In It for the Long Haul

Of the 13 Chambers kids, the four of them of musical note are Joe, Willie, George and Lester. They began singing gospel music in their native Mississippi, then moved to California with their parents in the ‘50s. The brothers kept singing, got the blues, got electrified, got a deal and recorded some memorable albums for Columbia, and were one of the best live bands ever.

Downsized to include only one brother, the Willie Chambers Band will make its Ventura debut Saturday night at Nicholby’s. The eclectic Lula will open.

The Chambers Brothers’ biggie was and is “Time Has Come Today,” an anthem-like rocker that lives long and prospers today in countless commercials and movies.

Bet the farm that Willie, who co-wrote “Time,” will play that one and others from the brothers’ extensive bluesy rock repertoire. It’s about time, too, because the last time “Time” was heard live in these parts was three years ago at the Ojai Bowlful of Blues, which featured three brothers.

In their heyday, the Chambers Brothers played all the big festivals and hung out with all the famous rock stars. Some compilations have recently been reissued on CD. The last man standing (and singing), guitarist Willie discussed life as a Chambers Brother during a recent phone interview.

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So where are the other brothers?

Let’s see, everybody’s here in L.A. Lester has his own blues band. George is performing gospel music and Joe is writing a book. And I guess, I’m going to be Willie Chambers forever.

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What’s up with this band?

We’re having a good time, and we’re rockin’ and rollin’. I’ve got some guys with me now that are in it for the long haul because they want to be part of something larger. My son is in the group and so is one of my nephews. We just did a demo of all original tunes, and we’re looking for a record deal. Some people are interested.

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So, over the years, the Chambers Brothers have played occasionally, but never really went away?

No, we never really left. We took a vacation more than 20 years ago, and, after a lot of years on the road, everyone started to relax, and we just never really got started again. The last thing the others wanted to do was pack a bag and hit the road, but that went against the grain for me because I love to travel and play.

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You started as a gospel group?

Yes. That was fun. We used to travel out of town every weekend. Our schoolmate’s dad owned the school bus, and we used it on the weekends for our gospel group. He’d charge us $19 a weekend, but we’d charge people a dollar a head to go with us, so we’d be able to eat and pay our expenses. Forest, Miss., had one stoplight and one store. Man, sometimes we’d go to Jackson, where they had hundreds of stoplights.

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What was it like moving from Mississippi to L.A.?

Man, that was something. We came out here in a ’55 Ford station wagon, and we got here at night and, when the sun came up I said, “Man, I want to go home.”

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Do you remember your first professional gig?

We had been singing in churches, but we couldn’t get no further than the corner. One night, Lightning Hopkins was at the Ash Grove in Hollywood, and we knew his guitar player, Long Gone Miles. Anyway, my brother Joe was a hair guy, and Lightning wanted Joe to straighten his hair. So they were driving over to the house, and Ed Pearl, who owned the Ash Grove, was driving, and he said, “So you guys have a group?” We told him we had a gospel group and he hired us. Later, he paid us $350 a week. This was like in ’62 or ’63.

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How did you guys end up on tour?

There was this folk singer there named Barbara Dane who was playing at the Grove, and she told us, “If more people could see you, you’d be a success.” So she took us on tour with her as sort of her backup band.

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How’d you meet Bob Dylan?

We knew him before he was Bob Dylan. We were just a bunch of hippies hanging out at the beach, and he was hanging around, too. After he became a success, he remembered us. One night in New York, when he was recording “Highway 61 Revisited,” he took us to this place called Ondine’s. It was a discotheque. We asked him what that was, and he told us it was a place where they played music and people danced. They called us up to the stage, and we didn’t know what to do, so we played some blues songs and got the house drummer to help us speed the songs up.

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Tell me about “Time Has Come Today.”

The first version, written in the late ‘50s, early ‘60s, was slower. At the time, I was downstairs writing and Joe was upstairs writing. I was holding my guitar and playing some chords when Joe came down and said, “I have some words, can we try it?” Shortly after that, psychedelic music took off, but it didn’t really have any rhythm or beat--it was just noise. So we thought, “Why not make our contribution to psychedelic music?”

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You had trouble with that song?

We had a lot of trouble with that song. Columbia, which at the time was a country and folk label, didn’t want us to do the song. Clive Davis, the label chief, told us, “We don’t do that kind of [stuff] on this label.” Our producer, David Rubinson, said he was going to record the song even if he got fired, so we came in early and did it in one take. Later that song made us and Clive Davis the best of friends, but Rubinson did get fired. I love that song. I love what it represents. It’s a positive statement. We wanted something that would last forever. I want to get that feeling back because kids today should have something they can relate to.

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And even AM radio played the long version?

It finally had to go on AM radio because they wanted to keep up with FM radio, who were playing the song to the max. It was 11 minutes long and started a trend toward long tunes--the Doors and Jimi Hendrix had long tunes. With a three-minute song, you don’t have time to do anything. It’s been in lots of commercials and about 30 movies. That song just keeps on going.

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What was it like being a rock star in the ‘60s?

Man, that was the life. We were among the first hippies in L.A., but later the hippie infiltrators came. Some of them were musicians that were technically proficient but didn’t have the heart. They just wanted to get paid and that was it. Today, they’re out of touch with those that pay to see them play. They have these big stages, all these props, but nobody knows them or what’s on their mind, and they’re always too busy to see you.

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Where did the Chambers Brothers fit in during the ‘60s?

We were just a bunch of hippies, some of the first in L.A. There were only like 65 or 70 of us, and they even called us beatniks for awhile. We’d sit at Venice Beach, drink a few beers and play the congas all night. The neighbors weren’t up for that, so we moved to warehouses and other places. It was just a bunch of guitars and people like the Smothers Brothers and Glenn Campbell singing all the time. We didn’t know we were hippies, didn’t know what that meant or how we were supposed to act.

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Is it true that no one wanted to follow you guys on stage?

That’s right. We never cared about headlining, we just wanted to play. Plenty of times, we made more money than the headliners. We just made music that made people feel good. I can’t begin to tell you what it’s like to walk on stage and play for people. I think that’s what music is for--to make people forget their problems for 90 minutes. Forget the drunken husband, the runaway kids, all that stuff and just feel good for awhile.

BE THERE

The Willie Chambers Band and Lula at Nicholby’s, 404 E. Main St., Ventura. Saturday, 9:30 p.m. $10. (805) 653-2320.