New Colony Six Biography & Awards

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Artist Info

Formed

1964 Chicago, IL

Members

Wally Kemp, Pat McBride, Craig Kemp, Jerry Kollenberg, Ray Graffia, Gerry VanKollenburg, Chick James

Biography

Chicago's New Colony Six originally emerged as a tough, British Invasion-styled outfit prominently featuring Farfisa organ and a novel (at the time) Lesley guitar. Scoring a huge local hit with "I Confess," their early recordings -- exemplified by their 1966 debut album, Breakthrough -- featured first-class original material that gave the sound of Them and the Yardbirds a more commercial, American garage-based, vocal harmony approach. The rest of the '60s saw the band gradually abandoning their roots for middle-of-the-road pop with horns and strings. Continuing to rack up major local hits and minor national ones, they finally cracked the U.S. Top 30 with "Love You So Much" (1968) and "Things I'd Like to Say" (1969). ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide