PsychepediA

From: Los Angeles, CA, USA

The Crusaders is considered by most to have been the first ever Christian rock band, releasing the earliest LP of that genre titled Make A Joyful Noise With Drums And Guitars in 1966. The group had actually formed a couple of years earlier while still attending Westchester High School and was originally christened Freddy & The Fanatics after member Fred Barnett (lead guitar). The rest of the lineup consisted of Danny Altchuler (rhythm guitar), Walt Flannery (lead vocals, keyboards), Mike Joyce (bass) and last but not least, Fred's brother Jeff Barnett (drums). According to Fred Barnett, one of Flannery's odd trademarks as frontman was to wear either a biker jacket or a monk's robe with chains on stage and bite down on ketchup packets to make it appear as though he was spitting up huge amounts of blood.

By 1966, the band was signed to the Tower label and had also changed their name to the Crusaders. It is said that the aforementioned Christian themed album was issued sometime in mid '66 and contains a rocking, standout cover of 'Little Drummer Boy' proudly featured here on TWOS. The track was also featured on a single that was released later in the year about a month or so before Christmas. In early 1967, the ensemble changed their moniker again to the Love Exchange and began experimenting with female lead vocalists, first briefly hiring 14 year old Lana Hale, the daughter of Gilligan's Island star Alan Hale Jr. ("The Skipper"). Soon after, they replaced Hale with 16 year old Bonnie Blunt (lead vocals), who anchored the band into its more psychedelically focused sound.

Artist information sources include: The book, 'Fuzz, Acid, and Flowers Revisited' by Vernon Joynson.