. After a couple weeks with friends Mike Rice and Doug Harwood on bass and drums, respectively, the duo hooked up with a couple of L.A. movers: bassist
.
recorded demos that attracted label attention and led to a deal with A&M. "Live" was released as a single in early 1967 and quickly became a huge hit in L.A., and eventually reached number 63 in the Billboard singles chart. The B-side, "Time Will Show the Wiser," became somewhat well known too, as
cut a version on their 1968 debut album.
Their next single, the highly arranged and orchestrated "You're a Very Lovely Woman," didn't fare as well on the charts, hitting only number 90 in late 1967. A&M perhaps sensed that the window of opportunity was closing for the group and hastily released
The Merry-Go-Round in November of 1967. The album, excellent though it is, consists of the singles, their flip sides, and assorted demos. The record stalled out at number 190 and
Rinehart left the band soon after. He was replaced by
Rick Dey, who had been with San Francisco band
the Vejtables and also
the Wilde Knights (the group that cut the original "Just Like Me," which
Dey wrote and
Paul Revere & the Raiders later had a big hit with).
The Merry-Go-Round released two singles in 1968, "Listen, Listen"/"Missing You" and "Highway"/"'Til the Day After," but neither hit and they soon found that fewer fans were drawn to their shows and offers to play were drying up. After plans to release a second album dissipated,
Rhodes disbanded
the Merry-Go-Round in 1969 and began working on solo material.
His first album, The American Dream, contained solo tracks cut with session musicians as well as a few studio-sweetened
Merry-Go-Round demos.
Rhodes went on to release a handful of critically acclaimed solo albums, most notably the amazing
Emitt Rhodes album from 1970.
Gary Kato later formed Bullet and became a member of the group
Derek, which had a hit with the bubblegum classic "Cinnamon."
Rick Dey went on to do session work (including a stint working for
the Monkees), recorded an album in the early '70s with his brother
Tony and
Barry Melton (of
Country Joe & the Fish fame), and passed away in 1973. In 2005 reissue label Rev-Ola released
Listen, Listen: The Definitive Collection, which rounded up all the group's recordings and paired them with
Rhodes'
The American Dream.
–
Tim Sendra, Rovi