The Litter

The Litter
Place of origin	United States of America
Genres	garage rock

The Litter
Origin	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Genres	Garage rock psychedelic rock
Years active	1966-1972 (reunions thereafter)
Labels	Hexagon ABC
Past members	Dan Rinaldi Bill Strandlof Denny Waite Jim Kane Tom Murray Mark Gallagher Ray Melina Tom Caplan Sean Jones Lonnie Knight Mike Rowe

The Litter was an American psychedelic and garage rock band, formed in 1966 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. They are best remembered for their 1967 debut single, "Action Woman". The group recorded three albums in the late 1960s before disbanding, but they re-united in 1990, 1992, and again in 1998, when they recorded a new studio album consisting of both old and new material. All of their Minneapolis recorded material was produced by Warren Kendrick, who owned the Scotty and Warick and Hexagon labels.

History

Four members of the original line-up, Jim Kane, Bill Strandlof, Denny Waite, and Dan Rinaldi formed the band in 1966 from the remains of two popular Minneapolis bands: The Victors and The Tabs. Tom Murray joined as a result from a successful band audition. Their group name was presented by Jim Kane and accepted over other suggestions like "The Mustys".

Heavily influenced by the bands of the British Invasion,

In 1969, the band finally signed to a major label. Their third album, Emerge was released on the ABC Records label and became their most successful.

• Lonnie Knight - lead guitar and vocals, 1968
• Mark Gallagher - vocals 1968-1970 & 1992 (Mark Patrick Gallagher; March 17, 1948 – February 24, 2009)
• Ray Melina - lead guitar, 1968-1970
• Sean Jones - lead guitar, 1970 (Sean Jones aka Jack Stanley Jones aka Sean C. Marshall born October 9, 1948, died February 13, 2011)
• Jon Sutphen - bass, 1970
• Casey Macpherson, vocals, 1971-1972
• Mike Rowe - bass 1971-1972
• John King - lead guitar 1971 - 1972
• Woody Woodrich, bass, 1970
• Mick Stanhope, vocals, 1992
• Bob Hood - 1992
• Rick Ottum - 1992
• Joe Scanlan - drums, 1998-2005
• Doug Hassman - rhythm and lead guitar, 2005-2007
• Kenny Carson - rhythm guitar and bass, 2005 and 2012–present

Line-ups

1966 – Summer 1967	Summer 1967 – Mid 1968	Mid 1968 – Late 1968	Late 1968 – 1970
Denny Waite – lead vocals, organ, harmonica Billy Strandlof – lead guitar Dan Rinaldi – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Jim Kane – bass, backing vocals Tom Murray – drums, percussion	Denny Waite – lead vocals, organ, harmonica Dan Rinaldi – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Jim Kane – bass, backing vocals, organ Tom Murray – drums, percussion Tom "Zippy" Kaplan – lead guitar, backing vocals, special effects	Dan Rinaldi – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Jim Kane – bass, backing vocals Tom Murray – drums, percussion Lonnie Knight – lead guitar, lead vocals	Dan Rinaldi – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Jim Kane – bass Tom Murray – drums, percussion Mark Gallagher – lead vocals Ray Melina – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals
1970	Late 1970 – 1971	1971 – 1972	1972 – 1990
Dan Rinaldi – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Jim Kane – bass Tom Murray – drums, percussion Mark Gallagher – lead vocals Sean Jones – lead guitar	Dan Rinaldi – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Tom Murray – drums, percussion Mark Gallagher – lead vocals Sean Jones – lead guitar John Suthpen – bass	Dan Rinaldi – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Tom Murray – drums, percussion Casey McPhearson – lead vocals John King – lead guitar Mike Rowe – bass	Disbanded
1990	1991	1993 – 1998	1998 – August 1999
Denny Waite – lead vocals, organ, synthesizer, harmonica Tom "Zippy" Kaplan – lead guitar, backing vocals, special effects Dan Rinaldi – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Tom Murray – drums, percussion Woody Woodrich – bass	Tom "Zippy" Kaplan – lead guitar Dan Rinaldi – rhythm guitar Tom Murray – drums, percussion Mark Gallagher – lead vocals Bob Hood – keyboards, backing vocals, rhythm guitar Rick Ottum – bass, backing vocals Studio contributors: Mick Stanhope – lead vocals Denny Waite – harmonica, backing vocals, synthesizer	Disbanded	Denny Waite – lead vocals, organ, synthesizer, harmonica Tom "Zippy" Kaplan – lead guitar, backing vocals, special effects Dan Rinaldi – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Bill Grenke – bass John Haga – drums, percussion
August 1999 – Present
Denny Waite – lead vocals, organ, synthesizer, harmonica Tom "Zippy" Kaplan – lead guitar, backing vocals, special effects Dan Rinaldi – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Bill Grenke – bass Joe Scanlan – drums, percussion

Discography

Singles

• "Action Woman" b/w "A Legal Matter" (Scotty 803G-6710) January 1967
• "Somebody Help Me" b/w "I'm a Man" (Warick 9445–6711) 1967
• "Action Woman" b/w "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" (Warick 6712) 1967
• "Silly People" b/w "Feeling" (Probe 461) 1968
• "Blue Ice" b/w "On Our Minds" (Probe 467) 1969

Albums

• Distortions (Warick WM-671-A) 1967
• $100 Fine (Hexagon 681-S) 1968
• Emerge (Probe 4504-S) 1968
• Re-Emerge (Arf! Arf! AA-080) 1999

Compilation appearances

• Rare Tracks (Eva 12013) 1983
• "Action Woman":
  • Pebbles, Volume 1 (LP-1979; CD-1992)
  • Songs We Taught the Fuzztones (1993)
  • Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968 — Box Set (1998)
  • Garage Rock Classics (2004)
  • Trash Box (5-CD box set)
• "I'm A Man":
  • Pebbles, Volume 2 (LP)
  • Pebbles, Volume 3 (CD – ESD Records)
• "Hey Joe":
  • The Scotty Story (CD)
• "7 Up Commercial":
  • The Scotty Story (CD)

Live albums

• Live at Mirage 1990 (Arf! Arf! AA-79) 1998