Grassroots rockers Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys formed in New York’s Lower East Side in 1967 — comprising singer/guitarist Larry Parker, lead guitarist Charlie Chin, bassist Roy Michaels, keyboardist Bob Smith, and drummer Michael Equine; by year’s end they were regularly headlining the Café Wha?, and soon were ensconced as the house band at the famed Electric Circus.
In 1969 the group signed to Polydor Records, with long time friend Jimi Hendrix agreeing to produce their debut LP The Street Giveth and the Street Taketh Away — supported by a series of appearances as Hendrix’s opener, the record generated Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys’ lone US Top 40 hit “Good Old Rock and Roll,” a medley of pop classics from the late 1950s.
-- Jason Ankeny, allmusic -- Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.