The Chambers Brothers had an early Drummer called Michael Konnic (aka
Mike Konnic). It was around the time they appeared at the Newport festival, that they had an argument with him. For some reason he wanted to fight with them and his elder brother nearly got involved. According to
Joe, he said "We love you man. We want you to play drums." The group recorded "Call Me" which was written by Joe Chambers and
Willie Chambers. Backed with Joe Chambers' composition, "Seventeen", it was released in the US on
Vault V-920 in 1965, and in the UK on
Vocalion 9276. It was produced by
Cliff Goldsmith. "Call Me" was described by Way Back Attack as a "raw and rockin' soul tune...with a prominent cowbell beat!". The group performed "Call Me" as well as "Don't Lose Your Cool" on
Hollywood a Go Go on 26 June 1965. In an interview on 20 January 2020, Joe and Willie Chambers talked about "Call Me" and how it got played on a radio station, one they recalled being KRLA that had the
Rocket to Stardom show. They said that their song was opposite to what the station was playing. "Call Me" was a "Record of the Week there". The UK release on Vocalion had a rapid review in the 30 July 1966 issue of
Record Mirror, where the reviewer said that they manage a few interesting gimmicks on the song. They recorded "Love Me Like The Rain" and " Pretty Girls Everywhere" which were issued on Vault V-923 the following year. "Love Me Like the "Rain" was written By
Brian Keenan and recorded by his group, The Losers and released as the B side of "Mersey-ssippi" on the Atco label in 1965. The Chambers Brothers played at the Downtown discotheque club in New York during 1966. As reported in the 9 April 1966 issue of
Cash Box, the group had been engaged for a further two weeks at the venue. They had been there for over a month, had been drawing huge crowds there. The drummer for the group as reported by the 26 March 1966 issue of
Cash Box was
Nicky Cahn (aka Jesse Cahn) who was pictured with the group in the article. It was also noted that their forthcoming LP was
People Get Ready. The group was also reported to have a large following in Boston. According to George Chambers, the group was too busy playing different instruments to do hand claps, so they had to get a drummer. They did try out a few. Then they met Brian. In their opinion he was the best around. In 1966, the group recorded "The Time Has Come Today". The B side of the single was the 2:21 long "Dinah" which was written by
G,
L,
J &
W Chambers. It was reviewed in the 24 September 1966 issue of
Cash Box where it was in the Best Bests section and given a B+ rating. The reviewer called "The Time Has Come Today" a wild hard driving funky outing. Unfortunately, it was rejected by Columbia.
"All Strung Out Over You" The group recorded "
All Strung Out Over You" which was composed by
Rudy Clark. It was released on
Columbia 4-43957 on December 19, 1966. It was rushed out by Columbia after the label had rejected an early version of "
Time Has Come Today". It was reported in the 31 December 1966 issue of
Record World that the Chambers Brothers, who had a professional history which ranged from church gospel singing to folk-blues, had changed direction and had a new Columbia single, "All Strung Out Over You" that was for the Rhythm and blues market. A full-page ad appeared in the 14 January 1967 issue of
Record World alerting the reader that "All Strung Out Over You" was Breaking out all over. "All Strung Out Over You" became a regional hit for the group which gave them the opportunity to re-record "The Time Has Come Today". The Chambers Brothers recorded the
Betty Mabry composition "Uptown". It was backed with
Brian Keenan's "Love me Like the Rain" and released on Columbia 44296. It was one of the records in the Pick of the Week section of the 23 September issue of
Cash Box. The reviewer referred to it as a "heavy rhythmic blues-rock throbber", and do good at r&b and pop outlets.
"Time Has Come Today" The band scored its only major hit in late 1968 with "
Time Has Come Today", an 11-minute opus written by Joe and Willie Chambers and highlighted by echoing vocal effects and Keenan's drumming which gave the song a psychedelic feel. "Time Has Come Today" was edited for release as a single and spent five consecutive weeks in September–October at No. 11 on the
Billboard Hot 100. In
Canada it reached No. 9, the first of two songs in their top 30.
Further activities in 1968 It was reported in the 19 August issue of
Record World that producer
Tim O'Brien, who had written and produced a charting single, "
Sally Had a Party" for the group Flavor was working on a Chambers Brothers album. The group recorded the album,
A New Time – A New Day which was released in October 1968. It contained the songs, "
I Can't Turn You Loose", "Do Your Thing", "
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", "You Got the Power to Turn Me On", "
I Wish It Would Rain", and the 7:26 long "
A New Time - A New Day" which was written by Joe Chambers and
Brian Keenan. The album was received quite well, which included positive reviews from
Record World and
Beat Instrumental. It did well in the charts, making it to no. 13 in the
Record World 100 Top LPs chart for the week of 30 November. In Canada it got to no. 19 in the
RPM Weekly Top 50 Albums chart. The group's album ''Groovin' Time
was released in 1968. Released on Folkways FT 31008, it was reviewed in the 2 November 1968 issue of Cash Box''. The reviewer said that the album was recorded before they added their fifth member. Referred to as a joyous package of plenty, the album contained "Groovin' Time", "Hooka Tooka", and "So Long Baby" etc. Strong sales were predicted. The album did chart and for the week of 16 November, the album was at no. 23 in the
Record World LPs Coming Up chart. The group was no. 6 in the
Record World Most Promising Male Vocal Group category of 1968. Working with producer
Tim O'Brien, the group recorded
Are You Ready, a composition by their road manager and cousin, Julius M. Chambers. Backed with a Willie Chambers composition, "
You Got the Power to Turn Me On", it was released on
Columbia 4-44779 in February 1969. On 21 March 1969 with their single "Are You Ready" already released, the group arrived in England. They discovered that their two concerts at the Institute of Contemporary Arts had been sold out. They played a special concert for the press at the Mayfair Theater on 24 March. They also appeared on the
Colour Me Pop show, the
Lulu Show and
How Late it Is. "Are You Ready" peaked at No. 19 on the
Cash Box Looking Ahead chart for the week of 22 March. It peaked at No. 113 on the
Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart for the week of 29 March, and peaked at No. 18 on the
Record World Singles Coming Up chart for the week of 12 April. It was reported in the 28 June 1969 issue of
Record World that the group's manager, Charles La Marr along with Julius Chambers were in Europe setting up engagements for the Chambers' tour which was taking place in the fall. Their single, "Wake Up" was at no 1 in the
Record World Singles Coming Up chart. Their album ''Feelin' the Blues'' which was released on Vault 128, was also reviewed in that issue. It included the tracks, "House of the Rising Sun", "Just a Closer Walk with Thee, "Undecided", and "I Got a Woman". The reviewer said that it was what "All dedicated fans will want". By December 1969, the group had released their double album,
Love, Peace and Happiness which was half studio and half live. It was reviewed in the 6 December issue of
Record World where the reviewer referred to it as "sizzling music". The group performed at the Whiskey A Go Go, which was filmed by Lawrence-LaMarr Productions. According to the 28 March 1970 issue of
Record World, Lawrence-LaMarr Productions was a newly formed production company which was connected with their manager, Charles LaMarr. The film which was the fourth special by the production co. was to be aired on National TV. By January 1971, the group's single "Funky" from their forthcoming
New Generation album had been released. It debuted at no. 58 in the
Record World R&B Singles Chart for the week of 16 January 1971. "Funky" debuted at no 149 in the
Record World 101 - 150 Singles chart for the week of 30 January. The group's
New Generation album was out in February and was reviewed in the 6 February issue of
Record World. Released on Columbia C 30032. The songs, "Practice What You Preach", "Reflections", and "Going to the Mill" were selected as the best. Having had issues with past producers who weren't willing to listen to their ideas, the Chambers Brothers started producing their own material. According to the April 1971 issue of
Hit Parader, the group had recently performed with a 22-piece orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Joe Chambers was also quoted as saying that they wanted to get into produding other acts and one of them he believed they would work with was
Brooklyn Bridge. Brian Keenan left the band in 1971 due to major problems with the group's management.
Group after Brian Keenan's departure Later incarnations of the group would include session guitarist
Steve Hunter (known for his work with
Alice Cooper). An album recorded in 1972 for
Columbia,
Oh! My God, has remained unreleased until October 28, 2022, when it was finally made available through multiple digital platforms. Although the group disbanded in 1972, they reformed and moved from Columbia to
Avco Records and released
Unbonded (1974) and
Right Move (1975). Also on that week, their single "Merry Christmas, Happy New Year", released on Columbia 4 -45518 was a
Billboard Christmas Pick. Their
Greatest Hits album was also in its second charting week, moving up from no. 189 to no. 177 in the
Billboard Top LPs Positions 106 -200 chart. Bailey played drums on their 1975
Right Move album. During the 1970s, they had toured from time to time. By 1973, Charles LaMarr was no longer managing the group. The Chambers Brothers appeared at the Botton Line club in New York. Their performance plus one by UK band,
Kokomo was reviewed by David McGee in the 29 March 1975 issue of
Record World. The Chambers Brothers opened with a pace that was described as "breakneck" when they did "Wild About the Lady". They Followed it up with "Pretty Girl". The reviewer said that they displayed an enthusiasm that had been lacking in some of their recent performances. They covered a range of types and kept the pace going. Other songs performed were, "Smack Dab in the Middle", "Rock 'n Roll to Satisfy My Soul", "Martha Jean" and "We'll Sing Together". The keyboard work was also noted. It was reported in the 27 March 1976 issue of
Cash Box that The Chambers Brothers had signed an exclusive contract with the Wes Farrell Organization, and record for the organization's
Chelsea label. The group were to start immediately with Farrell producing their recording sessions. Present at the signing and pictured in the article were, Julius Chambers, the group's managers, Joe Moreno and Gary Frischer, WFO Music Group president Steve Bedell, Wes Farrell, and Mike Frischer. Group members; Joe Chambers, Lester Chambers, Willie Chambers, George Chambers and Greg Dickerson (aka Gregg Dickerson) were also pictured. It was reported by
Cash Box in the magazine's 3 April 1976 issue that brothers, Lester, George, Willie and Joe and their drummer Gregg Dickerson had visited the Cash Box office the previous week. Full of energy, they were anticipating the release of their new single on the Chelsea label late that month. The music that they would be doing was a combo of funk and gospel. They were currently in the studio and had planned to go on the road back east for some gigs. Also in 1976 the brothers released
Recorded Live in Concert on Mars for the
Roxbury label. Lee Szymborski, an American session drummer also from Stamford, Connecticut, was hired by George Chambers to be the group's drummer, and performed live with The Chambers Brothers at the
Hollywood Bowl's Fourth Annual Survival Sunday Anti-Nuclear Benefit Concert, with
Bruce Springsteen,
Jackson Browne,
Stephen Stills,
Bonnie Raitt,
Graham Nash,
Gary U.S. Bonds,
Peter Yarrow,
Kenny Rankin and others in Los Angeles on June 14, 1981. Szymborski also performed live with The Chambers Brothers and
Etta James for two shows at McCabe's Guitar Shop, 3101 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, CA. July 16, 1981. Szymborski left The Chambers Brothers and joined the critically acclaimed Louisiana
Cajun group "The Savery Brothers" and played on recording sessions with artists like
Merle Haggard,
Doug Kershaw,
Johnny Paycheck,
Asleep at the Wheel, and
Juice Newton. Szymborski currently records and performs in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1997, the four original Chambers Brothers reunited, this time featuring session drummer Fabian Jolivet, to play a historic sold-out Gospel & Soul show at Santa Monica's legendary venue, The Ash Grove. In 2016, Willie, Joe and, occasionally, George, along with their nephew Jerry Warner on bass, Crazy Tomes on guitar, and L.A. drummer Jon McCracken, reformed as the Chambers Brothers to do shows in the Los Angeles area; including the
Grammy Museum at L.A. Live. George Chambers died on October 12, 2019, at the age of 88. Joe died August 15, 2024, at the age of 81. ==Spin offs, other projects==