I had no idea this existed until I looked it up just now. I already knew of two versions of "The Letter": the original version by The Box Tops, which reached #1 in 1967 and was recorded when lead singer Alex Chilton was 16 (it's great), and Joe Cocker's version from 1970, which features lots of horns and some amazing piano playing from Leon Russell. The Arbors' version is odd and unusual: the first verses feature breathy vocals that I found almost unlistenable, a later verse features harmonies and heavy orchestration, and the ending is played through a psychedelic phase shifter. I didn't particularly like it but I found it fascinating.
The Arbors were from, appropriately enough, Ann Arbor, Michigan. They were two pairs of brothers, one pair of which were twins. Their version of "The Letter" reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Their followup was an album that included their version of Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" - it seems to be oddly psychedelic, and I only had the strength to listen to 37 seconds of it, as it appeared to be a long weird road that I did not want to travel down. They also covered The Doors' "Touch Me", Simon & Garfunkel's "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her", "Hey Joe", and two Beatles songs, "Good Day Sunshine" and "Gotta Get You Into My Life" (their spelling). Someday, I'll summon up the nerve to listen to all of these - they'll likely be something I've never heard before. (If I do this, I'll update this page.)
After this, the group started writing music for commercials, which they did for 30 years. Of the four members of The Arbors, only one, Tom Herrick, is still alive.
Created October 3, 2026.