Quicksilver Messenger Service

The Avalon and the Fillmore

Quicksilver Messenger Service formed in San Francisco in 1965. Per Wikipedia, Dino Valenti is credited by Cipollina with organizing the group, and Skip Spence played guitar briefly before Marty Balin moved him to Jefferson Airplane; Gary Duncan and Greg Elmore, formerly of the Brogues of Merced, whose "I Ain't No Miracle Worker" appeared on Nuggets, joined, then Jim Murray. The first concert was in December 1965 at the Christmas party of the improv group The Committee, and Vintage Guitar says they met at a dance at Longshoremen's Hall in October 1965. They first played the Avalon Ballroom in May 1966 and returned dozens of times, and played Monterey in June 1967; Murray left that year, in June or August per different Wikipedia pages. Duncan later said they had no ambition toward making records, and Capitol signed them late in 1967 as one of the last Haight-era bands.

Quicksilver Messenger Service (May 1968) reached 63 on the Billboard 200 and Happy Trails (March 1969), recorded live in November 1968 mostly at the Fillmore West and Fillmore East, reached 27 and went gold; its "Who Do You Love" suite filled 25 minutes and Greil Marcus called it one of the best rock and roll recordings to emerge from San Francisco. Rolling Stone ranked Happy Trails 189th among its 500 greatest albums, and "Mona" 88th among its greatest guitar songs. Duncan left in 1969 and Nicky Hopkins joined for Shady Grove; Duncan and Valenti returned, with Just for Love and What About Me (1970). Cipollina left in October 1970 and formed Copperhead. "Fresh Air" (1970) reached 49, their only top 50 single. Freiberg left in 1971 and later joined Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship. Solid Silver (1975) was a reunion album, and the original band dissolved in 1979.

Duncan revived the name in 1984, he and Freiberg toured for the 40th anniversary in 2006, and Duncan left in 2009 so that Freiberg continued the band as David Freiberg's Quicksilver Messenger Service. Gary Duncan died on June 29, 2019, aged 72. Kieron Tyler wrote in The Arts Desk in 2026 that the twin-guitar work influenced Television's Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine. Cherry Red issued the seven-disc box Who Do You Love? The Recordings 1967-1972 on May 29, 2026.