Coven - The White Witch Of Rose Hall (1969)
Jinx Dawson was a native of Indianapolis, Indiana who began studying opera and the occult in the late 1960s. She, Ross, and Osborne formed Coven in Chicago in the late 1960s. In 1967 to 1968 they toured on concert bills with Jimmy Page's Yardbirds, the then glam band Alice Cooper, and Vanilla Fudge, among many others. Jinx began and ended each Coven concert with the sign of the horns, being the first to introduce this hand sign into rock pop culture. They were signed to Mercury Records, where they put out their first album, Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls in 1969. The music on the album was hard rock psychedelia; what made it distinctive was the heavy emphasis on diabolical subject matter, including songs such as "The White Witch of Rose Hall" (based on the story of Annie Palmer), "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge", and "Dignitaries of Hell". The album concluded with a 13 minute track of chanting and Satanic prayers called "Satanic Mass" (written by their producer, Bill Traut, of Dunwich Productions). Also included inside the album, was Coven's infamous Black Mass poster, showing members of the group displaying the sign of the horns as they prepared for a Satanic ritual over the naked altar. This is the first photographed use of the Horned Hand Salute and the Inverted Cross in rock music pop culture, Coven being the first occult rock band and the pioneers in that genre. (They also hold the distinction of making one of the first "rock videos" to the title track of their third album, "Blood on the Snow" in 1974, seven years before MTV started in the 1981.)
According to Jinx, "The satanic thing actually was something we were interested in and were studying at the time. When you're younger, you're looking for answers" Not arf.
