Frijid Pink

Did You Know?

• The song 'House of the Rising Sun' was a 'filler,' using up time at the end of a recording session.
• Frijid Pink's first two singles, 'Tell Me Why' and 'Drivin' Blues,' both released in 1969, failed to attract much attention.
• Frijid Pink was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2013.

History

Frijid Pink got its start when the Detroit Vibrations, a cover band that included drummer Richard Stevers and bassist Tom Harris, added guitarist Gary Ray Thompson and singer Tom Beaudry, who performed as Kelly Green. Thompson persuaded the Vibrations’ manager, Clyde Stevers (Richard’s father), that he was a better player than the band’s current guitarist. For two years, the group toured around southeast Michigan and Detroit before signing with Parrot Records.

Their first two singles from 1969, “Tell Me Why” and “Drivin’ Blues,” didn’t make much noise—though “Tell Me Why” reached number 70 in Canada. But their third single that year, a fuzzy, guitar-heavy take on “The House of the Rising Sun,” became a hit. It cracked the Top Ten on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in spring 1970, sold over a million copies, and earned a gold disc. It also peaked at number 4 in the UK and number 3 in Canada.

The song was originally a filler, recorded to use up leftover studio time. Back home, Frijid Pink was a popular Detroit act, often sharing bills with local bands like the MC5, the Stooges, and the Amboy Dukes. Their self-titled debut album came out in 1970, followed by Defrosted, with most songs written by Beaudry and Thompson. Later singles, including “Sing a Song for Freedom” and a cover of “Heartbreak Hotel,” didn’t repeat that success.

After Beaudry and Thompson tried and failed to reassemble the group, a new lineup formed with David Alexander (later replaced by Jon Wearing) on vocals, Craig Webb on guitar, and Larry Zelanka on keyboards. This version recorded Earth Omen in 1972. Another lineup shift led to 1975’s All Pink Inside, with Jo Baker on vocals and Larry Popolizio on bass. In 1981, Stevers and Harris teamed up with Arlen Viecelli of Salem Witchcraft and Ray Gunn of Virgin Dawn to record at Sound Suite studio in Detroit.

Viecelli and Gunn wrote the music, and the album was slated for a summer 1982 release. But manager Clyde Stevers couldn’t strike a deal with any record label, so the group split and the material never came out.