About Kangaroo
Formed
1968
Genre
Fitness & Workout
Country-rock outfit Kangaroo was formed in 1968 by vocalist Barbara Keith and drummer/vocalist N.D. Smart II, the former a folksinger who'd performed at the famed Greenwich Village club Café Wha? and the latter an alumnus of a series of bands including the Remains and Bo Grumpus. After relocating from Boston to Washington, D.C., Keith and Smart recruited multi-instrumentalist John Hall and guitarist Ted Spelies (who previously teamed in the British Walkers) to form Kangaroo; the group soon became a fixture at D.C.'s Peppermint Lounge, signing to MGM to release its debut single "I Never Tell Me Twice." Kangaroo's self-titled LP and a second single, "Frog Giggin'," followed but the band dissolved in early 1969. Smart later co-founded Mountain with Leslie West, Hall played in Orleans, and Keith recorded a pair of solo LPs for Verve. ~ Jason Ankeny
