Ace of Cups is an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1967. The members were Mary Gannon (bass), Marla Hunt (organ, piano), Denise Kaufman (guitar, harmonica), Mary Ellen Simpson (lead guitar), and Diane Vitalich (drums).
Gannon
was born in New York
and moved to San Francisco in the early 1960s. She played bass for a
short while in a band called Daemon Lover. Hunt, who had grown up in Los
Angeles,
had been playing the piano since she was three. Like Gannon, she also
moved to San Francisco in the early 1960s. Hunt was introduced to Gannon
through a mutual friend, and Gannon suggested that they form an
all-female rock band. Simpson was from Indio, California. She began
playing the guitar when she was 12. Like Gannon and Hunt, she
moved to San Francisco in the early 1960s. Vitalich, a San Francisco
native, was a veteran of several bands. She once played drums with Bill
Haley and the Comets. Simpson and Vitalich joined Gannon and Hunt's band
around the same time. The last woman to join Ace of Cups was Kaufman. She also had the
most colorful background of the group. Kaufman had been arrested during
the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley and she was involved with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. The
band was named Ace of Cups by their manager, astrologer Ambrose
Hollingworth, after the Ace of Cups tarot card, which shows a cup with
five streams of water.
Ace of Cups made their debut in the early spring of 1967. In late June, Jimi Hendrix invited the band to open for him at a free concert in Golden Gate Par. The band played regularly, headlining at smaller clubs such as The Matrix and performing as the opening act at larger venues such as The Avalon Ballroom and the Fillmore. In mid-1968, the band appeared on a local television program, West Pole, along with San Francisco legends Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. Several record companies were interested in signing Ace of Cups,
but Hollingworth and Polte felt the band was worth more than the record
companies were offering.
Several factors led to the break-up of Ace of Cups. Some of the band members were frustrated at the group's lack of commercial success. Others were interested in other pursuits. The band folded in 1972. In 2003, Ace Records released It's Bad for You But Buy It!, a CD of "rehearsals, demos, TV soundstage recordings, and in-concert tapes". The band's performances on the 1968 television program West Pole were released on DVD in 2008 by Eagle Vision.
Several factors led to the break-up of Ace of Cups. Some of the band members were frustrated at the group's lack of commercial success. Others were interested in other pursuits. The band folded in 1972. In 2003, Ace Records released It's Bad for You But Buy It!, a CD of "rehearsals, demos, TV soundstage recordings, and in-concert tapes". The band's performances on the 1968 television program West Pole were released on DVD in 2008 by Eagle Vision.
