Silverman (1972–1975)
Carl Cuseo, Ron Norris, Deborah McColl
Formed in 1972, the original Silverman (pronounced Silver Man) included me on vocals & Wurlitzer elec piano, Ron Norris doing vocals and guitar, and Carl Cuseo on vocals & flute. Later Sam Broussard added his exceptional guitar and vocal talents along with Brian Cumming on guitar, bass, vocals, and the occasional horn. Barry Dunnaway, the young rocker, played bass with us for a while, also.
The first year of our existence we worked in and out of Atlanta at local clubs like The Bistro, The Twelfth Gate, The Great Southeast Music Hall and colleges up and down the East Coast. Once we opened for Cheech and Chong at Symphony Hall in Atlanta and Cheech got us so stoned on some kind of voodoo pot that I could barely get through our set.
In 1973 we moved to Connecticut to be close to Manhattan and were managed by Harry Chapin’s manager, Fred Kewley. We lived in “The Yellow House”, a beautiful two-story late 1800’s house with tiny rooms and slanted ceilings upstairs, a fireplace and large kitchen downstairs. There was something so special about it. I cried when we left that house. Sam Broussard wrote a song about it that Michael Murphy later recorded — Michael Murphy, Yellow House.
