T<!--- Do not try to "correct" by removing the definite article, see "name" section below ---->he Nazz was an American rock band formed in Philadelphia in 1967. The group was founded by guitarist and main songwriter Todd Rundgren and bassist Carson Van Osten. Drummer Thom Mooney and vocalist/keyboardist Robert "Stewkey" Antoni joined soon after. The group is best known for their debut single "Open My Eyes”, and "Hello It's Me".

During 1968 and 1969, the Nazz released two albums (Nazz and Nazz Nazz). Following the group's disbandment in 1969, a collection of archival recordings was compiled and released under the title Nazz III. Rundgren later re-recorded a solo version of "Hello It's Me" that reached number 5 on the U.S. charts.

History

Name and formation

Nazz was formed in Philadelphia in 1967. Vocalist/keyboardist Robert Antoni performed and recorded under the mononym Stewkey, which he said was a nickname he earned because he "was always stewed".

The band took its name from The Yardbirds' 1966 song "The Nazz Are Blue". There also exists a 1952 monologue, "The Nazz", by the American Beatnik comedian Lord Buckley, but Rundgren has said that none of the band members were aware of this. In the song "Loosen Up", a member introduces the group as "the Nazz, from Philadelphia." Conversely, in a 2019 interview, Mooney and Antoni stated that "Nazz" had always been the correct name. The group's first major concert had them opening for the Doors on June 18, 1967.

Nazz

The Nazz were approached at a Holiday Inn bar by manager/publicist John Kurland, who was looking for an act to manage and thought they looked like a band. After hearing them play in their space above the record shop, Kurland bargained with Warfield and Bartoff to buy the Nazz out.

Stewkey and Mooney reconnected and played with Fuse for a brief period using two names, Fuse or Nazz, depending on where they were gigging. Mooney would leave again, and Fuse evolved into "Sick Man of Europe", and later (without Stewkey) Cheap Trick.

The Nazz proved influential on the emerging genre dubbed power pop, which featured melodic pop songwriting with a more aggressive performance style. They gained wider recognition thanks to the inclusion of "Open My Eyes" on Nuggets (1972), an anthology of American 1960s garage punk and psychedelia compiled by musician Lenny Kaye. The three Nazz LPs were reissued by Rhino Records on LP in 1983 and subsequently on CD with bonus demo and outtake tracks. In 2009, Spectra Records released three albums by Nazz. They were Nazz vs. Toddzila, 13th and Pine, (compilation) and Hello It's Crazy Me.

In 2011, the Bangles recorded "Open My Eyes" on their album Sweetheart of the Sun. The next year, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard also recorded a cover of the song, for the Nuggets: Antipodean Interpolations of the First Psychedelic Era compilation.

  • "Open My Eyes" and "Wildwood Blues" by the Nazz are featured on the soundtrack of The Mad Room, a 1969 horror movie directed by Bernard Girard.

Members

  • Todd Rundgren – guitar, backing and lead vocals, keyboards
  • Carson Van Osten – bass guitar, backing vocals (died December 22, 2015)
  • Stewkey – lead and backing vocals, keyboards (died October 9, 2023)
  • Thom Mooney – drums, occasional backing vocals, percussion

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!Year

!Information

|-

| 1968

| Nazz

  • Released: October 1968
  • Label: SGC Records – SD 5001
  • Reissued by Rhino – 1983 (LP/Cassette) & 1988 (CD)

|-

|1969

| Nazz Nazz

  • Released: May 1969
  • Label: SGC Records – SD 5002
  • Reissued by Rhino – 1983 (LP/Cassette) & 1988 (CD)

|-

|1971

| Nazz III

  • Released: July 11, 1971
  • Label: SGC Records – SD 5004
  • Reissued by Rhino – 1983 (LP/Cassette) & 1988 (CD)

|}

Compilation albums

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!Year

!Information

|-

|1984

| Best of Nazz

  • Label: Rhino – RNLP/RNC 116 – 1984 (LP/Cassette) / R1-70116 1989 (CD)

|-

|1998

| Thirteenth and Pine

  • Label: Distortion Records

|-

|2002

| Open Our Eyes: The Anthology

  • Label: Sanctuary Records

|-

|2006

| Nazz Nazz – Including Nazz III – The Fungo Bat Sessions

  • Label: Castle Music
  • Contains both Nazz Nazz and Nazz III albums on 2 CDs and many unreleased tracks

|}

Singles

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center;

|-

!rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2" style="width:250px;"| Title

!colspan="2"| Chart positions

!rowspan="2"| Album

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

!width="30"|US Billboard Hot 100

!width="30"|CA RPM Charts

|-

|| 1968

|align=left| "Open My Eyes"

| 112

| –

| rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;"|Nazz

|-

|rowspan="3"| 1969

|align=left| "Hello It's Me"

| 66

| 41

|-

|align=left| "Not Wrong Long"

| –

| 90

| style="text-align:left;"|Nazz Nazz

|-

|align=left| "Some People"

| –

| –

| style="text-align:left;"|Nazz III

|}

References