LOOKING GLASS featuring
ELLIOT LURIE
As a young college student at Rutgers
University, Elliot Lurie would write and practice original
material with his band Looking Glass in a barn in his hometown
of New Jersey. Little did he know that one of those
compositions, “Brandy
(You’re a Fine Girl)” would go on to become one
of the biggest hits of 1972.
After Record Mogul Clive Davis caught Looking Glass at The
Whiskey a Go-Go, the group was soon signed to Epic Records. “Brandy”,
featured as the first single off Looking Glass’ Epic debut,
reached #1 on the billboard charts in late summer of that year
putting Looking Glass on the map. Looking Glass’ second
release, “Subway Serenade”, followed with “Jimmy
Loves Maryann”, #28 in the fall of 1973.
Elliot Lurie, the writer and singer of those songs as well as
most of Looking Glass’ other material, became disillusioned
with the band’s bubblegum image and decided to strike out solo
in 1975. He released two solo albums but each failed to produce
a hit. As for the rest of Looking Glass, they continued without
Lurie but soon called it quits.
Elliot then decided to turn his attention to supervising movie
soundtracks. In the long run it proved to be a wise move. He has
not only made a career out of soundtrack supervision, but an
extremely good one at that. He has supervised the sound tracks
of some of the biggest grossing movies of all time. Some of
those pictures are: “Perfect”, “Charlie’s Angels”,
“Last of the Mohicans”, and “Stuart Little”, to name but
a few. He is currently supervising the sound track to the Disney
series “Lizzie McGuire”.
In 2003, a long distance call from Jeff Lehman to Elliot Lurie
resulted in a reformation of Looking Glass for live shows. This
newly reformed group features the soulful baritone and guitar
playing of Elliot Lurie along with the soulful high tenor and
keyboards of Jeff Lehman, who sings many of the staple songs of
deceased member Peat Sweaval. The rhythm section is as strong as
they come with noted Detroit session man Roger Noonan, who plays
bass for local legends The Teen Angels. Pounding on the skins is
the technical finesse of Craig Williams who has also did much
session work in Detroit. Recent additions to the group feature
the good singing and playing of guitar and keyboards by new
recruits Gary Penz and Jim Wirth. The group also tours with
a 3 piece horn section.
A Looking Glass show consists of album cuts, the two major hits
from Looking Glass’s albums as well as rock, soul, R& B
and pop hits of various decades. A strong rocking rhythm and
tight four part harmonies also grace a typical performance. Do
yourself and your crowd a favor and book Looking Glass for your
next event.
