Glass Moon

Glass Moon was an American rock band from Raleigh, North Carolina. The group released three albums and charted three singles between 1980 and 1984.

The American progressive rock group Glass Moon was founded in the early 1970s by guitarist John Wheliss, with Rodney Barbour on vocals, guitar and flute and Nestor Nunez on bass and vocals. A drummer, Chris Jones joined in 1972. The group was influenced by the early symphonic work of Genesis, Yes, Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM), and Gentle Giant. Glass Moon's early work, such as "Barsoomian Kingdom", contained clear references pointing to their British Rock roots. David Adams, on keyboards, joined the band in 1974. The band toured the US east coast until 1977 when the group temporarily disbanded.

Adams, Nunez and Jones reunited in 1978. Guitarist John Wheliss was replaced by Jamie Glaser (Jean-Luc Ponty, Chick Corea). They recorded two albums for Radio Records. The first, “Glass Moon” in 1979 was distributed by RCA, but failed to gain significant commercial attention. Their second album, in 1981 “Growing In The Dark”, was distributed by Atlantic and yielded a hit single; a remake of the Hollies "On A Carousel", which made it to number 50 on the Billboard singles chart in 1982.

Nunez and Jones went on to other projects. Adams produced one more Glass Moon album, “Sympathetic Vibration”, on MCA Records in 1984 with new personnel: guitarists Rod Abernethy and Dick Smith, Bobby Patterson on bass and vocals, and drummer Doug Morgan from 3PM and the Steve Morse Band. They toured the US in 1986. Dick Smith later went on to tour with both Earth, Wind & Fire, and Kenny Loggins as lead guitarist.

Founding Members

• John Wheliss (until 1977) - guitar
• Rodney Barbour (until 1977) - vocals, acoustic guitar, flute
• Nestor Nunez (until 1983) - bass, vocals

Additional Original Members

• Chris Jones (1972–1983) - drums
• Dave Adams - (1974–1986) - vocals, keyboards

Later Lineup Members

• Jamie Glaser (1978–1983) - guitar
• Dick Smith (1984–1986) guitar
• Bobby Patterson (1984–1986) - bass, vocals
• Doug Morgan (1984–1986) - drums
• Rod Abernathy (1984–1986) - guitar (as "Rod Dash")

Discography

Albums

• Glass Moon (Radio Records, 1980) U.S. #148^[1]
• Growing in the Dark (Radio Records, 1982)
• Sympathetic Vibration (MCA Records, 1984)

Singles

• "(I Like) The Way You Play" (1980) U.S. #108
• "On a Carousel" (1982) U.S. #50
• "Cold Kid" (1984) U.S. #103^[2]

References