Biography
The Free Design stood among the era's most imaginative vocal ensembles in pop, rising above typical AM radio material through elaborate vocal blends and orchestrations that incorporated broader instrumental palettes, unusual meters, and sophisticated structural elements. Between 1967 and 1973 the group issued seven albums that presented their distinctive approach to pop, one that seemed simple and airy at first encounter yet revealed substance through meticulous studio craft and candid emotional subjects. Although their sophistication placed them beyond ordinary commercial appeal, the Free Design remained largely unknown to the wider public during their original run, managing just a single chart entry while the Beach Boys and the Association ruled the playlists and sales lists. Their reputation nevertheless endured, drawing fresh listeners who responded to the music's layered craftsmanship and openhearted tone. Beck, Stereolab, Belle and Sebastian, and Cornelius each acknowledged the Free Design's impact, and the resulting resurgence prompted the band to reassemble in 2001 for Cosmic Peekaboo.
Originally the lineup consisted of the Dedrick siblings Chris, Bruce, and Sandy, all from Delevan, New York, where their father Art worked as a trombonist and arranger alongside Vaughn Monroe. After Chris relocated to New York City in 1966 to study at the Manhattan School of Music, he enlisted Bruce, then based on Long Island, and Sandy, then teaching in Queens, to start a folk trio that quickly became a fixture on the Greenwich Village coffeehouse scene.
Chris soon began writing original songs for the Free Design, and with Art's guidance the siblings produced a demo that led to a contract with Enoch Light's Project 3 label. The title track of their 1967 debut album Kites Are Fun also served as their first single, reaching the Top 40 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart while peaking at number 114 on the pop chart—the group's strongest commercial showing. A fourth sibling, Ellen Dedrick, entered the fold after finishing high school and appeared on the 1968 follow-up You Could Be Born Again. The track "2002: A Hit Song," included on 1969's Heaven/Earth, wryly addressed the Free Design's persistent lack of mainstream success, yet chart fortunes stayed elusive; their subsequent release, 1970's Songs for Very Important People, was aimed at young listeners.
Stars/Time/Bubbles/Love, also issued in 1970, restored the Free Design's focus on adult audiences. Following the 1972 album One by One, Project 3 ended the relationship, prompting the group to relocate from New York to Canada. There Chris recorded the solo album Be Free, which remained unreleased at the time. On the Ambrotype label the Free Design completed one last record, 1973's There Is a Song, before disbanding in 1975. Chris stayed the most active musically thereafter, establishing the vocal ensemble Star Scape Singers and contributing arrangements and compositions to the Canadian Brass while earning multiple Gemini Awards for his work on Canadian film and television projects.
During the 1990s, Cornelius, Pizzicato 5, and Louis Philippe frequently named the Free Design as an important inspiration, which led to the 1998 anthology Kites Are Fun: The Best of the Free Design. The new century brought another reunion album, 2001's Cosmic Peekaboo, that reunited Sandy, Chris, and Bruce Dedrick. Continued reissues and placements of their late-1960s and 1970s recordings in films and television programs introduced the music to additional listeners. Chris died of cancer in August 2010.
Originally the lineup consisted of the Dedrick siblings Chris, Bruce, and Sandy, all from Delevan, New York, where their father Art worked as a trombonist and arranger alongside Vaughn Monroe. After Chris relocated to New York City in 1966 to study at the Manhattan School of Music, he enlisted Bruce, then based on Long Island, and Sandy, then teaching in Queens, to start a folk trio that quickly became a fixture on the Greenwich Village coffeehouse scene.
Chris soon began writing original songs for the Free Design, and with Art's guidance the siblings produced a demo that led to a contract with Enoch Light's Project 3 label. The title track of their 1967 debut album Kites Are Fun also served as their first single, reaching the Top 40 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart while peaking at number 114 on the pop chart—the group's strongest commercial showing. A fourth sibling, Ellen Dedrick, entered the fold after finishing high school and appeared on the 1968 follow-up You Could Be Born Again. The track "2002: A Hit Song," included on 1969's Heaven/Earth, wryly addressed the Free Design's persistent lack of mainstream success, yet chart fortunes stayed elusive; their subsequent release, 1970's Songs for Very Important People, was aimed at young listeners.
Stars/Time/Bubbles/Love, also issued in 1970, restored the Free Design's focus on adult audiences. Following the 1972 album One by One, Project 3 ended the relationship, prompting the group to relocate from New York to Canada. There Chris recorded the solo album Be Free, which remained unreleased at the time. On the Ambrotype label the Free Design completed one last record, 1973's There Is a Song, before disbanding in 1975. Chris stayed the most active musically thereafter, establishing the vocal ensemble Star Scape Singers and contributing arrangements and compositions to the Canadian Brass while earning multiple Gemini Awards for his work on Canadian film and television projects.
During the 1990s, Cornelius, Pizzicato 5, and Louis Philippe frequently named the Free Design as an important inspiration, which led to the 1998 anthology Kites Are Fun: The Best of the Free Design. The new century brought another reunion album, 2001's Cosmic Peekaboo, that reunited Sandy, Chris, and Bruce Dedrick. Continued reissues and placements of their late-1960s and 1970s recordings in films and television programs introduced the music to additional listeners. Chris died of cancer in August 2010.
Albums
