In Los Angeles during 1966, self-taught guitarist Tom Marshall assembled Bluesberry Jam, a group that counted drummer Charlie Allen among its original members. Allen’s vocal ability stood out so strongly that he shifted into the frontman role, while Adolfo de la Parra took over the drum position in 1968. Later that same year de la Parra departed to replace Frank Cook in Canned Heat, and Cook promptly joined Bluesberry Jam in turn. Glenn Schwartz on guitar and bassist Brent Block were added before the close of 1968, at which point the band adopted the name Pacific Gas & Electric.
Kent released the debut album Get It On in 1968, yet it drew little notice. An appearance at the Miami Pop Festival in late 1968 led to a Columbia contract, and the label issued Pacific Gas & Electric the following year. The subsequent album Are You Ready produced the group’s first hit with its title track, which climbed into the Top 20 during the summer of 1970.
Despite that breakthrough, every other member left, obliging Charlie Allen to assemble an entirely new Pacific Gas & Electric. The revised lineup featured guitarist Ken Utterback, bassist Frank Petricca, drummer Ron Woods, keyboardist Jerry Aiello, trumpeter Stanley Abernathy, saxophonists Alfred Gallegos and Virgil Gonsalves, and percussionist Joe Lala. At roughly the same time the Pacific Gas & Electric Utility Company requested that the band alter its name, resulting in the shortened PG&E, which also became the title of the 1971 album. The musicians further appeared in and supplied the soundtrack for Otto Preminger’s film Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon, starring Liza Minnelli.
After about 1972, PG&E operated essentially as a solo vehicle for Charlie Allen. Dunhill issued Starring Charlie Allen in 1973, and the project then disbanded.
