William Penn Fyve were a garage rock group from Palo Alto, California who recorded the psychedelic classic "Swami". Their membership included Gregg Rolie and Mickey Hart.

Background The group started out in late 1964 at the College of San Mateo calling themselves The DiscCounts. The original founding lineup was made up of Ron Cox on drums, Mike Dunn on guitar, Neil Holtmann on vocals, and Steve Sweet on bass.Psychedelicized & MileHighMusic - William Penn V The group had a similar visual style to that of Paul Revere & the Raiders revolutionary attire.Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Indexes, Volume 10, Colin Larkin - Page 476Psychedelicized & MileHighMusic - William Penn V With the exposure by Radio KYA, KFRC and KLIV, the group was one of the San Francisco Bay Area's most well-known popular groups at the time and were star attractions in their own shows. They opened for some major national as well as international acts. One long term member was Gregg Rolie who would later be in Santana and Journey. Mickey Hart was also a member of the band at one stage.Forced Exposure - WILLIAM PENN AND HIS PALS 1 Title The one single they released, "Swami" is considered a pop / psychedelic classic.Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Indexes, Volume 10, Colin Larkin - Page 476Forced Exposure - ARTIST PENN AND HIS PALS, WILLIAM TITLE William Penn And His Pals They are also referred to as William Penn and His Pals.Dead Disc - William Penn and His Pals / William Penn Fyve Similarly named groups There may be some confusion over similarly named groups from the same era. There was one group around at the same time with a similar name, William Penn & the Quakers who had a few singles including "California Sun" released on Len Stark's Philadelphia based Melron label. It is apparently a different group.Cash Box, November 11, 1967 - Page 26 Best BetsRecord World, Vol. 21, No. 1021 February 11, 1961 - Page 51 Active MelronDead Disc - William Penn and His Pals / William Penn FyveGlobal Dog Productions - 45 Discography for Melron Records There was also another similarly named band, Wm Penn and the Quakers who recorded for Twilight Records and for the Duane Records label from Sunnyvale, California.45Cat - Wm. Penn And The Quakers - DiscographyGarage Hangover, March 25, 2013 - Duane Records discography

Career In early 1965, with the current line up of Ron Cox, Mike Dunn, Neil Holtmann, and Steve Sweet, they added another member, keyboard player Dave Lovell. A few months after that, there were some changes to their line up and guitarist Mike Shapiro and bassist Steve Leidenthal came on board, replacing Mike Dunn and Steve Sweet. Then they changed their look to the revolutionary style.Psychedelicized & MileHighMusic - William Penn V In 1966 Gregg Rolie came into the group, replacing Dave Lovell.Dead Disc - William Penn and His Pals / William Penn FyveAsic - William Penn and His Pals Biography by Jason Ankeny Also that year, they auditioned for Scorpio Records but were unsuccessful in their bid. Neil Holtmann was also fired from the group that year.Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Indexes, Volume 10, Colin Larkin - Page 476Forced Exposure - ARTIST PENN AND HIS PALS, WILLIAM TITLE William Penn And His PalsEncyclopedia of Popular Music: Indexes, Volume 10, Colin Larkin - Page 476 A song about a guru during a hallucination was written and became the song "Swami".Fuzz, Acid and FlowersA Comprehensive Guide to American Garage, Psychedelic and Hippie Rock (1964-1975), Compiled by Vernon Joynson, - Page 247 In 1966 or 1967, their single "Swami" / "Blow My Mind" was released on Thunderbird 502.45Cat - William Penn Fyve - DiscographyThe Grateful Dead FAQ, By Tony Sclafani - William Penn and his Pals

They broke up around 1967 / 1968 after having an argument with Vern Justus over finances.Forced Exposure - ARTIST PENN AND HIS PALS, WILLIAM TITLE William Penn And His PalsEncyclopedia of Popular Music: Indexes, Volume 10, Colin Larkin - Page 476

Greg Rollie later joined The Santana Blues Band after Carlos Santana caught them at the Longshoremen's Hall in San Francisco and asked him to join the new band he was putting together.Best Classic Bands, 25 Oct 2019 - Gregg Rolie: From Santana to Journey and Beyond by Jeff Tamarkin

A CD album with early recorded material was released in the 2000s which included an alt-version of "Blow My Mind". It is believed that Mickey Hart plays drums on that version.The Grateful Dead FAQ, By Tony Sclafani - William Penn and his Pals Two of their songs, "Blow My Mind" and "Swami" are included on the Trash various artists CD compilation.Hi-Fi Answers, 17 February 2020 - ‘The Box of Trash’, consists of the best of the legendary Pebbles series of 60s psychedelic rare gems

Line up Version #1 Ron Cox ... drums Mike Dunn ... guitar Neil Holtmann ... vocals Dave Lovell ... Keyboards Steve Sweet ... bass

Following versions Ron Cox ... drums Mickey Hart ... drums Neil Holtmann ... vocals Dave Lovell ... keyboards Gregg Rolie ... keyboards, vocals Mike Shapiro ... guitar Steve Leidenthal ... bass Jack Shelton ... guitar AllMusic - William Penn and His Pals, Artist biography by Jason AnkenyFuzz, Acid and FlowersA Comprehensive Guide to American Garage, Psychedelic and Hippie Rock (1964-1975), Compiled by Vernon Joynson, - Page 247

Discography

+ Compilation appearance Act Release Catalogue Year Notes # William Penn Fyve "Swami" / "Blow My Mind" Thunderbird 502 1966 Cosmic Mind at Play - Classic Singles #96: The William Penn Fyve – Swami / Blow My Mind (1966)

+ Album Act Release Catalogue Year Notes # William Penn and His Pals William Penn and His Pals Beatrecords.com BEATR 011CD 2009 CDForced Exposure - ARTIST PENN AND HIS PALS, WILLIAM TITLE William Penn And His Pals

+ Compilation appearance Act Release Catalogue Year Featured track Notes # Various artists Pebbles Volume 3 "The Acid Gallery" BFD Records BFD-5020 1979 "Swami" as William Penn VLP Various artists Sounds Of The Sixties San Francisco Part 2 Phantom PLP-1005 1985 "Swami", "Blow My Mind" as William Penn FyveLP Various artists Pebbles, Volume 2 ESD Records ESD-80262 1990 "Swami" as William Penn VCD Various artists Great Pebbles31 Original '60s Punk & Psych Classics Bomp MSI 13868 1993 "Swami" as William Penn FyveCDRokkets.com - Great Pebbles - 31 Original '60s Punk & Psych ClassicsAYUKAWA MAKOTO KOMPILATION Various artists The Essential Pebbles Collection Volume One AIP Records AIP CD 1058 1998 "Swami" as William Penn V2 CD Various artists Trash Box: Wild Psychotic Garage Punk!!! Hit Records CD BOXX 1 2004 "Blow My Mind", "Swami" as William Penn FyveHi-Fi Answers, 17 February 2020 - ‘The Box of Trash’, consists of the best of the legendary Pebbles series of 60s psychedelic rare gemsDiscogs - Various – Trash BoxGarage rock: la prima e più completa guida sul genere che ha segnato gli anni '60, By Alessandro Bonini, Emanuele Tamagnini - Page 166 LES COMPILATIONS

References

External links Cosmic Mind at Play: Classic Singles #96: The William Penn Fyve – Swami / Blow My Mind (1966) William Penn and His Pals Rockasteria William Penn And His Pals - William Penn And His Pals (1966 us, remarkable garage psych, with Gregg Rolie pre Santana) The San Francisco Sound: WILLIAM PENN AND HIS PALS FAMILY TREE