Biography
Formed in 1964 at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the garage punk outfit the Little Boy Blues came together around singer and guitarist Lowell Shyette, lead guitarist Paul Ostroff, bassist Ray Levin, and drummer James Boyce. The quartet first concentrated on Chicago blues standards and early rock & roll numbers before IRC, a local imprint, offered them studio time on the proviso that they shift toward a British Invasion pop style. Accepting the terms, they cut Shyette’s “Love for a Day” in 1965; the track became a substantial local radio success and secured support slots with the Rolling Stones, the Lovin’ Spoonful, and the Association. Billy McColl was regularly added as second vocalist for live shows and also sang on the follow-up single, a high-energy, distortion-heavy cover of Willie Dixon’s “I’m Ready” that again scored regionally.
The band’s raw, fuzz-driven sound peaked with their next release, a ferocious version of the garage staple “I Can Only Give You Everything.” Already popular in Chicagoland through regular appearances at the Like Young, the single seemed poised for wider exposure after the group performed on Dick Clark’s Where the Action Is. Momentum collapsed in September 1966, however, when Shyette was drafted. Frank Biner stepped in as vocalist, and after switching from IRC to Ronko the revised lineup issued the 1967 acid-punk single “The Great Train Robbery.” As the year progressed the musicians leaned further into psychedelia, performing at local be-ins and headlining counterculture venues such as the Cheetah and the Electric Playground.
McColl and Ostroff departed over the stylistic turn; guitarist Peter Pollack joined around the time the band secured an album deal with Mercury. Recording was still underway when Biner and Boyce exited amid creative disagreements. Marc Coplon and Bill Mooney were brought in to finish the sessions, resulting in the patchwork LP In the Woodland of Weir, which appeared in 1968 to little acclaim. The Little Boy Blues lingered for roughly another year before calling it quits.
The band’s raw, fuzz-driven sound peaked with their next release, a ferocious version of the garage staple “I Can Only Give You Everything.” Already popular in Chicagoland through regular appearances at the Like Young, the single seemed poised for wider exposure after the group performed on Dick Clark’s Where the Action Is. Momentum collapsed in September 1966, however, when Shyette was drafted. Frank Biner stepped in as vocalist, and after switching from IRC to Ronko the revised lineup issued the 1967 acid-punk single “The Great Train Robbery.” As the year progressed the musicians leaned further into psychedelia, performing at local be-ins and headlining counterculture venues such as the Cheetah and the Electric Playground.
McColl and Ostroff departed over the stylistic turn; guitarist Peter Pollack joined around the time the band secured an album deal with Mercury. Recording was still underway when Biner and Boyce exited amid creative disagreements. Marc Coplon and Bill Mooney were brought in to finish the sessions, resulting in the patchwork LP In the Woodland of Weir, which appeared in 1968 to little acclaim. The Little Boy Blues lingered for roughly another year before calling it quits.
Albums