Stoneground

File:Craig Randall Stoneground bassist in 1968.jpg

Stoneground was formed in 1970 in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Concord, California. The original lineup consisted of Tim Barnes (guitars, vocals), Craig Randall (Bass), and Mike Mau (drums).

{{cite web

| last = Planer

| first = Lindsay

| url = {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r50303|pure_url=yes}}

| title = Stoneground - Review

| publisher = Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate = 2010-03-28}}

Band manager and former Autumn Records executive Tom Donahue introduced the band to ex-Beau Brummels singer Sal Valentino and John Blakely (guitars, bass), both of whom joined Stoneground. Four female vocalists—Annie Sampson, Lynne Hughes, Lydia Phillips, and Deirdre LaPorte—were also added to the group. While touring America

{{cite magazine

| date = 1971-07-03

| last = Sippel

| first = John

| title = Weintraub's 'Ball' to Roll at L.A. Theater; Rock Artists' Odyssey

| magazine = Billboard

| publisher = Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

| volume = 83

| issue = 27

| page = 82

| url =

| issn = 0006-2510}}

and Europe, the band added another new member, Kit Thomas on bass who left after recording with the band in England and was replaced by bassist/keyboardist Pete Sears, later of Jefferson Starship and Hot Tuna. Stoneground's self-titled debut album, released in early 1971, featured seven different lead singers on the album's ten tracks.

{{cite magazine

| date = 1971-04-21

| title = Billboard Album Reviews

| magazine = Billboard

| publisher = Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

| volume = 83

| issue = 17

| page = 58

| url =

| issn = 0006-2510}}

The album was produced by Tom Donahue with Sal Valentino assisting on some tracks.

{{cite book

| last1=March

| first1=Jeff

| last2=Childs

| first2=Marti

| title=Echoes of the Sixties

| edition=

| publisher=Billboard Books (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.)

| page=157

| location=New York

| year=1999

| isbn=978-0-8230-8316-9}}

Music journalist Robert Christgau said the album was "certainly the aptest use of Sal Valentino since the Beau Brummels were on Autumn".

{{cite book

| last=Christgau

| first=Robert

| title=Rock Albums Of The 70s: A Critical Guide

| edition=

| publisher=Da Capo Press

| location=New York

| year=1990

| page=376

| isbn=978-0-306-80409-0}}

A Billboard review remarked that "Stoneground has a lot of advance publicity to live up to, and in light of their first LP the predictions may have been somewhat inflationary, though there's no denying the potential for excitement here".

During this touring period, Stoneground was a "traveling house band" for Medicine Ball Caravan, an attempt by Warner Bros. to promote the band

{{cite book

| last=Larkin

| first=Colin

| title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Stage and Film Musicals

| edition=

| publisher=Virgin Books

| location=London

| year=1999

| page=[https://archive.org/details/virginencycloped0081unse/page/410 410]

| isbn=978-0-7535-0375-1

| url=https://archive.org/details/virginencycloped0081unse/page/410

}}

and capitalize on the success of the concert film genre following Woodstock.

{{cite magazine

| date = 1971-11-06

| last = Freedland

| first = Nat

| title = A Movieland Challenge: Find the Right Formula for the Contemporary Artist

| magazine = Billboard

| publisher = Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

| volume = 83

| issue = 45

| page = 54

| url =

| issn = 0006-2510}}

{{cite book

| last=LoBrutto

| first=Vincent

| title=Martin Scorsese: A Biography

| edition=

| publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group

| location=Westport, Conn.

| year=2008

| page=[https://archive.org/details/martinscorsesebi0000lobr/page/115 115]

| isbn=978-0-275-98705-3

| url=https://archive.org/details/martinscorsesebi0000lobr/page/115

}}

The Medicine Ball Caravan film, which documented the 8,000 mile cross-country trip by 154 people

{{cite web

| last = Viglione

| first = Joe

| url = {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r132024|pure_url=yes}}

| title = Medicine Ball Caravan - Review

| publisher = Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate = 2010-03-28}}

in a "hippie caravan"

{{cite book

| last=Povey

| first=Glenn

| title=Echoes: The Complete History of Pink Floyd

| edition=

| publisher=Mind Head Publishing

| location=Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England

| year=2007

| page=1985

| isbn=978-0-9554624-0-5}}

of buses, trucks and musical groups, was directed by François Reichenbach—with Martin Scorsese as associate producer—and released in 1971.

Three Stoneground songs appear on the original soundtrack, which also contains songs by Alice Cooper, B.B. King, Delaney & Bonnie, Doug Kershaw, and The Youngbloods.

Pete Sears left the band and returned to England to record on Rod Stewart's classic "Every Picture Tells a Story" album, later returning to the US with Long John Baldry. Cory Lerios (keyboards, vocals) and Steve Price (drums) joined the band prior to the recording of Stoneground's second album, the double-LP Family Album, released in 1971. Billboard described the music as "infectiously exciting and ... colored by a wonderfully lighthearted feeling", and praised Lynne Hughes' vocals on "Passion Flower",

{{cite magazine

| date = 1971-12-11

| title = Billboard Album Reviews

| magazine = Billboard

| publisher = Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

| volume = 83

| issue = 50

| page = 62

| url =

| issn = 0006-2510}}

the closest Stoneground ever came to having to a hit single.

{{cite web

| last = Elston

| first = Casey

| url = {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r556175|pure_url=yes}}

| title = The Last Dance: Live January 6, 1973 - Review

| publisher = Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate = 2010-03-28}}

The song was also included on Fillmore: The Last Days, a 1972 triple live album chronicling the final run of concerts organized by rock concert promoter Bill Graham at San Francisco's Fillmore West, which closed on July 4, 1971.

{{cite web

| last = Planer

| first = Lindsay

| url = {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r556175|pure_url=yes}}

| title = Fillmore: The Last Days - Review

| publisher = Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate = 2010-03-28}}

In 1972, the band released their third album, Stoneground 3. They also appeared in that year's Hammer Studios film Dracula A.D. 1972 starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.

{{cite book

| last=Huckvale

| first=David

| title=Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde

| edition=

| publisher=McFarland & Company

| location=Jefferson, N.C.

| year=2008

| page=159

| isbn=978-0-7864-3456-5}}

By 1973, the band was dropped by Warner Bros. due to disappointing record sales, and tensions within the group had risen after three years of constant touring. Stoneground's original formation played their final concert on January 6 at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. The performance was released as an album, The Last Dance: Live January 6, 1973, by Dig Music in 2001. Within weeks of the concert, Sal Valentino left the group

{{cite magazine

| date = 1973-02-10

| title = From the Music Capitals of the World

| magazine = Billboard

| publisher = Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

| volume = 85

| issue = 6

| page = 26

| url =

| issn = 0006-2510}}

and moved on to a short-lived Beau Brummels reunion. Three other members—Lerios, Price, and David Jenkins—left to form the pop group Pablo Cruise.

{{cite book

| last1=George-Warren

| first1=Holly

| last2=Romanowski

| first2=Patricia

| last3=Pareles

| first3=Jon

| title=The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll

| edition=3rd

| publisher=Fireside Books (Simon & Schuster)

| location=New York

| year=2001

| page=[https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneency00holl/page/733 733]

| isbn=978-0-7432-0120-9

| url-access=registration

| url=https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneency00holl/page/733

}}

{{cite news

| last = Arar

| first = Yardena

| title = Pablo Cruise Looks at the Down Side

| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=v7AdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kgIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7258,5034403&hl=en

| newspaper = The Blade

| publisher = Block Communications

| date = 1979-11-25

| page = G-5

| accessdate = 2010-03-28}}

Barnes led various rosters of Stoneground for another ten years, along with original member Annie Sampson and singer Jo Baker, who joined in 1974.

{{cite news

| date = 1996-11-14

| url = https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/OBITUARY-Jo-Baker-2959748.php

| title = Obituary - Jo Baker

| newspaper = San Francisco Chronicle

| access-date = 2010-03-28}}

Other members included Terry Davis (guitars, vocals), Fred Webb (keyboards, vocals) and Sammy Piazza (drums).

{{cite book

| last=McDonough

| first=Jack

| title=San Francisco Rock: The Illustrated History of San Francisco Rock Music

| url=https://archive.org/details/sanfranciscorock00mcdo

| url-access=registration

| edition=

| publisher=Chronicle Books

| location=San Francisco

| year=1985

| page=[https://archive.org/details/sanfranciscorock00mcdo/page/210 210]

| isbn=978-0-87701-286-3}}

The band released three more albums during this period: Flat Out (1976), Hearts of Stone (1978), and Play it Loud (1980).

{{cite web

| url = {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p20774|pure_url=yes}}

| title = Stoneground Discography - Main Albums

| publisher = Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate = 2010-03-28}}

In 1982, Stoneground released "Bad Machines and Limousines", an E.P. with early band member Pete Sears appearing as a guest on keyboards.

In 2004, a re-formed Stoneground—featuring Barnes and Price—released the album Back with a Vengeance.

{{cite web

| url = http://www.bay-area-bands.com/bab00020.htm

| title = Stoneground History

| publisher = Bay Area Bands

| accessdate = 2010-03-28}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.stoneground.us/ Official website]
• [https://stoneground.bandcamp.com/ Stoneground Records]

{{Stoneground}}

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Category:Musical groups established in 1970

Category:Rock music groups from California