Introduction to Every Mother’s Son
Every Mother’s Son was a short-lived 1960s pop group. The band’s first single was “Come On Down To My Boat” which appeared on their 1967 self-titled debut album. It reached the Top 10 pop chart that year. They could not keep up with the success from their single though, and their subsequent singles “Put Your Mind At Ease”, “Pony With The Golden Mane” and “No One Knows” were still etching positions on the Hot 100 but significantly and increasingly lower ones, making Every Mother’s Son virtually a one-hit wonder. The band tried to reconvene with a change of lineup, but they eventually split in 1968.
The formation of Every Mother’s Son
Every Mother’s Son was a short-lived 1960s pop group, consisting of brothers Dennis (guitars) and Larry Larden (lead vocals, guitars), along with Bruce Milner (keyboards), Schuyler Larsen (bass) and Christopher Augustine (drums). They were formed in New York City, New York in 1967.
The band’s clean image was a perfect foil to the “hippie invasion” groups of that time, and that clean image was the very reason why MGM signed them.
The group’s first album and only hit single “Come on Down to My Boat”
The group recorded their self-titled debut album, which was released in 1967. The album mostly contained a collection of songs written by Jerry Goldstein and Wes Farrell. Not only did the band look like the Beach Boys, but Every Mother’s Son‘s amiable sound had echoes of the Beach Boys too.
Every Mother’s Son LP’s lead-off single “Come on Down to My Boat” grew to be a strong radio favorite. It eventually went on to become a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967, peaking at #6. On the album’s track listing, “Come on Down to My Boat” had a different title as “Come and Take a Ride in My Boat.” The album reached #117 on the Billboard 200 that same year.
The hit single provided Every Mother’s Son a brief fling with fame and success. As we say, “strike while the iron is hot,” and the band took every opportunity while they were on the peak of their popularity. They made appearances on several television shows. And since Every Mother’s Son was under MGM management, MGM Television gave the group a featured guesting spot on the hit espionage series The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’s two part episode “The Karate Killers.”
The band’s following (unsuccessful) records, and eventual split
By the time of the band’s release of their second album Every Mother’s Son’s Back, Larsen quit, and was replaced by new bassist Don Kerr. Their sophomore LP released several singles such as “Put Your Mind at Ease” (#46 pop) and “Pony with the Golden Mane” (#93 pop) but none of them reached the Top 40. After their unsuccessful following releases, Every Mother’s Son disbanded in 1968, going down to pop history as a one-hit wonder.
After the the split, Dennis Larden joined the Ricky Nelson-led Stone Canyon Band, while Augustine recorded with the likes of Rick Derringer.
In 2012 Every Mother’s Son’s MGM catalog was released in a compilation album titled Come on Down: The Complete MGM Recordings on Now Sounds Records.