Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in 1972, the two-LP set covered American garage rock and psychedelia from the years 1965-1968 and was a major influence on punk rock. Rhino Records reissued an expanded version of the set in 1998, with 118 tracks in total. I’m profiling and rating each of these 118 tracks, working backwards.
Track 85: Bad Little Woman by The Shadows of Knight
Release Date: 1966
From: Chicago, Illinois
Rating: 6/10
BAD LITTLE WOMAN – The Shadows Of Knight [2:33]
(Tito Tinsley/Victor Catling/Roderick Demick/Herbert Armstrong/Brian Rosbotham)
Personnel/JIM SOHNS: vocals * JOE KELLEY: lead guitar * JERRY McGEORGE: guitar * WARREN ROGERS: bass * TOM SCHIFFOUR: drums
A DUNWICH Production
Recorded in Chicago, IL
Dunwich single #45-128 (7/66); Pop #91
Chicago blues band The Shadows of Knight have three songs on Nuggets – unusually for the set, all three are covers. The Shadows of Knight established their recording career with another cover – they enjoyed a local hit with a sanitised cover of Them’s ‘Gloria’. After the original was banned on a Chicago radio station, they released a version with Van Morrison’s original line changed from “she comes to my room, then she made me feel alright” to “she called out my name, that made me feel alright.”
The band were originally called The Shadows – a name they had to change for obvious reasons. Lead singer Jim Sohns was only 16 when The Shadows of Knight formed in 1964. After a stint as the house band at The Cellar in Arlington Heights, Illinois, they attracted attention when they opened for The Byrds. They sound like they’ve taken on board influence from British blues bands like The Animals and Them.
It’s difficult for me to get too excited about blues, but it’s a strong performance of a passable song. Sohns is a strong vocalist, the organ is trippy, and the rhythm section is creative and powerful.
The band’s career faltered as subsequent singles failed to match the success of ‘Gloria’. By 1967, Sohns was the only original member left, and he’s kept the band as a going concern. In 2020 they released the single ‘Wild Man’, with original rhythm guitarist Jerry McGeorge also involved.
Former keyboardist/bassist Hawk Wolinski has gone on to the most prestigious career – he later was a member of Rufus and Chaka Khan. He wrote their 1983 R&B #1 hit ‘Ain’t Nobody’, while he’s also worked with The Bee Gees, Glenn Frey, and Michael Jackson.
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I like Shadows of Knight and I even like their version of Gloria almost as much as Van Morrison’s. I can listen to them both interchangeably. I like the music on this one here even though I’m not crazy about the song. Chicago had a few good bands during this garage rock era, but Shadows of Knight wasn’t my favorite. I like The Buckinghams the best. They were so good that they had about 5 national hits, whereas most of these bands were lucky if they had even one local hit. ha ha.
Did you listen to that 2020 song – I thought it was pretty good.
I only know the name for The Buckinghams.
yeah, I did like the new song. I forgot to mention it. I like the way the drums have a more modern snappy sound than the way they used to sound on 60s records, and yet everything else was just the way it’s supposed to be. The organ and everything.
The Buckinghams were more like a pop rock band and not really garage rock, but they played kind of British Invasion-ish, and they usually had horn arrangements and stuff.
As you know, I dig blues and ’60s psychedelic rock, so Shadows of Knight sound cool to me – definitely a good deal of Animals and Them in there. So, yes, I guess one could say their sound wasn’t particularly original. I still find it pretty enjoyable. That 2020 single sounds fun as well!
You’re right that there’s a bit of psychedelia in there – it’s not straight blues.
Their version of Gloria is good but I have always liked Them’s more…Them had more of an edge to it…to me anyway.
Bad Little Woman is more driving and I like it ..but I really like their newer song. They stuck to the garage rock sound and it really rocks.
Yeah, I think the new song outshines the 1960s one, not what I was expecting.
Me either…but yea it sounding authentic also.
Wild Man sounds good to my ear.
Yup, I thought it was much stronger than the 1960s song.
You know I love it! Great stuff.
I don’t know if you’re allowed to title songs like that anymore….