Gloria (Shadows of Knight album) explained

Gloria
Type:	studio
Artist:	Shadows of Knight
Cover:	Shadows of Knight Gloria Album Cover.jpg
Released:	April 1966
Recorded:	March 1966
Studio:	Universal Recording Corporation, Chicago, Illinois
Genre:	Rock, Garage rock, Proto-punk
Length:	38:06
Label:	Dunwich (original release) Radar (UK 1979 release) Sundazed (CD release)
Next Title:	Back Door Men
Next Year:	1966

Gloria is the first album by the Shadows of Knight, released in 1966 on Dunwich Records 666. The title track, a cover of the song by Them, became the group's biggest hit, reaching number 10 on the Billboard charts.

Background

The band released the Gloria album in the summer of 1966, after releasing "Gloria" as a single backed by "Darkside" in December 1965. The single reached #10 on the Billboard charts in May 1966.^[1] Later in the year, "Oh Yeah" was released from the same album as a single backed by "Light Bulb Blues", and charted as high as #39. The album liner notes credit the album as "Produced for Dunwich Records" instead of crediting a specific producer.^[2]

Reception

Although the band's association with "Gloria" has caused some to categorize them as one-hit wonders, Cub Koda of AllMusic pushed back against this notion. He reviewed their debut favorably, saying "it positively rocks with a raw energy of a band straight out of the teen clubs, playing with a total abandon and an energy level that seems to explode out of the speakers. Equal parts Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, Who, and snotty little Chicago-suburb bad boys, the Shadows of Knight could easily put the torch to Chess blues classics, which make up the majority of the songs included here. Their wild takes on 'I Just Want to Make Love to You,' 'Oh Yeah,' and 'Got My Mojo Working' rank right up there with any British Invasion band's version from the same time period."

Track listing

1. "Gloria" (Van Morrison) – 2:34
2. "Light Bulb Blues" (Jerry McGeorge, James Alan Sohns, Joseph J. Kelly) – 2:32
3. "I Got My Mojo Working" (McKinley Morganfield) – 3:28
4. "Darkside" (Warren Rogers, James Alan Sohns) – 2:00
5. "Boom Boom" (John Lee Hooker) – 2:28
6. "Let It Rock" (Chuck Berry) – 1:52
7. "Oh Yeah" (Ellas McDaniel) – 2:45
8. "It Always Happens That Way" (Warren Rogers, James Alan Sohns) – 1:52
9. "You Can't Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover" (Willie Dixon) – 2:37
10. "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man" (Willie Dixon) – 3:52
11. "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (Willie Dixon) – 3:49

Bonus tracks on LP and CD reissue, 1998

12. "Oh Yeah" (alternate version); (McDaniel) – 2:45
13. "I Got My Mojo Working" (alternate version); (Morganfield) – 3:14
14. "Someone Like Me" (single release not on original album); (David MacDowell, Rich Novak) – 2:18

Personnel

Shadows of Knight

• James Alan Sohns – vocals
• Warren Rogers – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Jerry McGeorge – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Joseph J. Kelly – bass guitar
• Tom Schiffour – drums

Technical

• Bob Kidder – engineer
• Jerry DeClercq – mastering
• Ron Fratell – art direction
• Don Bronstein - cover photograph

Chart performance

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1966	"Gloria"	Billboard Hot 100	10^[4]
1966	"Oh Yeah!"	Billboard Hot 100	39^[5]

References

1. Web site: Billboard Hot 100 for Week of May 14, 1966 . . 8 September 2023.
2. Liner notes
3. Web site: Billboard 200 - Shadows of Knight. January 30, 2018.
4. Web site: Billboard Hot 100 - Shadows of Knight. January 30, 2018.
5. Web site: Billboard Hot 100 - The Shadows of Knight. https://web.archive.org/web/20180517054718/https://www.billboard.com/music/the-shadows-of-knight/chart-history/hot-100. dead. May 17, 2018. January 30, 2018.