American Spring

American Spring
American Spring
	American Spring at Beach Boys Studio, 1972. From left: Brian Wilson, Marilyn Wilson, and Diane Rovell.
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Pop
Years active	1971–1973; 1977
Labels	United Artists, Columbia
Past members	Marilyn Wilson; Diane Rovell;

American Spring (known as simply Spring before 1972) was an American pop music duo formed in Los Angeles, California. It consisted of sisters Marilyn Wilson and Diane Rovell, who had earlier been members of girl group the Honeys.^[1] As with the Honeys, Brian Wilson (Marilyn's then-husband) played an integral role with American Spring, producing some of their recorded material.^[2]

Biography

Formation and early years

After Ginger Blake, cousin of Marilyn Wilson and Diane Rovell, left the Honeys to pursue a solo singing career in Las Vegas in 1970, the Honeys effectively dissolved as a group. In 1971, while in her sister's kitchen, Diane Rovell pushed the idea of continuing to create music with her sister Marilyn as a pop duo named "Spring".^[2] The band had their first official recording sessions at Brian Wilson's home studio in October 1971 and issued their first single "Now That Everything's Been Said" later that month. After releasing a second single, "Good Time" in May 1972, Spring released their first album, the self-titled Spring in July 1972.^[3] Spring did not sell well in its time,^[1] but has since become a sought-after collectible.^[2]

In late 1972, the band found some legal trouble as the UK based band Spring were threatening legal action, arguing they owned the rights to the use of the band's name.^[4] In order to avoid conflict, a compromise was made where Diane Rovell and Marilyn Wilson altered their band name to American Spring. A third band named Spring was also releasing music in Canada at this time.

After releasing a third single, "Shyin' Away" in 1973 the band went dormant.^[1]

Rebirth and later releases

In 1977, following Brian Wilson's resurgence as a producer, American Spring once again commenced recording at Brother Studios, this time with Rocky Pamplin contributing to certain sessions.^[5] Though a substantial amount of material was recorded, personal matters which included the divorce of Marilyn and Brian caused Spring to once more become largely inactive. Some of these songs from both 1973 and 1977 have since come to find release though anthologies, rereleases and compilations. Tracks like "Snowflakes", "(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet", "Do Ya?", "Slip On Through", "Don't Be Cruel" and "Sweet Sunday Kind of Love" are among this material.

Rhino Records issued an anthology of American Spring's music during 1988, and a 1992 Capitol Records Honeys collection included several previously-unissued American Spring songs. The Honeys also re-formed during the 1990s, to perform locally around Hollywood.

Band members

Diane Rovell – lead, harmony and backing vocals
Marilyn Wilson – lead, harmony and backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Spring (July 1972)

Compilation albums

Spring (1988) (US) (Rhino)
Spring...Plus (1989) (UK) (See For Miles)
Pet Projects: The Brian Wilson Productions (2003) (Ace)

Singles

"Now That Everything's Been Said" / "Awake" (October 1971)
"Good Time" / "Sweet Mountain" (May 1972)
"Shyin' Away" / "Fallin' in Love" (April 1973)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 38. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
^ ^a ^b ^c Eder, Bruce. American Spring at AllMusic. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
^ Marcus, Ben. Surfing USA!: An Illustrated History of the Coolest Sport of All Time Voyageur Press, San Francisco, California, 2005. ISBN 978-0896586901
^ Lambert, Philip (2007). Inside the Music of Brian Wilson. United Kingdom: Continuum. pp. 308–311. ISBN 978-0826418777.
^ Doe, Andrew G. (2012). "GIGS76". Retrieved October 26, 2012.

[Larkin-1] Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 38. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.

[AllMusic-2] Eder, Bruce. American Spring at AllMusic. Retrieved October 29, 2012.

[3] Marcus, Ben. Surfing USA!: An Illustrated History of the Coolest Sport of All Time Voyageur Press, San Francisco, California, 2005. ISBN 978-0896586901

[4] Lambert, Philip (2007). Inside the Music of Brian Wilson. United Kingdom: Continuum. pp. 308–311. ISBN 978-0826418777.

[5] Doe, Andrew G. (2012). "GIGS76". Retrieved October 26, 2012.

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