Super Freak meets Heart of Gold
They were the first mostly white band signed to Motown Records in 1966. So who was the band’s lead singer? A young AWOL American sailor who went by the name of Ricky James Matthews, later Rick James. On lead guitar you had Canadian Neil Young.
The band lasted from 1964 to 1967.
The band didn’t last a long time but the memorable lineup was Rick James, Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, Rickman Mason, and John Taylor. Neil and Bruce would later be members of Buffalo Springfield. Earlier members Goldy McJohn and Nick St. Nicholas would later become members of Steppenwolf.
Canadian rocker Neil Merryweather was also an earlier member of the band.
Neil joined in 1965 and Neil and James wrote some songs together and they were recorded…but the band’s manager apparently misappropriated their advance money from Motown and they fired the manager. In return, the manager informed Motown that the band’s singer was AWOL from the Navy. Rick James was taken into custody and incarcerated by the Navy. “It’s My Time” remained unreleased, and Motown scrapped plans for a Mynah Birds album.
The music was not released until the single was included in the 2006 box set The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 6: 1966
Neil and Bruce bought a hearse…yes a hearse when Rick was detained and drove to California to start Buffalo Springfield.
The Mynah Birds were a really good band. In a biography of Neil Young called Shakey… Jimmy McDonough writes this:
The Mynah Birds—in black leather jackets, yellow turtlenecks and boots—had quite a surreal scene going…. Those lucky enough to see any of the band’s few gigs say they were electrifying. ‘Neil would stop playing lead, do a harp solo, throw the harmonica way up in the air and Ricky would catch it and continue the solo.’
Neil Young: “We got more and more into how cool the Stones were. How simple they were and how cool it was.” James had them play “Get Off My Cloud” and “Satisfaction”—before the braids, cocaine, and sequins, Rick James “fancied himself the next Mick Jagger.”
The band did get back together with different members when Rick James returned in 1967…but they soon broke up.
If you want to read more about them check out the links below.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/neil-young-rick-james-the-mynah-birds/
One of my favorite stories in rock n roll. So unlikely until you hear them. I love Neil Young and I love Rick James. Who would have “thunk it?” Never heard Go on and Cry, before.
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He does sound like Mick a bit… what a pairing… I would have loved to hear more.
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Another potentially great band ruined by a scummy manager.
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From what I read James was only 15 when he joined the Navy anyway.. I could be wrong
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If true, that makes it even more troubling.
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Some funny combos in music history. Good music, too.
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still seems “truth is stranger than fiction!” . One wonders what might have been if they’d stayed together. Probably ended up well for Neil but not as well for Rick, “Superfreak” notwithstanding.
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Yea Rick had a few hits afterward but the drugs killed him.
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I knew about the hearse and I read some stuff about the Mynah Birds, but most of this was new to me and I found it real interesting.
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Thanks Jim… the thought of them two collaborating…is strange but they sounded really good.
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This story is nuts! lol
Too bad James isn’t alive they could have called the reunion tour Neil Young and Crazy Freak!
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LOL…perfect! is that an odd pairing or what?
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No kidding Funk n Rock meets Grunger Grandpa
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I don’t think I realised the Steppenwolf connection.
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I didn’t either…I knew the Springfield connetion but not that. Talented band.
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I knew a guy whose car was an old hearse. He put a mattress in the back and rented it out on weekends…
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Now he was a smart entrepreneur
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Neil Young in a Motown group with Rick James. Strange bedfellows… I didn’t even know he’d been in the Navy. And, they should’ve shot that manager. What an ass, on so many levels…
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He was an ass…I think that James was only 15 when he joined anyway…
what a pair!
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That is odd as hell. Now I’m wondering if Clapton & Smokie were in a band together.
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I would love to hear that!
When I first heard about this I didn’t believe it…but yea it’s true
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What a wondrous find, Max! This makes my day.
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Glad you liked it Lisa! Funk and Folk meet…wish we could have heard more.
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What a surreal band…almost seems like fiction lol. First I heard of this.
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Thanks man…just wanted to see if you knew. What an ODD combination.
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