Savoy Brown
 |
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| Savoy Brown | |
|---|---|
 Savoy Brown, featuring Kim Simmonds |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Battersea, South West London |
| Genres | Blues rock[1] |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Website | savoybrown.com |
| Members | |
| Kim Simmonds Joe Whiting Garnet Grimm Pat DeSalvo |
|
| Past members | |
| See Membership timeline | |
Savoy Brown, originally known as the Savoy Brown Blues Band, are a British blues rock band,[1] formed in 1965, in Battersea, South West London.[2] Part of the late 1960s blues rock movement, Savoy Brown never achieved as much success in their homeland as they did in the United States, where they promoted their albums with non-stop touring.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Career
The band was formed and led by guitarist Kim Simmonds, whose dominating personality led to a myriad of personnel changes.[2] Others have attributed the constant lineup adjustments to the "creative accountancy" employed by the band's manager, Harry Simmonds, brother of Kim.[3]
The original line-up included singer Bryce Portius, keyboardist Bob Hall, bassist Ray Chappell, drummer Leo Manning and harmonica player John O'Leary (O'Leary appeared on record with the band on its initial recordings for Mike Vernon's Purdah label). Portius was one of the first black blues musicians to be a part of a British rock band.[citation needed] This line-up appeared on the band's 1967 debut album, Shake Down, a collection of blues covers.[2] Two albums followed in 1968, Getting to the Point, and Blue Matter.
In 1969 a single, "Train to Nowhere", was released with a vastly different line-up, including singer Chris Youlden, who, with Simmons, took over primary songwriting duties for the band, on A Step Further that year. It was viewed by some as the last gasp of the blues scene in the United Kingdom.[citation needed] They developed a loyal core following in the United States, due to songs such as "I'm Tired", a driving, melodic song from the album. They were one of the bands that UK Decca (US London/Parrot) stuck with through the lean times until they started selling records (it took four or five albums until they started to sell in the U.S.) In the late 1960s and 1970s, the band managed to penetrate the Billboard Hot 100. Superstardom perpetually evaded them, perhaps in part because of their frequent line-up changes, but despite that, Hellbound Train (1972) was a Top 40 album for them in the U.S. In January 1974, the British music magazine, NME reported that Stan Webb was joining Savoy Brown, following the break-up of Chicken Shack.[4]
While the band is still active today, touring the world and recording regularly, only Simmonds has stayed since the beginning. Guitarist "Lonesome" Dave Peverett, bassist Tony Stevens, and drummer Roger Earl went on to form Foghat.[2] Original member and harmonica player John O'Leary is still active on the British blues circuit with his band Sugarkane. Another singer, Dave Walker, would later join Fleetwood Mac and Black Sabbath. Their bassists included Andy Pyle, who played with Mick Abrahams from Jethro Tull in Blodwyn Pig then later with The Kinks and Gary Moore. Andy Silvester had played with Wha-Koo and Chicken Shack. Savoy Brown also provided an outlet for keyboardist and guitarist Paul Raymond, who later went on to join UFO. Drummer Bill Bruford played three live gigs between 12 and 15 January 1968, but was then fired for "fiddling about with the rhythm".
Savoy Brown contributed the song "A Man Alone" for the soundtrack to the movie Kickboxer 2.
In 2008, "Train to Nowhere" was used in, and figured as a clue, in the TV series CSI: NY, in Season 4, Episode 10 - “The Thing About Heroes”.
Their first album for Blind Pig Records, Strange Days, was released in 2003.[2] The band released another record Steel in 2007.[2] Their most recent album,the highly acclaimed "Voodoo Moon" , is on Ruf Records in 2011.[5]
[edit] Albums
- Shake Down – 1967
- Getting to the Point – 1968
- Blue Matter – 1969 - U.S. #182
- A Step Further – 1969 - U.S. #71
- Raw Sienna – 1969 - U.S. #121
- Looking In – 1970 - UK #50; U.S. #39
- Street Corner Talking – 1971 - U.S. #75
- Hellbound Train – 1972 - U.S. #34
- Lion's Share – 1973 - U.S. #151
- Jack the Toad – 1973 - U.S. #84
- Boogie Brothers – 1974 - U.S. #101
- Wire Fire – 1975 - U.S. #153
- Skin 'n' Bone – 1976 - U.S. #206
- Savage Return – 1978 - U.S. #208
- Rock 'n' Roll Warriors – 1981 - U.S. #185
- Greatest Hits - Live in Concert – 1981
- Just Live (recorded 1970) – 1981
- Live in Central Park (recorded 1972) – 1985 (Relix Records RRLP 2014)
- Slow Train – 1986 (Relix Records RRLP 2023)
- Make Me Sweat – 1988
- Kings of Boogie – 1989
- Live and Kickin' – 1990
- Let It Ride – 1992
- Bring It Home – 1994
- Live at the Record Plant (recorded 1975) – 1998
- The Bottom Line Encore Collection (live, recorded 1981) – 1999
- The Blues Keep Me Holding On – 1999
- Looking from the Outside - Live '69 & '70 – 2000
- Jack the Toad - Live 70/72 – 2000
- Strange Dreams – 2003
- You Should Have Been There – 2005
- Steel – 2007
- Too Much Of A Good Thing - 2009
- Voodoo Moon - 2011[6]
[edit] Membership timeline
(†) denotes member is deceased.
| Year | Lead Vocals | Guitars | Bass | Drums | 2nd Guitar | Keyboards | Harmonica | Percussion | Saxophone | Backing Vocals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Brice Portius | Kim Simmonds | Ray Chappell | Leo Manning | Trevor Jeavons | John O'Leary | ||||
| 1965–1967 | Bob Hall | |||||||||
| 1967 | Martin Stone | |||||||||
| 1967 | Chris Youlden | Bob Brunning (†) | ||||||||
| 1967–1968 | Hughie Flint | Dave Peverett (†) | ||||||||
| 1968 | Rivers Jobe (†) | Bill Bruford, Roger Earl | ||||||||
| 1968–1970 | Tony Stevens | |||||||||
| 1970–1971 | Dave Peverett | Kim Simmonds | ||||||||
| 1971–1972 | Dave Walker | Andy Sylvester | Dave Bidwell | Paul Raymond | Paul Raymond | Kim Simmonds | ||||
| 1972 | Andy Pyle | |||||||||
| 1972–1973 | Kim Simmonds, Jackie Lynton | Dave Bidwell, Ron Berg | Barry Murray, Frank Ricotti | Stan Sulzmann | Sue Glover, Sunny Leslie, Jackie Lynton | |||||
| 1973–1974 | Kim Simmonds, Miller Anderson, Stan Webb | Jimmy Leverton | Eric Dillon | Miller Anderson, Stan Webb | ||||||
| 1974–1975 | Kim Simmonds | Andy Rae | Dave Bidwell, Tom Farnell | Paul Raymond | Paul Raymond | |||||
| 1975–1976 | Ian Ellis | Tom Farnell | ||||||||
| 1976–1978 | ||||||||||
| 1978–1985 | Ralph Mormon | John Humphrey | Keith Boyce | Barry Paul | Steve Lynch | |||||
| 1985 | Kim Simmonds, Speedo Jones | Chris Romanelli | Kim Simmonds, Speedo Jones | |||||||
| 1985–1986 | Jimmy Kunes | Jimmy Dagnesi | Al Macomber | |||||||
| 1986–1988 | Dave Walker, Kim Simmonds | Les Baker, Robert Martin, Bobby Sexton | Shmutza-Hideous | |||||||
| 1988–1989 | Dave Walker | Robert Martin, Bobby Sexton | Steve Klong | |||||||
| 1989–1990 | Dave Walker, Kim Simmonds | Lou Kaplan | Pete Mendillo | Rick Jewett | Paul Aronson | |||||
| 1990–1991 | Loren Kraft | Pete Mendillo, Steve Behrendt | Jeff Adams | |||||||
| 1991–1992 | Kim Simmonds, Pete McMahon, Phil McCormack, Joe Whiting | Andy Ramirez | Joe Pierleoni | Kim Simmonds, Pete McMahon | ||||||
| 1992–1994 | Pete McMahon, Dave Peverett | Jim Heyl | Dave Olson | Hubert Sumlin (†) | Pete McMahon | |||||
| 1994–1999 | Nathaniel Peterson | Leo Lyons, Nathaniel Peterson | Tom Compton, Roger Earl | Duke Robillard | David Maxwell | Paul Oscher | ||||
| 1999–2003 | Kim Simmonds | Gerry Sorrentino | Dennis Cotton | David Malachowski | Mark Nanni | |||||
| 2003–2005 | ||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Dennis Cotton, Mario Staiano | Ron Keck | ||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Mario Staiano | |||||||||
| 2009–present | Joe Whiting | Pat DeSalvo | Garnet Grimm | Joe Whiting |
[edit] References
- ^ a b {{cite book , Hard rock | first= Paul | last= Du Noyer | year= 2003 | title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music | edition= 1st | publisher= Flame Tree Publishing | location= Fulham, London | isbn= 1-904041-96-5 | page= 181}}
- ^ a b c d e f g "Biography by Steve Huey". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p60130. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
- ^ Martin "Jet" Celmins and Jeff Watt, http://www.savoybrown.com/band4.html
- ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 260. CN 5585.
- ^ http://www.bmansbluesreport.com/2011/10/voodoo-moon-savoy-brown_24.html#links
- ^ http://www.bmansbluesreport.com/2011/11/bmans-exclusive-interview-with-kim.html#links
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 483. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "Allmusic ((( Savoy Brown > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p60130/charts-awards.
