KISSFAQ's Audio Archives: Eric Carr's Pre-KISS Songs Reviewed (2005)
Originally written for KISS Kollector fanzine, this article appeared in issue #54 of that magazine, as part of the memorial tribute to Eric Carr.

Of all the later members of KISS Eric Carr had one of the most diverse bodies of work during his pre-KISS musical careers. Eric's pre-KISS musical career was essentially a 15-year journey that included many highs and lows. And recordings. In this installment we're going to look at Eric Carr's musical history at a time when we pay homage to a man who was taken much too young...

Paul Caravello's first professional band was the Cellarmen, who were active during the 1965-9 period. Since some of the more common recorded material has been covered extensively elsewhere, we'll concentrate on the lesser known recordings. First, a recap... Around late-1966/early-1967 the Cellarmen entered Jody Records, a vanity recording label on McDonald Avenue in Brooklyn, to record two original songs that had been written by Paul. These songs, "Your Turn To Cry" and "I Cry At Night" would feature Paul singing, drumming, and playing harmonica. Victor Cohen, guitarist and keyboard player in the band, recalled how the recordings came about: "My recollection is that we were together for less than a year when Eric showed us these two songs and asked us to learn them. We did and shortly thereafter, Eric's dad drove us to a recording studio in someone's basement to record them. I think we were only there for about an hour and a few weeks later, we each had a copy of the record. I think it was around 1967, since I was still playing guitar and none of us were driving yet" (JG). "Your Turn To Cry" showed Paul demonstrating his Bob Dylan influences, since he also played harmonica on the recording, though another influence, John Lennon, had also played the harmonica on several Beatles recordings.

Paul's input in the songs went as far as the arrangement and well as dictating the bass line to bassist, and future brother in law, David Bartky. According to Paul, "I Cry At Night" was something of his version of The Beatles' "Eight Days A Week." Victor felt that the songs didn't live up to their potential: "I always liked 'I Cry at Night' better than 'Your Turn to Cry.' As I look back, I believe that 'I Cry at Night' could have been a hit. It was as good as many songs of that time. We just had no clue how to pursue this. If we were smart enough to get professional management or a record label behind us, I think we would be on 'Where Are They Now, One Hit Wonders' today" (JG). What is more sad is that only one of the 4 10" acetates probably survives.

An earlier acoustic demo of "Your Turn To Cry" also circulates, but is seldom heard. It was common for Paul to regularly recorded his own material on his own. He'd also record covers of songs that were popular at the time. Several versions of "Hey Joe" circulate. Copies of him performing "Fool On The Hill," "The Crystal Ship," "Out On The Weekend," "Yesterday," and other songs are also easily obtainable. One of those solo recordings would include his first drum solo that was recorded in 1967. This recording was released on the "Tale Of The Fox" DVD in 2002. As a starting point for a drummer Paul would continue to develop his drum solo throughout the 1970s. While with Salt And Pepper, Creation, and Mother Nature / Father Time, Paul would have a drum solo spot during those bands shows. What Paul would later perform with KISS as his drum solo retained elements of what he'd done right from this first recorded version, though the scale would increase!

By 1968 the Cellarmen were branching out into studio work and were hired to be the backing group for Chrystal Collins. With Chrystal the band would record two songs, also at Jody Records, "No Matter How You Try" and "When You Grow Tired Of Her." The band would provide backing vocals and harmonies on the recordings. They also worked on the arrangement of "When You Grow Tired Of Her" which did not amuse the song's writer. Bassist David Bartky recalled, Chrystal "came down to the cellar and rehearsed with us. Just about everything about that was The Cellarmen. Arrangement and all. I didn't take part in the harmonies but Paul, Bob and Victor did. The chords were written but lead, bass and drums were done by the band (drums, Paul, lead Bob and bass me). We made that thing. Chrystal was cute. Her grandma came with her to the Cellar and the recordings" (JG). The recordings would see limited release on a Jody single (Jody 4001) credited to Chrystal Collins & The Cellarmen.

While both of the studio tracks do circulate, both are pretty poor quality due to the condition of the acetate/singles from which they were taken. Like the Cellarmen acetate, few copies were made. However, the band did record their rehearsals with Chrystal and two additional "rehearsal" takes of "No Matter How You Try" exist. The first take runs 2.00 and has some minor harmony work by the band, plus the full guitar solo. The second take, running 1.56, features more prominent background harmonies from Paul. The band and Chrystal essentially run through the songs live. There is a single live take of "When You Grow Tired Of Her" with the band practicing the arrangement of the song with Chrystal. Running 2.23 Chrystal's having problems with her timing, the band's having some issues with the tempo of the music, and the effort breaks down without the guitar solo. It's still fun to listen to a band figuring out how to perform material.

Recorded around the same time as the Chrystal Collins rehearsal are the Cellarmen working on cover songs, presumably for their live set. These songs include full cuts of "Yellow Submarine," "I'm A Believer," a couple attempts at a twangy-guitar instrumental, "All My Lovin'," another several unknown instrumentals. Like the Chrystal Collins material these are of excellent sound quality, even if the author can't currently identify the instrumentals. Along with performing as the backing band for Chrystal Collins the band also recorded material for song-writers.

Bob Dorsey and Harry Simon wrote two songs, "Then I Made A Wish" and "I Found You (The One I Adore)," for which the Cellarmen were hired to record so that they could publish the material. To a certain extent the band also assisted with the arrangement of the pieces. Like the other Cellarmen sessions the songs were recorded at Jody Records. "Then I Made A Wish" was a somewhat psychedelic piece that would become the B-side of a privately pressed Jody 7" single (Jody A-9004) that was limited to around 25 copies. Both tracks would be produced by Vincent Vallis, the label owner, and Henry De Meo with Henry adding a three-note trumpet part.

Bassist David Bartky recalled the recording sessions: "I remember watching the trumpet player put his 3 notes to our music. So by this time there was overdubbing. Our stuff was recorded 'live.' This one took a few takes. I remember the producer, a black man, telling me 'Bassie, you ready to get it right this time.' I don't know why I had trouble on this but I did. It took several tries" (JG). The 3.06 audio of this recording would be released in 2000 on the "Inside The Tale Of The Fox"

Paul would sing lead, and the label would be printed with the single being credited to "Vocal: Paul Caravello / Band: The Cellarmen." This would cause some issues within the band and eventually result in the band's split-up. Victor recalled, "I think this was put together by Eric's father. We just learned the songs and recorded them. We never performed them afterwards. When the record came out it was under the name 'Paul Caravello and the Cellarmen.' This was news to the rest of us. They were very forgettable songs" (JG). The 2.31 audio of this recording would also be released on the "Inside The Tale Of The Fox" DVD.

One other Cellarmen recording has yet to surface. The band recorded a cover of the classic Doors song, "Touch Me," for a local television show which was then never broadcast. According to Victor, "We did, however, record a pilot for a local rock show. I forgot the name, but it was an 'American Bandstand' rip-off, that was going to feature local groups... When it was over, the host came over to talk to us. We had no idea he was going to do this and we basically froze and had nothing to say. The show never made it to TV" (JG). Unlikely to ever surface is the band's radio broadcast of "I Found You (The One I Adore)" from a battle of the bands event.

Paul quit the Cellarmen in late 1969 moving on to a three-piece garage band, Things That Go Bump In The Night. He'd play with them until mid-1970, but they essentially were not as successful as his previous band had been. It's not known whether any of their rehearsals/gigs were recorded. The other three Cellarmen members recruited a new drummer and vocalist, and continued as Smack. Early in the summer of 1970 the drummer quit and Paul returned to the band - just for the summer. When the summer ended and Paul couldn't be persuaded to stay in the band, they broke up and Victor and Paul went on to a new project...

Both Paul and Victor joined Salt And Pepper in late 1970 when they were told by their booking agent at Creative Talents that another of the bands he managed had broken up. Salt And Pepper had been formed in 1969 by John Henderson, singer Guy Rowe, keyboard player Jerry Ade, and drummer Joe Schmidt. According to Victor, "I called John [Henderson], who was the leader of the band and auditioned. Three members of the band were staying, John, his wife Sarita, and Bart. They already had a new lead singer, George Chase. When I auditioned, they had a drummer, but he was not staying. I got the job, and John asked me if I knew any drummers. I called Eric and he joined the band a week later" (JG). According to John Henderson, "When Paul and Victor came into the band we really matured. That's when we started getting good. We started putting together a real show" (JG).

Salt 'N Pepper did some early cover recordings including "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)." This 4.10 demo would be recorded with John Henderson on lead vocals and was a cover of the Temptations' hit; "Black Magic Woman" was originally recorded by Fleetwood Mac, but most famously recorded by Carlos Santana. Salt And Pepper recorded a 5.32 version of the song with John Henderson on lead vocals; Sarita Henderson sang lead on "Misty," a 3.20 cover of the Johnny Burke and Erroll Garner jazz number; Sarita would also take lead on "Summertime" a favorite of the late Janis Joplin from the 1933 theatre production of "Porgy & Bess."

Paul also played on numerous demo and rehearsal recordings that are often credited to Creation. Some of these recordings include "Coordination," a funked-out piece that was written by a friend of John Henderson. Victor Cohen recalled: "Sarita and I played sax on several songs. You can hear them on a few Salt and Pepper recordings, including 'Coordination'" (JG). In addition to probably being a Salt And Pepper recording, it is likely that most of these tracks were recorded in 1973. Regardless, being very drums and bass based, the song provide an excellent illustration of Paul's drumming and musical style during this period. Paul also got to sing lead on songs during this period in addition to backing-vocals duties. According to Victor, "John wrote several songs and we recorded them and a few cover songs. Bart had some connection with a studio in White Plains. We did these recordings independently, with the hope of landing a recording contract. Eric sang background on some of these songs, but sang part of the lead vocal on 'Down by the River.' Eric was a Neil Young fan" (JG).

Songs generally attributed to Creation include the rockin' "Stranger." Although Creation mainly performed cover material, they did record some originals during a foray into the studios with producer Lee Valentine. Written by John Henderson, this song moved away from the R&B sort of material the band covered as Salt And Pepper. The style of the song is very similar to the sort of material performed early by Big Brother & The Holding Company 1966/7, with an extended drum/guitar interaction break. That section, in itself, is an excellent demonstration of Eric Carr's drumming technique, along with some smokin' guitars and excellent raspy soulful Henderson vocals. This recording would be released on the "Inside The Tale Of The Fox" DVD.

Other Creation songs are either rehearsals or full demos. "Baby, I Want You" is one of the rougher recordings from Creation archives. This 3.44 song is more of a jam or rehearsal and may have been an original. Possibly written by Glen Dorsey, the "Work Song" is very bleak: "Work all your life, until you're old and grey / Then you wind up with nothing / After working your life away / What can you say, what can you do / Get yourself together / Before it happens to you."

Amazingly, Creation did release a single, making it the earliest available Paul Caravello material (the Cellarmen singles/acetates are in such limited that availability is really not a reasonable expectation). When interviewed by the KISSFAQ John Henderson didn't recall having released "I'm So Lonely" backed with "Something Tellin' Me" as an independent Creation 7" single (Prolific C-704). Produced by Carvel Gray and Robert C. Carlos, the strings were arranged by Horace Ott. John commented, "well, 'I'm So Lonely,' that's a rare record... This guy called Carvel Gray is the one that took us in the studio. He's the same one who put us on the show with Nina Simone" (JG). In fact, Creation, who were sometimes billed as Salt And Pepper at the time, performed and recorded a version of the song when they opened for Nina and Labelle (11-XII-73). During the performance there was stage banter about the song and whether anyone in the audience had purchased the record. This would seem to indicate that the band indeed knew that the single had been released and would also help date it to 1973. Apparently, Nina didn't perform at this show after the promoter was unable to pay her prior to her performance.

A 3.30 demo version of "I'm So Lonely" would be released on the "Inside The Tale Of The Fox" DVD as a bonus audio track. However, the fully recorded 3.06 single version adds orchestration and slightly rearranges the recording, though the demo features more prominent drums, keyboards, and bass. John Henderson handled the lead vocals on both versions of the recording, in falsetto. "Something Tellin' Me" is usually found as a short 1.22 incomplete live rehearsal. The single version of the song runs 3.16 and features George D. Chase on lead-vocals. Written by Harold Taylor, John would be credited, with T. Taylor, for the arrangement of the piece. Stylistically, it's very similar to "Stranger."

Other Creation material includes "Looker Of The Glass" which was written by a friend of John Henderson. "What Are You Today?" is a 3.37 recording that was written by Harold Taylor, a friend of John Henderson. Harold had been the lead singer with the band The Joneses who had several R&B hits in 1974/5 and had also worked with producer Lee Valentine. Lee was Dione Warwick's longtime guitarist. "People" was written by Sarita and John Henderson. It's a funk-charged 1970s anthem with powerful keyboards. "Rock Steady" is a cover of an Aretha Franklin song which was originally released on her 1971 album, "Young, Gifted & Black." Sung by Sarita, within the context of Eric Carr's later membership in KISS, it is ironic that KISS' production company found inspiration for their name from the same source. One final song that circulates attributed to Creation and Salt And Pepper is "Fairy Shoemaker." Running 5.20, this song is based on the poem of the same title by William Allingham. Like some of his other poems, this piece was set to music by Mansel Treharne Thomas in the 1950s. While this song circulates along with material invariably attributed to either Salt And Pepper or Creation, John Henderson didn't recall ever having anything to do with this recording.

Eric would get to do plenty of lead vocals with Salt And Pepper/Creation singing material such as the Manhattan's "Kiss And Say Goodbye" in concert in addition to providing harmonies. Mother Nature/Father Time did several covers that Eric took lead on. Some include: "Without Love" by the Doobie Brothers, "Wildflower" by Skylark, "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder, the ironic "Play That Funky Music" by James Brown, "Ten Percent" by Double-J, and "December '63 (Oh What A Night)" by the Four Seasons. Eric also wrote during this period. According to John Henderson, Paul "wrote some songs that were recorded that you may have... And he sang it, he sang the lead on it. He wrote a couple of songs." It's not clear when Eric wrote this song, and under which band name it should be associated. One of these songs was called "Our Love Will Shine Today."

As the 1970s drew to a close the members of Mother Nature / Father Time supplemented their income performing as Gregg Diamond's Bionic Boogie. Since Bionic Boogie was a musical project backed by session players there was no real band available to make appearances. According to John, "We were more like the road band. And we were glad to be that because we made more money, it was a lot of fun, we were somewhat stars. So we're all young cats out and our dreams are coming true. It was fun" (JG). The material the band performed included "Cream (Always Rises To The Top)", "Risky Changes", "Hot Butterfly" and "Chains". Eric sang "What You Won't Do For Love." The band's most notable appearance would be at the Miami Convention Center at Walt Disney World, a show that was apparently filmed.

Mother Nature / Father Time had also recorded their own album by 1979. Signed to Casablanca Records through their producer, Lewis Merenstein, Lew would be the controlling factor concerning the recording of the "Lightning" as the band had no interaction with Casablanca Records. According to John, "He took us in the studio and we recorded and it was fun. We got experiences that we never got. The record never went anywhere because they didn't promote it. But he took us in the studio and paid us to do it, so you know, it was cool" (JG). There is no shortage of irony that as the replacement drummer for KISS, Eric had already released an album on the same record label. Released in November 1979 Eric was credited as Paul Caravello on drums and backing vocals. The album featured "Disco Symphony," a ten-minute disco epic that would be released on a promotional single backed with "Baby, Without Your Love." Like all of the songs on the album this was written by guitarist Tom Siano. Tom had copy-written his "Disco symphony" collection which ran to some six pages in May 1979 as "Thomas Siano song suite, number 1." As the primary song-writer of material on the "Lightning" album Tom, would quit the band before the album was even released and was replaced by Gary Dunn.

By the end of 1979 it was clear that the members of Mother Nature / Father Time had become jaded. Even with disco dying they had opportunities due to their connections within the music business to continue as an active and productive band. Unfortunately they were either unwilling or unable to continue. Paul Caravello would be one of the first to depart the band. According to John Henderson, Paul had decided that he needed to move on and try something else - returning to rock music. As a result, Paul hooked up with some rock musicians, who shared the same booking agency as Mother Nature / Father Time, and formed Flasher. Mother Nature / Father Time continued into 1980, but broke up after their equipment and truck was stolen.

Flasher performed mostly rock cover songs around the New York area. Apparently, this was a particularly sad period for Eric, as he had become unsure about his musical future after more than a decade of effort. He was left with the option of continuing to attempt to make it or settle down to the more mundane task of finding a non-musical career with which to pay the bills, like many of his previous band members had done. Flasher played a diverse sort of material. Few Flasher recordings circulate though one set included: "London's Calling," featuring a nearly spot-on Joe Strummer-like vocal delivery, "Do You Remember Rock And Roll Radio," "Chinese Rocks," "Rockaway Beach," "Do You Wanna Dance," "Sheena (Is A Punk Rocker)," "Rock And Roll High-school," "Candy-O," "Just What I Needed," "Refugee," and several others unknown songs.

A second full set includes a completely different balance of material: "Baby Talks Dirty," "Beautiful Girls," "Honky Tonk Woman," "Brown Sugar," "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)," "Beating Around The Bush," "Roadhouse Blues," "Love Me Two Times," "I Wanna Be Sedated," "Runnin' With The Devil," "You Really Got Me," and a couple of other songs. By March 1980 Flasher were reduced to a trio when the keyboard player quit. While the band would continue, by May Eric had given notice that he intended to quit. During May 1980 Eric heard that KISS were looking for a drummer and decided that he had nothing to lose by auditioning.

When Paul Caravello submitted his audition package to Aucoin Management, he included a four-track tape that included material to demonstrate his drumming and vocal abilities. Featured on the tape were "Shandi," which he sang, and "Torpedo Girl," on which he drummed. The audition tape was completed with Paul drumming along to two Van Halen songs, "You Really Got Me" and "The Cradle Will Rock." "Shandi" is the gem from the "audition" tape with Eric singing along to the track with Paul Stanley's vocals muted. Even better is that the recordings are split on the stereo channels of the tape allowing easy separation of Eric's drums and vocals - this means that with a bit of clean-up work the tracks could be mixed onto KISS' master tracks for those songs creating an interesting audio memorial for Eric.

It is known that Paul Caravello's audition for KISS was video-recorded, and apparently the recording still exists. Paul would be offered an audition with KISS for Monday, June 23, 1980, at 1:30pm and was told to learn 5 songs. It can only be hoped that one day these recordings surface in either audio or video format. These final pre-KISS recordings of Eric Carr included "Black Diamond," "Firehouse," "Strutter," "Is That You?," and "Detroit Rock City."

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