The Electric Flag, formed in 1967, was a blues rock soul group that consist… Read Full Bio ↴The Electric Flag, formed in 1967, was a blues rock soul group that consisted of guitarist Mike Bloomfield, drummer/vocalist Buddy Miles, vocalist Nick Gravenites, keyboardist Barry Goldberg, and bassist Harvey Brooks. Bloomfield formed Electric Flag after his stint with The Butterfield Blues Band. The band reached its peak with the 1968 release, A Long Time Comin', a fusion of rock, jazz, and R&B styles that charted well in the Billboard Magazine Pop Albums listings. The Flag's initial recording was a soundtrack for The Trip, a movie about an LSD experience by Peter Fonda, written by Jack Nicholson, done with director Roger Corman.

With his great appreciation for blues, soul, and R&B, Mike Bloomfield wanted to create a group of his own that would feature what he called "American music." He was inspired not only by the big band blues of B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, and Guitar Slim (Eddie Jones), but also by the contemporary soul sounds of Otis Redding, Steve Cropper, Booker T & the MGs, and other Stax recording artists. He also drew inspiration from traditional country, gospel, and blues forms. He organized the Electric Flag, initially called the American Music Band, in the spring of 1967, not long after he produced a session with Chicago harp player James Cotton that featured a horn section. Bloomfield decided that his new band would also have horns and would play an amalgam of those American musics he loved. He and Goldberg assembled the group, under Albert Grossman's management, in San Francisco and immediately began working on its first project -- the soundtrack for the film The Trip.

The band made its debut appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival, the first of the '60s rock music extravaganzas. Now called the Electric Flag, the group was well received by the audience of 55,000, though its performance fell short of Bloomfield's high standards. Following Monterey, the Flag proceeded to tour the Northeast and perform in the San Francisco area while working on a recording for Columbia Records. Though a critical success, the Flag remained largely unknown to the general public due in part to the band's inability to complete its initial record.

By early 1968, drummer Buddy Miles had become a dominant force in the Flag's aesthetic direction. The group's repertoire by then included numerous contemporary soul covers which featured Miles and many classic blues tunes. The band produced fewer than a dozen original pieces, mostly written by vocalist Nick Gravenites, and Bloomfield's original "American music" concept appeared to have narrowed considerably. By May 1968, only a month after the release of the aptly-titled A Long Time Comin', Mike Bloomfield quit the group, and though they strove to carry on under the direction of Buddy Miles, the Electric Flag was effectively finished. Personality conflicts, differing esthetics, and a series of drug problems hastened the band's downfall.

Though the Electric Flag was together in its original configuration less than a year, the band did make a strong impression on critics and musicians, primarily in the San Francisco area where they were based. One of the first rock groups to include horns, the Electric Flag was contemporaneous with the earliest edition of Blood, Sweat and Tears with Al Kooper.

Al Kooper left BS&T in April 1968, and was inspired by a jam recording with Moby Grape to the organize the similarly structured Super Session album. He included Bloomfield, Barry Goldberg and, after Bloomfield left the session due to a bout of insomnia, Stephen Stills. Bloomfield and Kooper also toured together, while drummer and vocalist Buddy Miles went on to form the Buddy Miles Express and also play in Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys.

A reunion of sorts took place in 1974 with the Electric Flag releasing The Band Kept Playing, but the recording was not a commercial or critical success and the band quickly disbanded after several months of sporadic gigs.

On July 28 and 29, 2007, a concert took place at the Monterey County Fairgrounds commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival. One of the acts featured was a one-time reunion of The Electric Flag, anchored by original members Gravenites, Goldberg, and Hunter, backed by members of the Tower of Power and The Blues Project. The one hour set featured material from the first album, as well as several blues covers.

Losing Game
The Electric Flag Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Get up in the mornin′
Roll outta bed
St-start the day tore down
But the worst is ahead

Oh, baby's on the telephone
Said she "found someone new"
I′d cry some tears

But I'm outta them, too

I played the losing game
I play the losing game
People, no one to blame
I play the losing game

Get out on the stand
Cats all 'round
"Hey here come Crowe
Big game downtown"

I tried to roll a seven
And it comes up eight
Snake-eyes realized
Couldn′t get me straight

Play the losing game
I play the losing game
People, no one to blame
I play the losing game

I go to my doctor
He said, "my man
Got a back full a-nothin′
And a mind full of scam"

I give him my money
I waited all day
He was out ballin'
And don′t you know, it took me away

Ow! Mama, mama
Please go my bail
She said, "Sorry, wrong number"
So it's back in the jail

And if I ever get out
You know by my song
Singing, "people, people, people,
Your right is my wrong"

I play the losing game
I play the losing game
People, no one to blame
I play the losing game

I play the losing game
I play the losing game
People, no one to blame
I play the losing game

I play the losing game

I play the losing game
People, no one to blame...

Overall Meaning

The Electric Flag's song "Losing Game" is a Blues-Rock tune about a man who seems to be in a continuous struggle. The song begins with the singer waking up and realizing that he has a tough day ahead of him, suggesting that he feels lost and low. As if that wasn't enough, he then receives a call from his lover who informs him that she has found another man, leaving him without any emotional support. Even though he wants to cry, he has no more tears to shed, implying that he has experienced many disappointments before.

The lyrics continue by depicting the man as a gambler who plays the losing game, trying to roll a seven and ending up with an eight, which is the opposite of what he was expecting. He feels like he is snake-eyed and can't seem to get ahead. He then goes to the doctor for help, but the doctor only takes his money and goes out balling, which makes him feel cheated. The song ends with the singer in jail, calling out for his mother, only to hear a stranger's voice on the other end of the line. The lyrics of the song are a metaphor for the disappointments in his life, with the losing game symbolizing his continuous struggle to get ahead.

Line by Line Meaning

Get up in the mornin′
Starting a new day

Roll outta bed
Getting up from the bed

St-start the day tore down
Starting the day in a bad mood

But the worst is ahead
Expecting a bad thing to happen

Oh, baby's on the telephone
Receiving a call from ex-lover

Said she 'found someone new'
Telling that she has found a new lover

I′d cry some tears
Feeling sad

But I'm outta them, too
Having no tears to cry

I played the losing game
Feeling like a loser

Get out on the stand
Going to the stage

Cats all 'round
Audience gathering