I guess he was more an actor than a musician_
Hamilton Camp (30 October 1934 – 2 October 2005) was a British actor and singer.
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Camp was born in London and was evacuated during World War II to the United States as a child with his mother and sister. He became a child actor in films and onstage. He originally performed under the names Robin Camp and Bob Camp, later changing his name to Hamilton after joining the Subud spiritual movement. For a few years, he billed himself as Hamid Hamilton Camp; in this period, he was leader of a group called Skymonters that released an album in 1973 on Elektra. The band consisted of himself (vocals, guitar), Lewis Arquette (vocals, comedy monologues), Lewis Ross (lead guitar), Jakub Ander (bass) and Rusdi Lane (percussionist & mime).
Herb Brown, Dick Rosmini, Bob Camp, Bob Gibson (live at Newport, 1960):
Camp’s debut as a folk singer was at the Newport Folk Festival in 1960; and his first recording, with Bob Gibson, was Bob Gibson & Bob Camp at the Gate of Horn, from 1961.[1] Over the next four decades he maintained a dual career as a musician/songwriter and as an actor. Camp is probably best known, however, as the author of the song “Pride of Man”, which was recorded by a number of artists, notably Quicksilver Messenger Service, Gram Parsons, and Gordon Lightfoot, who included it as one of three songs by other songwriters on his first record.
An early Gibson & Camp gospel song, “You Can Tell the World” was the opening track on Simon & Garfunkel’s first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. As a singer, Camp had a minor hit with the song “Here’s to You,” which peaked at number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968. In 1969 Camp formed a group called The True Brethren with Waqidi Falicoff (guitar, vocals), Raphael Grinage (cello) and Loren Pickford (flute and saxophone). The four later composed the incidental music for the Broadway show Paul Sills’ Story Theatre, which won two Tony awards and was nominated for best show in the 1971 awards.
His voice work as “Elle” the robot policeman in the 1978 film Starcrash and a role in the 1976 Peter Bogdanovich film Nickelodeon. He also performed with the Chicago comedy troupe The Second City and the San Francisco satirical comedy troupe the Committee and appeared in a number of stage productions, including a 2004 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Hollywood Bowl.
His television work includes a supporting role on He & She, a sitcom starring Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss, which ran for one season in 1967–68. He guest-starred on television shows such as The Rat Patrol, The Monkees, M*A*S*H, Soap, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Twilight Zone, Starsky and Hutch, Cheers, The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Three’s Company and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, as the older H. G. Wells. He appeared on two episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Leck, a Ferengi and on one episode of Star Trek: Voyager as a Malon freighter pilot
In 1977, Camp appeared in three episodes of The Feather and Father Gang. In the 1978 opening season of WKRP in Cincinnati, Camp guest-starred in the fifth episode as Del Murdock, owner of Del’s Stereo and Sound. He returned to WKRP as Johnny Fever’s ex-wife’s new fiancé. Also in 1978, he played Warren Beatty’s valet, Bentley, in Heaven Can Wait. In 1980, he appeared as a semi-regular on Too Close for Comfort as Arthur Wainwright, the adventurous, youth-oriented boss of Henry Rush, and on the FOX sitcom Titus (TV series) as Erin Fitzpatrick’s alcoholic father, Merritt. He played Bart Furley, brother of Don Knotts’ character Ralph Furley, on an episode of Three’s Company, “Furley vs. Furley”. He also voiced Professor Moriarty in the English dub of the anime series Sherlock Hound.
He was the voice of Fenton Crackshell, aka GizmoDuck, on the Disney animated series DuckTales and its spinoff Darkwing Duck. He played the role of old Malcolm Corley in LucasArts’ graphic adventure Full Throttle. He voiced the Prophet of Mercy in the 2004 video game Halo 2.
He became Disney Studio’s new voice of Merlin, following the death of Karl Swenson. Camp also voiced for Hanna–Barbera; as Greedy Smurf and Harmony Smurf on The Smurfs series and all of HB’s Smurf television specials, Count Dracula in Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, Turk Tarpit in The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones, Mr. Gruber in Paddington Bear, The Grand Dozer on Potsworth & Co., several villains of the week from A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and Barney Rubble as a kid in The Flintstones Kids. Camp’s final work was on the film Hard Four in early 2005, as well as a musical album produced by James Lee Stanley called Sweet Joy, completed shortly before his death.
He married Rasjadah Lisa Jovita Cisz in 1961, and they had six children. His wife died in 2002.
Camp died of a heart attack on October 2, 2005, four weeks before his 71st birthday.[1] He was survived by his six children and thirteen grandchildren.[1] The causes of death were given by the coroner as cardiac tamponade, dissecting aortic haemorrhage, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. (wikipedia)
Like a lot of early-’60s folkies, Hamilton Camp got more rockin’ as the decade wore on, and on this 1967 album — with the aid of such all stars as Jerry Scheff, Van Dyke Parks, Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer, Bud Shank and producer Felix Pappalardi — he turns in what amounts to a lost sunshine pop classic! The hit title track is probably the best-known song, and reached #76 on the pop singles chart in 1968.
Indeed one of these lost and forgotten jewels of the Ameroican singer/wonwriter scene in the Sixties !
I add the Mountain version of the Pappalardi/Collins composition “Travelin’ In The Dark” … what a difference !
Personnel:
Hal Blaine (drums)
Hamilton Camp (vocals. guitar, harmoica)
Glen Hardin (piano)
Larry Knechtel (piano)
Earl C. Palmer (drums)
Van Dyke Parks (keyboards)
Dick Rosmini (guitar)
Jerry Scheff (bass, tuba)
Toxey Sewell (drums, percussion)
Bud Shank (flute)
Hamilton Camp in a scene from M*A*S*H (1972):
Tracklist:
01. Here’s To You (Camp) 2.19
02. Travelin’ In The Dark (Pappalardi/Collins) 2.38
03. Seven Circles (Camp) 2.26
04. A Lot Can Happen In A Day (Camp) 2.42
05. Lonely Place (Camp) 2.44
06. Love Is (Camp) 2.56
07. For My Loved Ones (Camp) 2.42
08. Flower And Flame (Camp) 3.01
09. Leavin’ Anyhow (Camp) 2.37
10. Garden Of Love (Camp) 3.25
11. Lisa (Camp) 2.14
12. Handwriting On The Wall (Pappalardi, Collins) 2.08
+
13. Travelin’ In The Dark (Mountain version) (Pappalardi/Collins)
On a night in the early summer of 1960, I wandered into the Cafe Wha? on Macdougal Street in Greenwich Village and heard a singer with an enormous voice in a small body. Hamilton Camp (Bob Camp then) had a voice that was high, resonant and clear. He used it to take “Kentucky Moonshiner” and blow the place down, myself included. Later, in conversation, he proved to be friendly, and hilarious, with a manic wit and a gift for mimicry that turned this Oklahoma boy around. He said he was leaving New York the next day to go to Chicago to sing with Bob Gibson. Later that summer he and Bob did a guest set at The Commons, down the block from the Care Wha? They were on their way to the Newport Folk Festival, where they were received like heroes. Ham and Bob sang a bunch of new stuff like, “You Can Tell the World,” “Well, Well, Well” and “The First Battalion’s Home.” My private thoughts were that I had an awful, awful lot of work to do.
Although more recently known as an actor, it’s memories like this from Tom Paxton that make it clear just how important a figure Hamilton Camp was in the then-burgeoning folk music scene. Hamilton passed away suddenly on October 2, 2005, less than a month before his 71st birthday.
A talented performer and passionate artist, Hamilton Camp juggled his twin loves of music and acting throughout his entire life and professional careers. His acting debut came at age 12 in 1946 with a role in the film Bedlam, with Boris Karloff, while his musical career didn’t really take off until 1960 when Albert Grossman brought him together with Bob Gibson. The two performed at the Newport Folk Festival that year and in April of 1961 they recorded the legendary Gibson and Camp at the Gate of Horn album.
Byrds’ co-founder Roger McGuinn was at the Chicago club during the sessions for that recording:
“I loved the way Bob Camp sang with Bob Gibson. Their energy was truly amazing. Songs about the Civil War and the Wild West came to life before my eyes at the Gate of Horn in Chicago when I watched them perform … Camp’s harmonies were chilling. Gibson was a seasoned solo artist but with Camp by his side the combination was incredible!”
Extremely influential–their songs were covered by the likes of Ian and Sylvia, Peter Paul and Mary and Simon and Garfunkel–the duo was short lived as both went on to separate endeavors, with Hamilton concentrating on acting. They did reunite many times over the ensuing decades and released several recordings.
While he “concentrated on acting,” Hamilton still managed to find the time to pursue his musical career. In 1964 his solo debut, Paths of Victory was released and the next year he returned to Newport as a part of the New Folks concert. More solo albums followed in 1967, 1969, 1973 and 1999. His acting career might not hold as much relevance in these pages as his musical life, but it is surely no less impressive. His credits include film, Broadway, television and video game voice overs.
At 70, Hamilton Camp’s musical and acting careers were still going very strong. Steve Gillette shared a stage with him in January, 2005: “Hamilton was in great form, sang beautifully in that silvery elfin voice that had thrilled me on the old Gibson and Camp at the Gate of Horn album.” In the spring of this year, he finished work on the movie Hard Four and just before his passing, he completed a new CD with his son Ray.
Hamilton Camp’s joy of performance spanned two artistic worlds. Like thousands of fans and countless artistic peers, Roger McGuinn was inspired by Hamilton’s artistry in both of his chosen careers: “He was facile and full of life. There was always an impish glee under the surface of everything he did. I will miss him.” (by Tom Paxton; from Sing Out! v.49 #4 (Winter 2006)
The official website:
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