Like their West Coast contemporaries Sly and the Family Stone, The Chambers Brothers shattered racial and musical divides to forge an incendiary fusion of funk, gospel, blues, and psychedelia which reached its apex with the 11-minute psychedelic epic Time Has Come Today (1968).
The Chambers siblings – bassist George, guitarist Willie, harpist Lester, and guitarist Joe, all of whom contributed vocals – were born and raised in Lee County, Mississippi.
The product of an impoverished sharecropping family, the brothers first polished their vocal harmonies in the choir of their Baptist church, a collaboration which ended after George was drafted into the army in 1952.
Following his discharge, he relocated to Los Angeles, where the other Chambers brothers soon settled as well.
The foursome began performing gospel and folk throughout Southern California in 1954 but remained virtually unknown until appearing in New York City in 1965.
The addition of white drummer Brian Keenan not only made The Chambers Brothers an interracial group but pushed their music closer to rock & roll.
A well-received appearance at the Newport Folk Festival further enhanced their growing reputation, and they soon recorded their debut LP, People Get Ready.
The brothers stopped performing together in 1972 but reunited sporadically during the Seventies, appearing at benefits and peace and anti-nuke rallies. They also backed Maria Muldaur on her Gospel Nights LP and did commercials for Levi Strauss.
Joe and Willie remained in California doing session work, George sang gospel, Lester moved to New York in 1980 and formed a band with former Electric Flag bass player Harvey Brooks, but returned to Southern California to reunite with his brothers.
Lester Chambers
Vocals
Willie Chambers
Guitar, vocals
Joe Chambers
Guitar, vocals
George Chambers
Bass, vocals
Brian Keenan
Drums
Related Posts
Chi-Lites, The In the late 50s, Eugene Record and Robert 'Squirrel' Lester were performing in a singing group called The Chanteurs, while…
Booker T & The MGs In 1962 the hottest new instrumentalists were Booker T and The MGs - Two blacks and two whites, they were…
Christians, The Brothers Garry and Russell Christian - formerly an a cappella soul trio with Roger, another sibling from their family of…
Robbs, The Formed by brothers David Donaldson (aka Dee Robb), Robert Donaldson (aka Bruce Robb), and George Donaldson (aka Joe Robb) in…
Gentle Soul, The While much folk-rock (and rock in general) was getting noisier and more psychedelic in the late 1960s, a few Los…
Beau Brummels, The Formed in San Francisco in 1964 and most famous for their haunting mid-60s faux British Invasion-cum-folk rock, The Beau Brummels…
Parliament/Funkadelic/P-Funk Fifteen-year-old George Clinton was straightening hair in a local barbershop when he formed the doo-wop group The Parliaments in 1956 (The name…
Blossoms, The When The Blossoms first formed in 1963 it was as a vocal backing group for other artists recording for Phil…
