Hello People ‎- The Handsome Devils (1974)

posted by albums-update

Hello People was a rock group that was created in New York City in late 1967 by producer Lou Futterman.

Late-’60s concept band Hello People was put together by New York producer Lew Futterman. Basing his concept on French mime films, Futterman assembled a group of Ohio musicians to make up the group, dressed in full face paint and performing wordless mime routines between their songs during their live sets. The first lineup of the band consisted of guitarist and singer W.S. Tongue, bassist Greg Geddes, keyboardist Larry Tasse, drummer Ronnie Blake, guitarist Bobby Sedita, and flute player Michael Sagarese.
Taking on stage names like “Goodfellow” and “Much More,” the band was born and recorded its debut, self-titled album in 1967.
In 1968, Blake left the group, to be replaced by George Abruzzese. Shortly after the release of their first album, Tongue also left the band, tired of the life of performing and opting instead to become a full-time songwriter.
He was replaced by singer/guitarist Pete Weston and a second album, Fusion, arrived in 1968.

Fusion featured “Anthem,” a song written by Tongue about his time spent in prison for draft dodging. The song was a regional hit in Ohio briefly, before it was abruptly banned for its controversial social commentary.
The band played out regularly without ever scoring a hit record, including performances on network television shows like the Smothers Brothers and Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show.
Another lineup shift found N.D. Smart taking over as drummer around the same time the band relocated to Los Angeles in the early ’70s. A third album surfaced in 1971 entitled Have You Seen the Light, and the band played shows with comedians such as George Carlin and Richard Pryor before signing on as part of Todd Rundgren’s touring group for a time. Eventually, Weston and Sagarese left Hello People, and the quartet version of the band would go on to record albums The Handsome Devils, Homemade with Teac, Bricks, and Lost at Sea before dissolving in the mid-’70s.

Notable Songs – the electro ‘Future Shock’, the progressive rocker ‘Destiny’, the funky hard rocking ‘Ripped Again’, the spacey bleeping slow burner ‘Creego’, the art rocker ‘Just One Victory’ and the freaky countrified mid-paced ‘How High Is The Moon’.

Tracklist

A1. Future Shock – 4:41
A2. Finger Poppin’ Time – 2:41
A3. Take The Love In Your Body – 2:44
A4. Destiny – 3:57
A5. Ripped Again – 6:06

B1. Listen To Your Heart – 2:13
B2. Creego – 3:24
B3. Cry Baby – 3:05
B4. Just One Victory – 4:14
B5. How High Is The Moon – 3:14
B6. Save A Dance For Me – 3:18

Companies, etc.

Phonographic Copyright (p) – ABC Records, Inc.
Copyright (c) – ABC Records, Inc.
Published By – Sheet Rock Music, Inc.
Published By – Fort Knox Music
Published By – Uncle Mike Music
Published By – Robert Mellin Music
Published By – Rittenhouse Music, Inc.
Published By – Earmark Music Inc.
Published By – Screen Gems-Columbia Music, Inc.
Published By – Moogy Music
Recorded At – Secret Sounds Studios N.Y.C.

Hello People

W. S. “Sonny” Tongue – vocal, guitar (stage name “Country”)
Greg Geddes – bass, vocal (stage name “Smoothie”)
Bobby Sedita – guitar, vocal (stage name “Goodfellow”)
Larry Tassi – keyboards, vocal (stage name “Much More”)
Michael Sagarese – flute (stage name “Wry One”)
Ronnie Blake – drums (stage name “Thump Thump”)

Credits

Design – Tim Bryant
Engineer [Assistant] – David Lesage
Photography By – Ron Slenzak
Producer, Engineer – Todd Rundgren
Written-By – Robert Sedita (tracks: A1, A3 to A5, B2, B5), Gregory Geddes (tracks: A1, A3 to A5, B2, B5), Laurence Tasse (tracks: A1, A3 to A5, B2, B5), N.D. Smart, II (tracks: A1, A3 to A5, B2, B5)