Formed in 1964, by the following year, the group had developed a professional press kit, had gained the interest of the semi-professional Southern Sound record label and soon released the single "Oh Those Eyes" b/w "You're Too Young". The single gained the attention of film directors Vince Scarza and
Douglas Hickox, who were directing a movie titled
Disk-O-Tek Holiday, which featured various music artists performing songs throughout the film. The clip that featured The Vagrants performing "Oh Those Eyes" is now considered a classic piece of mid-1960s history. The Vagrants were best known for their regular appearances at The Action House in Island Park, one of the premier rock clubs on Long Island in the late 1960s. The Vagrants often appeared on stage with
The Doors,
The Who,
Vanilla Fudge,
The Rascals,
The Illusion and
The Hassles (with
Billy Joel on keyboards). The band's rock/cover of the theme from
Exodus was often the highlight of each performance. While known for their powerful covers of "
Gimme Some Lovin'" (
The Spencer Davis Group), "
Hold On I'm Comin'" (
Sam and Dave), and other Motown hits, there are no known recordings of these songs in the limited Vagrants' catalogue. The Vagrants then signed to the
Vanguard label, something of a departure for them as their roster consisted mainly of folk and jazz artists. Vanguard released their first minor hit "I Can't Make a Friend", which is found on garage band compilations and is one of their recognizable early efforts.
Felix Pappalardi, who later worked with
Cream,
The Youngbloods, and
Jack Bruce, signed the group to
Atco Records, then a subsidiary label of the
Atlantic Recording Corporation, and their cover of
Otis Redding's "
Respect" became a hit on the East Coast in 1967. In 1969, guitarist
Leslie West left to form the post-Cream power-band
Mountain, with Felix Pappalardi on bass and vocals. A compilation of all of the group's singles (except both sides of the "Oh Those Eyes" single) was issued on an Arista Records release titled
The Great Lost Album in 1987, on which both Leslie and Larry West are credited by their birth names, Leslie and Larry Weinstein. == The New Vagrants ==