A few words:
by William Ruhlmann
Dinosaurs was a band made up of veteran Northern California musicians who had been associated with the major groups of the San Francisco acid rock scene of the 1960s. Guitarist/singer
Barry "The Fish" Melton (b. 1947), a founding member of
Country Joe and the Fish in 1965, had become a lawyer by 1982, but he continued to play in the Bay Area, often with bassist
Peter Albin (b. Jun 6, 1944), a founding member of
Big Brother and the Holding Company. In July 1982, they were booked to play a gig on the Russian River, and when the drummer they were using dropped out, they called
Spencer Dryden (b. Apr 7, 1938), who had been a member of
Jefferson Airplane in its heyday and later a founding member of
the New Riders of the Purple Sage. At the performance, an audience member asked if they knew a particular song, and
Melton replied, "No, we're just a bunch of old Dinosaurs." Afterwards, they called guitarist
John Cipollina (Aug 24, 1943-May 29, 1989), a founding member of Quicksilver Messenger Service, who was performing in several local bands and was happy to join another. They booked a show, calling themselves Dinosaurs, and many friends and local musicians attended, among them
Robert Hunter (b. Jun 23, 1941), a singer, guitarist, and harmonica player best known as a lyricist for
the Grateful Dead. He joined, making the band a quintet, and remained a couple of years, then was replaced by singer/keyboard player
Merl Saunders (b. Feb 14, 1934), who had co-led a band with
Grateful Dead leader
Jerry Garcia.Dinosaurs was never intended to be a full-time working band, but rather a busman's holiday for its members, who had other activities both in and outside the music business. The group finally made a self-titled album that was released by Relix Records in 1988. After
Cipollina's death, they suspended operations temporarily, then added violinist
Papa John Creach (May 8, 1917-Feb 22, 1994), a former member of
Jefferson Airplane and
Jefferson Starship, and went back to playing primarily in the Northwest. At various times over the next several years, other San Francisco musicians performed with them for brief periods of time, including
Greg Elmore (b. Sep 4, 1946) of
Quicksilver Messenger Service,
David Getz (b. 1938) of
Big Brother and the Holding Company,
David LaFlamme (b. May 4, 1941) of
It's a Beautiful Day, and
Jerry Miller (b. Jul 10, 1943) of
Moby Grape. Dinosaurs finally disbanded in June 1996. In October 2004, Acadia Records released
Friends of Extinction, a two-CD set containing the original
Dinosaurs album along with a collection of live recordings.
Tracks* Lay Back Baby (Saunders / McPherson)* Strange Way (Melton / Zimmels)* Do I Move You? (Simone)* Butcher's Boy (Traditional arr. Melton)* Good Old Rock 'N Roll (Melton)* Resurrection Rag (Saunders / Hunter)* Who Makes Moves? (Hunter / Melton)* Mona (I Need You Baby) (McDaniel)
