The purpose of the interview was to find out about the career of Ron who played on the New Electric Prunes LP 'Just Good Old Rock and Roll' and who sadly passed away in 1989.
1. Where and when was Ron born?
Born in Colby, Kansas - June 8, 1945.
2. What did Ron do before joining The Electric Prunes?
After moving to L.A. 1965; Ron hooked up with Peter Lewis (Son of actress Loretta Young). They had a band eventually called, "Peter & the Wolves". I believe it was through this association, Ron ran into some members of the Standells, and was doing some demos with a singer, Dino Valentino? Anyway, Peter Lewis, Bob Mosley, decided to head up to San Fransisco, to get into the scene there (later to become Moby Grape).
3. How exactly did he become involved with the Prunes?
I think it was through Doug Hastings, or the Rhinoceros people.
4. Did he know any of the "new" Prunes i.e. Richard Whetstone, Brett Wade, Mark Kincaid and John Herron before joining the band?
Yes, Mark Kincaid.
5. What were his musical influences at that time?
Jeff Beck, Hendrix, Clapton (Cream), Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac), The Beatles, and most all the Blues guitar legends.
6. There are songs credited to a Morgan on The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band's albums "Part Two" (1967 - 1 song), Vol. 2 (Breaking Through) (1967 - 1 song) and A Child's Guide To Good And Evil (1968 - 3 songs). Was this your brother Ron?
Yes.
7. Did the "new" Prunes tour at all?
They toured the Midwest (U.S), in Denver, and Colorado Springs, Colorado. That I know of.
8. On the 'Just Good Old Rock and Roll' LP the band had more artistic freedom to write your own songs compared to the previous line-up, what inspired Ron to write songs such as '14 Year Old Funk', 'Love Grows' and 'Giant Sunhorse'?
Ron liked playing a "funky chicken" style he called it with a silly grin. He liked to play fiercely such as the ending of, "Giant Sunhorse", but also lay down a melodic arrangement that could make you weep. Ron and Mark Kincaid developed a great chemistry, Mark being a good "Chord Man".
9. I love listening to the 'Just Good Old Rock and Roll' LP, especially the rock songs but back in 1969 it was not a commercial success like Reprise had wished - was Ron disappointed with the album and the subsequent public reaction?
Ron was very disappointed, especially of the engineering of the album. He repeatedly said that the guy who did the mix down disliked the band and the music and didn't care about the outcome. Ron thought the sound overall was real poor and I have to agree.
10. Was he happy with only being in the band for only a short time?
Not really, Ron was starting to get dis-enchanted with the whole music scene. He always wanted to write & play the way he felt it, without selling out to the current trends. It was getting harder for him to find musicians that could relate to him, or at best - keep up with him.
11. When did Ron leave The Electric Prunes?
1970?
12. What did he do after leaving The Electric Prunes?
Ron moved back to Denver, and jammed around with Mark Kincaid.
13. What happened to Ron in the 1970s?
I was just learning bass and spent many hours / days with Ron & Mark. It was pretty much uneventful, even though we were doing some incredible stuff, almost like what Jeff Beck was doing at the time, lots of instrumental stuff. Ron was hooking up with some shady women at this time and got caught up in the drug scene (by which he picked up while with Three Dog Night). Ron got married in 1976 and had a son. Jean, his wife, did not want Ron to pursue music anymore but Ron would still jam with people when he could, and was on a come back a couple of years before he left us. I would find guitarists to jam with Ron & I. It was so fierce that I think we scared people. Ron was capturing a sound that would impress Hendrix, Beck, and Mark Knofler (Dire Straits). We were working on a same style as Dire Straits before they hit the scene. I remember Ron saying, "I got Fucked Again". Mark Kincaid flipped out on them! By the way, Ron was driving a taxi, 1972-76, and enjoyed it. He had the freedom to move around!!!
14. Did you ever get involved with any aspect of the band?
No, just as an observer. Ron & I were very close and he would talk to me about everything! I want to add that I'm taking the inspiration that he gave me and am currently doing a project similar to the WCPAEB, along with a light show like what was in the Avalon and Fillmore ballrooms in the late 60's.
Check out the bands that Ron played with before joining the Electric Prunes :
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band (WCPAEB) - Ron played lead guitar and wrote many songs on this band's first three LPs. An article written by Tim Forster in the February 1999 issue (number 26) of the Ptolemaic Terrascope traces the history of the WCPAEB and finally recognises the significant contribution made by Ron Morgan to the band's sound.
Extract about Ron Morgan from Tim Foster's 'The Legend of The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band' article :
There has long been confusion about who actually participated in the band's recordings once they were signed to Reprise. According to Shaun: "We recorded the first Reprise album some time in 1966, although it wasn't released until the following year. I was playing bass, Danny was playing acoustic guitar and either Hal Blaine or Jimmy Gordon played drums. I'm trying to remember who played guitar - I think it was Ron Morgan. Ron was friends with some of the Standells. He was a great guitar player but he had no sense of responsibility or being on time. Sometimes he wouldn't turn up at all - he wouldn't even get out of bed to catch a flight! The last I heard of Ron he was driving a cab in Denver."
The involvement of Morgan, whose distinctive lead guitar playing can be heard on this and all their subsequent albums, has long been overlooked. A clue to his involvement can to be found on the labels of the records themselves, where he is credited (alongside Markley) with writing some of the most significant songs: '1906', 'Smell Of Incense', 'Eighteen Is Over The Hill', 'As The World Rises And Falls' and 'A Child Of A Few Hours Is Burning To Death'. Despite this, he appears in only a single album photo - as the mysterious mustachioed figure in the round glasses and cowboy hat on the back of 'A Child's Guide To Good And Evil'. He would look much the same a year or so later when he turned up as a member of the 'new improved' Electric Prunes on their dismal Reprise swan song 'Just Good Old Rock And Roll'.
The involvement of Ron Morgan also had another significance, because it seems that his arrival coincided with the departure of Michael Lloyd, an early casualty of the internal conflicts which would eventually destroy the band completely. According to Shaun: "Morgan got involved to replace Michael which was a thing between him and Markley - that was the time when Michael was starting his other projects." Danny recalls: "I was never involved in that. It wasn't Michael's fault. It was a personality conflict because people liked Michael and they didn't like Markley. The people who liked Markley were the sort of people who wanted to hang out at his house and meet starlets. I remember we were recording an album and there was an argument between Michael and Markley about who was going to walk out of the studio with the master tapes. It developed into a fistfight and Michael broke a guitar over Markley's back. He just decided 'Who needs this when I can do this by myself?' So the studio was shut down over at Burton Way and he had a custom-made 16 track put in his own home. At that time another guy was hired just to play the guitar - that was Ron Morgan. He was a very good lead guitar player and when the band dissolved he went on to play with Three Dog Night. Unfortunately he died last year in a car accident."
The Official Homepage of Three Dog Night - Ron played with Three Dog Night before they released any of their LPs.
The following is an excerpt from Jimmy Greenspoon's (Three Dog Night) autobiography - 'One is the Loneliest Number' - featuring Jimmy and Ron :
One morning, while sitting on top of a rock somewhere in Malibu Canyon, coming down off of a beautiful acid trip, I made the decision that my future was in Denver. We began making plans for the great exodus - immediately.
We formulated all of our plans to move to Colorado, and a couple of nights before we left L.A. for Denver I informed my mother I was going to go. As usual, she took the news well. Once that was taken care of, Ron and I decided that we were going to celebrate, so we scored a couple of tabs of acid. Before we took them, we agreed that we should drive to somewhere really spiritual and take it - Lake Hollywood or someplace like that - to go watch the sun come up or go down. So, we hopped into my car. We were driving along, and wouldn't you know: we were stopped by the cops.
Totally freaked out, I kept saying, "Ron! Ron! I know they are going to bust me. I just know it!" Trying to be level-headed, and sensing that I was worried about the tabs of acid that we had yet to take, he said, "Now just take the stuff and hide it." "It's not that, man. I've got warrants out for my arrest for parking tickets." "Oh, my God. They're going to arrest you." I said, "Yeah." Ron bolted. He just took off and ran down the street. Well, I didn't want them to find the two tabs of acid, so I just took them both. I didn't think that I would have any real problem.
