In this morning’s wee hours, while driving back from a show in Hoboken, NJ, my close personal friend, Townsman andyr, posed an interesting question from the passenger’s seat: Did any musician beside Bill Wyman manage to have a bad Look during the 1960s? I think a number of you would agree with us that the decade offered a variety of sound rock fashions, covering all body types, hair textures, and ethnic and racial groups. Even hulking, pasty, butterscotch-toned Animals’ bassist Chas Chandler managed to develop a good Look in the ’60s. Wyman, however, never came close to finding a style that worked for him, or should I say us (he and his 10,000 jailbait road conquests managed to cope with that bad Look). (andyr went on to lament that Wyman carried his bad Look into the ’70s, like a sexually transmitted disease, eventually infecting his once super-cool bandmates, but that may be for another discussion.)
Before we begin this discussion, let’s be clear: We shall do our best to put matters of genetics and cultural notions of beauty into perspective. Some musicians are generally considered unattractive outside of their field of work, according to our cultural biases and whatnot. That’s the way God made them, but as plenty of cool, otherwise “ugly” musicians have proven, rock ‘n roll offers a multitude of avenues for somehow ending up appealing and “cool.”
The 1960s offered musicians a range of fashion options that allowed a high degree of personal expression while staying within a certain uniformity and sound sense of tailoring. From the early Beatles’ suits to floral-patterned psychedic clothing to denim and leather festival-era hippie wear, it was pretty hard for a musician to have a bad Look in the ’60s. Whether you were short or tall, skinny or fat, or possessing an especially fat ass, physical characteristics could be managed toward achieving at least a pretty good Look in the ’60. Compare that decade to the ’50s, in which the severe uniformity of rock fashion made few allowances for certain body types and hair textures, or the ’70s, in which misguided notions in tailoring and artificial fabrics made even the least fashion-conscious yet nevertheless cool rebel rockers from the previous decade look bad. In the ’60s, even the freakish, generally genetically cursed members of Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band managed to devise a good Look.
Spot on with Wyman, but you are altogether too kind to Chas Chandler.
As for bad look in any decade, I give you Flo and Eddie (et al):
http://0.tqn.com/d/classicrock/1/0/C/C/LaurelCanyon_5.jpg
One of the many reasons I think Spooky Tooth never got very popular was their “look” or lack one in the late 60s.
http://www.spookytooth.sk/pics/17.jpg
They look pretty high, to boot. Almost as high as Loggins and Messina here:
http://noellelynn.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/loggins2.jpg
Also, did anyone see the photo of Asia in the USA Today this week — wow! They are the worst-looking supergroup of all time now.
misterioso, there may be no accounting for Flo and Eddie’s Look, despite the fact that that’s how God made them. Chas, however, scooted by for parts of the ’60s, thanks to the suited British Invasion style. Note that he wisely moved into management once bands stopped wearing suits.
funoka, Spooky Tooth is practically an early ’70s band by the time they made it, no? That photo looks early ’70s. Loggins and Messina are squarely ’70s artists, pun intended.
Take Freddie & the Dreamers. Please.
http://cache4.asset-cache.net/xc/84884873.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=77BFBA49EF8789215ABF3343C02EA548ECB632A757CDBE30CFF17ABED33E597A7D425CE84A44086E
Mr. Mod — that is the “classic” Spooky Tooth lineup from 1967-69. The photo is from the “Spooky Two” (1969) album cover shoot I am pretty sure, which was:
Mike Harrison – keyboards, vocals
Gary Wright – organ, vocals
Luther Grosvenor – guitar, vocals
Greg Ridley – bass, vocals
Mike Kellie – drums
I am truly sorry that I can date that photo.
Paul Revere & the Raiders made some good records, but their original gimmick look was lame:
http://adeli.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/paulrevere3.gif
PJ Proby is a strong contender in the 18th Century Revival division.