It was a Top 10 hit in Canada, the United States, and Australia, and a Top 20 hit in the UK in 1967. This version featured Stein's psychedelic-baroque organ intro and Appice's energetic drumming. The band's biggest hit was its cover of ' You Keep Me Hangin' On,' a slowed-down, hard rocking version of a song originally recorded by the Supremes. When Led Zeppelin first toured the United States in early 1969, they opened for Vanilla Fudge on some shows.

Their first three albums ( Vanilla Fudge, The Beat Goes On, and Renaissance) were produced by Shadow Morton, whom the band met through The Rascals. Vanilla Fudge was managed by the reputed Lucchese crime family member Phillip Basile, who operated several popular clubs in New York. Ī recording of The Pigeons, 'While the World Was Eating Vanilla Fudge', was released by Scepter/Wand in 1970. Then she looked at us and added 'Maybe you guys should call yourselves that-you're like white soul music'. She told us how her grandfather used to call her Vanilla Fudge. We tried to think up a new name but were getting nowhere until we played a gig at the club on Long Island and ended up talking to a chick named Dee Dee who worked there. We didn't mind, in fact, I had always thought The Pigeons was a weird thing to be called but had just gone with it. Ahmet Ertegun, the label's founder and president, didn't like that name and told us we had to change it. But there was one drawback, however: Atlantic didn't want to sign a band called The Pigeons. In April 1967 the Pigeons got signed to Atlantic Records. Appice was asked to join The Pigeons and in his 2016 autobiography, Stick It!, Carmine explained the name change to 'Vanilla Fudge': In December 1966, Brennan moved on to The Younger Brothers Band and Bogert became impressed with a young drummer named Carmine Appice he had heard playing at the Headliner Club on 43rd Street in a cover band called Thursday's Children.

Originally calling themselves The Electric Pigeons, they soon shortened the name to The Pigeons. The pair were so impressed by the swinging, organ-heavy sound of The Rascals they decided to form their own band in 1965 with Martell and Rick Martin's drummer, Mark Dolfen, who was quickly replaced by Joey Brennan.

Stein and Bogert had played in a local band called Rick Martin & The Showmen. The band has been cited as 'one of the few American links between psychedelia and what soon became heavy metal' and as a proto-prog band. The band has toured as recently as 2022 with three of the four original members: Stein, Martell, and Appice, with Pete Bremy on bass. The band's original line–up-vocalist and organist Mark Stein, bassist and vocalist Tim Bogert, lead guitarist/vocalist Vince Martell, and drummer and vocalist Carmine Appice-recorded five albums during the years 1967–69, before disbanding in 1970. Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, such as their hit cover of the Supremes' ' You Keep Me Hangin' On'.

Vanilla fudge songs