* En anglais uniquement
Black Merda were a funky rock combo with a significant debt to
Jimi Hendrix, mixing fuzz-toned, psychedelic blues-rock with folky acoustic passages and contemporary late-'60s soul. Featuring guitarists Anthony and Charles Hawkins, bassist
VC Veasey (aka
Veesee L. Veasey), and drummer Tyrone Hite, the group got its start in the late '60s after
Veasey, Hite, and Anthony Hawkins had spent time in a band called the Soul Agents, backing
Edwin Starr and
Gene Chandler. Inspired by
Jimi Hendrix's
Are You Experienced?, they added Anthony's younger brother Charles on second guitar and christened themselves
Black Merda. Despite some interest around their Detroit base -- including
Norman Whitfield and
Eddie Kendricks --
Black Merda signed to Chess, thanks in part to the psychedelic soul eccentric
Fugi (aka
Ellington Jordan), who they also backed on his Mary, Don't Take Me on No Bad Trip LP for Chess.
Black Merda's self-titled album sounded revolutionary enough, although the bandmembers were disappointed that it didn't reflect their heavy live shows. They then moved to the West Coast to continue playing with
Fugi, but returned to Chicago to record a second album. Shortening their name to
Mer-Da, the group returned in 1971 with Long Burn the Fire, a funkier outing that bore a likeness to early
Funkadelic. The band quickly fizzled out, but over the next three decades, continued record-collector interest in the group eventually resulted in a reunion with
Veasey, both Hawkins brothers, and
Fugi, although Hite had died in 2004. ~ Steve Huey & John Bush