Mark Stein and Tim Bogert had played in a local band called Rick Martin & the Showmen. The pair were so impressed by the swinging, organ-heavy sound of
the Rascals they decided to form their own band in 1965 with Martell and Rick Martin's drummer, Mark Dolfen, who was quickly replaced by Joey Brennan. Originally calling themselves the Electric Pigeons, they soon shortened the name to the Pigeons. In December 1966, Brennan moved on to the Younger Brothers Band and Bogert became impressed with a young drummer named Carmine Appice he had heard playing at the Headliner Club on 43rd Street in a cover band called Thursday's Children. Appice was asked to join the Pigeons and in his 2016 autobiography,
Stick It!, Carmine explained the name change to 'Vanilla Fudge': In April 1967 the Pigeons got signed to
Atlantic Records. But there was one drawback, however: Atlantic didn't want to sign a band called
the Pigeons.
Ahmet Ertegun, the label's founder and president, didn't like that name and told us we had to change it. We didn't mind, in fact, I had always thought
the Pigeons was a weird thing to be called but had just gone with it. We tried to think up a new name but were getting nowhere until we played a gig at the Page 2 club on Long Island and ended up talking to a chick named Dee Dee who worked there. She told us how her grandfather used to call her Vanilla Fudge. Then she looked at us and added "Maybe you guys should call yourselves that—you're like white soul music". We liked it. We told our manager, Phil Basile. He liked it. We told Atlantic and they liked it, too. So Vanilla Fudge it was. A recording of the Pigeons, "While the World Was Eating Vanilla Fudge", was released by Scepter/Wand in 1970. Vanilla Fudge was managed by Phillip Basile, a reputed
Lucchese crime family member, who operated several popular clubs in New York. Their first three albums (
Vanilla Fudge,
The Beat Goes On, and
Renaissance) were produced by
Shadow Morton, whom the band met through the Rascals. of a song originally recorded by
the Supremes.
Breakup and reunions ,
Vince Martell,
Mark Stein,
Carmine Appice Vanilla Fudge played a farewell concert at the Phil Basile's Action House on March 14, 1970. After that, Bogert and Appice departed to form another group,
Cactus, with
Paul Hanson on guitar. Lanny Cordola was guitarist when the band took the stage on May 14, 1988, for Atlantic Records' 40th anniversary celebration. After that, band members went their own ways once again to pursue separate projects. In 1991, Appice revived the Vanilla Fudge name for a tour with
Ted Nugent's former band members
Derek St. Holmes (guitar, vocals), Martin Gerschwitz (keyboards, vocals), and Tom Croucier (bass, vocals), which resulted in the album
The Best of Vanilla Fudge – Live. Three of the original members, Appice, Bogert, and Martell, reunited in 1999 with vocalist/organist Bill Pascali replacing Mark Stein to record a "
greatest hits" album,
The Return / Then And Now (2001), with new recordings of previous songs and three new songs. 2002 had Pete Bremy and
T. M. Stevens subbing on bass for an ill Bogert and 2003 saw a release of Vanilla Fudge's live album,
The Real Deal – Vanilla Fudge Live, recorded on tour in 1987 with Paul Hanson on guitar. Martell overdubbed his guitar and vocals later. In 2003–2005, the group toured with Teddy Rondinelli standing in on guitar for Martell. In 2005, all four original Vanilla Fudge members reunited for a tour with members of
the Doors (touring as Riders on the Storm) and
Steppenwolf. Pascali returned in place of Stein for some 2005 and 2006 shows before leaving to join the New Rascals. Vanilla Fudge was inducted into the
Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006, with
Billy Joel,
Joan Jett, and producer
Shadow Morton. Fellow Long Islander
Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals inducted them. In the summer of 2007,
HBO's final episode of
The Sopranos featured "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (with Pascali's lead vocals) as a theme for their cliffhanger. The band also went back into the studio to record
Out Through the In Door, a
Led Zeppelin cover album released in 2007 only in Europe. Also, the band (Stein & Martell with Steve Argy on bass and Jimmyjack Tamburo on drums) performed "You Keep Me Hangin' On" for the PBS fundraising program ''My Music: My Generation – The '60s'' for the March 2008
pledge drive. In March 2008, the original lineup of Vanilla Fudge embarked on a tour of the United States (mostly in New England). But in the summer of that year, Bogert and Appice left to concentrate on
Cactus, which they had reformed in 2006. Stein and Martell continued on in 2008 and 2009 as Mark Stein and Vince Martell of Vanilla Fudge with a tour that was called "Let's Pray For Peace," with Jimmyjack Tamburo on drums and Pete Bremy returning on bass.
Out Through the In Door was released in the US in 2008. Stein and Martell also performed shows during this period with Steve Argy and Jimmyjack Tamburo again as the rhythm section. In 2010 Tim Bogert announced his retirement from touring and was replaced by
Pete Bremy. In early 2011, Vanilla Fudge embarked on what was announced as their farewell tour. The lineup for the tour included Carmine Appice, Mark Stein, Vince Martell, and Pete Bremy (bass). On March 29, 2011, the band appeared on
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and performed "
You Keep Me Hangin' On". This lineup has continued to tour since. In 2015 Vanilla Fudge released its first album in ten years, ''Spirit of '67''. As of 2021, Vanilla Fudge was still performing concerts regularly. On January 13, 2021, Tim Bogert died at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer. The band did release (on September 6, 2021) a cover version of "
Stop! in the Name of Love" as digital streaming content and with an official music video on
YouTube, dedicated to Tim Bogert. ==Personnel==