Bermuda Triangle Band

Lore & Background

The duo started as actors in the Boston Theater Company, taking the stage names Roger Becket and Wendy Becket. They performed in pass-the-basket-for-tips coffeehouses and folk clubs such as Gerde's Folk City. Performing at first without microphones due to cabaret license restrictions, they developed an energized psychedelic folk style with an electrified autoharp and fast-pulse bass guitar. Their music evolved from traditional ballads to folk rock, including psychedelic folk, acid freak folk, and rock.

In 1969, the duo fronted a band called Euphoria with Tom Pacheco and Sharon Alexander, releasing an album and a single before disbanding. Using Woodstock, New York, as a temporary songwriting base in 1972, the duo generated the folk album Roger and Wendy. A female drummer/fiddler known only as Sam joined the group. In 1975 the duo changed its name to Bermuda Triangle and released its psychedelic folk album Bermuda Triangle in 1977. The duo continued heavy touring until 1993, with later releases including Bermuda's II in 1984 and several reissues and new albums in the 2000s.

The duo's founder, the originator of rock autoharp, used contact mics and magnetic pickups to create a true electric autoharp, and developed a method of triggering live percussion simultaneously with the autoharp. He was also instrumental in the design and development of the first electromechanical harpsichord, later known as the Baldwin Combo Harpsichord.

Reader's Guide

The Bermuda Triangle Band holds significance primarily for Roger Penney's innovations with the autoharp, which transformed the instrument from a folk staple into a component of psychedelic rock. At a time when there were very few women playing bass guitar, Wendy Penney's role as a bassist was notable. The band's evolution from the folk club circuit of Greenwich Village to national college tours and a long-running career reflects the broader trajectory of psychedelic folk music. Their discography, spanning from the late 1960s through the 2000s, includes multiple reissues and previously unreleased material, indicating sustained interest in their work. Roger Penney's redesign of the autoharp's chord bar structure, adopted by all major manufacturers, and his contributions to the Baldwin Combo Harpsichord, represent technical contributions beyond performance. The band's legacy is tied to these innovations and their persistence as a performing unit with constant core members for decades.

Did You Know?

• The duo originally performed without microphones because basket houses had no cabaret licenses, making amplified vocals illegal.