The Vagrants

The Vagrants were a soul-influenced mid 60s garage rock band from Long Island, New York. The group first got together in 1965. The line-up was: Peter Sabatino (lead vocals), Leslie West (guitar), Larry West (bass), Jerry Storch (organ), and Roger Mansour (drums). The Vagrants hold the distinction of being one of the few garage rock bands who were signed to the folkie label Vanguard. The group recorded several songs for this label, with "I Can't Make a Friend" being the best known of the bunch. The band later signed with and recorded a few more singles for the Atco label in 1967. Although they never had a major hit song peak on the Billboard charts in America, their rock cover of Otis Redding's "Respect" did do well in some Eastern regions in 1967. The song "I Love You, Yes I Do" was featured on the soundtrack for the groovy hippie soft-core exploitation feature "Blonde on a Bum Trip." The Vagrants broke up in late 1968. Leslie West went on to form the hugely successful 70s hard-rock group Mountain while Peter Sabatino now fronts a new version of the Vagrants who have performed at various live shows in the New York area.