In the dark depths of the Bosstown Sound backlash it would be hard to champion your scene amidst charges of 'plastic' and 'lame'. This was the time we threw Eden's Children in their face. Their album was released just after the initial brouhaha so they weren't lumped in with the other groups as much. When they were they held their own. See the Jazz and Pop Review here to confirm this.

    Eden's Children were on ABC records produced by heavy hitter Bob Thiele and they even sounded a little different than the rest. They were more gritty. Still psychedelic they were closer to Hendrix than the Grateful Dead. They were top of the heap for many locals as illustrated in the poll I have included in the radio broadcast on the main page.
   Their first LP is self-titled Eden's Children and is another album that was always played at parties. Packed with good songs and playing, it never flags.
   The Children were a three piece group. All were very good players. Larry Kiley the bass player and Jimmy Sturman the drummer were a constantly interesting rhythm section. The main songwriter/singer was Richard 'Sham' Schamach who was also a great guitar player.

   If you put on the second Eden's Children album, you first hear the song Sure Looks Real It sounds similar to the songs on the first album but as the album progresses it seems like something is wrong. This reminds me of what happened to the second Spinach album (although their case was much worse). You have all the elements of the first album but the sound has been eviscerated. It's flat and thin even though the playing is just fine. I throw the blame here on the engineers at ABC. In this case they seem like they don't know how to record a rock group. The bass has no punch at all even though Kiley is playing just fine. The guitar tone on Things Gone Wrong solo is limp.
   It's not a wash out and a dedicated listener will hear good songs and playing minus a punchy group sound.

   Eden's Children never got the attention that they deserved.

In December of 2021 David Handyside published his book titled The Psychedelic Digest. This massive anthology of 150 psych groups runs 576 pages and costs $79.97 on Amazon. Link to The Psychedelic Digest on Amazon. Richard worked with the author to shape the section on Eden's Children. It has a lot on the pre Eden's Children's groups that led up to it. To read that section CLICK HERE.

   In 2020 Richard "Sham" Schamach (Richard Lee) contacted Joe 'The Count" Viglione. Joe Viglione has several outlets where he does interviews and reviews covering all eras of rock. Joe took the opportunity to interview him.

Click here for Richard Lee interview by Joe Viglione.

   This is much worth reading. It's the one and only interview with Richard for 50 years - unless someone can show me differently.
   Also Richard is very forthcoming and that is a delight. Boston Sound fans have been starved for info for so long and to have Richard be so generous with his stories is almost too good to be true.

   Richard also contacted this site and I took the opportunity to offer an outlet for material he might have. He sent a series of photos seen below. Some of a Cambridge Common show, a concert show called the "Spring Sing" on the Boston Common in 1968 and then some examples of different formats the two Eden's Children albums have been released in.

This album marks EDEN'S CHILDREN'S entrance into that select field of pop groups that combine a fine musical sense with incredibly high standard of technical excellence. These three top notch musicians are (at minimum) as good as any band you have probably heard. That may sound like a pretentious statement if you haven't heard the "Children," but if you have heard them or know any of the individuals concerned 1 am sure you won't disagree.

Richard(Sham)Schamach has long been considered by many top lead guitarists as their type of musician. His leads on the album run the gamut: from "hard rock" to "blues" to "jazz rock". Sham is quite at home, one would imagine, in any guitar style. The thing that sets him apart, though, is that no matter what style he's playing in, that style is completely Sham's. He owns it. His technique and musical construction are superb along with his sense of taste. This album is worth the money if only to appreciate Sham. Some of the finest guitar playing yet released on an American L.P. is found here. Sham also sings lead on the record.

Sham is far from alone on this album though drummer Jimmy Sturman's stick work in all ways is that of a superior technician. His playing style is definite never overpowers you with technique although you get the feeling that he is quite able to do so.

The bass on the album was handled in excellent fashion by Larry Kiley of Gloucester. (Sham is from Denver, Colo., Jimmy from Texas). Larry left the group a little while after the record was cut and has been replaced by one of the finest bass guitarists in the area; Rusty Marcus, formerly of the Argo.

The album begins with a hard rock type number, "Knocked Out." Sham takes an uptempo "fuzz lead" that will leave speed hungry, (referring to guitar technique kiddies) youngsters breathless; "Goodbye Girl" is a jazz flavored piece that is the vehicle four some nice Baroque influenced runs on Sham's part. "If She's Right" starts hard rock but changes shortly to uptempo blues and then switches back. "I Wonder Why" is an excellent example of the band's tightness. The most "commercial" of the cuts on the album, it will probably be released as a single. Strong lyrics are not predominate through the record, but "Stone Fox" seems to have stronger than most, complimented by an excellent Hendrix-Beck type lead. "My Bad Habit" is probably the weakest cut on the album musically. Although the playing is excellent I seem to have heard it all before.

Just as Side One is becoming a little wearing, along comes Side Two. Herein is waiting a pleasant surprise. The band is given time to "work." "Just Let Go" is, as far as I'm concerned, the finest all around cut on the album. The lyrics are superb as is the instrumental break. Sham plays one of the finest leads I have ever heard on record and Jimmy's drumming leaves absolutely no holes. "Out Where The Light Fish Live" is another cut that shows the amazing versatility of the "Children" starting with an "east-West" orientated lead the piece swings into a newer sounding "Fuzz-lead." Sham's speed is nearly impossible to describe. Jimmy's drumming ability shows through here more than on any other cut on the record. The bass playing is simply fantastic, ''Don't Tell Me," the only song not written by Sham, is another fine group effort that brings this outstanding album to a close.

In short Eden's Children show in this album that they will be among the pace-setters in the music from this area. We should be hearing much more of the "Children" in the future, on both a local and national level. They deserve it.

Profile of Eden's Children
in The Psychedelic Digest
By David Handyside

Richard Schamach grew up at a time when rock music was just beginning to be heard on the radio, and he not only wanted to hear it; he wanted to play it! With a rented guitar and basic instruction book, he began learning how to do just that. At age 14, he gave his first guitar performance with a solo version of Duane Eddy's song "The Lonely One" at a school talent show.

In the early 60s, Richard was one of a young generation discovering blues and R’n’B on late night broadcasts from WLAC and XERF, a station that featured Wolfman Jack before "going commercial". He liked what he heard and began to favor these styles. As a developing player, Freddie King and Lonnie Mack were significant influences, and soon, he joined some like-minded friends at Thomas Jefferson High who had been playing together after school. They became The Chaparrals, with matching outfits, guitars and amps, playing rock, R’n’B and "Brit hits". In the already competitive world of teen bands, they were able to play at school dances and make various appearances in the South Denver area.

After graduation, he left for Colorado State University in Fort Collins and joined The Nocturnes, a band that included Dick Whetstone who formerly played with Rich in The Chaparrals and later played drums and sang for psych-rockers The Electric Prunes. This band played at a club called The Green Onion just off campus. It was in direct competition with The Red Garter, located across the street, as the top collegiate hotspot. The Onion had the distinction of having a stage supported by chains, accessible by ladder only. It was no easy task to load amps, drums, and a Hammond organ up the ladder, but once situated, they became the house band. Fortunate for them, because no one was in a hurry to take that equipment back down again. At this point, the attraction of music was great enough that Rich put college on hold.

The Nocturnes got a summer job in Estes Park, Co., a college resort town, and then got booked at Betty Reilly’s A Go-Go in Waikiki, Hawaii. Taking their cue from the way the press had received The Beatles on their arrival in the US the previous year, the Honolulu press was there to greet The Nocturnes and photograph them as they came off the plane. The group's photo then appeared in the newspaper with The Nocturnes Arrive In Honolulu in bold print. A TV interview on Good Morning Hawaii announced their presence on the island.

The gigs at Reilly's were played to Army and Navy servicemen who would often square off for some rowdy dust ups but the band played on. The schedule called for performances seven nights a week, and the original two week run was extended as the group continued to be a draw. The island had its charms, but the gig was a grind, and the band was glad to get back to the mainland at the end of the engagement.

Upon returning home to Colorado, Richard met fellow musician Bill Glasser who was looking to put a band together and persuaded him to come out to Boston. Along with his girlfriend and his guitar, he was able to catch a ride with some friends who were conveniently driving straight through to the east coast. The trip to Boston was not a trouble-free one, as, midway through it, the car was broadsided going through an intersection and had to be replaced. Fortunately, there were no injuries. The only immediately available car that fit the budget was a ‘56 Chevy that they named “The Turtle” due to its inability to exceed 40 mph.

Once in Boston, Rich met up with Bill Glasser and Bill Robar who were roommates in a dormitory at Boston University. They had a friend with a place near the campus where the new arrivals could stay, and with that taken care of, they were able to begin the process of making some music together. All three played guitars and sang, and with drummer Jimmy Sturman and bassist Larry Kiely, they began rehearsing in the basement of the dormitory. Originally playing music by The Stones, The Kinks, The Yardbirds and others, their first gigs were in the dormitory lounge and the Student Union. Borrowing from the title of a Stones album, "December's Children, "Bill Glasser came up with the name Eden's Children, and that was the one that stuck.

Their first club gig was at The Rathskeller Club located at 528 Commercial Ave in Boston. This club featured Barry and the Remains who were the leading band in the area. They were the house band here but opened for The Beatles in several cities during their last national tour of the states in 1966. After several months Eden’s Children pared down from five pieces to three, with both Bill Glasser and Bill Robar departing. They became a high volume power trio and Richard now went by the moniker of “Sham”.

The Boston scene was rife with music and local rock bands like The Lost, The Beacon Street Union, Orpheus, Ultimate Spinach, Phluph, The Front Page Review, Ill Wind, The Hallucinations (who later became The J Geils Band), and others. There were many smaller clubs where all these bands played including The Unicorn, The Catacombs, The Crosstown Bus and The Psychedelic Supermarket. Eden’s Children also played the Ivy League College circuit on the east coast. They were called upon to play in Providence, Rhode Island to substitute for The Cowsills, who were becoming a hit making AM radio pop group. The other group on the bill was The Shades of Blue, a vocal group from Michigan with matching cardigan sweaters. This was an odd pairing of bands, with kids’ mouths wide open it was kindred to the unlikely matchup when Hendrix opened shows for The Monkees.

Alan Lorber had a vision of Boston becoming the next Hippieville Hotbed in the US based upon all the newsworthy interest thrust upon San Francisco, the Haight Ashbury district and all the rock bands that brought worldwide attention. He was a record label promoter with MGM records out of New York and set out to sign as many bands in the area as possible. “The Bosstown Sound” was the name he gave to the project. His strategy was to market the bands native to the city and promote the psychedelic scene in Boston to rival the West Coast. A large venue in the area called The Boston Tea Party would feature bands that had little airplay on the radio prompting a local classical radio station WBCN-FM, through DJ “Mississippi” Harold Wilson, to change its format to “underground music” and feature these bands. College students were turning away from the AM radio 3-minute ditties and turning on to the experimental psych bands that were so prominent.

Several bands were caught up in the storm of signing contracts with Orpheus, Beacon Street Union and Ultimate Spinach being the first to pen contracts to the MGM record label. Eden’s Children was managed by Jonathan Whitcup who arranged for them to record a 4 song demo at RCA Studios on 24th St in New York. He shopped it around and ABC Records took interest. The label had them come over to audition in a small room at their offices on W 66th Street. The record executives had not experienced a loud band of this sort before, but the group was signed to ABC as one of the first hard rock bands on the label.

The studio sessions for the first album started at Columbia Studio B located at 49 E 52nd St in New York with Bob Thiele producing the band. The high volume levels at which Eden's Children were accustomed to playing were something of a challenge to deal with in the control booth. It turned out that the sessions were not nearly completed in the time allotted, so ABC scheduled them to fly out to California along with Bob Thiele and finish recording. They were set up at United Western Recorders in Hollywood with Eddie Brackett behind the controls. After some adjustments on both sides of the glass, the band's sounds were committed to tape.

The self-titled Eden’s Children album rocks heavy with psych fuzz guitar, echoing, rotund bass runs and wild drums. Rich plays hard and fast, much like Alvin Lee in the band Ten Years After at times. The softer tunes have intricate guitar runs with overdubbed vocals by Richard, their only voice. The band fits right in with other power trios like Cream, Hendrix, Chariot and Blue Cheer. The only single released was "Goodbye Girl" b/w "Just Let Go" that made the local charts in the east and the LP made the top 200 on the Billboard and Cashbox charts.

With the album completed, they came back home and opened for Howlin’ Wolf at Steve Paul’s The Scene. A plethora of who’s who folks in rock ‘n’ roll were there including Mitch Mitchell (The Jimi Hendrix Experience), Jim Capaldi (Traffic), Gene Cornish and Dino Danelli (The Rascals), The Chambers Brothers and more, all to witness the blues legend. During their opening show Jimmy Sturman’s hi-hat became disengaged and Mitch came up to make the repairs while they continued to play. After the show, Larry, Sham and Jimmy went across the street with The Chambers Brothers to have coffee. However, instead of finding a quiet corner for swapping stories, they found plates and cups being thrown around the room by a deranged individual railing against the world. At that point, it seemed there had been enough camaraderie for one night, and they scattered for the exits.

The recording for a second LP occurred at Century Sound Studios on W 52nd in New York. Owner Brooks Arthur was behind the controls and lent a different character to the sound of this recording by plugging the instruments directly into the board, without the use of amplifiers. The result of this production choice was a clean and spacious sound that differed from the heavier sound on the first album but added sonic dimension. Steve Schaeffer engineered the sessions. Finishing touches for the album Sure Looks Real took place at Rudy Van Gelder’s Studio in New Jersey. A historic place where many of the early Blue Note Label jazz artists had created legacies. After completing the Van Gelder sessions, the group paid a visit to the Ampeg manufacturing facilities in nearby Linden, NJ ,where they were offered an endorsement deal to promote their amplifiers.

There was little promotion for either LP by the label but the albums were sent out and played all over the country on underground radio. Their support team was Jonathan Whitcup who set up the gigs and co-produced the second album, road manager Jack DiGiovanni and multi-tasker David Glaser would arrange for rental PA’s and a van to tour and set up the equipment. They mostly played the east coast venues but were also featured at The Electric Circus in Philadelphia and did interviews during their travels with the Boston Avatar and on WBUR in Boston, with Jazz and Pop magazine in New York and with Teen Scene magazine and The Ed Baer Show in Philadelphia.

The band was kept busy playing clubs and festivals, including the Spring Sing, held on the Boston Common, a park in the central downtown area. This festival was a peaceful cultural meeting of hippies, food, drugs and bands that spotlighted such acts as The Front Page Review, The Third World Raspberry, Tangerine Zoo, The Freeborne, The Colwell Winfield Blues Band and Eden’s Children along with the headliner Van Morrison’s Controversy. In fact, when Van came to Boston, he didn’t have a band but found some players and when he needed a place to run over some tunes, it was suggested that he use the house where Eden’s Children lived and rehearsed in Weston just 20 minutes east of Boston. Sham and the boys were witness to a first-hand private rehearsal from a celebrated rocker. When finished, he was gone without a word, taking the entourage along with him.

Another highlight was the Brown University Spring Weekend, sharing the bill with The Rascals, Jimmy Page and the Yardbirds, along with The Shangri-Las and James Brown in front of a crowd of 6000. Soon after this event, Larry Kiely left Eden's Children and bassist Rusty Marcus was brought in to finish the scheduled dates. The band then decided it had run its course and separated.

Original member Bill Glasser moved to Los Angeles and worked for a telecommunications company.

Bill Robar moved to Florida and became a tour boat captain.

Rusty Marcus had a short run with the band but remained a part of the family and operates a commercial lighting company in upper Massachusetts.

Both Larry Kiely and Jimmy Sturman had strokes and were no longer able to continue musically.

Richard Schamach maintained his connection to music and has continued playing guitar and keyboards as Richard Lee. He was briefly associated with the first edition of Edgar Winter's White Trash and The Moonrakers before joining forces with the rock horn band Swallow, that put out two albums in the early 70’s. He then disappeared into a variety of local country, rock, 50’s and blues bands over the years. Few people knew the history of “Sham”, a great guitarist who now lives the good life in Scottsdale, Arizona.