The Jagged Edge

Lead guitarist Art Steinman considers himself the “keeper of the flame” for the Jagged Edge, the revered Brooklyn group known for “You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down”, “Xanthia”, and others. Although the group released only two singles, Steinman plans a CD release soon of recorded but previously unreleased and unavailable recordings by the band. We’ll keep everybody informed as soon as the CD is available but, in the meantime, we’re pleased to be able to present Art’s recollections on his former teen band.

An Interview with Art Steinman

60sgaragebands.com (60s): How did you first get interested in music?

Art Steinman (AS): It was the late fifties and I was riding in the back seat of my parent’s two-tone blue and white Chevy Impala Elvis' version of “Hound Dog” came on the car radio and I just flipped over the guitar. I bugged my parents until they agreed to sign me up for guitar lessons. My first steel string guitar was a black and red-burst Harmony Monterey. My first electric was a white National Supro with a Gretsch Compact amp.

60s: Your first band was the Jaguars, correct?

AS: Correct. The Jaguars were the first incarnation of the Jagged Edge. Harley Wishner and I started playing music together when we met at sleep-away camp in 1963. I brought my Harmony with me and Harley had his accordion. Harley took lessons from Kenny Bennet’s mom, Elsie Bennet - the famous accordionist and instructor.

We put on Beatles wigs and played at the socials every Saturday night. We had a ball and became best friends. When we got back to Brooklyn, we wanted to keep the music and friendship going, and we added a third piece, the thirteen-year old drummer named Gary Berman who was a protégé of Gene Krupa, the famous big band drummer. Gary lived in the same apartment building. Harley switched to electric bass mid-way. We did stuff by Roy Orbison, Everly Brothers, Ventures, Beach Boys and all the early Beatles stuff from their first album. The Jaguars morphed into the Jagged Edge in late ‘64 early ’65.

60s: Did the Jaguars feature the exact same line-up as the Jagged Edge?

AS: It was an evolution. Because Gary Berman was so young it limited the ability of the Jaguars to get gigs, even though he was a phenomenal drummer. So we changed the line-up and the name to the Jagged Edge.

Harley Wishner and I "formed" the Jagged Edge in Brooklyn. If I remember correctly, Ronnie brought in Elliot to be lead singer, Harley brought in Kenny to replace Ronnie, and I recruited Drew to play rhythm. Kenny’s brother hooked us up with the managers, and we changed our name to the Jagged Edge to reflect our edgier, R&B sound.

Drew Georgopulos, rhythm guitar and vocals
Art Steinman, lead guitar and vocals
Kenny Bennett, drums
Elliot Ingber, lead vocals
Harley Wishner, bass

That was the line-up that recorded the two singles and the acetates.

60s: Where did the band typically play?

AS: We started out playing local parties, high school talents shows, battles of the bands, etc. Then we got serious about it. Our managers shaped our image, molded our sound, which I believe was unique, and got our record deals with Gallant and Scepter/Jubilee. The best gigs we did were the WMCA Good Guy shows at high schools in the New York area. We were on the bill with many of the bands in the Top 100 Billboard chart: the Association, Critters, Music Machine, Music Explosion, ? and the Mysterians, Percy Sledge, Brian Hyland, and Lenny Welsch. We even played back up for the last three artists at a couple of shows. There were more groups; their names escape me but we were with the cream of the crop in those days.

60s: One of the band's managers was Eric Van Lustbader. How did you hook up with him?

AS: Kenny's older brother brought in Barton Inkeles, who was friendly with Eric. Eric had some deep connections in the music business.

60s: Apparently the Jagged Edge had two different managers…

AS: There were two other managers: Barton Inkeles and Sid Leinwand. Barton was the first. He brought in Eric and Sid. They formed a management company called Cis-Tran Productions. They all had connections in the music industry. They paid for our demo sessions at Bell Studios in Manhattan, and they shopped us to several labels until they landed the contract with Gallant. I still have a copy of our contract with them.

60s: How popular locally did the Jagged Edge become?

AS: Many people considered us to be the best band on the Brooklyn scene at that time. We were treated as celebrities. I was convinced that we were going to be as big as the Stones and the Beatles. But don't take my word for it; you can read some of the testimonials in the guest book on my website.

60s: The Jagged Edge was mentioned in the pages of 16 Magazine. How did this all come about?

AS: Eric was writing for Cashbox Magazine, and he knew Gee Gee. Eric was responsible for getting our picture in Gee Gee's gossip column in 16 Magazine, among other notable publications such as the Saturday Review, Cashbox and the Daily News.

60s: How would you describe the band's sound? What bands influenced you?

AS: We had a unique sound, an American interpretation of the English Invasion, but with a definite Brooklyn flavor to it. In those times, Brooklyn had its own music scene with many bands each striving for its own style. It's hard to describe - you had to be there. We all were heavily influenced by the early Stones, Animals, Beatles, Yardbirds and the Who, in that order, I'd say. Some of the other Brooklyn bands I remember are the Yo-Yos, the Ravens, the Humble Five, Kats Kradle, and the Fourmost Five.

60s: Did you play any of the local teen clubs?

AS: We played in the Village at the Cafe Wha, Bitter End, Cafe Au Go. We really couldn't commit to serious late nightclub gigs because of our age. Keep in mind that I was fifteen, as were most of the other members of the Jagged Edge, when we started to play in earnest.

60s: How far was the band's "touring" territory?

AS: Again, due to our tender ages, we were limited to the tri-state area, with most gigs in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island.

60s: The Jagged Edge released two singles. Where were the 45s recorded?

AS: I believe the first single was recorded at Bell Sound Studios in Manhattan. The second single was recorded at RCA Studios, with Bill Symsc as the engineer. I remember the second session began very late at night, from 8pm to 4am, so late that we were all punchy by the time we did “Xanthia”. That's when I played the slide part using a Zippo lighter on my Gretsch Tennessean. If I had been more awake I wouldn't have played with such wild abandon. When I finished the solo I thought they’d tell me to do another take, but instead they were jumping up and down in the control room with big smiles and thumbs-up! And that’s what made “Xanthia” such a psychedelic classic.

60s: The second 45 was released as by the Offset. What prompted the change in names?

AS: Another local group was using the Jagged Edge name, and they claimed to have a legal ownership. Our managers were told to change our name or face a lawsuit so we changed it to the Off-Set which I'm sure confused our fan base. We were all set to record “It Ain’t Me, Babe” as the Off-Set for our third single, when the Turtles released their version, which went to number one. That was a big blow to us as well.

60s: Did the Jagged Edge write many original songs?

AS: Drew Georgopulos wrote three of the four sides (the fourth being “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Sam Cook). Drew had a real knack for coming up with the right sound for our group. He’s still a top-notch writer and performer.

60s: There are other Jagged Edge recordings that exist.

AS: Drew, Elliot and I each penned a tune, which we recorded as a demo, but were never released. I'm working on a limited edition CD with the four unreleased tunes. When it's ready fans will be able to order it through my website.

60s: There are also rumors of tapes of Jagged Edge and Jaguars rehearsal sessions.

AS: Yes, somewhere I have a tape of Harley and me practicing a song as the early Jaguars. I think we recorded it in ‘63. When we were with Ronnie Sherman he taped just about every rehearsal session. Unfortunately, we don't have any copies and I have not been able to locate him to see if he saved any of them.

60s: Did the band make any local TV appearances?

AS: Unfortunately, no TV appearances.

60s: What year and why did the band break up?

AS: We broke up in 1967, partly due to the name change, but mostly because our parents had other plans for us - such as college.

60s: An online interview with the Blue Magoos from ’67 asked them about other New York groups. Their responses was, “"Well, there's the Jagged Edge. They're called the Headmasters now, for obvious reasons. Like one night the guitar player shows up for work and he doesn't know that he plays guitar. They had to take him downstairs and explain what his guitar was."

AS: The Headmasters must have been a different Jagged Edge. We did change our name to the Offset because the other Jagged Edge released a single before we did, and they threatened to sue our managers. So that must have been the other Jagged Edge. By the way, there were several Jagged Edges in the tri-state area. We started in ‘63 as the Jaguars and morphed into the Jagged Edge. We were not even aware that others existed until the threatened lawsuit.

60s: What keeps you busy today?

AS: I'm involved with various projects, but my job as keeper of the flame for the Jagged Edge is by far the most enjoyable. I get a real kick when I receive emails from fans round the world. Marc Regt of the Dutch band Kek66 just sent me an MP3 of his band's cover of "You Can't Keep A Good Man Down". They recorded it in 1999. Marc says that we are one of his favorites. I've heard that a lot and it's very gratifying. By the way, Kek66 did a great job on the cover, even faithfully rendering my guitar solo as well as Elliot's "Why, why?"

60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with the Jagged Edge?

AS: Up there with the best times of my life. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity, and blown away at how popular we still are with collectors as well as new garage band aficionados.

Visit Art's official Jagged Edge website here.