The Bosstown Sound of the Chamaeleon Church
Chamaeleon Church | Camilla Is Changing (MGM) 1968 | The group were formed by The Lost co-founder Ted Myers early in 1968, almost directly after the Lost broke up. He brought with him Lost co-member Kyle Garrahan, folk artist Tony Scheuren on vocals and guitar, and drummer, pianist, vocalist Chevy Chase.
They all lived and rehearsed in New York and recorded one album under the direction of Alan Lorber, released during September 1968 before disbanding.
They briefly toured the East Coast of the USA and appeared on an ABC Television generation-gap special called, “What Gap?” in which they performed their one single release “Camilla Is Changing”, which is also on their LP and is something of a long-forgotten and ignored psych pop number. My highlight from their recordings. The B-side soft ballad “Your Golden Love”, is non-album.
A 1996 CD ‘Family Circle – Family Tree’, released on Big Beat, captures several Chamaeleon Church tracks, including some unreleased material.
The version of “Your Golden Love”, written by Myers was made in multi-versions and sung by Kyle Garrahan, whose own influences as a vocalist were R&B, as in the music of Ray Charles, the Motown sound, and the Stax and Volt sounds of Memphis.
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