Houston Music Blog

Other than Buck Owens, no artist had a bigger effect on Dwight Yoakam than "The Singing Fisherman," Johnny Horton. This East Texas rockabilly cool cat grabbed Rocks Off's attention every time his name was mentioned or a song of his came on the radio. We suspect it was the same for Yoakam, who channels Horton as well as anyone ever has.

Although born in Los Angeles, Horton was raised in Rusk and Gallatin in deep East Texas before he eventually settled in the Shreveport area, where he was a member of the Louisiana Hayride before stardom found him. Ironically, Horton had begun his music career in Los Angeles, playing Cliffie Stone's "Hometown Jamboree" on KLAC-TV.

Who 'Dat?

The Jayhawks circa 1992

Emerging from "The City of Lakes" in 1985, the Jayhawks showed that Minneapolis could produce a band at the forefront of another genre besides pioneering alt-rock (The Replacements, Hüsker Dü) and funk (the Purple One); namely, the nascent alt-country/"No Depression" movement. Named as a nod to the Band's original moniker - the Hawks - and not the bird, the original lineup included Mark Olson (vocals/acoustic guitar), Gary Louris (vocals/electric guitar), Marc Perlman (bass), and Norm Rogers (drums).

The next year the band released The Jayhawks (aka "The Bunkhouse Album," after the small label that released it). It showcased the Olson/Louris harmony vocals that would become the group's most identifiable characteristic. Rogers soon left the lineup to be replaced by Thad Spencer, and near-fatal car crash took Louris out temporarily. 1989's Blue Earth (Twin/Tone) was a collection of polished demos. Def American producer George Drakoulias heard the album playing in the background during a call to the Twin/Tone offices, and became intrigued with the band.

Who Dat?

Formed at the end of 1968 out of the ashes of a group called the Shadettes, Nazareth - taking its name from the first line of the Band's "The Weight" - included Dan McCafferty (vocals), Manny Charlton (guitar), Pete Agnew (bass) and Darrell Sweet (drums). As the group was from provincial Dunfermline, Scotland - far away from any musical epicenter - it struggled for gigs and attention before making the move to London, where its aggressive hard-rock sound was more accepted.

Nazareth's self-titled debut came out in 1971, and opening slots for Deep Purple solidified a friendship with DP bassist/songwriter Roger Glover, who took over production duties for several records. 1973's Razamanaz issued a couple of UK hits ("Broken Down Angel," " Bad Bad Boy") and the next release a heavy version of Joni Mitchell's "This Flight Tonight."

Record sales were unimpressive, although the ballsy foursome were making a mark with their live shows. That changed in 1975 with the release of Hair of the Dog, which broke the band in the U.S. and featured their two best-known numbers - the title track, featuring the memorable chorus "Now you're messin' with a son of a bitch," and the unlikely power ballad/Everly Brothers cover "Love Hurts." The latter became Nazareth's only U.S. Top 10 hit.

Who 'Dat?

The Canadian rockers formed in 1969 in Nova Scotia with the original lineup of brothers David (guitar), Richie (drums) and cousin Jim (bass) Henman, with Myles Goodwyn on lead guitar, keyboards, and vocals, as well as the main songwriter. Debut April Wine came out in 1971, and Jim Henman left shortly thereafter. The releases On Record and Electric Jewels followed, and singles "You Could Have Been a Lady," "Weeping Widow" and "Just Like That" proved extremely popular...but within Canada only.

More lineup changes followed, leaving Goodwyn as the only original Wino by 1973. The next few years saw more albums (including Stand Back and Forever for Now) and Great White North hit singles ("Tonight is a Wonderful Time to Fall in Love," "Oowatanite"), but U.S. success still proved elusive in further lineup changes.

www.uriah-heep.com

Who 'Dat?

The English-bred Uriah Heep sprung from the axis of Mick Box (guitar) and David Byron (vocals). The pair had worked together in both the Stalkers and Spice before hooking up with manager/molder Gerry Bron. A big Vanilla Fudge fan, Box wanted the band to have a prominent keyboard sound, so in came Ken Hensley, who would also serve as the band's main songwriter. Paul Newton was recruited on bass.

It was Bron who suggested in 1970 that the band change its name to Uriah Heep, after the "'orrible little character" known for his greed and cloying insincerity in Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield. Both Alex Napier and then Nigel Olsson handled drum duties for their debut, Very 'eavy...Very 'umble (released in the U.S. as Uriah Heep).

However, reaction to the band was mixed. One Rolling Stone reviewer opined, "If this band makes it, I'll commit suicide. They sound like a third-rate Jethro Tull."

wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_(band)

Who 'Dat?

From the land of England in 1968 came a band called The Sweetshop, featuring singer Brian Connolly, bassist Steve Priest, drummer Mick Tucker and guitarist Frank Torpey slogging it out on the pub circuit. By 1970, Andy Scott had replaced Torpey, and the band became The Sweet.

A few singles and a record deal followed, but it wasn't until the band was paired with songwriting duo Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman that The Sweet began a U.K. chart attack with innocuous, but catchy bubblegum singles like "Funny, Funny," "Co-Co," "Wig-Wam Bam," and their first big American hit, "Little Willy." Their first U.S. album was 1973 compilation The Sweet.

What Happened?

The band continued to chart in the UK, but grew increasingly frustrated at the material Chinn and Chapman were writing. Plus, studio musicians played on some tracks - despite the fact that the four were more than musically competent. So Sweet - by then they had dropped the "The" - took a turn into the glitter-drenched glam-land, and songs like "Blockbuster," "Hell Raiser," and "Teenage Rampage" took on a harder edge. Two other tracks made an impact in the U.S: the catchy "Fox on the Run" and signature tune "Ballroom Blitz."

Who Dat?

Taste was an Irish, blues-based rock power trio formed in 1966 in Cork, fronted by teenage prodigy Rory Gallagher (vocals/guitar) with Eric Kitteringham (bass) and Norman Damery (drums). The group played in Hamburg and Ireland, but the mix didn't work out musically, so Gallagher rebooted the band in 1968 with Richard McCracken (bass) and John Wilson (drums). It was a better fit, and after relocating to London, the band scored sweet opening slots on both Cream's farewell shows and Blind Faith's only road jaunt. Taste's first record, Taste, was released in 1969.

What Happened?

The band were popular on UK stages - where much of the audience attention focused, not surprisingly, on Gallagher - and Taste's follow-up, On the Boards, came out in 1970, they same year the band played the important Isle of Wight Festival and were called back for several encores. But in an era of heavy and loud power trios (Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Mountain, Blue Cheer), Taste's somewhat softer material ("Hail," "If the Day Was Any Longer") skewed more blues than rock ("Leavin' Blues," "Catfish," "Railway and Gun") seemed weaker by comparison, and their original songs often just weren't up to snuff.

By 1970, this Taste had lost its flavor, though two live albums (Live Taste, Live at the Isle of Wight) followed. A few years later, In the Beginning collected tracks and demos featuring the original 1966 trio.

Who Dat?

www.myspace.com/jerrylynnwilliams

I'd forgotten about Fort Worth rocker and soul man Jerry Lynn Williams until the other day when I was reading Eric Clapton's autobiography. Warner Bros. had returned Clapton's tapes from sessions in Montserrat and, to keep his Warner's deal, Clapton agreed the company should suggest songs they thought were hit single material. They sent him three songs by Williams: "Forever Man," "Something's Happening" and "See What Love Can Do."

Clapton agreed to come to L.A. to record and says of his first meeting with Williams: "As soon as I met him, we got on like a house on fire. He was an incredible, larger-than-life character who looked like Jack Nicholson and sang like Stevie Wonder."

While Clapton was not happy with the session results, he was with Williams. "What I really got out of it was the sheer joy of hanging out with Jerry Lynn Williams, though he was hardly the best influence I could have had at the time," Slowhand writes.

"He was staying up at Shangri-La [studios] where I had recorded No Reason To Cry, and I went up and stayed there and played on some of his demos, and before I knew it I was off and running again, with prescription drugs and blow as well as alcohol."

www.chuckleavell.com

The original Sea Level (l-r): Lamar Alexander, Chuck Leavell, Jaimoe Johanson, Jimmy Nalls

Who Dat?

When the 1976 lineup of the Allman Brothers Band dissolved in a haze of drugs, solo careers and Cher, members Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson (drums), Chuck Leavell (keyboards), and Lamar Williams (bass) quickly formed this group after adding guitarist Jimmy Nalls. The trio had already been opening Allmans shows as "We Three" with a fine fusion of southern rock, jazz and blues, often with just instrumentals.

The name comes from a pun on leader Leavell's name. In 1977, Sea Level released its self-titled debut, which featured groovy rhumba jazz ("Rain in Spain"), Meters-style singalong funk ("Shake a Leg"), classic-rock/jazz fusion ("Tidal Wave"), and swampy Allmans sounds ("Nothing Matters But the Fever"). The group started to gain some popularity, particularly in venues like the Montreaux Jazz Festival.

Who Dat?

Collectively, Moby Grape probably was one of the most talented bands to come out of San Francisco area during the golden age of hippiedom. Formed in 1966 by drummer Skip Spence and manager Matthew Katz (both of whom had just been fired from Jefferson Airplane), the lineup included Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis and Spence on guitars, Bob Mosley on bass and Don Stevenson on drums. As all members sang lead and backup and contributed to songwriting, they were a Hydra of talent, easily switching between rock, country, and psychedelia.

The band took its name from an in-joke ("What's big and purple and lives in the ocean?"). 1967 debut Moby Grape featured outstanding material like up-tempo rhythm-rockers "Hey Grandma" and "Omaha," along with mellower stuff like "8:05" and the buoyant pop of "Come in the Morning."

Who Dat?

Formed in Detroit in 1967 - first as the New Bossmen, then Dick Wagner and the Frosts, the band included leader Dick Wagner (vocals/guitar, above), Donny Hartman (vocals/guitar), Jack Smolski (bass) and Bob Rigg (drums). They released two singles. By the next year, Gordy Garris had replaced Smolski on bass/vocals, for its 1969 debut LP, Frost Music.

The Frost's sound combined hard rock, psychedelia, catchy pop-chorus hooks and the occasional ballad. Material included songs about dysfunctional relatives ("The Family"), dashed hopes ("A Long Way Down From Mobile"), groupies ("Little Susie Singer") and arena rockers ("Take My Hand/Mystery Man"). They were a powerful live group, and even ventured out to California in an effort to break beyond Michigan borders.  

L-R: Waddy Wachtel, Keith Richards and Terry Reid

Who Dat?

Though unfortunately best known to rock trivia buffs for what he didn't do than for what he did, Terry Reid was (and is) an extremely well-regarded British blues-rock singer/guitarist. He began warbling as a toddler when his mother would perch him on a box to sing popular songs while she picked fruit.

He joined a school band, the Redbeats, and then Peter Jay's Jaywalkers, which issued the single "The Hand Don't Fit the Glove" in 1966. Under the tutelage of legendary producer Mickie Most, Reid was fronting his own power trio by the next year (before he turned 18) and issued the single "Better By Far."

However, Most wanted to push him into an MOR/adult contemporary performer and Reid - who favored the power sounds of Cream and the Stones - resisted mightily. His debut, Bang Bang, You're Terry Reid came out in 1968. Reportedly, Aretha Franklin once said "There are only three things happening in London: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Terry Reid." 

Who Dat?

Spooky Tooth was formed in 1967 out of the ashes of a band called Art, which featured Mike Harrison (vocals/keyboards), Luther Grosvenor (guitar), Greg Ridley (bass), and Mike Kellie (drums). Signed to Chris Blackwell's Island label, Art's debut album went nowhere.

Blackwell spotted vocalist/organist Gary Wright in another band, and suggested the five form a new group. Wright's high falsetto added a yin-and-yang to the vocals, and the now-named Spooky Tooth released It's All About in 1968. It featured - as did much of the band's releases - a combination of originals and interesting covers, including an apocalyptic take on Janis Ian's biracial love story "Society's Child" and the Band's "The Weight."

Their next record, 1969's Spooky Two, is an underrated gem of the classic-rock era, featuring tracks like "Feelin' Bad," "Evil Woman," "That Was Only Yesterday," and the original version of "Better By You, Better Than Me," which would grow more famous when Judas Priest's cover version landed the band in court, supposedly for purposefully including "subliminal messages" that led to a teenager's suicide.

"It Doesn't Matter"

Who Dat?

The most talented member of CSN-without-the-Y, Stephen Stills was riding high on a solo career with tracks like "Love the One You're With," "Black Queen" and "Change Partners." During sessions for his third solo record, Stills recorded with an ad-hoc studio group of crack players - wandering in and out of sessions was very big in the '70s - who gelled so well together that they decided to form a real group.

In addition to Stills, Manassas included ex-Byrds singer/guitarist Chris Hillman and pedal steel player Al Perkins, both of whom had just left the Flying Burrito Brothers; CSNY bassist Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels and drummer Dallas Taylor; percussionist Joe Lala, and session man Paul Harris. The group's name came from a picture of the band taken under a sign at the Manassas, Virginia train station, which also served as the cover for its debut album. 

Introducing a new column in which Rocks Off delves into the music of short-lived or overlooked performers of the classic-rock era...

Who Dat?

Billed as "America's answer to Led Zeppelin," this quartet was formed in 1969 by Vanilla Fudge rhythm section Tim Bogert (bass) and Carmine Appice (drums), Their first attempt to form a band with Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart fell through when the former suffered injuries in a motorcycle accident and the latter agreed to join the Faces.

Eventually, the pair recruited guitarist Jim McCarty (ex-Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels) and wildman vocalist Rusty Day (ex-Amboy Dukes) to capitalize on the newly-popular blues-based hard-rock boogie practiced by acts like Led Zep, Cream and Free.