The Blues Magoos – We Ain’t Got Nothin’ Yet

“(We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet” – Single by Blues Magoos from the album Psychedelic Lollipop. Released October 1966.

Blues Magoos were a Psychedelic Rock group from The Bronx who were part of a New York City music scene that included The Lovin’ Spoonful and The Youngbloods. “(We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet” was their only hit, reaching its chart peak the first week of 1967. The band, led by lead singer Emil “Peppy Castro” Thielhem, was a huge influence on Syd Barrett and his band Pink Floyd. Thielhem later became lead singer of the band Balance.

This song occupies an interesting little niche in music history: somewhere between Acid and Punk Rock, with a little Mothers Of Invention “Freak Out” mixed in. The band is quite boastful in the song, declaring, “Nothin’ can hold us and nothin’ can keep us down, and someday our names will be spread all over town.” Of course, they ended a one-hit-wonder, but the arrogance was part of a display that included big, stylish hair and electric blue/flashing light suits. They were hard to miss when they performed the song on various TV shows.

It was written by Ron Gilbert, Ralph Scala and Mike Esposito. It reached #5 on the Hot 100.

This was used in the 1968 movie Easy Rider.

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