Beacon Street Union

Beacon Street Union
Background information
Origin	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	Psychedelic rock acid rock blues rock garage rock
Years active	1966 - 1969
Labels	MGM RTP
Past members	John Lincoln Wright Paul Tartachny Richard Weisburg Robert Rhodes Wayne Ulaky

The Beacon Street Union was an American psychedelic rock band in the late 1960s, named for a street in their native Boston.

The band was composed of Boston University students, singer John Lincoln Wright, guitarist/singer Paul Tartachny, bassist/singer Wayne Ulaky, keyboardist Robert Rhodes and drummer Richard Weisberg . With the exception of a few rock standards, their diverse music was composed by members of the band, primarily Wright and Ulaky.

The band's label, MGM Records promoted them as part of the so-called Bosstown Sound (along with the bands Ultimate Spinach and Orpheus), shepherded by the record producer Alan Lorber. The band met with little nationwide success. Their debut album, The Eyes of the Beacon Street Union, charted at number 75 on May 4, 1968. The band relocated to New York and recorded its second album, The Clown Died in Marvin Gardens. Wright, Ulaky, Weisberg, and Rhodes recorded another album, Come Under Nancy's Tent in 1970 under the name Eagle for Janus Records, before splitting for good.

Wright went on to perform and record as a country artist shorty after, and fronted the Sour Mash Boys. He regularly toured across North America, through to the mid-1990s. He died on 4 December 2011 following a series of strokes and a longtime drinking problem. Due to health problems, he stopped performing in 2007. Bandmate and producer Larry Flint admitted by 2007 that Wright "was in pretty bad physical shape, and even his voice was going", with an album recorded that year left unreleased. At the time of his death, he was separated from his wife who refused to divorce him to ensure that he stayed on her health insurance.

Discography

Albums

• The Eyes of the Beacon Street Union (March 1968)
• The Clown Died in Marvin Gardens (August 1968)

Singles

• "South End Incident" / "Speed Kills" (1968)
• "Four Hundred and Five" / "Blue Suede Shoes" (1968)
• "May I Light Your Cigarette" / "Mayola" (1968)
• "Lord Why Is It So Hard" / "Can't Find My Fingers" (1970)

References

Roxon, Lillian (1971). Lillian Roxon's Rock Encyclopedia. Grossett and Dunlap, Universal Library Edition. ISBN 0-448-00255-8.

Morse, Steve (2011). "John Lincoln Wright, 64, Voice, Soul of Country Music in New England". Boston Globe, 10 Dec 2011. http://articles.boston.com/2011-12-10/bostonglobe/30502742_1_country-music-boston-college-new-england