We Are The People

We Are The People

We Are The People is a group from New York, United States. It is active from 1977 to the present and is associated with disco and electronic music. The listed members are Dave Forrest, Lee Mouton, Peter Whitehead, Mark Mussler, Victor Willis, Glenn Hughes, Alex Briley, David “Scar” Hodo, Felipe Rose, Randy Jones, G. Jeff Olson, Ray Simpson, Mark Lee, Miles Jaye, Ray Stephens and Eric Anzalone.

Background

The group appears under the name We Are The People in the available information, but the detailed historical account concerns an earlier Orlando, Florida quintet called We the People. That band is described as a 1960s rock group active in the period between the British Invasion and the emergence of psychedelic rock.

We the People in the 1960s

We the People are described as one of the strongest examples of raw garage punk from the period. Their recordings are noted for combining aggressive guitar-driven rock with melodic and emotional elements, and for drawing on the sound of British groups as well as American garage rock. Their music is presented as broader in scope than that of some better-known contemporaries, moving between hard-edged rock, balladry and early psychedelic textures.

The group forms in Orlando and gains early attention through the single “My Brother, the Man,” issued on the independent Hotline label. After that release, manager Ron Dillman looks for a production and publishing deal in Nashville, which brings the band into contact with producer Tony Moon at Barmour Music, the publishing arm of Pickwick International.

Recording and labels

Tony Moon produces the band and sets up an early recording session in Tampa rather than Nashville. That session yields “Mirror of Your Mind,” written by guitarist Tommy Talton, and “(You Are) the Color of Love,” written by Wayne Proctor. The band then signs with Challenge Records, a West Coast label.

Over the following two years, the group returns to Nashville for further sessions. Most of the instrumental work is handled by the band, though session musicians such as Charlie McCoy also appear on recordings. After several singles, and after Proctor leaves, the group signs with RCA. A number of singles follow on that label, including “Follow Me Back to Louisville.”

Live reputation and regional success

We the People play live dates in Nashville and are remembered there as one of the first long-haired rock groups to appear in the city. Their shows attract teenage audiences who had not previously seen a band with that look and sound. They also play dances and club dates beyond Nashville, and the account says they achieve regional hits in Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida.

Later history and legacy

The group does not achieve national success and eventually breaks up. Tommy Talton later joins Cowboy on Capricorn Records in the 1970s. The account presents We the People as a band valued by record collectors for its garage rock catalogue, particularly as gathered on the two-disc retrospective Mirror of Our Minds.