Lee Michaels - wikipedia Lee Michaels Michaels in 1968. Lee Eugene Michaels ( born Michael Olsen, November 24, 1945, Los Angeles, California ) is an American rock musician who sings and accompanies himself on organ, piano, or guitar. He is best known for his energetic virtuosity on the Hammond organ, peaking in 1971 with his Top 10 pop hit single, `` Do You Know What I Mean ''. Contents 1 Career 2 Discography 2.1 Studio albums and live album 2.2 Singles 3 References 4 External links Career Michaels began his career with The Sentinals, a San Luis Obispo, California - based surf group that included drummer Johny Barbata ( later of The Turtles, Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship ). Michaels joined Barbata in the Joel Scott Hill Trio, a group led by guitarist Joel Scott Hill. Michaels later moved to San Francisco, where he joined an early version of The Family Tree, a band led by Bob Segarini. In 1967, he signed a contract with A&M Records, releasing his debut album, Carnival of Life, later that year with David Potter on Drums. As a session musician, he played with Jimi Hendrix, among others. Michaels 's choice of the Hammond organ as his primary instrument was unusual for the time, as was his bare - bones stage and studio accompaniment : usually just a single drummer, most often a musician known as `` Frosty, '' real name Bartholomew Eugene Smith - Frost, who was a member of Sweathog, and whose bare handed technique was an inspiration for John Bonham, or with Joel Larson of The Grass Roots. This unorthodox approach attracted a following in San Francisco, and some critical notice. ( Sounds Magazine, for one, reported of Michaels that he had been called `` the ultimate power organist. '' ) But Michaels did not achieve real commercial success until the release of his fifth album. That album, titled 5th and released in 1971, produced a surprise US Top 10 hit ( # 6 in the fall of 1971 ), `` Do You Know What I Mean. '' It was an autobiographical homage to the loss of a girlfriend. Michaels 's Top 40 follow - up, a cover version of the Motown standard, `` Can I Get a Witness, '' peaked at # 39 on Christmas Day of 1971, eight years to the week after Marvin Gaye 's version peaked at # 22. Billboard ranked `` Do You Know What I Mean '' as the No. 19 song for 1971. Michaels recorded two more albums for A&M before signing a recording contract with Columbia Records in 1973. But his Columbia recordings failed to generate much interest, and Michaels had gone into semi-retirement from the music industry by the end of the decade. In 1991, Michaels obtained full rights to all of his A&M recordings in a settlement of disputes that had arisen from A&M granting licenses to Delicious Vinyl for the use of Michaels 's recordings by means of digital sampling on several Young MC recordings. Once he had regained full ownership rights, Michaels granted licenses to Rhino Records and Shout Factory to release several `` best of '' albums over the years. In November 2015, Manifesto Records released his entire catalog of A&M recordings on compact disc and vinyl in February 2016. Discography Studio albums and live album Title Details United States Carnival of Life Release date : 1968 Label : A&M Formats : LP -- Recital Release date : 1968 Label : A&M Formats : LP -- Lee Michaels Release date : 1969 Label : A&M Formats : LP 53 Barrel Release date : 1970 Label : A&M Formats : LP 51 5th Release date : 1971 Label : A&M Formats : LP 16 Space and First Takes Release date : 1972 Label : A&M Formats : LP 78 Lee Michaels Live Release date : 1973 Label : A&M 2 LP Formats : LP 135 Nice Day for Something Release date : 1973 Label : Columbia Formats : LP 172 Tailface Release date : 1974 Label : Columbia Formats : LP -- Saturn Rings Release date : 1975 Label : ABC Formats : LP -- `` -- '' denotes releases that did not chart Singles Year Title Peak chart positions Record Label B - side Album US 1968 `` Love '' -- A&M Records `` Sounding the Sleeping '' Carnival of Life `` If I Lose You '' -- `` My Friends '' Recital 1969 `` Goodbye, Goodbye '' -- `` The War '' `` Heighty Hi '' 106 `` Want My Baby '' Lee Michaels 1970 `` What Now America '' -- `` Uummmm My Lady '' Barrel 1971 `` Do You Know What I Mean '' 6 `` Keep the Circle Turning '' 5th `` Can I Get a Witness '' 39 `` You Are What You Do '' 1972 `` Hold on to Freedom '' -- `` Own Special Way ( As Long As ) '' Space and First Takes 1973 `` Same Old Song '' -- Columbia Records `` Rock and Roll Community '' Nice Day for Something `` Rock Me Baby '' -- A&M Records `` Heighty Hi '' 5th References Jump up ^ Richie Unterberger, Liner Notes for Roxy 's Roxy ; www.richieunterberger.com. ^ Jump up to : `` Mr. Piano Power ''. Sounds. Spotlight Publications. 28 August 1971. p. 3. Jump up ^ Bartholomew Eugene Smith - Frost is based in Texas, where he continues to perform as Barry Smith or B.E. `` Frosty '' Smith. Experience Summary ; www.soulhat.net ; Biography of Barry Smith ; www.frostysmith.tripod.com. Jump up ^ Billboard Year - End Hot 100 singles of 1971 External links Lee Michaels Biography on allmusic.com Lee Michaels MySpace tribute page Archive.org version of LeeMichaels.com ( aka ' lee michaels personal web site ' ) 2009 - 2015 Lee Michaels Albums Carnival of Life Recital Lee Michaels Barrel 5th Space and First Takes Lee Michaels Live Nice Day for Something Tailface Saturn Rings Singles `` Love '' `` If I Lose You '' `` Goodbye, Goodbye '' `` Heighty Hi '' `` What Now America '' `` Do You Know What I Mean '' `` Can I Get a Witness '' `` Hold on to Freedom '' `` Same Old Song '' `` Rock Me Baby '' VIAF : 85891942 LCCN : n91072673 ISNI : 0000 0000 7822 497X GND : 134830628 BNF : cb13804906g ( data ) MusicBrainz : 5c601227 - 87b5 - 4c65 - ad99 - 84f0eb9008ca Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lee_Michaels&oldid=806810772 '' Categories : 1945 births Living people American male singers American singers American pianists A&M Records artists Columbia Records artists ABC Records artists American singer - songwriters American rock keyboardists American organists American rock pianists American rock guitarists American male guitarists Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Edit links This page was last edited on 24 October 2017, at 08 : 45. 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Question: who sings the song do you know what i mean
Answer: Lee Eugene Michaels