Stony Brook People - Lost and Found

Three years ago, I began a little “google search” to try and find copies of records the Stony Brook People had made. I was able to find and obtain a couple of copies, some in better shape than others.

One day a man in England contacted me. He had seen a few of my requests for our records on various websites, where I had requested information and links to aid me in my search. He was writing a book about 60’s Rock ‘N Roll bands. We corresponded over the next few months. I sent him copies of photos that I had, and gave him some history of the group. I had mentioned that we were on various television shows, but I didn’t have any copies and suspected that many of the videotapes had either been destroyed or taped over.

Imagine my surprise when he wrote to tell me he had located a copy of “Something Else”, starring John Byner (1969)– and we were one of the acts. The video quality was poor, but even so, it brought back memories.

My search at this point came to a standstill. I occasionally “googled” but there were no new leads. About two weeks ago I came across a link I hadn’t seen before, I clicked on it. It led me to Mike Gregory, a former member of the band.

Mike is now the leader of MAD DASH a Cover Rock Band From Grass Valley, CA. I contacted him, we exchange e-mails and phone calls. Through Mike I was able to find the rest of the band.

We hope to arrange a “reunion” of sorts, share and exchange photos, reel-to-reel tapes of the sessions we made, and of course our many memories.

A Brief History of The Stony Brook People

Originally, the group was formed on Long Island, NY and consisted of eight members: three women singers and five male musicians. The group was mentored by Neil Diamond and called the Penny Candy. The Penny Candy was sent to San Francisco, California to do a TV show and by chance Tommy Smothers was also on that show. Tommy really liked the group, but thought there were too many members. He said that his production company, SMO BRO Talent would like to represent the group, contingent on the reduction of the size of the group. It was at this point that a major personnel change took place. Basically, the whole group was replaced with other musicians from Long Island.

A new lead vocalist, Leah Santos was put into place. Then a new guitarist, Mike Gregory was added, along with Marc Levine on bass, Eddie Rodriguez on drums and George Reich (the new leader of the group) on keyboards and trumpet. I replaced one of the original women singers and the original male keyboard player. I also played flute. Now the group was pared down to a more manageable six-piece band and Tommy was basically happy. However, he didn’t like the name, Penny Candy and had it changed to The Stony Brook People.

At this point the new group was sent back to Los Angeles, California, where a record contract was negotiated with Columbia Records. Things were not going as well as we would have liked, musically and the decision was made to change the guitarist. We went back to Long Island and brought a new guitarist, Mike Bernardo into the fold. Now, the band was set and recording started at Columbia Records in Hollywood. We appeared on the Joey Bishop Show with Tommy Smothers. After a brief stint in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Flamingo Hotel, we became the house band at a private club called The Factory in Beverly Hills, California. The Factory was owned by Tommy Smothers, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, Pierre Salinger and Ron Buck. At this venue we were able to meet a huge number of celebrities and some of them helped us in various ways.

While we were performing in Las Vegas, our manager (who will remain nameless) stole most of our musical equipment, as well as our salaries and we were forced to return to Los Angeles. Tommy introduced us to Kenny Rogers, who lent us most of the equipment we needed to play at The Factory. We also met Carol Burnett, who had us perform at her gala Christmas cast party at The Factory.

At one point, our recording of “Easy To Be Hard” from the Broadway show, “Hair” was doing very well on the radio. We did a big promotional tour and all that. However, three months later, Three Dog Night released their version of “Easy To Be Hard” and for all intents and purposes, our run at fame was snuffed out, as their version rose on the charts. Clive Davis, the head of Columbia Records, at that time, decided that we were a good tax write-off and we were released from our recording contract.

After that, we settled in Los Angeles and played in various clubs. This was not very fulfilling to us and the band soon drifted apart. Some of the members stayed on the West Coast and some went back to Long Island. A few of us found work in house bands in Las Vegas and in back-up bands for more famous people. A few of us went out and found “straight” gigs and went on with our lives. And so ends the story of the Stony Brook People.

In addition to “Easy To Be Hard”, we also recorded “Just a Little Lovin”, “He’s Back Again”, and There’s Tomorrow”. Although our time together as a band was short, we do have many stories to tell. We hope to be able to share some of these stories with you.