REVIVING THE OLD GUARD
EMITT RHODES WAS SOMETHING of a cult figure in music. The singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer never achieved widespread commercial success or fame, but his music inspired and influenced many who would follow him. Hailed in his early solo artist years as a “one-man Beatles,” Rhodes released a superb run of albums in the early ’70s before virtually disappearing for more than 40 years.
Even before his solo period, Rhodes was the central figure and primary songwriter in The Merry-Go-Round, a Los Angeles psychedelic pop group. But The Merry-Go-Round weren’t his first professional group. That honor goes to The Palace Guard, a Hollywood outfit that existed for a few years in the middle ’60s. The young group featured three singing brothers — Don, John and David Beaudoin — backed by guitarist Chuck McClung, bassist Rick Moser and 15-year-old Rhodes on drums.
The band recorded a clutch of quality tunes, but The Palace Guard never made an album. In 2021, Grammy Award-winning label Omnivore Recordings collected the group’s entire body of recorded work — 12 songs — and released it as All Night.
