Pacific Gas & Electric (band)

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Pacific Gas & Electric

| image =

| caption =

| image_size =

| alias = Pacific Gas and Electric Blues Band, PG&E

| origin = Los Angeles, California, United States

| instrument =

| genre = {{Flatlist|

}}

| occupation =

| years_active = {{start date|1967}}–{{end date|1973}}

| label = Kent, Columbia, Dunhill

| associated_acts = Charlie Allen, Bluesberry Jam, Glenn Schwartz

| website =

| current_members =

| past_members = Charlie Allen (died 1990)
Tom Marshall (1967–1970)
Brent Block (1967–1970)
Glenn Schwartz (1967–1970) (died 2018)
Frank Cook (1967–1970) (died 2021)
Ron Woods (1970–1972)
Frank Petricca (1970–1972)
Ken Utterback (1970–1972)
Jerry Aiello (1971–1972)
Stanley Abernathy (1971–1972)
Paul Warren (1972)
Alfred Galagos (1971–1972)
Virgil Gonsalves (1971–1972) (died 2008)
Joe Lala (1971) (died 2014)

}}

Pacific Gas & Electric was an American rock band in the late 1960s and early 1970s, led by singer Charlie Allen. Their biggest hit was the gospel-tinged "Are You Ready?" in 1970.

Music

The band's music encompasses blues,{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=October 18, 2017|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg5.php|title=Consumer Guide (5)|newspaper=The Village Voice|accessdate=October 18, 2017}} blues rock,{{cite magazine|title= Electric Bugaloo |magazine= Spin |date= May 2007 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JLfyLhoR-H4C&dq=%22blues+rock%22&pg=PA36 |issn= 0886-3032 |page= 36 |volume= 23 |issue= 5}} soul,{{cite book |last=Christgau |first=Robert |authorlink=Robert Christgau |year=1981 |title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies |publisher=Ticknor & Fields |isbn=089919026X |chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: P |chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=P&bk=70 |accessdate=March 10, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}} soul-rock,{{AllMusic|class=album|id=pacific-gas-and-electric-mw0000766566}} psychedelic rock, jazz and jazz-rock.

History

The band was formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1967, by guitarist Tom Marshall, bassist Brent Block, lead guitarist Glenn Schwartz (formerly of The James Gang) and drummer Charlie Allen, who had previously played in the band Bluesberry Jam.{{cite book|title=The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor=Colin Larkin|publisher=Guinness Publishing|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=1889}} When it became clear that Allen was the best singer in the new group, he became the front man, and Frank Cook, previously of Canned Heat, came into the band on drums.

Originally known as the Pacific Gas and Electric Blues Band, they shortened their name when they signed to Kent Records, releasing the album Get It On in early 1968. The record was not a success, but following the band's performance at the Miami Pop Festival in December 1968, they were signed by Columbia Records.{{cite web |url=http://www.pacific-gas-electric.com/bio.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110092649/http://www.pacific-gas-electric.com/bio.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 November 2010 |title=Biography |date=10 November 2010|access-date=3 November 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/pacific-gas-electric-mn0000004869/biography|title=Pacific Gas & Electric — Biography & History — AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=3 November 2018}}

Their first album for Columbia, Pacific Gas and Electric, was issued in 1969, but they achieved greater success with their next album, Are You Ready, in 1970. The title track "Are You Ready?" reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.{{cite book |first=Joel |last=Whitburn |year=2003 |title=Top Pop Singles 1955–2002 |edition=1st |publisher=Record Research Inc. |location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin |isbn=0-89820-155-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whitbur/page/531 531] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whitbur/page/531 }}

After the album was recorded, Cook was injured in a car accident and was replaced on drums by Ron Woods, Cook staying on as manager. Marshall and Schwartz left and were replaced by Frank Petricca (bass) and Ken Utterback (guitar),{{cite web |url=http://www.utterbackk.com/index.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205024139/http://www.utterbackk.com/index.htm |archive-date=2009-02-05 |df=dmy-all |title=Ken Utterback}} with Brent Block moving to rhythm guitar before leaving later in 1970. Unusually for the time, the band contained both black and white musicians, which led to rioting and gunfire on one occasion when the band, who toured widely, performed in Raleigh, North Carolina. Film footage of the band playing at the Kentucky federal narcotics farm exists and was used for the imagery in a later music video.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLHyJxFFqDc |title=Prisontown |author=The Malefactors of Great Wealth (band by James P. Olsen) |publisher=Youtube.com |date=May 27, 2011 |access-date=2022-05-13}}

During the recording of the album `PG&E’, Charlie Allen was not happy with the direction of

his band; he had his own vision, and direction. First, he wanted to tour England and Europe

where `Are You Ready’ was topping the charts. major changes were afoot. T he band changed

their name to, `PG&E’, following pressure from the utility company of the same name (similar

to Chicago Transit Authoring becoming `CTA)’

Frank Cook was dismissed, replaced by Tim Rose’s manager Jack Beale (John L Beale, Jr.),

known for his honesty, perseverance, dedication and foresight. Jack promised to make the

tour happen. Frank Petricca stayed on as bass; Drummer Ron Woods and Percussionist Joe

Lala were replaced by dynamic young drummer ALVIN TAYLOR, originally discovered by Little

Richard, but when Charlie and Jack saw him they knew his drumming would give Charlie the

electrifying beat he was looking for, even though is would be Alvin’s first foray Into a group

setting. Kenny Utterback was replaced by rising young guitarist phenom PAUL WARREN.

Charlie added a horn section (a year before Tower of Power) to join the band: Jerry Aiello

(keyboards), Stanley Abernathy (trumpet), Alfred Galagos and Virgil Gonsalves (saxophones).

They finished recording the `PG&E’ album, , and also appeared in and provided music for the

Otto Preminger film Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon starring Liza Minnelli.

Together Charlie and Jack put together a one and a half year game place for the group, encompassing Charlie’s vision of creating a more cohesive band while working on Charlie’s new material. The answer was touring. A new agent was hired in St. Clair Shores who booked them throughout the Mid-West (even replacing Tommy James at different venues), and on through the South to Miami, then up to

Washington and New York.

Jack Beale contacted Mr. Terry King who was also Tim Rose’s booking agent in London,and he

Immediately secured an extensive European for `PG&E’ . Openi ng for Pink Floyd at the Olympic

Stadium in Amsterdam; Brian Auger & The Trinity with Julie Driscoll in the Olympic Stadium in

West Berlin; concerts, venues and festivals in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy along with

numerous television appearances. The entire multi month tour was a tremendous success.

Toward the end of the tour, Charlie began to feel poorly. Doctors in England were mystified,

but they had an idea. Upon returning to Hollywood, doctors suggested detox, rehad and

plenty of bed rest. Obviously, the band broke up.

ALVIN TAYLOR became a much sought after studio drummer, working with the likes of Elton John, George Harrison, Billy Preston on the very first episode of `Saturday Night Live’, among many

Others. He wrote his autobiography, “Drum Major 2 Major Drummer”, a great read!

PAUL WARREN formed his own group, `The Express’, and became Rod Stewart’s touring guitarist.

JACK BEALE, ever the entrepreneur, invented `Recordcards’, greeting cards with a playable

Gold flexie disc inside, for the King Tut exhibit with the song `Son Of The Pharaoh’ and for the

Olympics, `Great Moments Of The Modern Games’ . He’s now a Producer, Distributor and

Video archivist, with the Rights to one of the largest multi genre video libraries in the

world, featuring English & Spanish cartoons, feature films, biographies, theatrical movie

trailers; English & Spanish music videos and live performaces.

A final album, using the name Pacific Gas & Electric Starring Charlie Allen, was recorded by Allen with studio musicians and released on the Dunhill label in 1973.[6][7]

Frank Petricca became a commodity broker.[12]

Charlie Allen died on May 7, 1990, aged 48.[13]

Members' lives post-band

Tom Marshall later suffered deteriorating health and personal circumstances, being homeless since the 1980s.{{cite web |url=http://www.pacific-gas-electric.com/tomspage.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002021813/http://www.pacific-gas-electric.com/tomspage.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 October 2011 |title=Thomas Marshall |date=2 October 2011 |access-date=3 November 2018}}

Frank Petricca became a commodity broker.{{cite web |url=http://www.soybeanmarket.com/ |title=Soybean Market |access-date=2010-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614110825/http://www.soybeanmarket.com/ |archive-date=2010-06-14 |df=dmy-all |url-status=dead}}

Charlie Allen died on May 7, 1990, aged 48.{{cite web |url=http://thedeadrockstarsclub.com/1990.html |title=The Dead Rock Stars Club 1990–1991 |author=Doc Rock |website=Thedeadrockstarsclub.com |access-date=3 November 2018}}

Glenn Schwartz became the guitarist for the Gospel rock group All Saved Freak Band. He died on November 3, 2018, aged 77.{{cite web |url=https://www.wkyc.com/article/entertainment/music/cleveland-musician-glenn-schwartz-dies-at-77/95-610951487 |title=Cleveland musician Glenn Schwartz dies at 77 |website=Wkyc.com |date=3 November 2018 |access-date=3 November 2018}}

Frank Cook became a qualified psychologist, and died on July 9, 2021, aged 79.[https://theprecis.com/dr-frank-lenord-clayman-cook/ Obituary, Dr. Frank Lenord Clayman-Cook, The Precis]. Retrieved October 26, 2021

Discography

=Albums=

class="wikitable" style=text-align:center;
Year !Album !USA !Aus{{cite book\|last=Kent\|first=David\|authorlink=David Kent (historian)\|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992\|edition=illustrated\|publisher=Australian Chart Book\|location=St Ives, N.S.W.\|year=1993\|isbn=0-646-11917-6\|page=227}} !Canada {{cite web\|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.36954.pdf\| title=RPM Top 100 Albums - August 22, 1970}} !Record label
1968 \|align=left\| Get It On \| 159 \| – \| – \|rowspan="1"\| Bright Orange Records
1969 \|align=left\| Pacific Gas and Electric \| 91 \| 38 \| – \|rowspan="3"\| Columbia Records
1970 \|align=left\| Are You Ready? \| 101 \| - \| 48
1971 \|align=left\| PG&E \| 182 \| – \| –
rowspan="2"\| 1973 \|align=left\| Starring Charlie Allen \| – \| – \| – \|rowspan="1"\| Dunhill Records
align=left\| The Best of PG&E \| – \| – \| – \|rowspan="1"\| Columbia Records
2007 \|align=left\| Live 'N' Kicking at Lexington \| – \| – \| – \|rowspan="1"\| Wounded Bird Records

class="wikitable" style=text-align:center;

Year

!Album

!USA

!Aus{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|authorlink=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=227}}

!Canada
{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.36954.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Albums - August 22, 1970}}

!Record label

1968

|align=left| Get It On

| 159

| –

|rowspan="1"| Bright Orange Records

1969

|align=left| Pacific Gas and Electric

| 91

| 38

| –

|rowspan="3"| Columbia Records

1970

|align=left| Are You Ready?

| 101

| -

| 48

1971

|align=left| PG&E

| 182

| –

rowspan="2"| 1973

|align=left| Starring Charlie Allen

| –

|rowspan="1"| Dunhill Records

align=left| The Best of PG&E

| –

|rowspan="1"| Columbia Records

2007

|align=left| Live 'N' Kicking at Lexington

| –

|rowspan="1"| Wounded Bird Records

=Singles=

class="wikitable" style=text-align:center;
rowspan="2"\|Year !rowspan="2"\|Title !colspan="4"\|Peak chart positions !rowspan="2"\|Record Label !rowspan="2"\|B-side !rowspan="2"\|Album
style="font-size:smaller;" !align=centre\| US !align=centre\| R&B !align=centre\| CAN{{cite web\|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5205.pdf\| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - August 8, 1970}} !align=centre\| AUS
1968 \|align=left\| "Wade in the Water" \| – \| – \| – \| – \|rowspan="1"\| Bright Orange Records \| "Live Love" \| Get It On
1969 \|align=left\| "Bluesbuster" \| – \| – \| – \| – \|rowspan="3"\| Columbia Records \| "Redneck" \| Pacific Gas and Electric
rowspan="3"\| 1970 \|align=left\| "Are You Ready?" \| 14 \| 49 \| 8 \| 44 \| "Staggolee" \| Are You Ready?
align=left\| "Father Come on Home" \| 93 \| – \| – \| – \| "Elvira" \|rowspan="2"\|
align=left\| "Stormy Times" \| - \| – \| – \| 81 \|rowspan="1"\| Tempo Records Australia \| "Live Love"
rowspan="4"\| 1971 \|align=left\| "The Hunter" \| – \| – \| – \| 27 \|rowspan="1"\| Kent Records \| "Long Handled Shovel"	Motor City's Burning
align=left\| "The Time Has Come (To Make Your Peace)" \| – \| – \| – \| – \|rowspan="4"\| Columbia Records \| "Death Row #172" \|rowspan="3"\| PG&E
align=left\| "One More River to Cross" \| – \| – \| – \| – \| "Rock and Roller's Lament"
align=left\| "Thank God for You Baby" \| 97 \| 50 \| – \| – \| "See the Monkey Run"
1972 \|align=left\| "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave" \| – \| – \| – \| – \| "We Did What We Could Do" \| The Best of PG&E

class="wikitable" style=text-align:center;

rowspan="2"|Year

!rowspan="2"|Title

!colspan="4"|Peak chart
positions

!rowspan="2"|Record Label

!rowspan="2"|B-side

!rowspan="2"|Album

style="font-size:smaller;"

!align=centre| US

!align=centre| R&B

!align=centre| CAN{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5205.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - August 8, 1970}}

!align=centre| AUS