MU was a band formed by Jeff Cotton (aka Antennae Jimmy Semens) after he left the Magic Band in 1969. Cotton hooked up with friends Merrell Fankhauser, Larry Willey and Randy Wimer from his old band The Exiles. The band developed a subtle and mellow sound which was lifted above the average by Cotton’s fine slide work and some interesting rhythms.
Their first single and debut album were released on very small labels and were not given the distribution and advertising they deserved.
The band moved to Hawaii in 1973, Willey replaced by Jeff Parker on bass but the band fell apart the following year when Cotton and Wimer decided to follow their Christian beliefs full-time.
For a more detailed Jeff Cotton discography see the Space Blues website
Single releases
- 1972 US 7″ Ballad of Brother Lew/ Nobody Wants To Shine on Mantra Records M-101
- 1972 US 7″ One More Day/You’ve Been Here Before on MU Records MS-101A / 102B. Label has blue background with white clouds
- 1972 US 7″ One More Day/You’ve Been Here Before on MU Records MS-101A / 102B. Label is pale blue only. Almost certainly one of the 100 promo copies pressed.
- 1973 US 7″ On Our Way To Hana/Too Naked For Demetrius on MU Records MS-103A / 104B. Label has blue background with white clouds
Album releases
- 1971 US Original MU on ERA/RTV 300; a small Los Angeles label with a small print run.
- 1972 US Original MU on CASS 100; another small label with an even smaller print run. This issue has the same front cover does not include the lyric insert or the foil back cover.
- 1974 UK Original of MU on United Artists UAG 29709
- 1982 Italian The Last Album on Appaloosa AP 017 – 14 tracks – says Recorded 1974 on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Mixed at E.C.R. Studios, Emerald City, CaliforniaA 1981. Cover has hair flying in the wind heroic shot on front. Manufactured by IREC Milano. For all intents and purposes this is the second MU album which didn’t get released because the band had fallen apart.
- 1985 US Original of Children of the Rainbow on Blue Form BF1 – 1974 recordings issued on limited edition in 1985 by Greeg Breth – 91/300 Merrell handwritten in black ink on back – also has Lew Irwin Interviews MU about strange lights. Has three tracks not listed elsewhere.
- 1988 UK Re-issue of MU on Reckless Records RECK 4
- 1988 UK of End Of An Era on Reckless Records RECK 7. The same tracks as The Last Album release.
- 1988 UK The Maui Album (Merrell Fankhauser/MU) on Reckless Records RECK 10
- 1988 UK CD of Best Of MU on Reckless Records CDRECK 4 – the first MU album complete and a selection of END OF AN ERA.
- 1995 Swedish CD MU – The Band From The Lost Continent. The Complete Maui Sessions on Xotic Mind XMCD-1. A double CD including the MU and The Last Album tracks plus singles and the Lew Irwin Earth News interview.
- 1997 US CD MU on Sundazed SC 11037. Another double set containing the MU and The Last Album tracks plus singles and the Lew Irwin Earth News interview. The booklet includes a history of the band written by Merrell Fankhauser.
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