A hard rock group from Washington, D.C. that included Geoffrey Richardson (lead guitarist originally from a suburb of London, England), Johnny Castle (bass), Guy Gengras (drums), Bless Blessington (horns and flute), John Gilman from California (banjo, rhythm guitar), and Guy Bokoles (vocals).
Richardson, Castle, and Blessington were formerly in a group called Blues Idiom.
Crank was represented by Sharon Peyton’s Transcendental Music agency and performed at the Bluesette teen club on Charles Street.
Only a few months after the group formed, William C. Woods wrote a very favorable review of a rock concert for the Washington Post, March 2, at which Crank performed, saying “The locals who opened—Crank—were more in place. This is a six-piece band boasting both taste and volume, and built around a horn man who plays soprano sax as though he had listened to a lot of Sonny Rollins. Listened and learned. Aside from a generally high level of musicianship, the group has something very rare in rock: a sense of the formal development of an entire number, built on time changes, well-planned transitions, short, intelligent solos, and carefully orchestrated conclusion.”
