Biography of Blues Magoos

New York's Blues Magoos may have the distinction of being the first psychedelic band not to come from San Francisco. The group was a quintet made up of Ralph Scala (b.1947 12 12, New York City) (vocals, organ), Ronald Gilbert (b.1946 04 25, New York City) (bass), Geoff Daking (b.1947 12 08, Delaware) (drums), Michael Esposito (b.1943, Delaware) (guitar), and Peppy Castro (born Emil Thielhelm, 1949 06 16, New York City) (vocals, guitar). In November 1966, they released their first single, "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet," which hit the Top Ten, and a Top 40 album, Psychedelic Lollipop, on Mercury Records, and that was their commercial peak, though they made two more albums through 1968. After they broke up in 1969, Castro organized an all-new backup band while retaining the name Blues Magoos. This unit released two albums on ABC Records through 1970. Castro then joined Barnaby Bye and was later a member of Balance. ~ William Ruhlmann