Biography
Jac Holzman, who ran Elektra Records and signed such figures as Arthur Lee, Jim Morrison, Tim Buckley, Carly Simon, Judy Collins, Ed McCurdy, and Fred Neil, once labeled Cyrus Faryar “the Persian minstrel of Barham Boulevard.” That description came from a major industry figure, yet Faryar himself stayed surprisingly obscure even while appearing across countless 1960s recordings alongside Dave Guard of the Kingston Trio, the Firesign Theatre, and numerous other unconventional projects.
Born in Tehran, Iran, Faryar spent several years in England before settling in Hawaii and growing up in Honolulu, where he attended school with future Kingston Trio co-founder Dave Guard until their paths diverged during adolescence. He had already explored acting and vocal work and even operated a tavern in Honolulu when his renewed connection with Guard pulled him into professional recording. After Guard left the Kingston Trio at the beginning of 1961 to form the Whiskeyhill Singers, Faryar became the first member recruited; Guard brought him from Hawaii to San Diego, California, and Faryar in turn recommended the singer Judy Henske.
The Whiskeyhill Singers disbanded in 1962 once Henske departed. Faryar next joined the Modern Folk Quartet, which arrived too late in the folk revival to achieve major success yet briefly aligned with Phil Spector and earned a spot in the concert film The Big TNT Show. In 1967 he worked with synthesizer specialist Paul Beaver on the Elektra psychedelic release Cosmic Sounds, and the following year he appeared on Cass Elliot’s album Dream a Little Dream of Me. His most direct bid for attention came as leader of the Group With No Name, which performed without billing at the Monterey International Pop Festival.
Although he issued two solo Elektra albums in the early 1970s that placed him in a singer-songwriter context, Faryar gained wider recognition through his production and performance contributions to classic Firesign Theatre recordings, notably How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You’re Not Anywhere at All, as well as session work for Linda Ronstadt, John Simon, and others throughout the decade. Many of those 1970s sides and his earlier 1960s tracks have been reissued in recent years. His decision to return to Hawaii reduced his industry profile, but in 2003 he resurfaced on Teresa Bright’s Quiet Nights, a collection of Hawaiian music, where he played ukulele and sang alongside former Modern Folk Quartet colleague Chip Douglas, who served as producer.
Born in Tehran, Iran, Faryar spent several years in England before settling in Hawaii and growing up in Honolulu, where he attended school with future Kingston Trio co-founder Dave Guard until their paths diverged during adolescence. He had already explored acting and vocal work and even operated a tavern in Honolulu when his renewed connection with Guard pulled him into professional recording. After Guard left the Kingston Trio at the beginning of 1961 to form the Whiskeyhill Singers, Faryar became the first member recruited; Guard brought him from Hawaii to San Diego, California, and Faryar in turn recommended the singer Judy Henske.
The Whiskeyhill Singers disbanded in 1962 once Henske departed. Faryar next joined the Modern Folk Quartet, which arrived too late in the folk revival to achieve major success yet briefly aligned with Phil Spector and earned a spot in the concert film The Big TNT Show. In 1967 he worked with synthesizer specialist Paul Beaver on the Elektra psychedelic release Cosmic Sounds, and the following year he appeared on Cass Elliot’s album Dream a Little Dream of Me. His most direct bid for attention came as leader of the Group With No Name, which performed without billing at the Monterey International Pop Festival.
Although he issued two solo Elektra albums in the early 1970s that placed him in a singer-songwriter context, Faryar gained wider recognition through his production and performance contributions to classic Firesign Theatre recordings, notably How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You’re Not Anywhere at All, as well as session work for Linda Ronstadt, John Simon, and others throughout the decade. Many of those 1970s sides and his earlier 1960s tracks have been reissued in recent years. His decision to return to Hawaii reduced his industry profile, but in 2003 he resurfaced on Teresa Bright’s Quiet Nights, a collection of Hawaiian music, where he played ukulele and sang alongside former Modern Folk Quartet colleague Chip Douglas, who served as producer.
Albums
