Label:Sussex
Guitar-driven rock band best known for "Sweet Mary" (1971). Wadsworth Mansion released "Michigan Harry Slaughter" shortly thereafter.In 1972, Wadsworth Mansion was reformed into the band Slingshot by Southern blues guitarist Forrest McDonald.Led by siblings Mike and Steve Jablecki and former Tangerine Zoo rhythm guitarist Wayne Gagnon (see separate entry),Wadsworth Mansion (the name came from a well known local landmark),was the epitamy of the one-shot wonder.Formed in Providence,Rhode Island (a well known rock oasis),the quartet survived long enough to record a single self-titled album in 1971.Issued by the small Sussex label, "Wadsworth Mansion" contained minimal information other than band members names, producers, song titles and a pair of blurred group photo.Largely written by Steve, material such as "Long Haired Brown Eyed Girl","Michigan Harry Slaughter" and "I Like It" seldom offered more than anonymous boogie and conventional rockers.Lacking a strong singer or unique sound, the album wasn't exactly one of the year's most earth shattering efforts. Among the isolated highlights was the fluke top-10 single "Sweet Mary" b/w "What's On Tonight".Backed by a extensive touring schedule opening for a slew of acts including Edgar Winter,the set charted, though peaking at #218 it wasn't a commercial blockbluster
1.Long Haired Brown Eyed Girl
2.Queenie Dew
3.City Gardener
4.She Said She Would
5.Sweet Mary
6.I Like It
7.Michigan Harry Slaughter
8.Let It Shine
9.Goodbye
10.Havin’ Such A Good Time
Wadsworth Mansion was the archetype of one-hit wonder bands.The act formed in Providence RI and took their name from a landmark building in Middletown,CT.In reality,there were two Wadsworth Mansion groups.The first recorded “Sweet Mary” and their eponymous LP for Sussex Records in late 1970.On board were the Jablecki brothers:Steve(who wrote the song)and Mike,along with John Poole and Wayne Gagnon.John played bass,Mike was the drummer,while Wayne and Steve provided guitar work and vocals.After the surprise Top 10 success of “Sweet Mary” (their only Top 100 hit),Steve and John hit the road to tour,with new drummer Charlie Flannery and lead guitarist Howie “Forrest” McDonald(both formerly with the group Pale Ryder).Together,they toured 35 states,opening for acts like Alice Cooper and Edgar Winter and appearing on American Bandstand and The Dating Game.But Wadsworth Mansion’s career was literally washed away,as the rains came while the group was booked to play in Pennsylvania.The band was set up at the Colonel’s Club in scenic Edwardsville when angry floodwaters lashed the room.In a flash,their antique organ,amplifiers,speakers and all the rest of their stage equipment and gear were gone.The loss came to more than $15,000,not to mention the lost summer’s worth of scheduled engagements stretching from Newport to North Carolina.The Providence Evening Bulletin of July 8,1972 carried a story of how the band didn’t qualify for small business relief and was getting nowhere with whatever political machinery they had turned to.Worse,their record company had no incentive to put out any follow-up recordings(although they were already “in the can”),as there was no working band to tour in support of any new releases.Yet,Sweet Mary,they weren’t coming home yet!Undaunted and still hanging by the thread of their only hit,Wadsworth Mansion somehow got new instruments and another tour.All was going well until they were busted after a show in Louisiana for loitering on the street with some unsavory locals.That ill-fated event marked the last time the act played together as a group.Steve and Forrest packed it up, moved to Hollywood and formed the band Slingshot.Despite playing gigs at The Whiskey and The Starwood in LA,Slingshot did not propel them back to the charts.Of all the members,blues guitarist Forrest McDonald has had the most post-Wadsworth success.His musical career predates and eclipses their one-hit wonder status.Early on,at age 19,he was a member of the Boston Rock Symphony.Later in LA,he worked with Van Halen and Steve Perry of Journey.That association led to his first CD release in the ’90s:I Need You.Recording as the band Forrest,he released Under The Gun in 1998,on the strength of great and continuous reviews of his On Fire from the previous year.Along with his long-time partner and pianist Raymond Victor,he has played with John Lee Hooker,Bobby Womack,Jimmy Reed,Bobby “Blue” Bland and many other blues greats.Perhaps his most well known appearance is on Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll”.McDonald supplied the guitar solo, which had been recorded previously at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and later purchased by Seger to use in the song.McDonald then stayed in the South,forming World Talent Records in Atlanta.His latest release is 2004’s Colorblind.
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