Merrel Wayne Fankhauser
b. 23 December 1943, Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Fankhauser moved to California's Pismo Beach at the age of 16 and became immersed in the local surfing scene. Following years of legal argument, he has been credited as writing the Surfaris’ hit, Wipe Out. Having played with the Sentinals and Impacts, Merrell then founded the Exiles, a pop-based act based in Lancaster, home of Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa. In 1966 Fankhauser embraced psychedelia with a new act, Fapardokly, which later evolved into HMS Bounty. It was during this period that the artist recorded a solo version of Everybody's Talking, but his rendition lost out to that of Harry Nilsson's. Fankhauser then founded Mu, a fascinating act which spent much of its career based on Hawaii, before recording MERRELL FANKHAUSER on their demise. This melodic, acoustic selection captured his craft to perfection and became the first of several excellent solo releases. CALLING FROM A STAR featured guitarist John Cipollina, who also contributed to several later albums. During the '80s Fankhauser expanded his repertoire to include rock ‘n’ roll and pop, enjoyed a spell as host of a popular television show and undertook several live appearances. He also supervised judicious repackaging of previously released and archive material as well as continuing to record prolifically. Merrell Fankhauser remains one of the most fascinating figures to emerge out of California's '60s’ milieu.