Merrell Fankhauser

Merrell Fankhauser stands out as a cult hero whose guitar playing and songwriting span an eclectic range of styles, from surf music and folk-rock to psychedelia along with numerous other directions. Straightforward rock & roll defined his first efforts through Merrell & the Exiles, while surf came to the fore with the Impacts, yet he shifted toward more ambitious musical and lyrical ideas once he launched the folk-rock band Fapardokly and then advanced further into pop-psychedelia via Merrell Fankhauser & H.M.S. Bounty. His next venture, Mu, let him explore legends of lost continents, UFOs, and spiritual seekers while fusing acid rock, blues, and progressive touches. Solo releases emphasized artful soft rock highlighted by expansive guitar lines, and the 2022 box set Goin' Round in My Mind: The Merrell Fankhauser Anthology 1964-1979 supplies a strong survey of that peak era.

Born on December 23, 1943, in Louisville, Kentucky, Fankhauser received a ukulele from his father at age 11, along with initial instruction on the instrument. His family relocated to San Luis Obispo, California, when he turned 14, prompting him to take a strawberry-picking job that funded an electric guitar purchase. He soon began practicing alongside high-school friend Bill Dodd, and the pair entered a 1961 talent show as a duo, finishing first ahead of the surf outfit the Impacts. The Impacts promptly recruited Fankhauser, leading in 1962 to an album for Del-Fi Records titled Wipe Out (unrelated to the 1963 Surfaris hit). Strong California sales followed, though the bandmembers later regretted signing away royalties and publishing rights. Fankhauser departed and moved to Lancaster, California, where he started Merrell & the Exiles alongside guitarist Jeff Cotton, bassist Larry Willey, and drummer John French, focusing on British Invasion-influenced pop/rock. Cotton and French soon joined the blues band led by Don Van Vliet, who later performed as Captain Beefheart while renaming Cotton "Antennae Jimmy Semens" and French "Drumbo."

Fankhauser rebuilt the Exiles lineup and scored a regional hit in 1964 with the single "Please Be Mine." Merrell & the Exiles dissolved by 1967, after which he assembled a fresh band featuring Bill Dodd on guitar, Dan Parrish on bass, and Dick Lee on drums. Producer and engineer Glen McArthur, whose label had issued the earlier Merrell & the Exiles singles, proposed recording an album with this group; they derived the name Fapardokly from the first letters of each member's surname. The resulting album offered a charming mix of folk-rock and light psychedelia that sold modestly at first yet later gained value among psychedelic collectors. Once Fapardokly ended, Fankhauser created the more pop-oriented psych group Merrell Fankhauser & H.M.S. Bounty, enlisting Bill Dodd on keyboards and guitar, Jack Jordan on bass, and Larry Meyers on drums. The Uni label signed them, and they issued the 1968 album Things. Extensive touring and occasional airplay followed, but weak promotion limited sales, leading Fankhauser to move on by 1970.

Fascinated by the legend of the lost continent Mu off Hawaii's coast, Fankhauser reunited with Jeff Cotton (fresh from his Captain Beefheart period) on guitar and reed instruments, Larry Willey on bass, and Randy Wilmer on drums, naming the project Mu. Their self-titled debut album appeared in 1971 on the independent RTV label as a beguiling blend of psychedelia, blues, and prog rock; United Artists reissued it in 1974 under the title Lemurian Music. By the time of the UA edition the band had shifted from California to Maui, Hawaii, and although Mu prepared material for a second LP, those recordings remained unreleased until the '80s, surfacing as End of an Era and The Last Album. Mu disbanded in 1975, allowing Fankhauser to begin his first solo album, The Maui Album, which surfaced in 1976, though he thereafter concentrated on live performances across the Hawaiian Islands.

In the late '70s and early '80s, Fankhauser's catalog, particularly his psychedelic projects, drew renewed attention from collectors and crate-diggers, resulting in several pirate reissues; authorized editions later emerged from Sundazed Records. He released the 1986 studio album Doctor Fankhauser, which featured guitar contributions from John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service. Another studio set, Message to the Universe, arrived the same year. In 1990 Fankhauser hosted the syndicated television program California Music for three seasons. He introduced the Route 66 Live series in 1995 and the Hawaiian-themed The Tiki Lounge in 2001. Throughout the 21st century, between television duties, he issued more than a dozen albums on various independent labels from 2000 to 2014, alternating upbeat rock & roll often delivered in surf guitar style with more exploratory work that reflected his ongoing interest in Mu. Tiki Lounge Live appeared in 2018 and captured performances by Fankhauser and his guests from the long-running series. The British Cherry Red label released the expansive six-disc box set Goin' Round in My Mind: The Merrell Fankhauser Anthology 1964-1979 in 2022, encompassing abundant material from Merrell & the Exiles, Fapardokly, Merrell Fankhauser & H.M.S. Bounty, and Mu together with detailed liner notes.