10 More Bands Who Had Huge Potential (But Wasted It)
5. Moby Grape
It would have made for a really nice intro if the electronic musician Moby had been named after this band, but alas, that’s not the case.
Moby Grape were a psychedelic rock band from the 1960s who rose up alongside several of the big hitters from that decade’s San Francisco scene. They were initially formed as a sort of offshoot from Jefferson Airplane, but quickly established their own brand of folk-infused rock that went over like crazy with the hippy crowd. They had two successful albums in 1967 and 1968 before things spectacularly fell apart.
Members Bob Mosely and Skip Spence suffered from mental health issues, which caused tensions within the group, and there was also the story of their manager, Matthew Katz. Katz and the Grape didn’t always have the best relationship, with the former famously signing away the rights to the band’s music without consulting them first.
This is a long and sad story of the universe conspiring against one well-meaning group of individuals, but at least the band have now regained the rights to their songs, which is a small victory.