P.F. Sloan Biography
Phillip Gary Schlein, 18 September 1945, New York City, New York, USA. Sloan moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and in 1959 recorded his first single, "All I Want Is Loving", for the ailing Aladdin Records. When a second release, "If You Believe In Me' (for the Mart label) failed to sell, Sloan began a career as a contract songwriter. In 1964 he joined Lou Adler's Trousdale Music and Dunhill Records where he was teamed with fellow aspirant Steve Barri. Together they wrote singles for Shelley Fabares, Bruce And Terry and Terry Black, as well as Adler protégés, Jan And Dean. Sloan and Barri composed several of the duo's hits and contributed backing harmonies under a pseudonym, the Fantastic Baggys. The pair recorded the much-prized surf album Tell 'Em I'm Surfin" under this sobriquet. The emergence of folk rock had a profound influence on Sloan. By 1965 he was writing increasingly introspective material. The Turtles recorded three of his songs, "You Baby", "Let Me Be" and "Can I Get To Know You Better", but passed on "Eve Of Destruction", which became a US number 1 for the gruff-voiced Barry McGuire, despite an extensive radio ban. Folk purists balked at Sloan's perceived opportunism, but he was embraced by many as the voice of youth and a spokesman for a generation. The singer rekindled his own recording career with "The Sins Of A Family' and 1965"s brilliant Songs Of Our Times. His poetic lyrics and love of simile provoked comparisons with Bob Dylan, but Sloan's gift for pop melody was equally apparent. The set included "Take Me For What I Am Worth", later a hit for the Searchers. The follow-up Twelve More Times featured a much fuller sound and featured two of Sloan's most poignant compositions, "This Precious Time" and "I Found A Girl". Sloan also enjoyed success, with Barri, as part of another "backroom" group, the Grass Roots. When "Where Were You When I Needed You" reached the US Top 30 in 1966, the pair put an official band together to carry on the name. By this point the more altruistic Sloan was growing estranged from his commercially minded partner and they drifted apart the following year. "Karma (A Study Of Divination's)", credited to Philip Sloan, showed an artist embracing the trinkets of 1967, although the subsequent Measure Of Pleasure was rather bland. A lengthy break ensued, broken only by the singer-songwriter-styled Raised On Records. Without a contract, Sloan wound down music business commitments, prompting no less a personage than Jim Webb to mourn his absence with the moving tribute "P.F. Sloan" from the 1977 album, El Mirage. Sloan re-emerged from years of seclusion and mental illness in 1985 with an appearance at New York's Bottom Line club. Here he was supported by Don Ciccone (ex-Critters; Four Seasons) and future Smithereens' member Dennis Diken. In 1990 the singer rewrote "Eve Of Destruction" as "Eve Of Destruction, 1990 (The Environment)', which was recorded by the equally reclusive Barry McGuire. In November that year Sloan played at the annual National Academy Of Songwriters" convention. He received a standing ovation from an audience comprised of the best-known songwriters of a generation. In 1994 Sloan released his first album in over 20 years, Serenade Of The Seven Sisters. It was initially released only in Japan, although a revised version was released three years later in the USA under the title (Still On The) Eve Of Destruction. Another lengthy hiatus ensued before Sloan completed Sailover in 2006. The album included contributions from admirers including Frank Black, Buddy Miller and Lucinda Williams.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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