History Of Fudge

Iconic rockers Vanilla Fudge still hangin' on

Vanilla Fudge came roaring onto the music scene with an explosion of psychedelic sounds and an unlikely hit record: a cover of the Supremes song "You Keep Me Hangin' On." It was but the first of many covers the band would slow down, pump up and reinvent in a career that produced five albums over five years.

Though the Fudge Mark Stein, organ; Vince Martell, guitar; Tim Bogert, bass; and Carmine Appice, drums officially broke up in 1970, the members have all continued to play music, and have had a slew of reunions over the years. They're doing it again (minus Bogert, who retired from the road after a motorcycle accident) this year with a tour.

Plans are to play the entire first album, "Vanilla Fudge," as well as other covers and a few originals from later releases.

When guitarist Vince Martell, who currently leads the Vince Martell Band, agreed to talk about his old group's history, two questions immediately came to mind: Where did the name Vanilla Fudge come from and what's the story behind the dramatic remake of the Supremes tune?

Well, Martell is good with stories, and he told a few, via phone from his home in Cherry Hill, N.J., before getting around to answering the questions.

He grew up in a musical family. His mom played guitar and mandolin; his dad played guitar and violin; his sister played piano. His first instrument was ukulele.

The family listened to Arthur Godfrey (a darn good ukulele player) on the radio, and played Mario Lanza albums on Sundays.

"But rock really got my attention as it was starting out in the '50s," said Martell, who is 65. "I always watched Ed Sullivan, and the Fudge played his show twice."

But way before the Fudge, Martell worked his way up to acoustic guitar and felt it was the right instrument for him. It wasn't till he joined the Navy at 17, and started playing an electric guitar someone had brought on the ship, that he found what would become his true calling.

"I would sometimes go outside the gate at the naval base in Norfolk, Va., and sit in with a couple of bands after we finished the day's work," he said.

Post Navy he moved to Florida for a couple of years, honing his skills in different bands, then headed up to New York to check out the mid-'60s music scene.

"I ran into an agent who knew a band that was looking for a guitarist," he said. That band turned out to be the Pigeons, which included future Fudge members Mark Stein and Tim Bogert.

History Day: Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) Totally Looks Like ...

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