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Mark Stein | |
|---|---|
 Stein performing at the Regent Theater in Arlington, Massachusetts on March 26, 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1947-03-11)March 11, 1947 (age 78) Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock,psychedelic rock,hard rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician,composer,arranger |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Member of | Vanilla Fudge |
| Website | Mark Stein's official website |
Mark Stein (born March 11, 1947) is an Americankeyboardist,composer andarranger, who is a member of thePsychedelic rock groupVanilla Fudge. Stein also worked in theTommy Bolin band andAlice Cooper's band during 1978 and 1979.
Stein was born and raised inBayonne, New Jersey. He began playing piano at age four and later attempted theaccordion. Upon being exposed torock and roll in the 1950s, Stein settled on the guitar. He worked his way through various bands in his high school. While performing with one of these early groups, he spied an "old beat-up organ on the stage and started jamming on it."[citation needed]
Stein andTim Bogert had played in a local band called Rick Martin & The Showmen. The pair were so impressed by the swinging, organ-heavy sound ofThe Rascals they decided to form their own band in 1965. Originally calling themselves The Electric Pigeons, they soon shortened the name to The Pigeons. Eventually,Carmine Appice andVince Martell joined the band and they changed their name toVanilla Fudge when they signed toAtlantic Records. The name change came because Atlantic didn't like the name The Pigeons. The origin of the name Vanilla Fudge came from a woman called Dee Dee, who worked at the Page 2 Club inLong Island, who stated her grandfather nicknamed her Vanilla Fudge. The bands debut was released in August 1967 and is aGold Record.[1] Their cover ofThe Supremes'You Keep Me Hangin' On is their most well known track. Vanilla Fudge are known for performing slow and heavier covers of fast and upbeat songs. Later hits include a cover ofJunior Walker & The All Stars’ 1965 singleShotgun.
The band has been cited as;"one of the few American links between psychedelia and what soon becameheavy metal."[2]
As of March 2023, Stein,Appice andMartell still continue to tour as Vanilla Fudge.
Mark was in the Tommy Cooper band from 1978 to 1979.
Mark published the autobiography,You Keep Me Hangin’ On in 2011.[3] Stein released the solo album There's A Light was on November 26 2021.[4] During the pandemic of 2020, Mark wrote, recorded and released the single “We Are One”, a reflection on theBlack Lives Matter movement.[5]
Stein himself influenced organistJon Lord (1941-2012) of the bandDeep Purple. Lord, in a 1989 interview said;"[he] used to listen to Mark Stein of Vanilla Fudge in the late sixties. He was a useful source of tricks on theHammond."[6][7]
| Year | Album | US Top 200 | AUS[8] | Canada | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Vanilla Fudge | 6 | – | 12 | US: Gold[9] |
| 1968 | The Beat Goes On | 17 | – | – | |
| 1968 | Renaissance | 20 | 32 | – | |
| 1969 | Near the Beginning | 16 | – | 10 | |
| 1969 | Rock & Roll | 34 | – | 24 | |
| 1984 | Mystery | – | – | – | |
| 2002 | The Return | – | – | – | |
| 2007 | Out Through the In Door | – | – | – | |
| 2015 | Spirit of '67 | – | – | – | |
| 2016 | You Keep Me Hangin' On | – | – | – |
| Year | Single Both sides from same LP except where indicated | Chart Positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | Can | AU | UK | |||
| 1967 | "You Keep Me Hangin' On" b/w "Take Me for a Little While" | - | — | 8 | 18 | Vanilla Fudge |
| "Eleanor Rigby Part 1"(UK-only release) b/w "Eleanor Rigby Part 2" | - | - | — | 53[A] | ||
| 1968 | "Season of the Witch, Pt. 1" b/w "Season of the Witch, Pt. 2" | 65 | 52 | — | — | Renaissance |
| "Where Is My Mind" b/w "The Look of Love" (Non-album track) | 73 | — | — | — | The Best of Vanilla Fudge | |
| "You Keep Me Hangin' On" b/w "Come by Day, Come by Night" (Non-album track) | 6 | 2 | — | — | Vanilla Fudge | |
| "Shotgun" b/w "Good Good Lovin'" (Non-album track) | 68 | 59 | — | — | Near the Beginning | |
| "Take Me for a Little While" b/w "Thoughts" (fromRenaissance) | 38 | 45 | — | — | Vanilla Fudge | |
| 1969 | "Some Velvet Morning" b/w "People" (Non-album track) | 103 | 69 | — | — | Near the Beginning |
| "Need Love" b/w "I Can't Make It Alone" | 111 | — | — | — | Rock & Roll | |
| 1970 | "Lord in the Country" b/w "The Windmills of Your Mind" | — | — | — | — | |
| 1984 | "Mystery" b/w "The Stranger"[10] | — | — | — | — | Mystery |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
