King Harvest was a 1970s French-American rock band who was formed initially in Ithaca, New York, U.S., but broke up and reformed in Paris where they began recording their first songs.
[2] King Harvest's original four members first formed the group in 1969 in Ithaca, New York, where all four—Dave "Doc" Robinson (lead vocals/bass/keyboards), Ron Altbach (keyboards), Ed Tuleja (guitar), and Rod Novak (saxophone)—were attending Cornell University.
At this point, the group primarily played cover tunes by such artists as Sly and the Family Stone, Jimi Hendrix, and the Band, among others, at fraternities, bars, and other local colleges.
At one point, the band consisted of three keyboardists, with fellow Cornell alumnus[4] Sherman Kelly (who wrote "Dancing in the Moonlight") joining Altbach and Robinson on the instrument.
As group members gradually made their way to Paris, they became involved in session work individually, performing on albums by the likes of Jacques Morali and Nancy Holloway.
Once solidified as a unit, King Harvest won a Rock and Roll contest/talent show,[3] and by the end of 1971, with Alexandre and Wells Kelly now established as band members, the group had recorded and released their Europe-only debut LP, I Can Tell.
Contrary to Boffalongo's original version, which included such disparate players as jazz flutist Jeremy Steig and Peter Giansante on drums, the King Harvest recording was more scaled back.
[1] Australian drummer David Montgomery and bassist Tony Cahill, both of Python Lee Jackson (and the latter also of The Easybeats) officially joined King Harvest after the album's release and toured with them during the spring of 1973.
Tuleja and Novak played on Dennis Wilson's 1977 solo Pacific Ocean Blue, while Altbach and Robinson performed with Mike Love in his band, Celebration.
King Harvest released their The Lost Tapes album in August 2007, and performed on TJ Lubinsky's My Music DVD entitled The 70s Experience Live produced for PBS.