Biography
In 1964 the garage punk outfit the Little Boy Blues came together when University of Illinois at Chicago students Lowell Shyette, Paul Ostroff, Ray Levin, and James Boyce—serving respectively as singer/guitarist, lead guitarist, bassist, and drummer—joined forces. Their early set lists drew chiefly from Chicago blues standards and foundational rock & roll numbers until the local IRC imprint offered them studio time, provided they traded that blues-rooted approach for a British Invasion–oriented sound aimed at broader commercial appeal. The band accepted the terms and, in 1965, issued the Shyette composition “Love for a Day,” which became a substantial Chicago radio success and secured support slots alongside the Rolling Stones, the Lovin’ Spoonful, and the Association.
Billy McColl was regularly enlisted as second vocalist for live performances and also contributed to the follow-up single, a cover of Willie Dixon’s “I’m Ready.” Delivered in the Little Boy Blues’ increasingly abrasive, high-volume manner, the track registered another regional hit. Their raw fuzz-punk aesthetic peaked with the next release, an incendiary version of the garage staple “I Can Only Give You Everything.” Already familiar to Chicagoland audiences through regular appearances at the Like Young, the single seemed poised for national exposure after the group performed on Dick Clark’s Where the Action Is, yet Shyette’s induction into the Army in September 1966 abruptly halted their progress.
Frank Biner stepped in as Shyette’s replacement. After departing IRC for Ronko, the band cut its fourth single, the 1967 acid-punk landmark “The Great Train Robbery.” As the year advanced they shifted deeper into psychedelia, performing at local “be-ins” and headlining counterculture venues such as the Cheetah and the Electric Playground. McColl and Ostroff, dissatisfied with the new direction, exited; guitarist Peter Pollack joined around the time the Little Boy Blues secured a Mercury contract for an album. Midway through the sessions, however, Biner and Boyce resigned amid creative disagreements. Marc Coplon and Bill Mooney were brought in quickly to finish the project, which surfaced in 1968 as the uneven In the Woodland of Weir. The group persisted for roughly another year before dissolving.
Billy McColl was regularly enlisted as second vocalist for live performances and also contributed to the follow-up single, a cover of Willie Dixon’s “I’m Ready.” Delivered in the Little Boy Blues’ increasingly abrasive, high-volume manner, the track registered another regional hit. Their raw fuzz-punk aesthetic peaked with the next release, an incendiary version of the garage staple “I Can Only Give You Everything.” Already familiar to Chicagoland audiences through regular appearances at the Like Young, the single seemed poised for national exposure after the group performed on Dick Clark’s Where the Action Is, yet Shyette’s induction into the Army in September 1966 abruptly halted their progress.
Frank Biner stepped in as Shyette’s replacement. After departing IRC for Ronko, the band cut its fourth single, the 1967 acid-punk landmark “The Great Train Robbery.” As the year advanced they shifted deeper into psychedelia, performing at local “be-ins” and headlining counterculture venues such as the Cheetah and the Electric Playground. McColl and Ostroff, dissatisfied with the new direction, exited; guitarist Peter Pollack joined around the time the Little Boy Blues secured a Mercury contract for an album. Midway through the sessions, however, Biner and Boyce resigned amid creative disagreements. Marc Coplon and Bill Mooney were brought in quickly to finish the project, which surfaced in 1968 as the uneven In the Woodland of Weir. The group persisted for roughly another year before dissolving.
Singles