One-hit wonders get a bad reputation in comparison to their multi-chart-topping counterparts. But if we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times: a hit’s still a hit. Achieving any kind of success in the infamously fickle music industry is certainly a notable accomplishment. When that lone success also happens to be an album that George Harrison proudly touts at all his parties, then that single success is that much sweeter.
Just ask the members of Vanilla Fudge.
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George Harrison Reportedly Loved This Vanilla Fudge Album
Vanilla Fudge earned their bittersweet one-hit wonder distinction after achieving commercial success with their cover of The Supremes’ hit, “You Keep Me Hanging On”. The track hit the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also came to define the psychedelic rock of the late 1960s. The band’s passionate, slowed-down rendition of the Motown track was the perfect soundtrack for the dog days of the Summer of Love in August 1967.
According to drummer Carmine Appice, they even had fans among megastars who were dominating the charts around that time as well, including George Harrison. Speaking about the band’s eponymous debut in a 2014 interview with Ray Shasho, Appice said, “It made such an impression on everybody. George Harrison used to carry around the album to parties. I personally confirmed that with Paul McCartney.”
One of the world’s biggest rockstars carrying around your album to share at parties certainly beats the fleeting fanfare of a high chart position. And Harrison wasn’t even the only one. “Vanilla Fudge influenced so many bands,” Appice reflected. “It’s amazing how we’re not even a peep mentioned in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They don’t even have our song in the playlist for Hall of Fame-kind-of songs. All these musicians… Clapton, Pete Townshend, Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant… they all remembered where they were when they first heard ‘You Keep Me Hanging On’.”
The Iconic Debut Featured Two Beatles Songs
An endorsement from George Harrison is quite the large feather to put in one’s cap. An endorsement from George Harrison for music first performed by Harrison is another accomplishment altogether. Vanilla Fudge enjoyed both.
Their self-titled debut, which Harrison was quick to share with his friends and associates, featured two Beatles songs: “Ticket To Ride” and “Eleanor Rigby”. While both came from the Lennon-McCartney partnership, it was Harrison’s distinct guitar style that rounded out the songs’ flavor. The fact that he would enjoy Vanilla Fudge’s reimagining of these songs is a huge testament to how well-received the psychedelic rock band really was.
As Appice stated in 2014, Vanilla Fudge is often overshadowed by other more ubiquitous names in 1960s rock ‘n’ roll. Still, superstars need to be inspired by someone before they can become stars themselves. Vanilla Fudge really was your favorite rock band’s favorite rock band.
Photo by Estate of Keith Morris/Redferns