The Band's Namesake was not the Singer: Elvin Bishop

Well at least on today’s feature, the Band’s Namesake was not the Singer. The single “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” by guitarist Elvin Bishop wasn’t sung by the band’s namesake. Unlike our other examples, Bishop did a fair amount of lead vocals; however, he felt his own voice didn’t do his composition justice. Therefore, he invited backup vocalist Mickey Thomas to sing what would become Bishop’s biggest record.

Bishop doesn’t even sing the back-up vocals on this cut – those are provided by guitarist Johnny Vernazza. The single peaked in the US at #3 and was certified gold by the RIAA. Mickey Thomas’s performance opened a door to become lead vocalist for Jefferson Starship.

In addition, this tune fits our Thursday Repeats and Threepeats’ category as it was released by Capricorn Records twice. The releases had different flipsides, but were cataloged under the same number. The first, which failed to chart, was released during late 1975. The hit version was issued in February 1976.