The People's Victory Orchestra and Chorus

Little is known about the PVO other than that they were an early '70s Long Island-based group who highly valued their anonymity. The words "hippie" and "commune" are frequently used on those rare occasions when their name comes up. Information about their personnel is virtually nonexistent, and no one seems to know anybody who was affiliated with the band or what else these people may have done. They recorded and self-released three albums over the course of the 1970s, but even the dates of their release aren't known for sure. What is known, however, is that their first two records -- The School and Weltschmerzen -- were released in either 1971, 1972, or 1973, though which one was released first and in exactly which year seems to be up for debate. Each album had a different address in Queens, NY. There was also a non-LP 45 with a puicture sleeve, although not of the musicians, called "Oh, Happy Birthday" released in the mid-'70s as well; it was arguably the most commercial-sounding recording they made to that point. Their third album, Victory Gardens, was released in 1979, perhaps posthumously, and again on their own People's Music Works imprint. Within the small following of the PVO today, much speculation remains as to who these people were. Some claim that they were session musicians, out to do their own thing without endangering their careers, and perhaps even enlisting better-known musicians (some accounts claim that nameless members of the Rolling Stones partook!), while others assume that they were high school music instructors, who employed the talents of their students for these records (which might, of course, explain the title of "The School"). No definitive anwers exist at this point. Along with this remarkable music lives on their legend. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.