In the mid-‘60s, the Shadows of Knight were the kings of the Chicago teen club scene. Then along came the Little Boy Blues to try to topple them. Students at the University of Illinois Chicago in 1964, they were originally called the Moving Sidewalks.
The original lineup consisted of Frank Biner (rhythm guitar), Paul Ostroff (lead guitar), Lowell Shyette (guitar and vocals), Ray Levin (bass) and James Boyce (drums). They started out by playing a mix of rock covers and Chicago blues in a much more authentic fashion than did the Shadows.
Shyette had a neighbor who owned the IRC record label. Upon hearing the band, he was interested in signing the group, however on the condition they abandon their bluesy sound in favor of a more commercial, British Invasion-inspired approach. The band agreed and, along with a name change to the Little Boy Blues, in 1965 recorded two originals written by guitarist Shyette “Love for a Day” and “Look at the Sun.”
“Love for a Day” https://youtu.be/GkfZ_GFURKo garnered significant airplay on Chicago radio that earned the band opening gigs for acts including the Rolling Stones, Lovin’ Spoonful and the Yardbirds.
Becoming a staple of the Chicago teen club circuit, the group would add a second vocalist, Billy McColl, for live appearances. McColl became a full-time member of the band as they headed into the studio to record their second single, returning to their bluesy roots with a take on Willie Dixon’s “I’m Ready” https://youtu.be/7VOsjE612wU
As the band matured, their sound became more fuzz-laden, moving into the burgeoning psychedelic era. Aside from the teen club circuit, they became the house band at Like Young, a teen club in the heart of Chicago’s Old Town district.
After an appearance on Dick Clark’s television series, “Where the Action Is,” and with the local success of their next single “I Can Only Give You Everything” https://youtu.be/c61kta8VYk8, the Little Boy Blues appeared to be on the cusp of national fame.
But, in September 1966 lead singer and guitarist, Lowell Shyette, was drafted into Army duty, putting a spoke into the wheels of the band’s momentum. Frank Biner was tapped to be Shyette’s replacement.
In 1967, the band left IRC for the Ronko label and issued their fourth single, “The Great Train Robbery” https://youtu.be/1CU5w5b-d8M which, like the previous single, is now considered a 1960’s garage rock, proto-punk classic.
As psychedelia grew in popularly, the group began to move into a more diverse musical direction, playing at local “be-ins” and headlining at Chicago psychedelic clubs such as the Cheetah and the Electric Playground, with a local newspaper calling their sound “freak rock.”
At this point, the band tried a somewhat different approach, when they recorded the Temptations hit “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” complete with studio horns, but it obviously was just not their kind of music. The change in musical direction did not sit well with McColl or Ostroff, both of whom left the band. The group soon disbanded. But in the same year, they reformed under Levin’s direction; the new band consisting of Mark Kaplan on vocals, Bill Mooney on drums, Peter Pollack on guitar, with Levin handling the rest. They began to incorporate elements of classical music and jazz into their music. Some of their new compositions, such as “L.S.D.,” “Cathedral,” “Dream Weaver” and “The Fox” caught the interest of the record people at Fontana Records, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Mercury Records.
The band signed to a record deal with the Fontana label of Mercury Records, with plans to record a full album of material. After releasing the single “It’s Only You” b/w “Is Love?,” as they began work on an album, midway through recording both Frank Biner and James Boyce quit over creative differences. The unexpected departures threw the band into chaos. Vocalist Marc Coplon and drummer Bill Mooney were hastily recruited to complete the album, In the Woodland of Weir. The change in personnel left the album feeling uneven and unfinished.
The Little Boy Blues continued for about a year before disbanding in 1969.
Discography
Singles
1965 Look at the Sun b/w Love for a Day (IRC 6928)
1966 I’m Ready b/w Little Boy Blues Blues (IRC 6936)
1966 I Can Only Give You Everything b/w You Don’t Love Me (IRC 6939)
1967 Great Train Robbery b/w Season of the Witch (Ronko 6996)
1968 It’s Only You b/w Is Love? (Fontana F-1623)
Album
1968 In the Woodland of Weir (Fontana SRF-67578)
(Thanks for Jeff Lind’s “History of Chicago Rock” and the Little Boys Blues history on the website http://www.ucanttaketheskyfrom.me/lbb/index.html for information in compiling this story.