Associated acts Tracks | ||
 | ||
Years active 1969–1974, 2003-Present Past members Lawrence GonskyPieter Sweval (deceased)Jeff GrobBrendan HarkinChuck ConnollyRichie RannoSteven Kennedy Albums Subway Serenade, Looking Glass, Golden Classics, Vol 4, Looking Glass + Vio/miré, The Looking Glass, Goodbye Hello Members Elliot Lurie, Richie Ranno, Craig Williams, Peter Sweval, Eric Mackey | ||
Looking Glass was an American pop music group of the early 1970s that was part of the Jersey Shore sound. Their 1972 song "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" sold over a million copies.
Contents
Career
The group was formed in 1969, at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The original version of the band broke up after college, with original members Elliot Lurie and Larry Gonsky recruiting two new members to form the classic Looking Glass lineup:
The group had the #1 hit single for the week of August 26, 1972 with "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)", written by Lurie; and also a minor hit "Jimmy Loves Mary-Anne" (1973), subsequently covered by Josie Cotton. "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" was released in the US in June 1972. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for one week and remained on the chart for 16 weeks. This disc, their only million seller, was certified gold by the RIAA on August 9, 1972.
Guitarist Brendan Harkin joined Looking Glass in early 1974, and Lurie left soon afterward to pursue a solo career, replaced by Michael Lee Smith, a singer from Georgia. Later that same year, the group changed its name to Fallen Angels. After Richie Ranno joined as second guitarist in September 1975, keyboardist Gonsky departed, and by late 1975, Fallen Angels's name had changed once again to Starz. Lurie appeared as a solo artist with "Your Love Song," an entry on Billboard's "Easy Listening" chart in 1974.
In 2003, Lurie reconstituted the group with new musicians. Sweval has died, having succumbed to the AIDS virus on January 23, 1990.
Songs
BrandyLooking Glass · 1972
Jimmy Loves Mary AnneSubway Serenade · 1973
From Stanton StationLooking Glass · 1972