Uploaded December 2010 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
Joy of Cooking were one of the earliest [some say THE earliest] female-led rock bands. Formed in Berkeley in 1967 by pianist and main songwriter Toni Brown, along with folk-singing guitarist Terry Garthwaite (also known as Ruby Green), their music was an ear-catching polyrhythmic amalgam of folk, rock, jazz, blues and gospel elements driven by the duo's interweaving vocal verve atop a freewheeling, innovative three-man rhythms section. The rest of the band consisted of bass guitarist David Garthwaite (Terry's brother), drummer Fritz Kasten and percussion player Ron Wilson. Keyboard player Stevie Roseman replaced Toni Brown for a time and bass players Happy Smith and eventually Jeff Neighbor replaced David Garthwaite on bass guitar. The music was a mix of "hippy"(sic) sensibility on blues and folk roots, and the lyrics often reflected feminist or environmental themes.
Joy of Cooking recorded three albums with Capitol Records. Brown and Garthwaite had solo careers afterwards and also released albums as a duo, mostly notably "Cross Country," "Midnight Blues" is, to our ears, one of the standout cuts from that fine album recorded in Nashville.
The San Francisco Chronicle's Jon Carroll described The Joy of Cooking as "a remarkable rock and roll band, half ballads and half boogie, with a driving rhythm section fronted by two swell women, Toni Brown (a smart, crafty songwriter who could evoke sentiment without sentimentality) and Terry Garthwaite (who sings like an angel with dirty wings.)"
Rather unusually (especially for the time) the members of the band were all over thirty when they cut their first record. According to some, it is for this reason that they and Frank Sinatra veteran John Palladino to produce their first record.
If you like this cut (and if you don't you've got a hole in your soul), you should check out our posting of the Joy's finest studio outing (in our opinion), "Sometimes Like A River (Loving You), one of the most beautiful love songs ever written, in our humble opinion.
Thanks for falling by.
Joy of Cooking were one of the earliest [some say THE earliest] female-led rock bands. Formed in Berkeley in 1967 by pianist and main songwriter Toni Brown, along with folk-singing guitarist Terry Garthwaite (also known as Ruby Green), their music was an ear-catching polyrhythmic amalgam of folk, rock, jazz, blues and gospel elements driven by the duo's interweaving vocal verve atop a freewheeling, innovative three-man rhythms section. The rest of the band consisted of bass guitarist David Garthwaite (Terry's brother), drummer Fritz Kasten and percussion player Ron Wilson. Keyboard player Stevie Roseman replaced Toni Brown for a time and bass players Happy Smith and eventually Jeff Neighbor replaced David Garthwaite on bass guitar. The music was a mix of "hippy"(sic) sensibility on blues and folk roots, and the lyrics often reflected feminist or environmental themes.
Joy of Cooking recorded three albums with Capitol Records. Brown and Garthwaite had solo careers afterwards and also released albums as a duo, mostly notably "Cross Country," "Midnight Blues" is, to our ears, one of the standout cuts from that fine album recorded in Nashville.
The San Francisco Chronicle's Jon Carroll described The Joy of Cooking as "a remarkable rock and roll band, half ballads and half boogie, with a driving rhythm section fronted by two swell women, Toni Brown (a smart, crafty songwriter who could evoke sentiment without sentimentality) and Terry Garthwaite (who sings like an angel with dirty wings.)"
Rather unusually (especially for the time) the members of the band were all over thirty when they cut their first record. According to some, it is for this reason that they and Frank Sinatra veteran John Palladino to produce their first record.
If you like this cut (and if you don't you've got a hole in your soul), you should check out our posting of the Joy's finest studio outing (in our opinion), "Sometimes Like A River (Loving You), one of the most beautiful love songs ever written, in our humble opinion.
Thanks for falling by.
