AND Englebert!
I will concede that point, sir.
From 1968-9, they had one of the top selling albums---not just a song---and were reknowned as the hottest concert band out there.
Yes, but it was just a single album riding on the coattails of a single hit - albeit, a big one.
They toured with Led Zeppelin and in a rarity Zep and Fudge alternated who opened the set. When they toured in 69 with Hendrix, they frequently captured the show. Deep Purple, for one, cited the Fudge as their inspiration.
Granted, but let's not forget that Zep and Deep Purple were still in their respective relative infancy, while Hendrix even opened for...The Monkees.
The only thing that hampered them from being better known was a disastrous second album, a "concept album" that featured almost no music and a lot of news clips interspersed with the "Beat Goes On." This was the brainchild of their producer, the legendary Shadow Morton, and he later admitted he screwed up the band.
Because the years '68-'70 were at the cusp of a "psychedelic" era between "pop" & "rock," quite a few bands gambled on experiential projects. IMO, Fudge never established themselves sufficiently to justify such a gamble. Only the Moody Blues was able to pull off succeeding in that genre at the time - and even for them their audience was niche.
Their symphonic rock easily predated groups like "Electric Light Orchestra," and individually three of the four members were at one time considered the best on their instrument in the business---Mark Stein, Tim Bogert, and Carmine Appice.
Timing is everything. It's too bad they never reached an audience that might have appreciated their work.
I still have a vinyl copy of "Beck, Bogert, and Appice" around somewhere. Rod Stewart did the vocals IIRC.
AND Englebert!