The Ace of Cups

In the swirling psychedelic haze of San Francisco's 1967 Summer of Love, a revolutionary sound emerged from an unlikely source. The Ace of Cups, one of America's first all-female rock bands, would become both a symbol of the era's boundless creativity and a testament to the obstacles facing women in rock music.

The band's story began when Mary Gannon, a New York transplant who had briefly played bass with Daemon Lover, connected with Marla Hunt, a classically trained pianist from Los Angeles. Their shared vision of an all-female rock group soon attracted Mary Ellen Simpson, a guitarist from Indio, California, and Diane Vitalich, a San Francisco native who had even played drums with Bill Haley and the Comets. The final piece of the puzzle came in the form of Denise Kaufman, a colorful character who had been arrested during Berkeley's Free Speech Movement and rubbed shoulders with Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters, who dubbed her "Mary Microgram."

Their manager, astrologer Ambrose Hollingworth, christened them The Ace of Cups after the tarot card depicting a cup with five streams of water, representing each band member. His advice was simple: "go with the flow" and see where the music would take them. What followed was a brief but incandescent career that would influence generations of female musicians.

The band's debut in early 1967 quickly caught the attention of the San Francisco music scene. Their sound blended rock, R&B, and folk elements, with all members except Vitalich sharing lead vocal duties while contributing to the songwriting process. This collaborative approach created a unique musical identity that stood out even in the experimentally rich Haight-Ashbury scene.

Recognition came from the highest levels of rock royalty. When Jimi Hendrix invited them to open for him at a free Golden Gate Park concert in June 1967, it marked a pivotal moment in their career. Hendrix's enthusiasm was genuine and lasting—that December, while in London, he told Melody Maker: "I heard some groovy sounds last time in the States, like this girl group, Ace of Cups, who write their own songs and the lead guitarist is hell, really great."

The Ace of Cups became fixtures on the San Francisco circuit, headlining intimate venues like The Matrix and opening for major acts at the Avalon Ballroom and Fillmore. Their television appearance on West Pole in 1968, alongside Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, showcased their growing prominence. They also opened for The Band's first concert under that name in 1969, cementing their place in rock history.

Despite interest from multiple record labels, the band never released a studio album during their initial run. Their management believed they were worth more than the offered contracts, while some members worried that touring obligations might conflict with family responsibilities. Instead, they contributed vocals to significant recordings by Jefferson Airplane, Mike Bloomfield, and Nick Gravenites, leaving their mark on the era's soundscape without achieving commercial breakthrough.

The band's trajectory took a tragic turn at the infamous Altamont Speedway Free Festival in December 1969. Kaufman, pregnant and married to saxophonist Noel Jewkes, was struck in the head by a thrown beer bottle, suffering a fractured skull that required emergency surgery. This incident, symbolic of the era's darker turn, foreshadowed the band's eventual dissolution.

By 1972, various pressures had taken their toll. Some members grew frustrated with their lack of commercial success, others pursued different interests, and several found it challenging to balance motherhood with musical careers. As original members departed and men joined to fill the gaps, the band's original vision faded until Kaufman, the last remaining founder, decided to end the chapter.

For decades, The Ace of Cups existed primarily as a footnote in rock history, their legacy preserved mainly through bootleg recordings and the memories of those who witnessed their performances. The 2003 release of It's Bad for You But Buy It!, a compilation of rehearsals, demos, and live recordings, introduced their music to a new generation and received critical acclaim.

The band's most remarkable chapter began in 2016 when four original members—Gannon, Kaufman, Simpson, and Vitalich—reunited to record their first studio album. Produced by Dan Shea and featuring collaborations with rock luminaries including Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Bob Weir, Taj Mahal, and Buffy Sainte-Marie, the self-titled Ace of Cups was finally released in 2018, over fifty years after their formation.

Their 2020 follow-up, Sing Your Dreams, continued this late-career renaissance with collaborations including Jackson Browne, Sheila E., and Steve Kimock. These albums proved that The Ace of Cups remained a vital creative force, their voices seasoned by experience but still carrying the revolutionary spirit that defined their early years.

The story of The Ace of Cups represents more than just another tale of 1960s rock—it illuminates the challenges faced by women in music and the enduring power of artistic vision. Their influence on subsequent generations of female musicians cannot be overstated, proving that sometimes the most important contributions to rock history aren't measured in chart positions or gold records, but in the doors opened and the barriers broken for those who followed.