Dance With Me: The Autumn Singles

Discover the formative recordings of this pioneering Bay Area band, produced by a young Sly Stone, showcasing their unique interpretation of the British Invasion, pop, garage punk, and folk-rock. A pioneering Bay Area band, The Mojo Men helped shape the "San Francisco Sound" in the mid-1960s. Their early recordings, found on this LP, were produced by a young Sly Stone in conjunction with Autumn records, resulting in regional hits like Dance With Me. Autumn Records, founded by influential DJ Tom Donahue in 1964, quickly rose to prominence as one of San Francisco's leading independent record labels, and when Donahue brought Sly Stone (then known as sylvester Stewart) on board as the house producer, it didn't take long for Sly to build a strong rapport with the label, and one of Sly's earliest collaborations was with The Mojo Men, when the band consisted of Jimmy Alaimo (vocals/guitar), Paul Curcio (guitar), Don Metchick (organ), and Dennis DeCarr (drums). The album largely features original songs by The Mojo Men, with Sly Stone's influence evident on tracks like 'The New Breed', 'Something Bad', and 'As I Get Older'. The only cover included is Off The Hook, a Rolling Stones track from their second album. Like many American bands of the mid-1960s, The Mojo Men drew heavily from the British Invasion, blending the influence of groups like the Rolling Stones and the Beatles with elements of garage punk (She's My Baby, My Woman's Head). Over time, their style evolved toward a softer folk-rock and psychedelic sound, exemplified by Fire In My Heart.