Zephyr
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1968-70) - Tommy
Bolin (RIP 1976) -- lead guitar, vocals - John Faris -- keyboards, flute, sax vocals - Candy Givens (aka Candy Ramey) (IRIP 1984) -- vocals,
harmonica, keyboards
NEW - Bobby Berge -- drums, percussion (replaced Robbie Chamberlin) - Tommy Bolin (RIP) -- lead guitar, vocals - John Faris -- keyboards, flute, sax vocals - Candy Givens (aka Candy Ramey) (RIP 1984) -- vocals, harmonica, keyboards - David Givens: -- bass, vocals
supporting musicians (1970) - Paul Conley -- Moog Synthesizer - Paul Fleisher -- sax - Eileen Gilbert -- backing vocals - Eddie Kramer - piano, Clavinet, percussion - Buzzy Linhart -- vocals - Gerard "Ginger Face" McMahon -- vocals - Albertine Robinson -- backing vocals - Tasha Thomas -- backing vocals
line up 2 (1971-72) NEW - Jock Bartley -- lead guitar (replaced Tommy Bolin) - Candy Givens (aka Candy Ramey) (RIP 1984) -- vocals, harmonica, keyboards - David Givens: -- bass, vocals - Dan Smith -- keyboards (replaced John Faris) NEW - P.M. Wooten -- drums, percussion (replaced Bobby Berge)
line up 4 (1973) - Bobby Berge -- drums, percussion - Tommy Bolin (RIP) -- lead guitar, vocals - John Faris -- keyboards, flute, sax vocals - Candy Givens (aka Candy Ramey) (RIP 1984) -- vocals,
harmonica, keyboards
line up 5 (1982) - Candy Givens (aka Candy Ramey) (RIP 1984) -- vocals,
harmonica, keyboards NEW - Eddie Turner -- guitar
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- American Standard (Tommy Bolin) - The Bs (Robbie Chamberlain, John Faris, Candy Givens, and7 David Givens) - Tommy Bolin (solo efforts) - Jocko Bartley (solo efforts) - Brown Sugar (Candy Givens and David Givens) - Deep Purple (Tommy Bolin) - Energy (Bobby Berge and Tummy Bolin) - Firefall (Jocko Bartley and P.M. Wooten) - Bard Hoff (solo efforts) - Bard Hoff and Friends (Bard Hoff) - The James Gang (Tommy Bolin) - Kinesis (Bard Hoff) - The Legendary 4 Nikators (Tommy Bolin, John Faris, Candy Givens, and David Givens) - The Maelstrom (John Faris) - Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels (Jocko Bartley) - Patch of Blue (Tommy Bolin) - The Rambling Blues (Robbie Chamberlain) - Billy Ryan and Black Irish (Bobby Berge) - Silverlead (John Faris) - The Sniffettes (Tommy Bolin) - Eddie Turner (solo efforts) - The Us Too Band (John Faris) - The Velaires. (Bobby Berge)
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Genre: rock Rating: 2 stars ** Title: Zephyr Company: ABC Probe Catalog:
CPLP 4510 Country/State: Boulder, Colorado Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: gatefold sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 1795 Price: $25.00 |
After all these years Zephyr seems to be remembered for the fact the late Tommy Bolin served as their initial lead guitarist. The heart of the band, the late, Joplin-esque lead singer Candy Givens seems to have been all but forgotten.
There's a surprisingly amount of online material covering the band's history, so here are the basics.
Born Candy Ramey, she started her musical career playing in a Colorado jug band, meeting bassist and future husband David Givens in 1968. The pair quickly relocated to Boulder, Colorado where they formed the blues-rock band Brown Sugar. Over the next couple of months they met guitarist Tommy Bolin (still in his teens), drummer Robbie Chamberlain and keyboardist John Faris. By late 1968 they'd agreed on a collaboration and Ethereal Zephyr (quickly shortened to Zephyr) was born.
With
the spotlight on the tiny Given's powerful, Joplin-styled voice, it wasn't
long before record labels came calling. Signed by ABC's Probe
subsidiary, their 1969 debut saw them recording in Los Angeles with producer
Bill Halverson. Recorded at Wally Heider Studios, the sessions were
apparently rocky with the band being forced to record in between other,
better known acts, while repeatedly clashing with Halverson's recording
style. Regardless, "Zephyr" (fans refer
to it as "The Bathtub Album" due to the cover art), is one of
those albums that's always been a mystery to me. Fans swoon over
the collection, pointing to Givens' powerhouse voice as being the best thing
since sliced bread. Bolin's fretwork comes in for similar
praise. Having listened to this album dozens of times ov
"Zephyr" track listing: 1.) Sail On (Tommy Bolin - Candy Givens) - 7:42 rating: ** stars I'd love to tell you 'Sail On' was a classic track, but to my ears it's always sounded like a spur of the moment studio jam session. True, everyone got a moment in the spotlight, but it just wasn't that strong a song. the tune was tapped as the album's single:
- 1969's ' Sail On' b/w 'Cross the River' (Probe catalog number CP 475) 2.) Sun's-A-risin' (Tommy Bolin - David Givens) - 4:45 rating: *** stars A standard blues number, 'Sun's-A-Risin'' served to showcase Given's Joplin-styled wailing. Lots of folks will enjoy her performance, but I found it kind of plodding. Probably the song's best segment cam in the call and response work between Given's harmonica and Bolin's steaming lead guitar. 3.) Raindrops (Dee Clark) - 2:40 rating: * star Not to sound mean-spirited, but if you want to hear a singer pushing way too hard, then check out their cover of 'Raindrops'. Apparently under the impression the only way to sell a song was y singing the sh*t out of it, Givens literally shouted and shrieked her way through this one. Painful. My cat actually walked out of the room the last time I played it. 4.) Boom-Ba-Boom (instrumental) (David Givens) - 1:20 rating: * star Throwaway bluesy-instrumental which was actually better before Givens started scatting at the end. 5.) Somebody Listen (David Givens - Candy Givens - Tommy Bolin - John Faris) - 6:10 rating: ** stars Another Givens and Bolin-powered blues jam ... Wow, she could be shrill.
(side
2) In spite of Given's chronic over-singing, the rocker 'Cross the River' was one of the album highlights. The opening, mid, and closing segments briefly switched the focus to Bolin (easy to see why Deep Purple cam a knockin') which made all the difference in the world. You also got to hear Bolin's adaptability, with him shifting gears into jazz territory. 2.) St. John Infirmary (Joe Primerose) - 5:15 rating: ** stars Fans seem to gravitate to this tune, but the appeal is lost on me. There are so many covers of this tune and the combination of Givens shrill reading and Bolin's jazzy interludes just missed the mark for me. 3.) Huna Buna (Candy Givens - Tommy Bolin) - 2:26 rating: ** stars Another tune that sounded like a studio jam with each member getting a brief spotlight segment. The surprising winner this time out in the talent competition was bassist David Givens. 4.) Hard Charging Woman (Tommy Bolin - Robbie Chamberlain - John Faris - Candy Givens - David Givens) - 8:49 rating: ** stars The lone group composition, 'Hard Charging Woman' offered up more shrieky blues-rock. The main problem with this one is that it seemingly went on-and-on-and-on. It isn't actually related to this tune, but YouTube has some rare video of the band that someone slapped on to this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt41IxA6_5Q
If you want to learn more about the band, on the Tommy Bolin website your can find an extensive (I mean extensive) interview by Allan Vorda with David Givens: http://www.tbolin.com/interviews/givens_volcano.html
Bolin died of a drug overdose in December, 1976. He was only 25 at the time of his death.
Only 37, in January 1984 Candy accidentally drown while in a hot tub. Depending what you read, she may have passed out and drown from a combination of drugs and alcohol.
Here's a link to David Givens' Zephyr website: Zephyr VIDEO Intro (zephyr-official.com)
© Scott R. Blackerby April 2025
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Genre: rock Rating: 2 stars ** Title: Going Back To Colorado Company: Warner Brothers Catalog:
WS 1897 Country/State: Boulder, Colorado Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $40.00
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Zephyr's debut is
an album I've really tried to like. Over my collecting years I've
bought and sold copies at least four times - each time promising to listen
harder. It never made any differences. And when a friend
suggested I give the second album a shot, I thought why not. Maybe
that's whe
"Going
Back To Colorado" track listing: 1.) Going Back To Colorado (Tommy Bolin - John Tesar - Candy Givens) - 4:15 rating: * star Crap. Spotlighting Candy Givens' shrieky, Joplin-esque voice (she was also responsible for the seemingly endless harmonica solo), the title track started the album with a mindless and way too long slice of country blues. For goodness sakes go back to Colorado. See if anyone misses you ... Always wondered why Warner Brothers thought it would make a good single.
- 1971's 'Going Back To Colorado' b/w 'The Radio Song' (Warner Brothers catalog number 7444)
2.) Miss Libertine (Candy Givens - David Givens) - 3:19 rating: *** stars "A person, especially a man, who behaves without moral principles or a sense of responsibility, especially in sexual matters ..." Opening up with some wailing from Givens, 'Miss Libertine' didn't have much of a melody and included a country-esque middle section. Still, it was better than the opener and gave you a taste for what a talented guitarist the late Tommy Bolin was. 3.) Night Fades Softly (David Givens) - 3:20 rating: ** stars Atari game sound effects, backward tapes, ghostly vocals, atonal sax ... Listening to Givens read the phone book would have been more exciting. This was more of an aural collage than a song. Dreadful by any stretch of the imagination. Two minutes in a bland melody emerged from the mess. It's an improvement, but not by much. 4.) The Radio Song (David Givens) - 2:30 rating: ** stars With Buzzy Linhart on vocals, compared to the rest of the album 'The Radio Song' was fairly commercial, though in a "Happy Days" mock '50s fashion. Given I'm not a fan of '50s music, this one didn't do anything for me. The song also appeared as the "B" side on their 'Going Back To Colorado' 45. 5.) See My People Come Together (Tommy Bolin) - 6:06 rating: *** stars The first of four Bolin compositions, 'See My People Come Together' started out sounding like an in-studio jam. It got seriously better when Bolin's squealing guitar took over. With Bolin's solos shifting from channel to channel, the song's a blast to hear on quality headphones, though the "fight the man" revolutionary lyrics haven't aged well. Still, there was no denying the then 20 year old Bolin had some chops. Shame about Faris' unexpected jazzy interludes that destroyed whatever energy Bolin generated. Yeah, flute solos are never a good thing in a rock song ...
(side 2) 1.) Showbizzy (Tommy Bolin) - 2:30 rating: ** stars Starting
a song with a Berge drum solo didn't exactly inspire me; a feeling
underscored by one of Givens' shrillest performances. Even Bolin's guitar
moves weren't enough to salvage this one. Opening in acoustic ballad territory, 'Keep Me' improved when the full band arrangement kicked in. The song also benefited from a relatively restrained Givens lead vocal. Nice, if busy bass line from David Givens. The shrill backing singers weren't necessary. 3.) Take My Love (John Faris) - 4:16 rating: **** stars Keyboardist Faris' sole composition, in spite of his croaking voice, 'Take My Love' stood as one of the album's better performances. Powered by a nice David Givens bass line and a tasty Faris sax solo, the song exhibited a slinky rhythm that drilled into your head and was one of the few performances that stuck with you. Shame it ended so soon. 4.) I'll Be Right Here (Tommy Bolin - John Tesar) - 4:26 rating: *** stars Seemingly framed amidst the pain of the '30s DustBowl, 'I'll Be Right Here' was a big ballad that brought out the best and worst of Candy Givens. The concept was interesting and you got to hear Givens while under control (good) and while trying to belt it out (bad). 5.) At This Very Moment (Candy Givens) - 5:55 rating: *** stars For a moment it sounded like Givens was going to deliver something with operatic overtones. 'At This Very Moment' then shifted into a Carole King flavored ballad, before morphing into a foggy, lysergic-tinged closing.
© Scott R. Blackerby April, 2025
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er the
years (I've owned a copy since attending high school in the mid-'70s), I
just don't get it. Technically I can't disagree with the
contention Givens had a great voice. It was even more impressive given
what a petite creature she was. You had to wonder how such a small
package could belt out vocals with such energy. In spite of that
natural talent, Givens didn't seem to have any idea how to control her
voice. She's always struck me as coming across as a second tier
blend of Janis Joplin and Heart's Ann Wilson (though both were better
singers). Like many others, Givens apparently never met a song
where she didn't feel the need to over-sing - check out her brutal
performance on Zephyr's cover of Dee Clark's 'Raindrops'.
Similarly there's no denying Bolin was an amazing guitarist, but with the
exception of 'Cross the River' and a couple of other snippets ('Sail Away'),
he simply wasn't given a great deal of spotlight on the album. I
can already hear fans screaming for my head, but the debut strikes me as a
rather dull and plodding collection of pedestrian blues-rock
tunes. There are moments of promise scatted across the nine
tracks, but Givens' habitual over-singing managed to crushed them before
they can escape. Wish I could be more positive on this one.
re
the magic rested. Well, turned out I disliked 1970's Eddie Kramer
produced "Going Back
To Colorado"
even more than the debut. Introducing new drummer Bobby Berge
(replacing Robbie Chamberlin),
their Warner Brothes debut album wasn't a major departure from the debut,
though it sounded far less inspired this time around. Recorded in New
York's Electric Lady Studios, with everyone but Berge contributing to
songwriting chores, the sophomore set proved all over the musical spectrum,
making it hard to get a feel for who they were. The absence of
memorable material certainly didn't help. The title track found the
band wasting their talents on pedestrian blues, while material like the
aural collage 'Night
Fades Softly' and
the shrill 'Showbizzy'
sounded like they'd simply run out of ideas. Others will disagree, but out
of the ten tracks, they only one to make a real impact on me was keyboardist
John Faris' slinky 'Take
My Love'. Once again lead singer
Givens proved talented, but ger forced deliveries frequently portrayed her
as little more than a Janis Joplin wannabe. Even lead guitarist Tommy Bolin
came off as subdued. I'll set this one aside and give it another
chance at some point, but right now I'm not a fan.