Bloomfield and Goldberg developed the group in San Francisco, under
Albert Grossman's management, and immediately began working on the band's first project: the soundtrack for the film
The Trip. Actor Peter Fonda approached Bloomfield for the project, as a replacement for
Gram Parsons'
International Submarine Band. Director
Roger Corman did not find the music of Parsons' band appropriate for a movie about the LSD experience. At the time, the Electric Flag was rehearsing in Gram Parsons'
Laurel Canyon,
California home. Bloomfield was solely credited for all of the compositions on the album. He hired keyboardist
Paul Beaver to add texture to the soundtrack, through the use of one of the first
Moog Synthesizers on record. The soundtrack recording was reportedly completed in ten days. While the movie received mixed reviews, the soundtrack attracted positive critical notice. As described by David Dann in his biography of the Electric Flag, "The record was also one of the most adventurous for pop music in 1967, sampling freely from jazz, rock, blues and classical idioms, and doing so with wit and intelligence. It very much favored the eclectic approach toward American musical forms that Bloomfield wanted the new band to embody. That Michael could create such unusual and wide-ranging pieces said much for his appreciation and knowledge of those forms, and displayed his characteristic fearlessness when it came to experimentation." One of the Bloomfield compositions from
The Trip soundtrack, "Flash, Bam, Pow," was later included in the soundtrack to the 1969 film
Easy Rider. The song was omitted from the release of the original soundtrack and has not been included in subsequent reissues. The band made its debut appearance at the
Monterey Pop Festival, one of the first of the 1960s rock music extravaganzas. Now called the Electric Flag, the group was well received by the audience of 7,000, though its performance fell short of Bloomfield's high standards. Following Monterey, the band toured the Northeast and performed in the
San Francisco area while working on a recording for Columbia Records. Though a critical success, the band remained largely unknown to the general public due in part to the band's inability to complete its first album in a timely manner. In addition, Marcus Doubleday had joined the band while in the throes of
heroin addiction, while Peter Strazza, Barry Goldberg and Bloomfield developed heroin problems thereafter. In November 1967, Goldberg left the band in an effort to bring his personal circumstances under control. He was replaced by
Michael Fonfara, at the time playing with
David Clayton-Thomas in New York, and who was recommended by Buddy Miles. Fonfara was fired by Albert Grossman by December, after a drug bust in
Los Angeles. As a result, he was replaced by
Herb Rich, who had to perform a dual role on keyboards and sax. He had to handle that role until saxophonist
Stemsy Hunter, who was a friend of Miles came on board in early 1968. Fonfara was shortly thereafter selected as the keyboard player for
Rhinoceros, where he rebuilt his musical career. He spent the 1970s playing, recording and producing with
Lou Reed, among other activities, prior to developing a successful career in Canada as a member of the
Downchild Blues Band and as a producer of other artists. Subsequent to completing the soundtrack to
The Trip, the band commenced work on its long-awaited first album, ''
A Long Time Comin'''. The album, released in March 1968, was recorded between July 1967 and January 1968. The album was one of the first pop recordings to blend sound and voice samples with music. By early 1968, drummer Buddy Miles had become a dominant force in the band's musical direction. The group's repertory by then included numerous contemporary soul covers, featuring Miles on vocals, plus many classic blues tunes. The band produced fewer than a dozen original pieces, mostly written by vocalist Nick Gravenites. Bloomfield's original "American music" concept appeared to have narrowed considerably. In terms of the band's original material,
Miles Davis praised the Bloomfield–Goldberg composition, "Over-Lovin' You", in a
Down Beat Blindfold Test in 1968. The group played at the
Cafe Au Go Go in New York. Their performance was reviewed in the 23 March 1968 issue of
Cash Box. Mike Bloomfield got on the microphone and had a go at the club's "stand outside until we let you in policy" as well as the bad weather. According to the magazine, the date was actually the anniversary of the great blizzard of 1888. The article said that Bloomfield had translated his blues into the finest single string work that the reviewer had ever had the pleasure of hearing, but his vocals sometimes left a bit to be desired. However, his singing wasn't the reason people went to see the Electric Flag. Buddy Miles was described as the group's super together drummer. And Miles' touch of the blues that he had were evident on his singing on "
Sittin' by the Dock of the Bay" and "
Hey Joe". Hary Brooks with his weaving around and thumping out funky solid bass lines was said to be "worthy of the highest accolades". By June 1968, only months after the release of the album, Bloomfield quit the group, based on exhaustion brought on by continuing insomnia that was ineffectively medicated through heroin. In the weeks prior to his departure, there had been much public speculation as to whether Bloomfield was leaving the group or whether the group was leaving him. Miles, rather than Bloomfield, had become the
de facto leader of the group. Though they strove to carry on under Miles' direction, the Electric Flag was effectively finished. They issued the late 1968 album
The Electric Flag: An American Music Band, but personality conflicts, differing aesthetics, and a series of drug problems hastened the band's downfall. ==Epilogue==