CALIFORNIA ROCK NEWS

The Happy Together Tour returned to the Pacific Amphitheater July 22nd, as last year it was at the Grove of Anaheim July 17th, and it was a night full of nostalgia and classic hits. The tour, which had been started by the Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie, usually features six to seven iconic groups/artists from the 60’s that all had major hits. This time there are eight acts.
With this many acts the sets were kept to 15-20 minutes of three-five songs. Also there was a house band backing each group consisting of guitarist/musical director Godfrey Townshend, bassist Greg Smith, keyboardist Manny Faocarazzo, and drummer Chris Camilleri. There was also a pre-recorded announcement for each group and a few important things were mentioned about each. The Happy Together tour has included The Association, The Buckinghams, Classics IV, Gary Lewis and many more. The Happy Together tour goes back to 1984 after the Turtles became the Turtles Featuring Flo & Eddie. The Association and Gary Puckett were two of the acts on the original lineup. The 2026 Happy Together tour is made up of the Cowsills, The Vogues, Gary Puckett, Ron Dante, The Fortunes, The Troggs, The Association, and for the first time former Chicago member Jason Scheff.
The first act was family vocal group the Cowsills. Once made up of six siblings, the Cowsills are now a trio of Bob, Susan, and Paul Cowsill. John Cowsill was the drummer for the Beach Boys 2007-2022. Barry Cowsill passed in 2005 and Bill Cowsill passed in 2006. It was the Cowsills that inspired the hit TV show the Partridge Family. The Cowsills were originally together just seven years, then reunited again between 1978-1980, then again in 1990 and have been active since. The Cowsills had over 10 charting singles. They appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show twice, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, American Bandstand, and the Johnny Cash Show. Their set included hits like “The Rain, the Park, and Other Things,” “Indian Lake,” the theme to Love American Style, and “Hair.”
Next up were The Vogues, appearing in matching shirts and jeans. The Vogues were once a quartet and now a trio. Co-founders Bill Burkette and Don Miller passed in 2018 and 2021. The group is now Troy Elich, Royce Taylor, and Elliott McCoy. Although it’s been 50 years since a Vogues album was released, the music stands the test of time. Their TV performances included The Ed Sullivan Show, Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and American Bandstand. The Vogues were inducted into the Vocal Hall of Fame back in 2001.
The third performer was Ron Dante, the voice of fictional group the Archies and the Cufflinks. Dante performed several songs including the Archies’ “Sugar Sugar.”
The fourth act was the Fortunes, who were part of the British Invasion in the 60’s. The Fortunes played hits like “Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again,” “Seasons in the Sun,” “You’ve Got Your Troubles,” and the Beatles version of “Twist & Shout.”
The fifth act was Gary Puckett, known for his group the Union Gap, however Puckett is performing solo with the house band. The group was around just five years but produced a number of major hits like “Woman Woman,” “Young Girl,” and “Lady Willpower,” all part of his set. Puckett has been a solo artist since 1971 and a regular performer on the Happy Together Tour. Puckett wore a green trench coat just like he did in the 60’s.
Next was the newest member of the Happy Together tour, Jason Scheff. In 1985 Peter Cetera left Chicago for a solo career, and at 23 years old Jason Scheff joined the band on co-lead vocals and bass and remained a member until 2015. Scheff, the son of bass legend Jerry Scheff, reflected on his dad being a member of the Wrecking Crew, the session musicians who played on countless hits in the 60’s including the Association’s “Along Comes Mary.” Chicago is known for their 70’s hits, however the group formed in the 60’s and their debut album was released in 1969. Scheff revisited the 70’s playing Chicago hits “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day,” “Saturday In The Park,” “If You Leave Me Now,” and “25 or 6 to 4.” Before playing “If You Leave Me Now,” Scheff mentioned string arranger Jimmie Haskell, responsible for the string arrangements on numerous hits, one of them being “If You Leave Me Now.”
The house band played part of Jeff Beck’s “Cause We Ended As Lover” before the next set.
Next came the Troggs, which are now a duo of Stu Clark (Guitar/Vocals) and Dave Peters (Bass/Vocals), and on occasion founding member Chris Britton, who was not on this show. The Troggs were part of the British Invasion with hits like “With A Girl Like You,” “Love Is All Around,” and “Wild Thing,” which were all performed.
The house band played the instrumental guitar/piano part of Derek & The Dominos’ “Layla” before the next act.
The final set came from The Association, including original member Jules Alexander, and is performing as a quartet (in the past trio). The Association was the first band to play the historic Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. They all had matching white sport coats and black pants. They had three platinum hits, all performed: “Windy,” “Cherish,” and “Never My Love.” Another massive hit, “Along Came Mary,” was the closer.
Up until 2017, The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie were still performing together, but due to health reasons Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman had stopped touring at different times, however Volman did return to the tour for the final time in 2023. The Turtles music continued to be closing songs, however some years Dante had performed them and others with Volman. Volman passed last September. The Turtles set had seven songs when Kaylan and Volman were still performing. For the Turtles music, only “Happy Together” was performed, which all performers come out for traditionally.
The show began at 8 P.M. and was over by 10:30 P.M.