Jeff Beck
10CC
Discography:
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Deriving their name from the metric total of semen ejaculated by the average male, the tongue-in-cheek British art-pop band 10cc comprised an all-star roster of Manchester-based musicians: vocalist/guitarist Graham Gouldman was a former member of the Mockingbirds and the author of hits for the Yardbirds, the Hollies, Herman's Hermits and Jeff Beck; singer/guitarist Eric Stewart was an alum of Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders; and vocalists/multi-instrumentalists Kevin Godley and Lol Creme were both highly regarded studio players.
Formed in 1970, 10cc began as a session unit dubbed Hotlegs; after establishing residence at Stewart's Strawberry Studios, Hotlegs scored a surprise U.K. smash with the single "Neanderthal Man," subsequently issuing an LP, Thinks: School Times and touring with the Moody Blues. After signing to Jonathan King's U.K. label and rechristening themselves 10cc (a name suggested by King himself), the group backed Neil Sedaka before recording 1972's "Donna," a sly satire of late-'50s doo wop.
The single reached the number two position on the British charts, establishing not only a long-running string of major hits, but also the quartet's fondness for ironic and affectionate reclamations of musty pop styles. The follow-up, "Rubber Bullets," topped the charts in 1973, and both the subsequent single "The Dean and I" (a nostalgic look at academia recalling Jerry Lee Lewis’ "High School Confidential") and an eponymously titled debut LP further solidified 10cc as a major force in British pop.
While 1974's Sheet Music and singles, including the Brian Wilson-esque "Wall Street Shuffle," "Silly Love" and "Life Is a Minestrone" continued 10cc's dominance of the U.K. charts, they found the American market virtually impenetrable prior to the release of 1975's "I'm Not in Love," which topped the charts at home and climbed as high as number two in the States.
After 1975's Original Soundtrack and the next year's How Dare You!, Godley and Creme exited to focus on video production as well as developing the Gizmo, a guitar modification device the duo invented. In the wake of their departure, Gouldman and Stewart continued on alone, enlisting the aid of session men to record 1977's Deceptive Bends, highlighted by the perennial "The Things We Do for Love."
After recruiting guitarist Rick Fenn, keyboardist Tony O’Malley and drummer Stuart Tosh as full-time members, 10cc returned in 1978 with Bloody Tourists, which yielded the number one reggae nod "Dreadlock Holiday." Following a series of unsuccessful efforts, including 1980s Look Hear?, 1981's 10 Out of 10 and 1983's Window in the Jungle, the group disbanded; while Stewart produced Sad Cafe and worked with Paul McCartney, Gouldman supervised recordings for the Ramones and Gilbert O’Sullivan before joining Andrew Gold in the duo Wax.
In 1992, the original line-up of 10cc reunited for the LP Meanwhile, while only Gouldman and Stewart remained for 1993's Mirror Mirror. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
For The Record
Members include Paul Burgess (unofficially joined group as tour drummer, 1973), drums; LolCrème (born Lawrence Crème on September 19, 1947, in Manchester, England; left group, 1976), guitar, vocals; Rick Fenn (joined group, 1977), guitar;Kevin Godley (born on October 7, 1945; left group, 1976), drums, vocals; Graham Gouldman (born on May 10, 1945, in Manchester, England), bass, vocals; Tony O'Malley (joined group, 1977), keyboards; Duncan Mackay (joined group, 1978), keyboards; Stephen Pigott (joined group for tour, 1993), keyboards; Eric Stewart (born January 20, 1945, in Manchester, England), guitar, vocals; Stuart Tosh (joined group, 1977), drums, vocals; Gary Wallis (joined group for tour, 1993), drums.
Stewart and Gouldman became members of Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, 1966; Stewart, Godley, and Crème form band Hotlegs and record number-two U.K. single "Neanderthal Man" on Fontana Label, 1970; Gouldman joined Hotlegs for tour supporting Moody Blues, 1970; Hotlegs used as studio and backup band for Neil Sedaka's Solitaire album and subsequent tour, 1971; 10cc signed by Jonathon King's U.K. label, 1972; first single, "Donna," charted at number two in U.K., 1972; released debut album, 10cc, 1973; "Rubber Bullets" single reached number one in U.K., 1973; released Sheet Music, 1974; released Original Soundtrack on Mercury label, 1975; released How Dare You!, 1976; Crème and Godley left group to pursue career as musical duo and market Gizmo musical instrument, 1976; Stewart and Gouldman recorded Deceptive Bends with hit single "The Things We Do for Love," 1977; Stewart and Gouldman hired Paul Burgess, Rick Fenn, Tony O'Malley, and Stuart Tosh, 1977; Duncan Mackay hired as keyboardist, 1978; released Bloody Tourist, 1978; original lineup of Crème, Godley, Stewart, and Gouldman reunite for album …Meanwhile, 1992; Stewart and Gouldman re-formed 10cc without Godley and Crème for album Mirror Mirror and Japanese tour, 1993.
The singles were collected on the group's 1973 self-titled first album, a recording that, according to Jonathon King in the liner notes for the reissue of their first two albums, "made many converts. They were literate, witty, tongue in cheek but musically superb. At that stage they reflected the past magic of groups like the Beach Boys yet added a whole new lyrical dimension of their own." 10cc toured to support the first album, appearing at the Isle of Man in August of 1973 with drum support from Paul Burgess.
10cc's second album, Sheet Music, was considered another step forward for the group in terms of artistic growth. Singles such as "Wall Street Shuffle" and "Silly Love" increased the band's popularity, while the song "Worst Band in the World" was refused airplay for its cynical portrayal of rock stardom and its hedonistic urges. The album is often considered a classic of the early 1970s in terms of production and songwriting. According to King: "This album was, and is, I still believe, a pop classic. It contains incredible brightness and sparkle which emerged effortlessly, almost without trying."
Following the first two albums, 10cc failed to capitalize on the overwhelming positive reviews they had received from the American rock press. They abandoned UK Records and signed with Mercury/Phonogram, releasing Original Soundtrack in 1975. Featuring the Stewart and Gouldman composition "I'm Not in Love," the album became a major American hit. According to Stewart, the song involved 16 recordings each of three different voices, creating an eerie production quality that serves as an ironic commentary on the lyrics.
The group's fourth album, How Dare You!, contained the modestly successful singles "I'm Mandy Fly Me" and "Art for Art's Sake." Declaring that the "music is so blazingly bright, the songs so brashly witty, and the effect so cumulative" in a Phonograph Record review, critic Bud Scoppa noted: "Every song on How Dare You! is gem-hard, multi-faceted, and informed by some delicious irony…. The group is all the more impressive because—unlike Beefheart or Steely Dan—it holds itself rigidly within the stylistic parameters of pop."
Source: artistdirect
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HOWLIN' WOLF
In the history of the blues, there has never been anyone quite like the Howlin' Wolf. Six foot three and close to 300 pounds in his salad days, the Wolf was the primal force of the music spun out to its ultimate conclusion. A Robert Johnson may have possessed more lyrical insight, a Muddy Waters more dignity, and a B.B. King certainly more technical expertise, but no one could match him for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits.
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He was born in West Point, MS, and named after the 21st President of the United States (Chester Arthur). His father was a farmer and Wolf took to it as well until his 18th birthday, when a chance meeting with Delta blues legend Charley Patton changed his life forever. Though he never came close to learning the subtleties of Patton's complex guitar technique, two of the major components of Wolf's style (Patton's inimitable growl of a voice and his propensity for entertaining) were learned first hand from the Delta blues master. The main source of Wolf's hard-driving, rhythmic style on harmonica came when Aleck "Rice" Miller (Sonny Boy Williamson) married his half-sister Mary and taught him the rudiments of the instrument. He first started playing in the early '30s as a strict Patton imitator, while others recall him at decade's end rocking the juke joints with a neck-rack harmonica and one of the first electric guitars anyone had ever seen. After a four-year stretch in the Army, he settled down as a farmer and weekend player in West Memphis, AR, and it was here that Wolf's career in music began in earnest.
By 1948, he had established himself within the community as a radio personality. As a means of advertising his own local appearances, Wolf had a 15-minute radio show on KWEM in West Memphis, interspersing his down-home blues with farm reports and like-minded advertising that he sold himself. But a change in Wolf's sound that would alter everything that came after was soon in coming because when listeners tuned in for Wolf's show, the sound was up-to-the-minute electric. Wolf had put his first band together, featuring the explosive guitar work of Willie Johnson, whose aggressive style not only perfectly suited Wolf's sound but aurally extended and amplified the violence and nastiness of it as well. In any discussion of Wolf's early success both live, over the airwaves, and on record, the importance of Willie Johnson cannot be overestimated.
Wolf finally started recording in 1951, when he caught the ear of Sam Phillips, who first heard him on his morning radio show. The music Wolf made in the Memphis Recording Service studio was full of passion and zest and Phillips simultaneously leased the results to the Bihari Brothers in Los Angeles and Leonard Chess in Chicago. Suddenly, Howlin' Wolf had two hits at the same time on the R&B charts with two record companies claiming to have him exclusively under contract. Chess finally won him over and as Wolf would proudly relate years later, "I had a 4,000 dollar car and 3,900 dollars in my pocket. I'm the onliest one drove out of the South like a gentleman." It was the winter of 1953 and Chicago would be his new home.
When Wolf entered the Chess studios the next year, the violent aggression of the Memphis sides was being replaced with a Chicago backbeat and, with very little fanfare, a new member in the band. Hubert Sumlin proved himself to be the Wolf's longest-running musical associate. He first appears as a rhythm guitarist on a 1954 session, and within a few years' time his style had fully matured to take over the role of lead guitarist in the band by early 1958. In what can only be described as an "angular attack," Sumlin played almost no chords behind Wolf, sometimes soloing right through his vocals, featuring wild skitterings up and down the fingerboard and biting single notes. If Willie Johnson was Wolf's second voice in his early recording career, then Hubert Sumlin would pick up the gauntlet and run with it right to the end of the howler's life.
By 1956, Wolf was in the R&B charts again, racking up hits with "Evil" and "Smokestack Lightnin'." He remained a top attraction both on the Chicago circuit and on the road. His records, while seldom showing up on the national charts, were still selling in decent numbers down South. But by 1960, Wolf was teamed up with Chess staff writer Willie Dixon, and for the next five years he would record almost nothing but songs written by Dixon. The magic combination of Wolf's voice, Sumlin's guitar, and Dixon's tunes sold a lot of records and brought the 50-year-old bluesman roaring into the next decade with a considerable flourish. The mid-'60s saw him touring Europe regularly with "Smokestack Lightnin'" becoming a hit in England some eight years after its American release. Certainly any list of Wolf's greatest sides would have to include "I Ain't Superstitious," "The Red Rooster," "Shake for Me," "Back Door Man," "Spoonful," and "Wang Dang Doodle," Dixon compositions all. While almost all of them would eventually become Chicago blues standards, their greatest cache occurred when rock bands the world over started mining the Chess catalog for all it was worth. One of these bands was the Rolling Stones, whose cover of "The Red Rooster" became a number-one record in England. At the height of the British Invasion, the Stones came to America in 1965 for an appearance on ABC-TV's rock music show, Shindig. Their main stipulation for appearing on the program was that Howlin' Wolf would be their special guest. With the Stones sitting worshipfully at his feet, the Wolf performed a storming version of "How Many More Years," being seen on his network-TV debut by an audience of a few million. Wolf never forgot the respect the Stones paid him, and he spoke of them highly right up to his final days.
Dixon and Wolf parted company by 1964 and Wolf was back in the studio doing his own songs. One of the classics to emerge from this period was "Killing Floor," featuring a modern backbeat and a incredibly catchy guitar riff from Sumlin. Catchy enough for Led Zeppelin to appropriate it for one of their early albums, cheerfully crediting it to themselves in much the same manner as they had done with numerous other blues standards. By the end of the decade, Wolf's material was being recorded by artists including the Doors, the Electric Flag, the Blues Project, Cream, and Jeff Beck. The result of all these covers brought Wolf the belated acclaim of a young, white audience. Chess' response to this was to bring him into the studio for a "psychedelic" album, truly the most dreadful of his career. His last big payday came when Chess sent him over to England in 1970 to capitalize on the then-current trend of London Session albums, recording with Eric Clapton on lead guitar and other British superstars. Wolf's health was not the best, but the session was miles above the earlier, ill-advised attempt to update Wolf's sound for a younger audience.
As the '70s moved on, the end of the trail started coming closer. By now Wolf was a very sick man; he had survived numerous heart attacks and was suffering kidney damage from an automobile accident that sent him flying through the car's windshield. His bandleader Eddie Shaw firmly rationed Wolf to a meager half-dozen songs per set. Occasionally some of the old fire would come blazing forth from some untapped wellspring, and his final live and studio recordings show that he could still tear the house apart when the spirit moved him. He entered the Veterans Administration Hospital in 1976 to be operated on, but never survived it, finally passing away on January 10th of that year.
But his passing did not go unrecognized. A life-size statue of him was erected shortly after in a Chicago park. Eddie Shaw kept his memory and music alive by keeping his band, the Wolf Gang, together for several years afterward. A child-education center in Chicago was named in his honor and in 1980 he was elected to the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. In 1991, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A couple of years later, his face was on a United States postage stamp. Live performance footage of him exists in the CD-ROM computer format. Howlin' Wolf is now a permanent part of American history.
Born Chester Arthur Burnett, June 10, 1910, in West Point, MS; died of complications from kidney disease January 10, 1976, in Chicago, IL; son of Dock and Gertrude Burnett (plantation workers); married first wife c. 1930s; married wife, Lillie, c. 1950s; children: (second marriage) Barbara, Betty Jean. Religion: Southern Baptist.
Blues singer, guitarist, and harmonica player. Toured with fellow bluesmen, including Robert Johnson and Sonny Boy Williamson c. 1930s. Worked as singer, producer, and advertising salesman at KWEM Radio in West Memphis, TN. Released first album in 1951 on Chess Records; toured the U.S. and Europe, with Chicago as his primary venue, 1952-c. 1976. Appeared in short film Wolf, 1971. Military service: U.S. Army, stationed in Seattle, WA.
Awards: Honorary doctor of arts degree from Columbia College, Chicago, 1972; Montreux Festival award for album Back Door Wolf, 1975.
Albums:
Big City Blues, United, 1966.
The Real Folk Blues (recorded c. 1956-65), Chess, 1966.
(With Hubert Sumlin, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, and others) More Real Folk Blues (recorded c. 1953-57), Chess, 1967.
The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (featuring Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and The Rolling Stones), Chess, 1971.
Message to the Young, Chess, 1971.
The Back Door Wolf, Chess, 1973.
Change My Way, Chess, 1977.
Moanin' in the Moonlight (recorded 1951-59), Chess, reissue, 1987.
Cadillac Daddy: Memphis Recordings, 1952, Rounder, 1989.
Chicago: 26 Golden Years, Chess.
His Greatest Sides, Vol. 1, Chess.
Howlin' Wolf: Moanin' in the Moonlight, Chess.
Live and Cookin' at Alice's Restaurant, Chess.
Evil, Chess.
Howlin' Wolf: Chess Blues Masters, Chess.
The Legendary Sun Performers: Howlin' Wolf (British import), Charly.
I'm the Wolf, Vogue.
This Is Howlin' Wolf's New Album (British import), Cadet C.
From Early til Late, Blue Night.
Going Back Home (British import), Syndicate Chapter.
Heart Like Railroad Steel: Rare and Unreleased Recordings, Vol. 1, Blues Ball.
Can't Put Me Out: Rare and Unreleased Recordings, Vol. 2, Blues Ball.
Ridin' in the Moonlight, Ace.
Sources: Cub Koda, All Music Guide; artistdirect.com; B. Kimberly Taylor
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
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WEBB WILDER Q&A
Webb Wilder Q&A
There are two Nashville sounds.
There's the overproduced dreck on FM radio, the music you hear in LongHorn. Forget Music Row, though, and hunt for the good stuff. There's real music out there, Webb Wilder says, and real people making it.
JIMMY PAGE
Jimmy Page is without doubt one of the most influential guitarist of our time. Jimmy Page went from a bright eyed, young Skiffle lad to a founding member of Led Zeppelin, Page is a prolific songwriter and musician.
Born in England, Page haphazardly discovered the guitar as an adolescent and according to sources is largely, self taught. Like many young musicians of this time, he was inspired by the blues and rock-n-roll music being imported from America. Page’s first televised appearance was in 1957 playing in a Skiffle group.
Page would often jam with other icons but then only other local musicians like Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. He eventually would go on to be a session musician and work on songs for other artists more notably, The Who, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull and Van Morrison. Some of these recordings were documented, some not and some controversial.
In 1964 and 1965, Page was offered Eric Clapton’s spot in The Yardbirds. He declined both times and didn’t actually join the band until 1966. The band eventually had some line-up drop outs. Page decided to recruit Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones and out of the ashes of the failing Yardbirds rose Led Zeppelin.
Led Zeppelin created classic rock radio standards such as Dazed and Confused, Whole Lotta Love, Immigrant Song, Black Dog, and Stairway to Heaven.
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The music produced, composed and played by Page during his Led Zeppelin days continues to be the archetype for future rock, punk and metal bands. His techniques in downstroke guitar riffs, innovative dual guitar harmony, mesmerising solos and on-stage theatrics are some of the most quoted inspirations. According to a 2005 interview, Page estimated that he owned over 1500 guitars but he is most well-known for playing a double headed Gibson and Les Pauls. Gibson would go on to release signature Jimmy Page models.
After the death of Bonham, Led Zeppelin broke up. Page continued to be active within the music industry including forming a supergroup with Yes bassist, Chris Squire called XYZ, featuring on a Honeydripper’s recording, film soundtracks and session work. In 1988, he released a solo album called Outrider. In the 90s, he successfully collaborated with Whitesnake front man, David Coverdale. In 1994, he reunited with Plant again for a widely acclaimed MTV Unplugged session.
Four years later, a US rapper, Puff Daddy sampled Kashmir for his hit, Come with Me which featured on the Godzilla soundtrack. Page played a cameo role in the video to support the single.
Page has carried on in this vain by playing live with modern acts and re-mastering Led Zeppelin material.
Die-hard (and not so die-hard) fans were in awe and admiration when Page joined the surviving Led Zeppelin members for a reunion concert in 2007. The reunion caused an international stir and media frenzy.
Juanita Appleby
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THE YARDBIRDS
Discography:
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The Yardbirds were a British R&B/Psychedelic influenced band that launched the careers of seminal musicians, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.
Their best known songs were gems such as: ''For Your Love'', ''Heart Full Of Soul'' and ''I'm A Man'' and were a highly influential band - their guitar sound - heavy with feedback - was unique at the time.
They celebrated a period in their career of a joint musicianship between Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck but went on to become a quartet for the remainder of their career, despite experiencing many line-ups changes.
The band split in 1968, after the classic ''difference in musical direction'' and played their final gig in July 1968 at the Luton Technical College in Bedfordshire, England.
From the ashes of The Yardbirds emerged the formation of music giants, Led Zeppelin. Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja reformed The Yardbirds in the 1990's - in 2003 the album ''Birdland'' was released.
Nearly all the surviving members from the band attended the induction into the ''Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame'' in 1992, including Beck and Page.
Sources: Wendy Gabriel; Lloyd Hemingway
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Humble Pie
Formed by former Small Face’s frontman Steve Marriot, the Hard rock outfit Humble Pie began in Essex in 1969. The band also featured Peter Frampton (guitar), Greg Ridley (bass) and Jerry Shirley (drums). The group spend their first months together locked away in Marriot’s cottage, relentlessly practicing.
They soon signed to the Immediate label and issued their debut single "Natural Born Boogie," which hit the British Top Ten and paved the way for the group's premiere LP, ‘As Safe as Yesterday Is’.
After touring the U.S. in support of 1969's ‘Town and Country’, Humble Pie returned home only to discover that Immediate had declared bankruptcy. They recruited a new manager, Dee Anthony, who helped them lad a new deal with A&M. Anthony also encouraged the bad to create a harder, edgier sound, far removed from their current acoustic melodies. As Marriott's raw blues shouting began to dominate subsequent LPs like 1970's eponymous effort and 1971's ‘Rock On’, Frampton's role in the band he co-founded gradually diminished. After embarking on a US tour, Frampton left the band.
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After enlisting former Colosseum guitarist Dave "Clem" Clempson to fill the void, Humble Pie grew even heavier for 1972's ‘Smokin', their most successful album to date. However, while 1973's ambitious double studio/live set ‘Eat It’ fell just shy of the Top Ten, its 1974 follow-up Thunderbox failed to crack the Top 40. After 1975's Street Rats reached only number 100 before disappearing from the charts, Humble Pie disbanded.
In 1980, Marriott and Shirley re-formed Humble Pie with ex-Jeff Beck Group vocalist Bobby Tench and bassist Anthony Jones. After a pair of LPs, 1980's On to Victory and the following year's Go for the Throat, the group mounted a troubled tour of America, after Marriot suffered from a mangled hand and ulcer. Soon, the band disbanded once again.
On April 20, 1991, Marriott died in the fire which destroyed his 16th century Arkesden cottage.
Carly Page
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Small Faces
Rod Stewart
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Is Jeff Beck Britons Greatest Guitarist Ever?
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Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck was an extremely talented guitarist, who having playing with several less auspicious bands joined The Yardbirds replacing Eric Clapton in 1965. Unfortunately, his experience with The Yardbirds was marred by paranoia and eventually he walked out of the band during a tour of America. Jimmy Page by this time had joined the group as an additional guitarist. Mickey Most took over the management of Jeff Beck and he continued to work with major bands eventually forming The Jeff Beck Group. Interestingly, prior to forming the group he recorded a single “Hi Ho Silver Lining” which is still a party favourite even today.
Despite his reputation as an extremely accomplished guitarist, Jeff Beck never really achieved the sort of success that might have been expected from someone of his talents. Jeff Beck is still touring today.
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This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com.
