The Dowland Brothers & the Soundtracks

THE DOWLAND BROTHERS & THE SOUNDTRACKS

The Giles Brothers later connected with the Dowland brothers in a band called the Dowland Brothers & the Soundtracks. I suppose there have been other rock bands that featured two pairs of brothers in the line-up, but one doesn’t come to mind right away. (Well, there is Sparks, originally known as Halfnelson, founded by the Mael brothers, Ron Mael and Russell Mael, and including the Mankey brothers, Earle Mankey and Jim Mankey, on their first two albums). The sound of these earliest recordings (from 1962) sounds a lot like another set of brothers, the Everly Brothers. Several of these songs were produced by the legendary Joe Meek, one of the most innovative figures in early British rock music; his best known recording is the instrumental “Telstar” by the Tornados (released in December 1962), the first rock song (and only the second record, period) by a British artist to reach the top of the American charts.

(March 2013)