Cherry People

The Cherry People were a Psychedelic pop and later hard rock group that formed from remnants of The English Setters. The band is best known for their semi-hit single 'And Suddenly', which barely missed the top 40 (No. 44), and including guitarist Punky Meadows who would join BUX and Angel in the early to mid 70s after leaving the Cherry People in 1972. In 1967, the group were introduced Nationally by Jerry Ross with Dick Clark on American Bandstand where they debut their new single " And Suddenly ". When the eponymous album was released in May 1968, its bubblegum pop sound failed to represent what the Cherry People were really all about. The band toured the country in support of the album and even worked the Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip during a West Coast jaunt. In the spring of 1969 the Cherry People returned home to Washington, D.C., turned up the volume on their hard rock sound, and perfected their repertoire of original songs. They staked a spot as house band at the popular Silver Dollar throughout the remainder of 1969 and 1970 and tirelessly worked six and sometimes seven nights a week at the rockin’ Georgetown nightclub. The band filled in gaps in their schedule with one-nighters around the metropolitan area at places like the Greenbelt Armory, the Bladensburg Firehouse, St. Mary’s Church in Landover Hills, St. Ambrose Church in Cheverly, and the Wedge (a teen club that operated from the Bethesda Youth Center in Montgomery County, Maryland). By June 1972 the grueling five-year period of constant nightclub work and assorted one-nighters began to take its toll. Rocky Isaac left the band and was replaced by Mike Zack, who in turn was replaced by T.C. Tolliver, a Black drummer from Southeast Washington, D.C. who had previously played with a soul band called J.J. and the Invaders. Lead guitarist Punky Meadows also left and joined BUX. A month later the Cherry People called it quits. After dominating the Washington, D.C. rock and roll scene for over eleven years, the Cherry People played their final gig with a three-night stand at the Varsity Grill from Thursday, June 19 to Saturday, June 21, 1975. It was a sad ending for one of Washington, D.C.’s greatest rock and roll bands. In 2005 Doug and Chris Grimes reformed the Cherry People. Michael Fath joined in as lead guitarist and vocals and Michael Andreski who plays the drums and other percussion instruments. They are now recording their new and second album under the Cherry People name. It is scheduled for release in mid-late 2009. The new album is the vein of hard rock with a light progressive influence, which is what they originally played in the 60s and 70s during their live shows. In 2009 Jude "Meatball" Vitilio took over the rock machines and percussion so Michael Andreski can devote full time to the studio. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.