Dino Valenti

Dino Valenti Sometimes Dino Valente Born Chester William Powers Jr. Aka Chet Powers On 7 October 1937 Died 16 November 1994 Was An American Singer-Songwriter And One Of The Lead Singers Of The Rock Group Quicksilver Messenger Service. As A Songwriter He Used The Name Jesse Oris Farrow. He Is Best Known For Writing The Quintessential 1960s Love-And-Peace Anthem "Get Together" And For Writing And Singing On Quicksilver Messenger Service's Two Best-Known Songs "Fresh Air" And "What About Me". He Also Popularized And Controversially Claimed The Copyright Of Billy Roberts's Song "Hey Joe" Made Famous By The Jimi Hendrix Experience . Chet Powers Had Already Become "Dino Valenti" Long Before Arriving In Greenwich Village In The Early 1960s. Before Serving In The Air Force And Spending Time Developing His Style In The Coffeehouses Of Boston And Provincetown Mass. He Performed As Dino Valenti With Small Rock Bands In New England Lounges The Logic Being "Dino Valenti" Had Considerable More Appeal Than "Chester William Powers". During His Years In Greenwich Village Dino Performed In Coffeehouses Such As Manny Roth's Cock 'n' Bull And Cafe Wha? Often With Fellow Singer-Songwriter Fred Neil And Friends Like Blues Singer Karen Dalton A Young Bob Dylan Lou Gossett Josh White Len Chandler Noel Paul Stookey And Others. He Worked His Way Through The Basket-Houses And Crash Pads Over The Next Couple Of Years And Came Closer Than Anyone To Earning A Rep As The "underground Dylan" As Characterized By Ben Fong-Torres In Rolling Stone Years Later . A Popular And Charismatic Performer Dino Influenced A Number Of Other Performers At The Time Including Richie Havens Who Continues To Perform Some Of Dino's Early "train Songs". He Was Limited By An Earlier Arrest From Acquiring A Cabaret License A Requirement That Was Beginning To Be Imposed On Village Entertainers At The Time. Many Performers Left For Greener Pastures Feeling That The Requirement Of A Legal License To Perform Was Too Restrictive As Well As Un-American. By 1963 Valenti Was In Los Angeles Where The Folk-Into-Rock Process Had Already Begun To Coalesce Long Before Its East Coast Counterpart. During This Period He Wrote "Get Together" Published By "Chet Powers" That Could Have Been His Annuity For Life But For Unforeseen Circumstances. In Later Years There Was A Myth That "Hey Joe" Was Written By The Same Pen But Research Shows That Honor Belongs To A Seattle-Based Folksinger Named Billy Roberts Circa 1958. "Get Together" A Quintessential 1960s Love-And-Peace Anthem Was Later Recorded By Jefferson Airplane The Youngbloods Among Others. Valenti Also Played A Role In The Formation Of The San Francisco Psychedelic Rock Group Quicksilver Messenger Service QMS But Claims That He Founded The Band Have Been Disputed By Other Members Of The Group. Powers' Career Was Blighted By Several Drug Busts. He Was Quickly Dispatched From Quicksilver's Early Line-Up After One Such Bust Though He Rejoined The Group In Later Years As Lead Singer And Rhythm Guitarist. After Working His Way Through The Southland Folk Clubs And Making Some Strong Connections Among The Musical Cognoscenti There Valenti Moved North To The San Francisco Bay Area Where He Began To Record For Autumn Records Though No Album Was Ever Issued. He Had Been Friendly With Roger McGuinn In Los Angeles And It Is Said That David Crosby Discovered Drummer Michael Clarke While He Was Playing In A Band With Valenti In Big Sur. At Least Three Members Of The Byrds Have A Connection To Him Lending Credence To The Apocryphal Footnote That He Was Offered A Membership In That Band But Declined. Valenti Did Not Decline The Offer Of A Backup Band However When John Cipollina Guitar Bassist David Freiberg And Jim Murray Harmonica/vocals All Came Under His Wing In 1964. The Three Musicians Looked Up To Valenti He Had A Manager Had Published Songs And Had Even Been Recorded. They Formed Quicksilver Messenger Service QMS . Valenti Was Arrested For Possession Of Marijuana While Riding In A Friend's Car. To Complicate Matters While Awaiting Trial He Was Picked Up By The Police After A Gig On Grant Avenue. They Shook Him Down And Found More Marijuana Then Busted Into His Apartment And Found Amphetamines. He Received A One-To-Ten-Year Sentence At Folsom State Prison. Valenti Had Been In Jail Much Longer Than They Expected. According To One Report He Was Released On Parole But Was Promptly Arrested On Another Drug Charge And Was Back In The Pen Within Two Days. It Was 1966 And It Was A Costly Defense. To Raise Money He Sold The Publishing Rights For "Get Together" To The Manager Of The Kingston Trio Who Had First Recorded The Song In 1964. So Valenti Battled The State Of California While QMS - Who Played In 1967 At The First Human Be-In And At Monterey Pop And Were Heard On The Revolution Movie Soundtrack - Gained Notoriety As The Last Of The Original Bay Area Bands Notably Jefferson Airplane The Grateful Dead Big Brother & The Holding Company And The Charlatans To Land A Major Label Recording Contract. Within A Few Months Valenti Had Spirited Gary Duncan To New York In January 1969 To Form A New Band That Would Be Called The Outlaws. In The Wake Of Duncan's Departure QMS Issued The Half-Studio/half-Live Happy Trails Album In March A Stopgap LP That Brought Them Their First Charted Single An Edited Version Of "Who Do You Love" And Which Is Generally Regarded As One Of The Top Two Or Three Albums Of The San Francisco 'golden Era'. While Valenti And Duncan Were In New York British Keyboardist Nicky Hopkins Took Up The Slack In The QMS Lineup And Recorded Their Third Album Shady Grove December 1969 Featuring His FM Radio Instrumental "Edward The Mad Shirt Grinder". The Outlaws Expedition Had Come To Naught And So Duncan Rejoined The QMS Fold At A New Year's Eve Concert By The Band Along With Valenti Who Was Finally At The Helm After Nearly Five Years Of Being Side-Tracked. On The Next Album "Just For Love" August 1970 Eight Of The Nine Songs Including "Fresh Air" And The Title Track Were Written By Valenti Six Of Them Under The Pseudonym Of "Jesse Oris Farrow" For Contractual Reasons. They Were Able To Squeeze Out Another Album In December "What About Me?" With "Farrow" Again Credited As The Primary Songwriter. Despite Occasional Personnel Changes The Band Maintained Its Pace Through "Quicksilver" 1971 And "Comin' Thru" 1972 Before Calling It Quits. The 2-LP Anthology Was Issued In 1973 And A Short-Lived Reunion Tour And Album "Solid Silver" Took Them Through 1975. Valenti Underwent Brain Surgery For An AVM Arterovenous Malformation In The Late 1980s. In Spite Of Suffering From Short-Term Memory Loss And The Effects Of Anti-Convulsive Medications He Continued To Write Songs And Play With Fellow Marin County Musicians. His Last Major Performance Was A Benefit At San Francisco's Great American Music Hall. He Died Suddenly At His Home In Santa Rosa California On November 16 1994 Leaving Behind A Younger Sister Katherine Kay And Two Sons Joli And Sterling. read less