ArtistInfo Logo  ArtistInfo

Artist Portrait

The Family Tree

Band,
Rock and Pop

Bob Segarini had cut his teeth in California band, The Brogues who released a couple of R&B garage singles in the mid-sixties. When The Brogues decided to go their separate ways, Segarini along with Brogues bassist Bill Whittington (2) decided to form a new band together. Along with drummer Newman Davis and keyboard player Mike Olsen this band would become The Family Tree. Mike Olsen who would later change his name to Lee Michaels and score a big hit with "Do You Know What I Mean" in 1971. The band were picked up up by Mira records and released their first single, the Segarini penned "Prince Of Dreams" in September 1966. An LP was planned but Mira eventually lost interest. By early 1967 Segarini was the only original member left in the Family Tree, now a quintet with J. "Jimmy" DeCocq (keyboards), Mike Durè (guitar), William "Kootch" Trochim (bass) and Vann Slatter (drums). Along with the change of personnel, the band had also changed labels and were now signed to RCA Victor records. Their first release for RCA was the single "Do You Have The Time?" which revealed a more melodic, anglophile edge, to the band. All of which would serve as a taster for their first (and only) album, which would appear nine months later. Miss Butters was released in 1968 with little fanfare or hype and slipped by the general public, capturing very little attention along the way. The album, it self, was a concept album, at a time when that was still a very novel thing, and the boasted intelligent, beautifully crafted pop songs bolstered by polished, thoughtful production and imaginative arrangements. The theme of the album is very loose, as is often the case with concept albums. The song titles suggest that it is based on the life of an elderly spinster, with each song representing a chapter in her life. The album is split into four sections of separate songs; The Early Years, It Is Better To Have Loved, The Effect Of It All and The Underture. The album was written solely by Segarini, produced by Rick Jarrard with orchestral arrangements by George Tipton who were both simultaneously working on a similar project; Harry Nilsson's "Aerial Ballet" also for RCA Victor. Slippin' Thru My Fingers was chosen as a single to promote the album but didn't result in any significant sales. With one last throw of the dice, the non-LP single She Had To Fly / He Spins Around, was released. Once again the single contained two great songs but failed to set the world alight. Family Tree were never going to bring home the same amount of dollars as The Mamas & The Papas or The Monkees so they were subsequently dropped by RCA in 1969.

     
Popular Tracks   
As on As by The Family Tree

Track list and 30sec audio provided by


Discography
Title Artist Year Type
She Had To FlyThe Family Tree1968Single
Miss ButtersThe Family Tree1968Album
Slippin' Thru My FingersThe Family Tree1968Single
Do You Have The Time / Keepin' A SecretThe Family Tree1967Single
Prince Of DreamsThe Family Tree1966Single
External Links
Discogs Logo Discogs  Spotify Logo Spotify  
ArtistInfo App
ArtistInfo for iOS and ArtistInfo for Mac are presenting musicians, composers and producers that are envolved in the musical work that you are listening to in Apple Music, iTunes, or Spotify. Discover new music via the network among artists. Manage your favorite musicians and albums via iCloud and share recommendations with your friends via email, AirDrop, or Social Media.

App Store Logo     Mac App Store Logo

Acknowledgements
To all the music fans that are contributing on Discogs, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Thanks to Franz Flückiger for providing Storygram used to visualize band membership.
ArtistInfo for Mac, iPad, and iPhone
ArtistInfo App
Universal Link: https://music.metason.net/artistinfo?name=The%20Family%20Tree%20%288%29
ArtistInfo Community
Most seen topics within ArtistInfo:

Top 10 Artists    Top 20 Albums
 
What others are currently looking for:

Recent Artists    Recent Albums

ArtistInfo Logo ArtistInfo by Metason © 2015-2020 Metason Logo