The Hudson Brothers are an American music group formed in Portland, Oregon in the 1970s and consisting of Bill Hudson, Brett Hudson and Mark Hudson (birth name Salerno). Their popular songs included "So You are a Star" (1974; Billboard #21), "Rendezvous" (1975; Billboard #26), "Lonely School Year" (1975; Billboard #57), and "Help Wanted" (1976; Billboard #70).
History
Their first musical group, The New Yorkers, was named after the Chrysler automobile after the winning of a "battle of the bands"-type contest. In spring 1967 they released "When I'm Gone" (SCE-12190) on Scepter Records, following that in August 1967 with "Mr. Kirby" (SCE-12199) and then "Show Me The Way To Love" (SCE-12207) in autumn 1967. By October 1968, The New Yorkers had switched to Jerry Dennon's Pacific Northwest label Jerden Records and issued "Adrianne" (#906), following that up with "Land of Ur" (#908) in March 1969. Later in 1969 The New Yorkers also recorded "Lonely" (#7318) for Warner Bros. Records and "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City" (#32569) for Decca Records.
On Decca Records they changed their name to Everyday Hudson in early 1970, releasing "Love Is The Word" (#32634).
For the release in spring 1971 of "Love Nobody" on Lionel Records (L-3211), their name was shortened to Hudson. This name was also used in 1972 after switching to the newly re-activated Playboy Records, with the release of "Leavin' It's Over" (originally "Leave And It's Over", Playboy mislabeled the song and it has never been corrected) (P-50001), Billboard Bubbling Under Chart #110. In 1973 Hudson signed with Elton John's Rocket Records and released "If You Really Need Me" (MCA-40141), which was recorded in France and produced by Bernie Taupin. It was followed by "Sunday Driver" (MCA-40317).
Their first record release as The Hudson Brothers came in September 1974 with their chart record "So You Are A Star" on Casablanca Records (NES 0108; Billboard #21), followed by "Coochie Choochie Coo" (NES 816) in 1975, Billboard Bubbling Under Chart #108. They returned to Rocket Records for more 45 RPM charted songs in 1975 with producer Bernie Taupin, later switching to Arista Records in 1976. Yet another name change back to Hudson came in 1980 on Elektra Records, and then to The Hudsons in 1983 on Columbia Records.
Albums
As The Hudson Brothers, the group issued:
- "Hudson" (Playboy Records,, 1973/4)
- "Totally Out of Control" (Rocket Records, Billboard #179, 1974)
- "Hollywood Situation" (Casablanca Records, Billboard #176, 1974)
- "Ba-Fa" (Rocket Records, Billboard #165, 1975)
- "The Truth About Us" (Arista Records, 1978)
- "TV's Hudson Brothers" (First American Records, 1978) (comprising of the Jerden-era singles)
- "Damn Those Kids" (Elektra Records, 1980) was released under the name Hudson.
- "Razzle Dazzle Show DVD" (VSC 2008) http://www.hudsonbrothersdvd.com/
Television and movies
They starred in The Hudson Brothers Show, a TV variety hour Wednesday nights on CBS starting July 31, 1974 to August 28, 1974, followed by The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show on CBS Saturday mornings, from September 7, 1974 to August 30, 1975, in a half-hour format. Video Service Corp. released the complete Razzle Dazzle series on DVD on June 17, 2008. A web site was also created that showcases Hudson Brothers hilarious comedy style; http://www.hudsonbrothersdvd.com/ .
They starred in Bonkers!, a half-hour syndicated comedy show in 1978, produced in Britain by ATV and distributed by ITC. The three brothers also starred in Hysterical, a horror-comedy film released in 1983.
Personal lives
Bill Hudson was married to Goldie Hawn from 1976 to 1980 and is the father of actors Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson. Mark Hudson, successful as a writer/producer for acts such as Aerosmith and Ringo Starr, was involved in a serious and career-influencing sexual harassment case in the 1990s, ending with him being released from his contract at The Walt Disney Company.
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