The Sons of Champlin is a band formed in the late 1960s San Francisco Bay area that added jazz influence to traditional guitar based rock music. They are fronted by vocalist/keyboardist/guitarist Bill Champlin, who was also a member of the rock band Chicago.

Champlin started his musical career in high school as a member of a popular local band, the Opposite Six. One of his teachers encouraged Champlin to drop out of school and pursue music full-time. In 1965 the draft claimed the drummer and bass player of the Opposite Six, and Champlin joined forces with guitarist Terry Haggerty, sax player Tim Cain, bassist John Prosser and drummer Jim Meyers in the band that became the Sons of Champlin. By late 1967 the lineup had changed to include keyboardist/saxman Geoff Palmer, trumpeter Jim Beem, bassist Al Strong, and drummer Bill Bowen; to create a funky Hammond B-3-and-horns sound that was distinctive from the rest of the Bay Area’s psychedelic guitar bands; one bandsman referred to the music as "acid jazz".

The Sons recorded their first album in 1967 for Trident Records, owned by Kingston Trio manager Frank Werber. They released a single, "Sing Me a Rainbow," (B-side "Fat City") which got airplay in the Bay Area but did not crack the national charts. The plan was to follow this release with another song from the album, a Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil composition called "Shades of Grey." Unfortunately for The Sons, the Monkees released their version before this could happen. The album was not released and the Sons left Trident Records. A few years ago, this collection was released under the title Fat City.

During the late 1960s, the Sons of Champlin performed regularly at the San Francisco venues, the Avalon Ballroom and the Fillmore West. They shared billing with, among many others, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Country Joe and the Fish and The Youngbloods. They were also the opening act at The Band's first concert under the name "The Band" along with The Ace of Cups.

2012-06-24 22:04:23
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