Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush

The rock ensemble from Canada emerged near the start of the 1970s under the designation Mahogany Rush, with Frank Marino’s name incorporated at a later stage. Marino handled lead vocals, guitar, and percussion, supported by Paul Harwood on bass and Jimmy Ayoub on drums. Early in the 1980s Frank’s brother Vince Marino entered the lineup on rhythm guitar, and after Ayoub departed several years later Tim Biery took over the drum chair.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, during the winter of 1954, the group’s leader Frank Marino endured a difficult adolescence. Excessive use of LSD and similar substances resulted in hospitalization while he was still a teenager. There he revisited the psychedelic and hard-rock recordings he had long admired, most notably those of Jimi Hendrix, and was given a guitar—drums being unavailable—as part of his recovery. Within a few months he had taught himself to play with striking proficiency.

Once released, Marino formed a band with acquaintances to occupy his time away from drugs, playing whatever small engagements they could secure. The stable configuration with Ayoub and Harwood arrived only after numerous personnel changes, at which point the genuine Mahogany Rush took shape.

Following a period of limited progress, the band recorded its debut album, Maxoom, issued by Kot'Ai Records in 1973 when Marino was seventeen. By 1976 three further albums had appeared—Child of the Novelty, Strange Universe, and a self-titled release on Columbia Records. The following year the group adopted the expanded name Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush, remaining with Columbia for additional titles that included World Anthem, Tales of the Unexpected, What's Next, The Power of Rock 'N Roll, and Juggernaut.

In the mid-1980s Maze Records signed the act, resulting in the album Double Live; Marino also released the solo recording Full Circle on the same label. Around that time Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush appeared to cease activity for the rest of the decade.

Big Beat Records assembled three early albums into a two-CD set in 1995, followed a year later by a best-of collection that rekindled interest among veteran listeners while drawing new ones. In 2000 the group issued the independent album Eye of the Storm.