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The Beau Brummels were an American rock band. Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the band's original lineup included Sal Valentino (lead vocals), Ron Elliott (lead guitar), Ron Meagher (bass guitar), Declan Mulligan (rhythm guitar, bass, harmonica), and John Petersen (drums). They were discovered by local disc jockeys who were looking to sign acts to their new label, Autumn Records, where Sylvester Stewart—later known as Sly Stone—produced the group's early recording sessions. Initially, the band's musical style blended beat music and folk music and typically drew comparisons to The Beatles, while their later work incorporated other music genres such as psychedelic rock and country rock.
The Beau Brummels broke into the mainstream with their debut single, "Laugh, Laugh," for which they would later be credited for setting one of the aesthetic foundations for the San Francisco Sound, along with other bands such as The Charlatans. The band's popularity continued with the subsequent album, 1965's Introducing the Beau Brummels, and the Top 10 single "Just a Little." The group's commercial success declined by the following year, at which time the financially struggling Autumn label was acquired by Warner Bros. Records. After recording an album of cover songs, Beau Brummels '66, the band released a pair of critically acclaimed albums: Triangle in 1967 and Bradley's Barn in 1968.
The band underwent several personnel changes, beginning with Mulligan's departure in 1965. Guitarist Don Irving joined the band in late 1965 when Elliott began to suffer seizures resulting from a diabetic condition, leaving him unable to tour with the band. Shortly after the release of Beau Brummels '66, Irving left the group when he was inducted into the armed forces. Petersen left to join Harpers Bizarre, reducing the Beau Brummels to a trio for the recording of Triangle. Meagher was drafted for military service in 1968, leaving Valentino and Elliott as the only remaining band members. The duo worked with prominent Nashville session musicians to record Bradley's Barn before parting ways in 1969 to focus on solo material and participate in projects by other artists. Four of the original Beau Brummels reformed in 1974 with one new member and the band released an eponymous album the following year.
Sal Valentino grew up in the North Beach section of San Francisco. In early 1964, following a string of appearances as a singer on local television, Valentino received an offer to play a regular gig at El Cid, a San Francisco club. Needing a band, he called childhood friend and songwriter/guitarist Ron Elliott, who recruited drummer John Petersen, rhythm guitarist/singer Declan Mulligan, and bassist Ron Meagher. The gig led to a more lucrative deal at the Morocco Room, a club in nearby San Mateo, California. Meanwhile, San Francisco disc jockeys Tom Donahue and Bobby Mitchell were looking for new acts to bring to their fledgling Autumn Records label. Donahue and Mitchell wanted to capitalize on the Beatlemania craze that originated the previous year in the UK and was spreading across the U.S. by this time. Rich Romanello, owner of the Morocco Room and the Brummels' first manager, asked Donahue and Mitchell to see the band perform at the club. Romanello recalled, "There were maybe four people in the place, and they set up and started playing, and that old hair on my arm goes up. And when the hair on your arm goes up, you got something. It was a big change, to go from saxophones and black singers to a white guitar sound, but I hired 'em." The Beau Brummels signed with Autumn, where house producer Sylvester Stewart—later known as Sly Stone, of Sly & the Family Stone fame—produced the group's early recording sessions.
The Beau Brummels took their name from a term for an excessively well-dressed person. The group liked having a British-sounding name, and the legend has been, since it so closely followed The Beatles in the alphabet, the group also knew their records would likely be placed immediately behind those of The Beatles in record-store bins. Valentino dismissed this notion in a 2008 interview with Goldmine magazine. "That's a total myth", he said. "We just needed a name, and that sounded good. We didn't even know how to spell it. Everybody now has a notion of what people were thinking back then, but we never thought of those kinds of things." Al Hazan, who produced the band's demo recording, noted, "I never thought of the Brummels in terms of the Beatles—it was Ron Elliott's talent as a songwriter that caused me to want to produce them."
Band members
Original line-up
Sal Valentino – lead vocals, tambourine (1964–1969, 1974–1975)
Ron Elliott – lead guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead (1964–1969, 1974–1975)
Ron Meagher – bass, backing vocals, occasional lead (1964–1967, 1974)
Declan Mulligan – rhythm guitar, harmonica, backing vocals, occasional lead (1964–1965, 1974–1975)
John Petersen – drums, occasional lead vocal (1964–1966, 1974–1975)
Subsequent members
Don Irving - guitars, backing vocals (1965–1966)
Dan Levitt - banjo, guitars (1974–1975)
Peter Tepp - drums (completed 1975 tour)
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