What Happened to Quicksilver Messenger Service?

If fans of late 1960s and early 70s San Francisco rock music listed their favorites, chances are Jefferson Airplane, Santana, and The Grateful Dead would be close to the top rankings.  Perhaps Moby Grape and Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band would squeeze in there too.

One band also captured the spirit and sound of San Francisco but has largely been forgotten: Quicksilver Messenger Service. Decades later, unearthing their eclectic musical offerings brings many surprises.

Quicksilver Messenger Service’s history reveals some clues as to why they’ve gone missing. They never had a top 40 single and achieved only moderate success with album sales, though four of their albums were in the US top thirty. They didn’t play Woodstock, and while they performed at the famous Monterey Festival in 1967, they weren’t featured in D.A. Pennebaker’s film of that landmark event.

Missing out on these key opportunities didn’t help, nor did having a volatile, ever-changing lineup. The internal relations were exceptionally hostile.  In Philip Dodd’s The Book of Rock, QMS guitarist John Cipollina gave a chilling account of working with singer Dino Valenti.  Cipollina said, “Dino and I have a perfect arrangement: when Dino’s in the band I’m not.”

Along with Valenti and Cipollina, QMS’s classic core lineup included Gary Duncan, David Frieberg, Gregory Elmore, and legendary pianist Nicky Hopkins.  QMS’s talents are on full display in releases including Quicksilver Messenger Service, Happy Trails, Shady Grove, Just For Love, What About Me, Quicksilver, Comin’ Thru, and Solid Silver.

Exploration of these albums is well worth it, but to get a wonderful banquet of QMS music, seek out the compilation QMS Anthology.

This collection kicks off with “Pride of Man,” “Dino’s Song,” and “The Fool.” Only three songs fill the whole side, but it’s a great introduction to the band.  The first two songs are sunshine pop coupled with a folk-tinged groove.  “Dino’s Song” is immensely catchy, written by Valenti, but not sung by him.  Valenti, who grew up as “Chester William Powers, Jr.” and used the name “Jesse Oris Farrow” for songwriting credit, wrote many songs for QMS, but not all.  His song “Get Together” was later made famous by The Youngbloods.

Side 2 has “Bears,” “Mona” and one of the oddest names for a song, “Edward, The Mad Shirt Grinder,” a Nicky Hopkins piano-driven instrumental. It may have a silly name, but Hopkins’ keyboard artistry and skills are on full display.

Side 3 features “Three Or Four Feet From Home,” “Fresh Air,” “Just For Love,” “Spindrifter,” and “Local Color.” All of these songs deserve their place in this fine anthology, but “Fresh Air” and “Spindrifter” are highlights.

“Fresh Air” got FM radio airplay and is best known for its classic line, “Have another hit…of FRESH AIR!”

“Spindrifter” is a moody jazz instrumental, which ranks amongst Hopkins’ finest compositions.  Tyler Golsen of Far Out wrote, “Hopkins found that the strict discipline of classical music didn’t have to contradict his love of rollicking rock and roll.  Instead, he could fuse them together to create a new style of piano playing that let technical brilliance and deep knowledge of music theory shine through.”   Listen to it and try to come up with a more captivating piece of music.

Side 4 finishes with “What About Me,” “Don’t Cry My Lady Love,” “Hope,” “Fire Brothers” and “I Found Love”.  QMS could slide from pop to rock then to country, all in the same song.  These last five songs showcase that ability.

QMS’s recording career is well represented by Anthology.  They were a curious band. On the one hand, they were a self-indulgent hippie band singing about sex, love, and saving the environment. On the other, they were a group of highly skilled musicians that produced breathtakingly beautiful songs.  Their music from 1967-1971 should be treasured.

-Vincent Maganzini

Photo: QMS, 1970 From left-John Cipollina, Greg Elmore, Nicky Hopkins and David Freiberg. (public domain)