sax, piano, organ NEW -- Jimmy Ward -- lead guitar, percussion (replaced Terry MacNeil)
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- Blue Cheer (Norman Mayell) - The Dream Band (Martin Beard, Terry MacNeil and Norman Mayell) - William Truckaway (solo efforts)
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Genre: psych Rating: * Title: Sopwith Camel Company: Kama Sutra Catalog: KLPS
8060 Country/State: San Francisco, California Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: sill in shrink wrap (opened) Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $40.00
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It's always struck me as odd to see Sopwith Camel lumped in with other West Coast psych bands. Their sound was totally unlike The Airplane, Country Joe & the Fish, The Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, etc. On the other hand, they were from San Francisco; active members of the scene that brought all those other bands to the public's attention. They were one of the first bands to score a major label contract and the first West Coast "psych" band to have a top-40 hit. So who am I to judge?
Today they're best remembered as a goofball novelty act. They took their name from an idea inspired by a Charles Schulz Peanuts comic strip. They enjoyed one "hit" during their seven year recording career which saw the release of two albums and four singles. Sopwith Camel clearly weren't rock superstars, yet they sill have an avid fan base and I'm amazed at how much attention they generate on the internet.
In addition to forming the group, college drop out Peter Kraemer was responsible for the band name - supposedly inspired by Charles Schulz's Snoopy character and the dog's fantasies about being a World War I flying ace piloting a Sopwith Camel fighter plane. By the time the band was signed to the MGM affiliated Kama Sutra label, their line-up featured Kramer on vocals and sax, London born Michael Beard on bass, singer/guitarist Terry MacNeil (Kraemer and MacNeil met at a local bookstore and in between getting stoned, started writing songs together), drummer Norman Mayell and guitarist Williams "Truckaway" Sievers. With the line-up solidified the band spent a couple of weeks (months?) practicing, making their professional debut in early 1966 at The Matrix where they were hired as sort of a house band. That was followed by a steady stream of performances throughout San Francisco, including dances, clubs charity events and local universities. A six track demo tape they'd recorded caught the attention of Lovin' Spoonful producer Erik Jacobsen who promptly signed the band. Following in the steps of the Jefferson Airplane, Sopwith Camel became the second "psych" band to sign a major label contract - the MGM affiliated Kama Sutra label.
The band debuted with a 1966 single that quickly went top-40:
- 1966's "Hello, Hello" b/w "Treadin'" ( Kama Sutra catalog number KA 217) # 26 Billboard Top-100 charts
Unfortunately their debut album wasn't ready for release and would not hit retailer shelves for over half a year. The band's initial momentum was all but wiped out by the marketing delay. Kama Sutra seemed to realize the mistake as well. When released the LP actually carried a sticker that read "Remember "Hello, Hello!"".
Flying
the band from San Francisco to New York's Bell Studios, recording the
Jacobsen produced "The Sopwith Camel" was apparently
a challenging project. Lacking enough original material for a full
album, Kraemer and MacNeil were given room in an hotel basement and told to
start writing. The conditions were less than perfect. Kraemer
ultimately came down with a case of bronchial pneumonia that left him
struggling to work. Guitarist Sievers ultimately relieved some of the stress
by contributing two tracks to the set - "Saga Of The
To support the album the band headed out on a national tour. Opening for The Lovin' Spoonful they quickly discovered the interest and momentum generated by the first single had already faded. Tired of one another, arguing over musical direction and essentially broke the band called it quits in early 1968.
Kraemer blew his money trying to make avant garde films. Beard, MacNeil and Mayell formed The Dream Band releasing an obscure single for Reprise before calling it quits. Beard then turned to sessions work, including playing Norman Greenbaum's debut album "Spirit In the Sky". Martin played with a number of local bands and did studio dates including he Greenbaum album and an album by Miss Rita Abrams - "Miss Abrams And The Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class includes Mill Valley", He then briefly joined Blue Cheer. MacNeil turned his attention to writing a play "The World We Live In". Williams Sievers released a solo album under the name "William Truckaway".
"Sopwith
Camel" track listing: 1.) Hello, Hello (Peter Kraemer - Terry MacNeil) - 2:27 rating: *** stars Their "signature" song, "Hello, Hello" was one of the first songs Kraemer and MacNeil wrote and one of the six tunes on their original demo they recorded. Propelled by Terry MacNeil's barrelhouse piano and a great Martin Beard bass line, the Vaudeville/music hall-styled tune has always reminded me of an early Lovin' Spoonful, or Spanky and Our Gang performance. In other words, it was the perfect "gateway" song to lure mom and dad into your rock and roll affinity. To my ears it has always sounded overly cute and just this side of cloying. As mentioned above the 45 was released months in advance of the parent LP.
YouTube has a black and white promotional video of the song. No idea who thought it would be a good idea to have the band lip-synch the tune in the middle of a Park City, Utah snow storm. The kids looked like they were having fun; the underdressed band not so much: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDddpEpiW8k 2.) Frantic Desolation (Peter Kraemer - Terry MacNeil) - 2:15 rating: **** stars Judging by "Frantic Desolation" "cutesy" seems to have been the band's default sound. True, it rocked much harder than the hit. Kraemer's limited voice grew on you as the band found their groove . Best of all, MacNeil turned in some first-rate fuzz guitar solos. Shame the song faded out just as he was starting to wail.
A guy by the name of Lendall Pitts has a YouTube channel where he interviewed MacNeil who talked a little about the song: "Frantic Desolation was said by Elvis Costello to be one of the best examples of psychedelic guitar from the period. I was humbled to hear that, because I felt there were definitely better guitarists around than I. What was interesting about the session is that I really wanted to reflect the meaning of the words, which were sort of desperate and desolate and I sat really close to my amp so it would feed-back and played as weird a solo as I could muster. I was making it up as I went along, unlike some of our songs which we performed a lot, so it had a freshness that shows. We were looking for material for the album and that song was one of the first Peter and I wrote and we sort of threw it out right away, never performing it. I do think it is one of the best examples of my guitar playing because of its freshness." Extra star for that guitar solo. 3.) Saga Of The Low Down Let Down (William Sievers) -1:48 rating: ** stars The first of two Sievers compositions, complete with goofy group sound effects, "Saga Of The Low Down Let Down" found the band firmly in The Lovin' Spoonful jug band domain. It's also reminded me of one of those country-tinged numbers the late Michael Nesmith might have penned for a Monkees album. Thankfully it was mercifully short. Kama Sutra tapped it as the LP's third single:
- 1967's "Saga Of The Low Down Let Down" b/w The Great Morpheum" (Kama Sutra catalog number KA0-236)
4.) Little Orphan Annie (Peter Kraemer - Terry MacNeil) - 2:53 rating: ** stars As mentioned, producer Erickson worked extensively with John Sebastian and the Lovin' Spoonful so it should have been a surprise to hear a similar "sound" throughout this album. Kraemer even sounded a bit like Sebastian. That's not to imply the tune was groundbreaking, or even good. On "Little Orphan Annie" it was simply imitative and bland. The song also appeared as the "B" side on their "Post Card from Jamaica" 45. 5.) You Always Tell Me Baby (Peter Kraemer - Terry MacNeil) - 1:47 rating: *** stars A folk-rock effort, were it not for Kraemer's flat vocals and Sievers' needless trumpet fills, "You Always Tell Me Baby" could have been one of the album's standout performances. The melody was cool, the lyrics were interesting and the backing vocals were impressive. Extra star for those backing vocals. 6.) Maybe In a Dream (Peter Kraemer - Terry MacNeil) - 2:02 rating: **** stars Powered by some awesome MacNeil electric six and twelve string guitar, "Maybe In a Dream" was the album's most rock-oriented performance. Opening with an extended instrumental introduction, the performance made you wonder what the album could have been like had they elected to pursue this more rock-oriented sound. Awesome performance that would have made their West Coast psych competitors envious.
(side
2) Geez, why wasn't the rest of the album as good as this garage rocker? Kicked along by a driving Martin Beard bass line Kraemer sounded ready to punch someone in the face. MacNeil's jittery guitar was killer. Slightly ominous, snide and energetic, this was great. Easily the album's best track. 2.) The Things That I Could Do With You (Peter Kraemer - Terry MacNeil) - 2:12 rating: * star "The Things That I Could Do With You" found the band falling back on good time jug band moves. Pass. 3.) Walk In The Park (William Sievers) - 2:25 rating: * star The second Sievers composition, "Walk In The Park" sounded like a bad barbershop quartet move ... Make it stop. 4.) The Great Morpheum (Peter Kraemer - Terry MacNeil) - 2:57 rating: *** stars Darn if I have any idea what the song was about ... I couldn't even find a definition for the word "morpheum". I'm not even sure who was handling the lead vocals, but their delivery was flat and atonal. The song itself was a slow, almost dirge-like ballad. Forgettable. The tune also appeared as the "B" side to their "Saga Of The Low Down Let Down" 45. Kozmic Blues Band sax player Terry Clements guested on the song. 5.) Postcard From Jamaica (Peter Kraemer - Terry MacNeil) - 2:25 rating: ** stars One of the "new" songs written for the album, "Postcard from Jamaica" offered up a weird hybrid of jug band, folk-rock and '20s-styled jazz influences. It wasn't particularly tuneful and Kraemer sounded flat and uninterested. Possible due to the fact he'd contracted bronchial pneumonia and recorded the vocals with 103 degree fever. With the band struggling to finish the parent album, the song was tapped as the second pre-LP single.
- 1966's "Postcard from Jamaica" b/w "Little Orphan Annie" (Kama Sutra catalog number KA-224) # 88 Billboard top-100 pop charts
The song was also released as part of a three song French EP:
- 1966's "Postcard From Jamaica" and "Little Orphan Annie" b/w "Hello Hello" and "Treadin'" (Kama Sutra catalog number 617 109)
In conjunction with the release of the band's second album - 1973's "The Miraculous Hump Returns From the Moon" Kama Sutra reissued the debut album under the title "The Sopwith Camel In Hello Hello" (Kama Sutra catalog number KSBS 2063). The reissue kept the original track listing, but sported new cover art courtesy of artist Bob Schulenberg. The original cover by poster artist Victor Moscoso was superior.
I'll admit to having never seen anything like it, but a gentleman by the name of Bruno Ceriotti has published the most detailed Sopwith Camel history I've ever come across. It's literally a day-by-day account of the band's formation, recording catalog and touring history with photos of posters, publicity shots, band members, etc. Ceriotti must have spent years researching this material: Admittedly it will overwhelm all, but the most dedicated of fans, but it's impressive: https://brunoceriotti.weebly.com/the-sopwith-camel.html
© Scott R. Blackerby June 2025
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Low Down Let Down"
and "Walk In The Park".
Most folks would concur that producers have a significant role in a band's
sound. That was certainly the case on this album. On the
positive side, producer Jacobsen and engineer Val Valentin had plenty of
experience working with bands and did a nice job sonically. The
downside was Jacobsen seemed intent on turning the
band into the next version of The Lovin' Spoonful. On tracks like the
single "Hello, Hello", "Little Orphan Annie"
and "Saga Of The Low Down Let Down" the comparison to the
Spoonful's blend of jug band, folk-rock, Vaudeville and pop was hard to
ignore. Unfortunately most of these songs weren't nearly as good as John
Sebastian and company's catalog. As for the band's talents - Kraemer
didn't have much of a voice and other than an couple of awesome MacNeil fuzz
guitar solos on "Frantic Desolation" and "Maybe In a Dream"
none of the band members stood out technically. Incidentally, along
with the driving slice of garage aggressions "Cellophane Woman"
those two songs provided two of the album highlights, if only due to the
fact they allowed the band to explore a more mainstream rock/psych
sound. 
