Carnival Of Life - Music

Lee Michaels Born Michael Olsen On November 24 1945 Is A Pop/rock Singer-Songwriter And Business Entrepreneur That Was The 'next Big Thing' Of The 70s Pop Scene For A Time. Born In Los Angeles California Michaels Also Known As Mike Olsen Began His Music Career With The Sentinals A San Luis-Based Surf Rock Group That Included Musicians Merrell Fankhauser And Johny Barbata Later Of The Turtles And Jefferson Airplane . Michaels Joined Barbata In The Strangers As Well A Group Led By Joel Scott Hill Before Moving To San Francisco And Taking In The Experimental Rock Scene. In 1967 He Signed A Contract With A&M Records Releasing His Debut Album 'Carnival Of Life' Later That Year. Michaels' Choice Of The Hammond Organ As His Primary Instrument Was Unusual For The Time As Was His Bare-Bones Stage And Studio Accompaniment Which Was Usually Just A Single Drummer. Said Person Was Most Often A Musician Known As 'Frosty' Bartholomew Eugene Smith-Frost} Or Was Journeyman Artist Joel Larson Of The Grass Roots. This Unorthodox Approach Attracted A Following In San Francisco And Some Critical Notice But Michaels Did Not Achieve Any Real Commercial Success Until The Release Of His Fifth Album. Titled Simply 'Fifth' The Album Produced A Surprise U.S. Top 10 Hit Rising All The Way Up To #6 In The Fall Of 1971 In "Do You Know What I Mean". Michaels Also Produced A Top 40 Follow-Up A Cover Version Of The Motown Standard "Can I Get A Witness" Originally Sung By Marvin Gaye . Michaels Recorded Two More Albums For A&M Before Signing A Contract With Columbia Records In 1973. His Columbia Recordings Failed To Generate Much Interest And Michaels Went Into Semi-Retirement From The Music Business By The End Of The Decade. He Currently Owns A Chain Of Restaurants Named 'Killer Shrimp' Around Southern California. As The Rumor Goes After A Trip To New Orleans Michaels Invented A Specialty Dish That His Friends Liked So Much That They Urged Him To Open A Restaurant Based Around. As A Business Entrepreneur Michaels Has Also Found Considerable Success. read less