Alan Merrill has had a long and varied career as a pop musician on three continents. Born Allan Sachs, the son of singer Helen Merrill and horn man Aaron Sachs, singer, guitarist, bassist and songwriter Merrill played in several bands in Greenwich Village as a teen before moving to Japan, where, as a member of the group the Lead, he signed a recording deal with RCA Victor Tokyo in 1968. The Lead had one big hit in Japan, "Aoi Bara," before breaking up, leaving Merrill as a solo act. He recorded two albums in 1970 and 1971, Merrill 1 and Alone in Tokyo, becoming a huge star in Japan's domestic market, working as a TV host and soap opera actor as well as recording music. Tired of being viewed as a "teen idol," Merrill formed the glam rock group Vodka Collins with drummer Horoshi Oguchi, recording the enduring Tokyo-New York album for EMI Records, which spawned three hit singles, including a beautiful Merrill composition, "Sands of Time." Merrill left Vodka Collins to form The Arrows in the U.K. in 1974.
Buy CD
Buy on iTunes
© 2008