Elf (band)

Elf was an American rock band founded in 1967 by singer and bassist Ronnie James Dio,<ref name=Allmusic/> keyboardist Doug Thaler,<ref name=Pavadona/> drummer Gary Driscoll,<ref name=Allmusic/> and guitarists Nick Pantas<ref name=Pavadona/> and David Feinstein<ref name=Allmusic/> (Dio's cousin).<ref name=Pavadona/> The band was originally called the Electric Elves,<ref name=Allmusic/> but was shortened to the Elves in 1968 and finally Elf in 1972.<ref name=Pavadona/> Elf disbanded in 1975 after recording three albums and after most of the lineup had been absorbed into the newly formed group Rainbow.<ref name=Allmusic/>

History

The band was formed in 1967<ref name=Pavadona>Template:Cite web</ref> when the members of Ronnie Dio and the Prophets transformed themselves into the Electric Elves and added a keyboard player, Doug Thaler.

In February 1968, the band was involved in an automobile accident in which guitarist Nick Pantas was killed.<ref name=Pavadona/> The accident forced a shuffling of the band member roles as original keyboardist Thaler moved to guitar (after recovering from his injuries) and the group hired Mickey Lee Soule to take over keyboard duties.<ref name=Pavadona/> Upon leaving the group in 1972, Thaler moved to New York and got a job as a booking agent — Elf was one of the bands he booked.

Elf's self-titled debut album was produced by Deep Purple members Roger Glover<ref name=Allmusic/> and Ian Paice,<ref name=Pavadona/> who happened to see Elf auditioning in 1972.<ref name=Pavadona/> For the next few years, the band enjoyed mild success as an opening act for Deep Purple.<ref name=Pavadona/>

Dio both sang and played the bass guitar until, following the release of Elf's first album, Craig Gruber was asked to join as bass guitarist.<ref name=Pavadona/> In August 1973 Feinstein quit the band and was replaced by Steve Edwards.<ref name=Pavadona/> In 1974, Elf released its second album, Carolina County Ball. That same year Dio was asked by Glover to sing on his solo album, The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast.<ref name=Pavadona/> Dio's voice gained the attention of Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who was beginning to tire of Deep Purple and was looking for musicians to record a solo album. Asides guitarist Steve Edwards and drummer Mark Nauseef, he decided in early 1975 to use the musicians in Elf for this album, and the band Rainbow was soon formed.<ref name=Allmusic/> Though Elf had been writing and recording its third album, Trying to Burn the Sun at the same time, following the completion of that album and the Rainbow album, Elf disbanded. Trying to Burn the Sun was eventually released in the U.S. in June 1975.

In 1980, Feinstein formed the heavy metal power trio the Rods.

Beginning in the late 1980s, some of the former members of Elf speculated about a potential reunion of the band, however nothing formal ever took place. Three of the band's members have also died: Driscoll in 1987, Dio in 2010, and Gruber in 2015.

Personnel

• Ronnie James Dio – lead vocals Template:Small, bass Template:Small
• Gary Driscoll – drums, percussion Template:Small
• David Feinstein – lead guitar Template:Small
• Doug Thaler – keyboards Template:Small, rhythm guitar Template:Small
• Nick Pantas – rhythm guitar Template:Small
• Micky Lee Soule – keyboards, backing vocals Template:Small
• Craig Gruber – bass Template:Small
• Steve Edwards – guitar Template:Small
• Mark Nauseef – percussion Template:Small

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id:LGuitar     value:teal        legend:Lead_guitar
id:RGuitar     value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar
id:Keyboard    value:purple      legend:Keyboards
id:Bass        value:blue        legend:Bass
id:Drums       value:orange   legend:Drums
id:Percussion  value:claret      legend:Percussion
id:Bvocals      value:pink     legend:Backing_vocals
id:album       value:black       legend:Studio_release
id:bars     value:gray(0.9)

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color:album
 at:08/01/1972
 at:04/01/1974
 at:06/01/1975

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 bar:Dio text:"Ronnie James Dio"
 bar:Feinstein text:"David Feinstein"
 bar:Edwards text:"Steve Edwards"
 bar:Pantas text:"Nick Pantas"
 bar:Thaler text:"Doug Thaler"
 bar:Soule text:"Mickey Lee Soule"
 bar:Gruber text:"Craig Gruber"
 bar:Driscoll text:"Gary Driscoll"
 bar:Nauseef text:"Mark Nauseef"

PlotData=

 width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-4)

 color:Vocals
 bar:Dio from:start till:end

 color:Bass
 bar:Dio from:start till:06/30/1973 color:Bass width:3
 bar:Gruber from:06/30/1973 till:end

 color:LGuitar
 bar:Feinstein from:start till:06/30/1973
 bar:Edwards from:06/30/1973 till:end

 color:RGuitar
 bar:Pantas from:start till:01/07/1968
 bar:Thaler from:01/07/1968 till:03/31/1972
 bar:Feinstein from:03/31/1972 till:06/30/1973 width:3
 bar:Edwards from:06/30/1973 till:end width:3

 color:Keyboard
 bar:Thaler from:start till:01/07/1968
 bar:Soule from:01/07/1968 till:end

 color:Drums
 bar:Driscoll from:start till:end

 color:Percussion
 bar:Driscoll from:start till:12/31/1974 width:3
 bar:Nauseef from:01/01/1975 till:end

 color:Bvocals
 bar:Soule from:01/07/1968 till:end width:3

</timeline>

Discography

Singles

• "Hey, Look Me Over" / "It Pays to Advertise" (1967) – as the Electric Elves
• "Walking in Different Circles" / "She's Not the Same" (1969) – as the Elves
• "Amber Velvet" / "West Virginia" (1970) – as the Elves

Studio albums

• Elf (1972)
• Carolina County Ball (1974)
• Trying to Burn the Sun (1975)

Compilations and bootleg recordings

• Live at the Beacon (1971) – as the Elves (bootleg)
• Live at the Bank (1972) – as the Elves (bootleg)
• Live! And My Soul Shall Be Lifted (1973) (bootleg)
• The Gargantuan Elf Album (1978) compilation of 1974 and 1975 albums
• Ronnie James Dio: The Elf Albums (1991) compiles 1974 and 1975 albums
• And Before Elf... There Were Elves (2011) – as the Elves features 12 songs from 'Live at the Bank' bootleg.

External links

• Unofficial Elf biography on dio.net
• Template:Discogs artist