Bill Bartlett (February 28, 1943) is an American rock guitarist originally from Dayton, Ohio. During his musical career, he has been a member of The Lemon Pipers, Starstruck, and Ram Jam. Both groups scored with major hits.

Background Bill Bartlett's interest in music was sparked off in the late 1950s by watching the Ranch Party show on television and seeing Collins Kids and Joe Maphis perform. Some early influences were, Elvis Presley's guitarist Scotty Moore, Ricky Nelson's guitarist James Burton and Gene Vincent's guitarist Cliff Gallup.Deke Dickerson, Dec 2, 2024 - Guitar Safari Part II, with Bill Bartlett

Bartlett is the guitarist on the hit song "Green Tambourine" by The Lemon Pipers. he would later form the group StarstruckPop Dose, November 3, 2011 - Beyond the Wonder who had a regional hit in the Ohio area with "Black Betty". Bartlett later joined the group Ram Jam who had a hit with their edited version of "Black Betty".200 Greatest 70s Rock Songs Vol. 2 The Stories Behind the Music of the 1970s, By Frank Mastropolo · 2024 - - Pages 25 - 26 "Black Betty" by Ram Jam

Bartlett was described by Allman Brothers Band and Starstruck bassist David Goldflies as "a walking school in rockabilly and acid rock.Times, April 11, 2024 - Allman Brothers Band celebrated in Stroudsburg BY Jim Radenhausen

Career 1960s During the 1960s, Bartlett was the guitarist in the group Tony and the Bandits, a teen band from Ohio. The group comprised Bill Bartlett on guitar, Bill Albaugh on drums, and Bob Dudek on bass. In 1966, the group was expanded with R.G. Nave on keyboards. Nave had actually been in a local rival band, the Wombats.Jazz Rock Soul - The Lemon Pipers, Background Tony and the Bandits had a minor hit with "It’s a Bit of Alright" and they appeared on the Shindig! television show. This group would be the foundation for the Lemon Pipers. They were the resident band at the Boar's Head in Oxford. They also made regular trips to the Mug Club in Cincinnati. They released a double-sided single "Quiet, Please!" in 1967 which was credited to The Lemon Pipers.

The group went to the Buddah label and released their debut single for the label which was "Turn Around and Take a Look" backed with "Danger". Both sides were composed by Bartlett.Jazz Rock Soul - The Lemon Pipers, 1968: Green Tambourine (the album)Buckeye Beat - the Lemon Pipers It was reported by Cash Box in the magazine's 2 September issue that the single was seeing action in Cleveland and the song had been acquired by Neil Bogart of Buddah and the group had been signed to the label on a long term contract.Cash Box, September 9, 1967 - Page 12 Bogart Buys A Crop Of Masters Karma Sutra / Buddah director of pop activities reported an excellent reaction to the record.Cash Box, September 9, 1967 - Page 16 Cash Box RECORD RAMBLINGS, NEWYORK: The single was a Newcomer Pick in the 16 September issue of Cash Box where it received a positive review.Cash Box, September 16, 1967 - Page 32 Cash Box RECORD REVIEWS, Newcomer Picks, TURN AROUND TAKE A LOOK (2:35) (Anjoe, BMI—Bartlett) The single debuted at No. 49 in the Cash Box Looking Ahead chart for the week of 23 September 1967.Cash Box, September 16, 1967 - Page 30 Cash Box LOOKING AHEADCash Box, September 23, 1967 - Page 14 Cash Box LOOKING AHEAD, 49 TURN AROUND, TAKE A LOOK The single peaked at No. 21 for the week of 14 October.Cash Box, October 7, 1967 - Page 13 Cash Box LOOKING AHEAD, 24 TURN AROUND, TAKE A LOOKCash Box, October 14, 1967 - Page 10 Cash Box Looking Ahead, 21 TURN AROUND, TAKE A LOOKCash Box, October 21, 1967 - Page 10 Cash Box Looking Ahead, 26 TURN AROUND, TAKE A LOOK It was still in the chart for the week of 28 October.Cash Box, October 28, 1967 - Page 17 Cash Box Looking Ahead, 46 TURN AROUND, TAKE A LOOK

With their label keen to have them in the main charts, the band was put in with songwriters, Paul Leka and Shelley Pinz. The band was given "Green Tambourine" to record. The song was a success and would get to No. 1 in the Billboard and Cash Box charts in February 1968.Jazz Rock Soul - The Lemon Pipers, “Green Tambourine”

With "Green Tambourine" at No. 15 in the UK Disc & Music Echo Top 30 chart for the week of 2 March 1968, the magazine published a profile of the Lemon Pipers. According to the article, Bartlett was born in South Harrow, London, England. He was also a senior in fine artis at Miami University and he had seven pet cats.Disc and Music Echo, March 2, 1968 - Page 11 THE CRAZY WORLD OF THE LEMON PIPERS, * BILL BARTLETT

1970s - 1990s Barlett was a member of Starstruck. They recorded "Black Betty" which was backed with his composition, "I Should Have Known" and released as a single on Truckstar T-1001 in 1975. It was a successful hit in the Ohio locality but didn't catch on outside the area.45Cat - Starstruck (Bartlett) Black BettyAmerican Songwriter, April 19, 2023 - Where Are They Now?: Ram Jam By Alli Patton

At some stage, producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz realized that the "Black Betty" single had potential. They formed a group around Bill Bartlett and re-edited the Starstruck single and released it with Ram Jam as the artist in 1977. It was a hit and peaked at No. 18 on the US singles chart and in other countries it made the Top Ten.

Later years According to the Cincinnati magazine, in the 2010s, Bartlett was enjoying the quiet life in the rural area of West College Corner, Indiana, and just playing guitar as a hobby.Cincinnati, May 11, 2012 - Off the Charts By Rick Kennedy

Further reading Bobsyouruncle.net - The Bill Bartlett 6/12 Mosrite Special

References

External links Discogs - Bill Bartlett