The Honeybus — “He Was Columbus”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — October 10, 2022

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

605) The Honeybus — “He Was Columbus”

I couldn’t find a song I wanted to feature that featured the term “indigenous peoples”, so here is the Honeybus’ “He Was Columbus”. So sue me.

Another glorious track from the glorious Honeybus (see #6, 52, 207, 434, 562). “Columbus” was from the ’70 album Story, which Angelfire says “was eventually released without promotion . . . by which time Honeybus was no more . . . [but] remains a classic of the era, [with] twelve shining gems . . . . [that] went nowhere”. (https://www.angelfire.com/pop2/honeybus/story.htm) Bruce Eder calls it “a beautiful album, with the kind of ornate production and rich melodies that had become increasingly rare with the passing of the psychedelic era” (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/honeybus-mn0000259186/biography).

As to the Honeybus, Jittery White Guy puts it perfectly:

Honeybus had the pop touchstones of the Beatles and the Hollies, while balancing the more sunshiny, twee aspects of the early Bee Gees with some mild touches of post-Sgt. Pepper psychedelia. . . . Their songs were unusually tuneful, some lovely little hooks paired with sweet harmonies, and it’s almost shocking to hear these songs today and realize the band had pretty much zero commercial success (at least here in the US). . . . It’s definitely one of the long lost classics of the late 60s.

(https://www.jitterywhiteguymusic.com/2021/02/honeybus-story-1970.html?m=1)

I have added a Facebook page for Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock! If you like what you read and hear and feel so inclined, please visit and “like” my Facebook page by clicking here.

Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise

Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (“relating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainment” — dictionary.com).

The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.

When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.

Just click on the first blue block for a month to month subscription or the second blue block for a yearly subscription.