Black Pearl

In 1967 Bruce Benson and Jeff Mackay Morris on guitars joined forces with bassist Jerry Causi, all three of them alumni of Boston’s punk outfit the Barbarians, to lay the groundwork for Black Pearl. Relocating to San Francisco that same year, the band quickly built a following as a compelling live act and received strong notices for the aggressive edge of its first album, which critics repeatedly compared to the MC5. Live At The Fillmore preserved the group’s full intensity yet also made plain the limited range of its songwriting. Without achieving broader commercial traction, Black Pearl dissolved soon after.