Fanny: The Right to Rock
Give me a fucking break...the first all-girl rock band to be signed to a major label still rocking the Whiskey A Go Go in 2023 -- this is fucking badass.
Fanny: “They were extraordinary: they wrote everything, they played like motherfuckers, they were just colossal and wonderful, and nobody's ever mentioned them. They're as important as anybody else who's ever been, ever; it just wasn't their time.”
— David Bowie
Come on, seriously — how long will it take for Fanny to be recognized as a major part of Rock and Roll history. If the new documentary film, Fanny Walked the Earth, (which is going to be on PBS May 22nd) doesn’t get them into the R&R Hall of Fame, David Bowie would probably have to come back from the dead to make it happen. Or else, a groundswell of us friends of Fanny will have to email flood their offices.
If you read no further, just stop here and mark your calendars: May 22, 7pm Pacific, 10pm Eastern, on your local PBS station.
They’re also playing at the Whiskey on May 17th and on a West Coast tour staring in a couple weeks. Get tickets before they’re sold out.
Fanny in LA at the Grammy Theater May 16th and on May 17th at the Whiskey
Fanny had a great run, actually, in all her configurations, but she has finally settled back down where it could be argued she should have been in the first place, with Brie back writing songs, singing and playing drums.
I’m not saying Brie should have been playing drums all along— Fanny would never have been Fanny without Alice du Buhr on drums. But, Fanny might have been even more successful if their record producer, Richard Perry, had thought outside the marketing box he constrained them in. Imagine two girls drummers playing together in an all girl band. But, that was not to be, and I believe it all happened perfectly. It certainly happened perfectly for me, a budding photographer getting to live at Fanny Hill with my best friends, with no restrictions on what I could capture on film.
You see, when I moved into Fanny Hill, the band was looking for a keyboardist. I wanted to be that person, but I didn’t play well enough, so I became the documentary photographer and my career path opened up for me.
When I first met the girls, it was only the 3 of them, June, Jean, and Alice. Then, Brie came down from San Jose, with her two year old daughter, Brandy, and joined the band. After that, Nickey was hired as keyboardist, and the band was rocking solidly with the five of them.
But this was not Richard’s idea of what the band should be like. He was crafting Fanny as the female Beatles and that meant only four members could be in it. So, he unceremoniously kicked Brie out, and that left June on lead, Jean on bass, Alice on drums & Nickey on keyboards. Needless to say, it was a cruel business choice to kick Brie out, but that didn’t stop her. She went on to work with big names in music, notably Carole King, formed her own successful bands, created a cake baking empire, and a few years ago, rejoined June & Jean to create Fanny Walked the Earth. Brie’s husband, Dave Darling produced their record for Blue Elan, and Bobbi Jo Hart produced the documentary, Fanny: The Right to Rock - a movie that has won top awards at a shitload of film festivals. Now, Fanny is back touring and this year, Brie is making a solo album. In a few weeks, we’re all meeting up at the Whiskey where Fanny will be playing the 50th anniversary show there and I’ll be taking photos. Only, I am probably going to be shooting lighter this time - iphone style! OK, well, maybe a few Sony A7R4 shots. LOL. Although if I were really going to reprieve my roll, I’d shoot film. But I digress.
For more of her career history, checkout this interview with Brie for the Women of Rock History archives that will better fill in the whole history.
I just have to say that living with June, Jean, and Alice and Brie (when she was there) at Fanny Hill was the best; to have been the one to document the beginning of their rise to fame icing on the cake. We had so much fun together. It was a rare time and our friendships have lasted all these decades. Recently, Brie wrote me that whenever they get together she misses me being part of the group, and that I am one of them. This was such a sweet thing to write me. I may not have been able to be a musician in the band, but I was 100% committed to making sure it was documented and for that I feel I am Fanny, too. But darn that I didn’t listen to my mother and practice piano more —- I could have been a rock and roll musician myself. But that hasn’t stopped me either — I love having been a rock and roll photographer.
Fanny in London doing Eric Clapton’s, Badge is one of my all-time favorite videos of them. Think of the hours of practice it takes to make music like this.