It has been said that every musician is involved in some aspect of music history, and in the case of Chas Johnson, a British keyboardist active in the '60s and '70s, this would be the transformation of the Jug Trust into the Bronx Cheer. While this sounds like some kind of intrigue involving girlie magazines and rude noises, it is actually the same old boring obscure rock band history. Johnson was involved in a style of rock influenced by jug band music, a style that although gimmicky, is lively enough to have kicked off trends during at least a half dozen eras in the music business.

By the time Johnson joined the Jug Trust, at which point the group changed its name to the Bronx Cheer, it was something like the fourth time around in terms of a jug band music fad. This time the main perpetrator was a band named Mungo Jerry. With guitarist, vocalist, and harmonica puffer Brian Cookman writing material such as Barrel House Player and Party of One, the Jug Trust trio had released one single flop in the Mungo Jerry matcher category when they decided to beef things up with keyboards. Bronx Cheer's material, including an album and EP, was released on the Dawn label, an interesting imprint that also put out sides by the fine guitarist Mike Cooper during the same period. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi