Biography
The Goldebriars issued a pair of little-known pop-folk LPs on Epic in 1964. Their modest output draws attention less for the agreeable but slight material itself than for the presence of musicians who later pursued far more consequential rock endeavors once the ensemble disbanded. Foremost among them was Curt Boettcher, the producer and performer responsible for some of the most admired California sunshine pop of the decade through his work with the Association, Sagittarius, and the Millennium. Ron Edgar, who would later drum for the Music Machine, also spent a short period with the Goldebriars near their conclusion, though he contributed no performances to either album.
The group’s vocal foundation rested on sisters Dotti Holmberg and Sherri Holmberg. For a time the lineup featured three women alongside Boettcher, prompting the liner notes of their second and final album to observe that the configuration “made the group sound very much like the Lennon sisters doing work songs.” The additional female singer eventually departed, yet Boettcher’s own elevated register preserved a comparable gender balance in the blend. Handling guitar and arrangements, Boettcher infused the harmonies with early traces of the towering vocal textures that would define his subsequent pop and rock productions. The two Goldebriars albums nevertheless remain charmingly slight examples of mid-1960s commercial folk at the close of the revival era, their singing and settings occasionally displaying ingenuity while at other moments lapsing into cloying mannerism. Like many comparable folk-pop projects of the period, they displayed a broad, almost anxious stylistic range, encompassing original songs, ethnic pieces, protest numbers, traditional folk fare, and spirituals, all rendered in a somewhat homogenized manner.
Certain tracks, particularly on the second LP Straight Ahead!, carried faint suggestions of a rock pulse, marked by gently brushed drums. Edgar has noted that Boettcher sought to steer the Goldebriars toward electric folk-rock before the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” established the template. By the group’s final phase it did include an electric bassist, lead guitarist, and drummer (Edgar), and the musicians recorded an unreleased album employing full rock instrumentation. Until that material surfaces, any assessment of how forward-looking that version of the band might have been remains impossible. After his stint with the Music Machine, Edgar renewed his association with Boettcher on sessions for the Millennium and Sagittarius in the latter half of the 1960s.
The group’s vocal foundation rested on sisters Dotti Holmberg and Sherri Holmberg. For a time the lineup featured three women alongside Boettcher, prompting the liner notes of their second and final album to observe that the configuration “made the group sound very much like the Lennon sisters doing work songs.” The additional female singer eventually departed, yet Boettcher’s own elevated register preserved a comparable gender balance in the blend. Handling guitar and arrangements, Boettcher infused the harmonies with early traces of the towering vocal textures that would define his subsequent pop and rock productions. The two Goldebriars albums nevertheless remain charmingly slight examples of mid-1960s commercial folk at the close of the revival era, their singing and settings occasionally displaying ingenuity while at other moments lapsing into cloying mannerism. Like many comparable folk-pop projects of the period, they displayed a broad, almost anxious stylistic range, encompassing original songs, ethnic pieces, protest numbers, traditional folk fare, and spirituals, all rendered in a somewhat homogenized manner.
Certain tracks, particularly on the second LP Straight Ahead!, carried faint suggestions of a rock pulse, marked by gently brushed drums. Edgar has noted that Boettcher sought to steer the Goldebriars toward electric folk-rock before the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” established the template. By the group’s final phase it did include an electric bassist, lead guitarist, and drummer (Edgar), and the musicians recorded an unreleased album employing full rock instrumentation. Until that material surfaces, any assessment of how forward-looking that version of the band might have been remains impossible. After his stint with the Music Machine, Edgar renewed his association with Boettcher on sessions for the Millennium and Sagittarius in the latter half of the 1960s.
Albums
