THE ACE OF CUPS

Michael Ochs Archives / Handout via Getty Images

Band signs deal 50 years after opening for Jimi Hendrix

Bill Shafer

Denise Kaufman shared the stage with Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. But while those groups went on to become the immortals of rock, Kaufman’s group, Ace of Cups, inexplicably vanished from memory. If you can’t remember any of their songs, it’s because they never made a record. Why they were never offered a recording contract is one of the greatest mysteries of the era.

Formed in Haight-Ashbury, during the Summer of Love, the Ace of Cups was the first all-woman rock band from the San Francisco Bay area scene. Critics, including “Rolling Stone” magazine, said the group had it all: quality songs, fivepart harmonies and energetic, live performances. Mary Gannon (bass), Marla Hunt (organ, piano), Kaufman (guitar, harmonica), Mary Ellen Simpson (lead guitar) and Diane Vitalich (drums) were not in it for stardom, they were in it for the music. Kaufman believes the industry wasn’t quite ready for a band of women rockers.

“It was almost unheard of for a woman to play drums or guitar,” Kaufman remembers. “And we were happy to create a new imagery to break that gender stereotype.”

By 1972, the band members had moved on. Gannon became a music teacher, Vitalitch became a shiatsu practitioner, Simpson became a mental health caseworker and Kaufman became a yoga instructor with clients that included Madonna, Quincy Jones and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Still, the band members always wondered what might have happened if they had the chance to make a record. Fifty years later, they got that chance.

The Cups were booked to play the 75th birthday celebration of iconic Woodstock counterculture peace activist, Wavy Gravy. The founder of High Moon Records happened to catch their performance and did what the Ace of Cups had been anticipating for 50 years — he signed them to a recording contract. All the original members, except for keyboardist Hunt, participated. The first of three albums was released in 2018, the second in June 2020, both to great critical acclaim. The third is still to come. The Ace of Cups, all women in their 70s, proved they still can rock and showed that it is never too late to realize your dreams.

“I hope we inspire people to keep doing what they love,” Kaufman said. “I think ageism is a bigger glass ceiling than sexism. We hope to help break through.”

The Ace of Cups waited half a century for their chance. Now in their 70s, they intend to make the most of it.

“I believe that cultures that don’t honor and appreciate their elders are very shortsighted,” Kaufman said. “We have much to offer, and we still can rock.”