Frijid Pink

Emerging from Detroit, Frijid Pink matched the hard rock force of leading national acts during their era by layering Blue Cheer-style fuzz and Stones swagger across their early-1970s releases. The group notched a minor hit through its heavily overdriven version of "House of the Rising Sun" and sustained activity across the first half of the decade with psychedelic releases such as 1970’s Defrosted and 1972’s Earth Omen before entering dormancy in 1975. Later attempts to revive the band under shifting lineups took place across subsequent decades, though Frijid Pink resurfaced in the early 2000s chiefly as a studio project instead of a touring act. Fresh recordings including the self-titled 2011 album and 2018’s On the Edge appeared next to archival sets such as 2023’s The Deram Recordings 1970-1971, which presented remastered versions of the first two albums together with unearthed bonus tracks from the early period.

Frijid Pink came together in 1967 with an original lineup of singer Thomas Beaudry (performing as Kelly Green), guitarist Gary Ray Thompson, bassist Tom Harris, keyboardist Larry Zelanka, and drummer Richard Stevers. Following two years of nonstop regional touring throughout southeast Michigan, the group—now with Beaudry replacing Harris on bass—inked a deal with the Parrot label in 1969. While the initial singles “Tell Me Why” and “Drivin’ Blues” drew limited notice, the third Parrot release, a heavily distorted and guitar-driven reading of “The House of the Rising Sun,” climbed into the Top Ten on the U.S. pop charts and achieved still greater success abroad. The self-titled debut LP arrived in 1970, followed soon after by Defrosted; during this stretch the band performed regularly in Michigan, frequently sharing stages with local peers such as the Stooges and the Amboy Dukes. Persistent lineup shifts marked the band’s history, resulting in different configurations appearing on 1972’s Earth Omen and 1974’s All Pink Inside. Inactivity set in shortly after All Pink Inside, interrupted only by brief, unsuccessful reunion attempts and occasional unused studio work during the 1980s and early 2000s. Under Stevers’s leadership a stable new configuration finally coalesced in 2006, yielding the eponymous 2011 full-length; membership changed again soon afterward, bringing in fresh musicians for later projects such as 2014’s Made in Detroit and 2018’s On the Edge.

Cherry Red Records issued The Deram Recordings 1970-1971 in 2023. The set contained remastered editions of the 1970 debut and the follow-up Defrosted along with assorted non-album singles from that era.