Biography
Sunshine pop pioneers Parade brought together veteran songwriter-producer Jerry Riopelle, a onetime Phil Spector associate who had contributed keyboards to sessions by the Ronettes, the Righteous Brothers, and Ike & Tina Turner, alongside character actors Murray MacLeod, recognized for roles in series such as Hawaii Five-O and Kung Fu, and Allen “Smokey” Roberds. Longtime friends and songwriting partners, MacLeod and Roberds had occasionally worked with Roger Nichols of A Small Circle of Friends renown, which sparked mistaken rumors that Roberds and Nichols were identical; they first encountered Riopelle during an unsuccessful attempt to pitch a Spector-bound composition, after which the three adopted the name Parade. They jointly crafted “Sunshine Girl” and placed it with A&M producer Chuck Kay; the track, cut with studio stalwarts drummer Hal Blaine, bassist Carol Kaye, and saxophonist Teenage Steve Douglas, reached the Billboard Top 20 in 1967 and ranked among the earliest and most prominent examples of the summery, harmony-rich style later labeled sunshine pop. While laying down the follow-up “She’s Got the Magic,” fellow actor Stuart Margolin—who would later portray “Angel” on the classic series The Rockford Files—came aboard, yet that single failed to chart. The same outcome met the third outing, “Frog Prince,” though in 1968 the group managed a number-127 showing with “Radio Song.” Two further misses, “She Sleeps Alone” and “Hallelujah Rocket,” prompted the band’s dissolution. Riopelle eventually recorded as a solo artist for Capitol, while MacLeod and Roberds briefly appeared on Epic as Ian & Murray; under the alias Freddie Allen, Roberds also cut an early rendition of the Nichols–Paul Williams composition “We’ve Only Just Begun,” which later became a worldwide hit for the Carpenters.
Albums
Singles
