Medicine Head formed in Stafford in 1968. The group recorded six albums. They Chart when
Pictures in the Sky reached number 22 in 1971. One of their albums was titled
Dark Side of the Moon in 1972, released the year before the Pink Floyd album of the same name. If the Medicine Head release had gained attention, Pink Floyd may have had to reconsider the title of their masterwork.
They went through line-up changes with their largely backing personnel, but did achieve a total of four hit singles, the best-known of which are
One and One is One (1973) and
Rising Sun (1973). At various times the line-up also included
Tony Ashton, formerly of
Ashton, Gardner and Dyke, and
Keith Relf, the former
Yardbirds vocalist.
Two Man Band was their last album, and Medicine Head finally folded in 1977. In 2005 Angel Air released the album
Don't Stop The Dance. In effect it was a 'lost' album, compiling some singles from an unsuccessful period and some unreleased sessions with the band as a five piece.
In March 2007 Medicine Head's debut album
New Bottles, Old Medicine was re-released on CD by Cherry Red Records.
Chris Hillman became well known in San Diego's folk music community as a solid player, which garnered him an invitation to join his first band, the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers. When the band broke up at the end of 1963, Hillman received an invitation to join the Golden State Boys, then regarded as the top bluegrass band in Southern California, featuring future country star Vern Gosdin, his brother Rex, and banjoist Don Parnley. Shortly thereafter the band changed its name to The Hillmen, and soon Chris was appearing regularly on television and using a fictitious ID, Chris Hardin, to allow the underage musician into the country bars where many of his gigs were held.
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