| The Fifth Estate | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Alias: | The D-Men (1963-1965) |
| Origin: | Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 1963 – present |
| Current Members: |
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| Past Members: |
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The Fifth Estate, formerly known as The D-Men, is an American rock band formed in 1963 in Stamford, Connecticut.
The band began in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1963, as The D-Men. Early on, as The D-Men, the band played many small shows and local clubs but soon gravitated to Greenwich Village and larger clubs where they often played six nights a week for long stretches. Guitarist Carl Sabatini also played a role in the band's earliest conception. They released three singles, two on Veep/United Artists and one on the Kapp labels, which along with much of their later material have become collectors' items and established them as a central part of the garage rock movement. Boston Skyline released a 28-song collection of their music in 1993 and published a 41-page booklet of their story.[1]
The band made a number of appearances on television, including several on the Clay Cole Show, with one featuring The Rolling Stones’ first American East Coast TV appearance, and Hullabaloo, on which the D-Men performed "I Just Don't Care". The program was at that time co-hosted by Brian Epstein, who expressed an interest in signing them. They later won a Murray the K call-in contest for best new release over The Dave Clark Five and The Animals in 1965. In 1966 they changed their name to "The Fifth Estate".
The Fifth Estate released the single "Love Is All A Game" on the Red Bird label, which became a regional hit. Following a successful string of club performances,[2] they had an international hit in 1967 with a sunshine pop version of "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead", which reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] The song was recorded and released around the world in five different languages (Japanese, Italian, French, German and English), and incorporated parts of "La Bouree" in the instrumental break and coda from Terpsichore by 17th-century composer Michael Praetorius. According to Cashbox, the track was in the Top 100 record releases of 1967[4] and achieved the highest American chart position of any Harold Arlen or Wizard of Oz song.[5] That same year, the group recorded their version of "Heigh Ho!", another film theme, this time from Disney's first feature length film, 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Although it made the top 40 on the Canadian CHUM chart, sales for both "Heigh Ho!" and their next single, "Do Drop Inn", proved disappointing in the US. "Heigh Ho!" failed to chart and "Do Drop Inn" skimmed the bottom of the American charts. Although not making an impact in America, in 1968 "Morning Morning", an original song that incorporated the band's core guitar and harpsichord driven sound, was a hit in Australia on the Stateside label.
The original five members performed together for six years during which they recorded about 100 songs, and released 13 singles and one album. Sam & Dave joined them on stage and sang "Soul Man" with them at one of their theater shows, while one of the Vandellas sang and recorded one of their tunes, "How Can I Find A Way," with them as her next release. They also appeared in a 1967 TV episode of Malibu U. In 1968, on "The Frodis Caper", the last of their 58 television show episodes, The Monkees covered The Fifth Estate's version of "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead".[6] The Fifth Estate toured with acts such as Count Five, The Electric Prunes, The Music Explosion, The Buckinghams, The Ronettes, Gene Pitney, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Turtles, The Byrds, The Easybeats.[7] They also appeared on Upbeat with another Greenwich Village band, The Velvet Underground.
In 1970, group members went off on different projects. Bill Shute released two albums with Lisa Null, The Feathered Maiden and Other Ballads (1977) and American Primitive (1980), and multiple albums with other collaborators.[8] The band has since reformed and continue to perform and record. Their album Time Tunnel was recorded in 2010/11 and released on January 2, 2012. It was produced with the assistance of and mixed by Shel Talmy.
On September 19, 2012, The Fifth Estate - Anthology 1 was released by Fuel 2000/Universal Music Group. A double CD with a 20-page booklet and 40 songs, more than half the tracks were previously unreleased.
In May, 2014, the German label Break-A-Way Records released a 14-song vinyl album of the band's early 1964 - 1966 material called I Wanna Shout!
On August 12, 2014, following the continued success of the 2012 Anthology 1 release, Fuel 2000 released a 14-song CD of new material, Take The Fifth. This album was also mixed and executive-produced by Shel Talmy.
In 1969, two singles by studio musicians were released under the band's name without their permission or participation: