The Electric Indian
The Electric Indian was a studio group assembled by Bernie Binnick, co-founder of Swan Records which included Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates fame.[1] Influenced by the popularity of American Indians in the media, Binnick put together the group to record an Indian-esque instrumental, "Keem-O-Sabe." It was released first on the small Marmaduke Inc. label where it gained regional airplay around Philadelphia. It was soon picked up for national release on the United Artists label in 1969 and reached the U.S. Top 20 in the Billboard Hot 100.[1] It also made #6 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey, and crossed to the R&B chart. In Canada, the song reached #19 on the RPM Magazine top singles charts.
An album of similar material was recorded, and the follow-up, an Indian style cover version of "Land of a Thousand Dances," (#95, 1969) charted. No future releases were forthcoming. Many of the tracks on the LP were engineered by Joseph Tarsia and recorded at his Philadelphia-based Sigma Sound Studio, with many of the musicians later becoming members of the studio's notable in-house group, MFSB.[1]