The Hollywood Stars

While the Hollywood Stars attracted little more than a devoted regional audience in California, their crisp, melody-rich, guitar-fueled sound endeared them to enthusiasts of glam and power pop at a moment when progressive epics and introspective singer/songwriter fare ruled the airwaves. Their lone studio release from that era, the 1977 album Hollywood Stars, suffered from excessive studio sheen that diluted its intended impact. Later archival sets—Shine Like a Radio: The Lost 1974 Album and Sound City—presented the same material with greater immediacy, confirming the group’s ability to deliver muscular yet melodic rock distinguished by assertive guitar work, memorable riffs, and layered vocals that retained their edge. That approach would have aligned neatly with the West Coast new-wave surge that followed their debut by roughly two years.

The band originated in 1973 from an idea conceived by producer, songwriter, and impresario Kim Fowley, who envisioned a unit that merged the verve of mid-1960s pop and rock with the heavier guitars and stance of hard rock. Fowley characterized the project as a California counterpart to the New York Dolls and began assembling players to match that vision. His initial enlistee was drummer Terry Rae, previously of the Palace Guard, a member of John Phillips–produced psychedelic outfit Jamme, and a participant in sessions with the Flamin’ Groovies at the time of Fowley’s invitation. Together they completed the roster with vocalist Scott Phares, guitarist Ruben DeFuentes, guitarist-vocalist Mark Anthony, and bassist Kevin Barnhill. Rehearsals commenced in earnest, drawing on original material from Fowley and Mars Bonfire as well as the band members themselves.

The group quickly became a regular attraction at premier Los Angeles venues such as the Troubadour and the Whisky A Go Go, securing a contract with Columbia Records. Prior to the album’s release, however, the label learned that unapproved studio charges had been incurred under the band’s name, prompting Columbia to drop them. Although the original configuration dissolved, a reconstituted lineup soon formed, retaining Anthony on lead vocals, DeFuentes on guitar, and Rae on drums while adding bassist Michael Rummans and percussionist Bobby Drier. This edition resumed the earlier momentum and landed a deal with Arista. By the time the album appeared in 1977, punk and new wave were ascending in Los Angeles, and the record’s polished production distanced the band from prevailing tastes. They supported the Kinks on tour, yet weak sales, inadequate promotion, and internal tensions hastened their demise by year’s end. In 1978 DeFuentes assembled another iteration featuring Rummans, Drier, vocalist Al Austin, and guitarist Bryce Mobray; oriented more toward straightforward hard rock, the configuration found scant interest and disbanded.

Over subsequent decades a cult audience grew, particularly among power-pop collectors drawn to the early press the group had received. Blogger Robin Wills, upon learning that Rae possessed a rough-mix reel of the unreleased Columbia album, oversaw its restoration and release as Shine Like a Radio: The Great Lost 1974 Album in 2013. Four years later Blank Records issued the band’s rendition of “King of the Nighttime World”—a major 1976 hit for Kiss—as a limited-edition 7-inch that also contained two previously unheard 1975 tracks, “Too Hot to Handle” and “Habits.” Both songs resurfaced on the 2019 Burger Records collection Sound City, which additionally offered stripped-down, live-in-the-studio renditions of five numbers later reworked for the 1977 Arista release. Renewed attention prompted occasional live appearances by a new configuration that reunited Phares, DeFuentes, Anthony, and Rae from the first lineup, Rummans from the second, and guitarist Chezz Monroe. In 2023 DeFuentes and Monroe departed, succeeded by lead guitarist George Keller and former Motels guitarist Jeff Jourard.