Black Merda
Black Merda were a funky rock combo with a significant debt to Jimi Hendrix, mixing fuzz-toned, psychedelic blues-rock with folky acoustic passages and contemporary late-'60s soul. Featuring guitarists Anthony and Charles Hawkins, bassist VC Veasey (aka Veesee L. Veasey), and drummer Tyrone Hite, the group got its start in the late '60s after Veasey, Hite, and Anthony Hawkins had spent time in a band called the Soul Agents, backing Edwin Starr and Gene Chandler. Inspired by Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced?, they added Anthony's younger brother Charles on second guitar and christened themselves Black Merda. Despite some interest around their Detroit base -- including Norman Whitfield and Eddie Kendricks -- Black Merda signed to Chess, thanks in part to the psychedelic soul eccentric Fugi (aka Ellington Jordan), who they also backed on his Mary, Don't Take Me on No Bad Trip LP for Chess.
Black Merda's self-titled album sounded revolutionary enough, although the bandmembers were disappointed that it didn't reflect their heavy live shows. They then moved to the West Coast to continue playing with Fugi, but returned to Chicago to record a second album. Shortening their name to Mer-Da, the group returned in 1971 with Long Burn the Fire, a funkier outing that bore a likeness to early Funkadelic. The band quickly fizzled out, but over the next three decades, continued record-collector interest in the group eventually resulted in a reunion with Veasey, both Hawkins brothers, and Fugi, although Hite had died in 2004.
© Steve Huey & John Bush /TiVo
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Discography
16 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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The Folks From Mother's Mixer
Funk - Released by Funky Delicacies on 1 jan. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Psych Funk of Black Merda
Funk - Released by Funky Delicacies on 1 jan. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Forward from the Past
Alternative en Indie - Released by Third Child on 21 dec. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Black Merda Band
Rock - Released by Black Sky Records on 11 jan. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Believe - EP
Internationaal variété - Released by Third Child on 13 sep. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Get on the Same Road
Rock - Released by Black Sky Records on 25 apr. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cynthy Ruth
Rock - Released by Black Sky Records on 19 nov. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Get on the Same Road
Rock - Released by Black Sky Records on 25 apr. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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