The Paramounts

The Paramounts are practically the embodiment of the up-and-down nature of the music business. Once hailed by the Rolling Stones as "the best R&B group in England," they toiled for years with only the most modest chart success, and that on their first single. They then disbanded, presumably to be forgotten; they would have been, had it not been for the subsequent success of bandmembers in the psychedelic-cum-progressive rock band Procol Harum. The origins of the Paramounts go back to a band contest at the Palace Hotel Dancehall in Southend. The organizer thought to get the best members of the competing groups together in a single band. He ended up managing a lineup of Gary Brooker on pino, then 14 years old, Robin Trower on guitar, Chris Copping on bass, Bob Scott as singer, and Mick Brownlee on drums. It turned out that, except for Scott, who was into Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson, they were all huge R&B fans, which was reflected in their early repertory that was heavy on the songs of Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, and Fats Domino. Ray Charles was another favorite of the bandmembers. Scott didn't last long with the group and when he failed to turn up for a gig one day, Brooker found himself pressed into service as a singer, which remained a quartet from then on. In 1961, the Paramounts began playing the basement of a café owned by Trower's father, christening it the Shades and acquiring an audience of young mods, R&B enthusiasts all. They honed their sound during this period and became one of the better working bands of the time as their lineup evolved. By late 1962, Copping had left the band to attend college and was succeeded on bass by Diz Derrick; drummer Brownlee also exited the lineup, to be replaced by B.J. Wilson. By mid-1963, they were one of the more advanced...