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Paul Kossoff

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Paul Kossoff
Paul Kossoff performing with Free at Randwick Racecourse, 9 May 1971
Paul Kossoff performing with Free at Randwick Racecourse, 9 May 1971
Background information
Birth namePaul Francis Kossoff
Born(1950-09-14)14 September 1950
Hampstead, London, England
Died19 March 1976(1976-03-19) (aged 25)
en route to New York City, U.S.
GenresBlues rock, blues, hard rock
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, record producer
InstrumentGuitar
Years active1968–1976

Paul Francis Kossoff (14 September 1950 – 19 March 1976) was an English blues rock guitarist. He was most notably a member of the band Free.

He was ranked 51st in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.[1]

Early years

Kossoff was the son of Margaret (Jenkins) and the English actor David Kossoff.[2][3][4] His father was of Russian-Jewish descent. His uncle was the broadcaster Alan Keith and he was a cousin of the judge Brian Keith and the model Linda Keith.[5]

Aged nine Kossoff started classical guitar lessons with Blanche Monroe. His classical guitar training continued until he was fifteen. In December 1965 he saw Eric Clapton with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers at The Refectory, Golders Green, North West London. This encounter inspired him to purchase a Gibson Les Paul Custom guitar. During 1966 Kossoff worked as a junior salesman at Selmer’s Music Shop in Charing Cross Road.[6] He received lessons from session guitarist Colin Falconer who worked in the guitar department at Selmer’s.

In 1966 Kossoff joined the Chicago-style blues band Black Cat Bones. The band played with touring blues piano player Champion Jack Dupree, often supporting Fleetwood Mac and other gigs with Fleetwood Mac co-founder Peter Green. Kossoff's bandmate in Black Cat Bones was drummer Simon Kirke, and the two went on to play on Champion Jack Dupree's April 1968 album When You Feel the Feeling You Was Feeling.[7]

Free period

Free (Amsterdam, 1970). Paul Kossoff, Andy Fraser, Simon Kirke, Paul Rodgers & Steve Winwood

In April 1968, Kossoff and Kirke teamed up with Paul Rodgers (vocals) and Andy Fraser (bass) to form Free. They toured for two years, during which they recorded two albums: Tons of Sobs (1968) and Free (1969). Both albums showcased the band's blues- and soul-influenced sound, a style that was in contrast to some of their progressive and heavier counterparts at the time.

Success came in 1970 when their third album, Fire and Water (1970), spawned the hit "All Right Now". The band played the Isle of Wight festival to both audience and critical acclaim, and sellout tours in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Japan followed.

However after the release of the next album, Highway (1970) and its relatively poor sales, band pressures led to a split. The live album Free Live was recorded in 1970, and released in 1971 as a farewell record.

Kossoff and Kirke teamed up with Texan keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick and Japanese bass player Tetsu Yamauchi to release the 1971 album Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit. Rodgers and Fraser pursued unsuccessful solo projects.

Free reformed and released the album Free at Last (1972). Following its release, Fraser decided he had had enough, and quit to form Sharks. Free drafted Tetsu and Rabbit for Free's 1973 album Heartbreaker (1973) after which the group disbanded.[8]

Kossoff song-writing

Kossoff co-wrote several Free songs, including 'Oh I Wept' and 'Mr Big' on the Fire and Water album.

After Free

Rodgers and Kirke went on to form the successful Bad Company.

Kossoff released a solo album, Back Street Crawler (1973). He then accompanied John Martyn on a 1975 tour.[9]

Kossoff then assembled a group called Back Street Crawler, which released two albums: The Band Plays On in 1975 and 2nd Street in 1976. Recordings from one of the band's UK concerts in 1975 were also released under the title Live at Croydon Fairfield Halls 15/6/75.

Kossoff's guitar playing was also much in demand for session work and he contributed solos on several albums including: Jim Capaldi's Oh How We Danced (1972) and Short Cut Draw Blood (1975); Martha Veléz's Fiends and Angels (1969); The Amazing Blondel's Mulgrave Street (1974); Uncle Dog's Old Hat (1972), Michael Gately's Gately's Cafe (1971) and Mike Vernon's 1971 album Bring It Back Home.

He also played on four demos by Ken Hensley (eventually released on the 1994 album titled From Time to Time) and three tracks that appear on the CD-only issue of John Martyn's Live At Leeds album from 1975.

Posthumous releases

In 1977 career retrospective Koss was released, and in 1986 Blue Soul.

The late 1990s saw a renewed interest in Kossoff, and Blue Soul was re-released, as well as the five-disc Free box set Songs of Yesterday.

In 2006, an unreleased guitar solo surfaced on the title track to the album All One by David Elliot, who recorded with Kossoff in the 1970s.

In 2011 a selection of early recordings Kossoff made with Black Cat Bones was released on the album "Paul's Blues".

Books

In 2000 a Free biography entitled Heavy Load: The Story of Free was published.

2017 saw publication of the Paul Kossoff biography entitled Paul Kossoff: All Right Now - The Guitars, The Gear, The Music.

Personal life

Drug use

Kossoff used drugs from age 15. Simon Kirke has said "He clearly had a predisposition." He used Mandrax among other drugs. Paul Rodgers has said Kossoff was healthy and playing well in 1973 although this is disputed, but that he wonders about the company that Kossoff kept, and felt that "Koss was just too sensitive for this world."[10][11]

Kossoff's drug use made him unreliable in the last stages of Free.[8]

Death

Kossoff's unhappiness following the break up of Free and his drug addictions contributed to a drastic decline in his health.[12]

Kossoff died on a flight from Los Angeles to New York on 19 March 1976 from a pulmonary embolism after a blood clot in his leg moved to his lung, while touring America with Back Street Crawler. His body was returned to England and cremated at Golders Green Crematorium in North West London. His epitaph in the Summerhouse there reads: "All right now".[13][12]

Legacy

One of Kossoff's guitars, a 1957 Fender Stratocaster, was bought after his death by Dave Murray of the band Iron Maiden; he used it from 1978 to 1990.[14]

In 2012, one of his most famous and iconic guitars, a 1959 Gibson Les Paul, was recreated and made into a limited edition reissue by Gibson and named the 'Paul Kossoff 1959 Les Paul Standard'.[15].

In December 2015 Bonhams listed for auction a Gibson Les Paul Standard owned by Kossoff from 1970-1976.[16][17]

In April 2017 Guitar Magazine featured the 'stripped' Gibson Les Paul that Kossoff played at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. Kossoff sold the guitar to Mike Gooch and in May 1994 it was sold for £12,000 at Christie's.[18]

Selective discography

Free

Paul Kossoff, Simon Kirke, Tetsu Yamauchi, John "Rabbit" Bundrick

Solo albums

Back Street Crawler

(Note: after Kossoff's death, the band—now called simply 'Crawler'—made further albums)

References

  1. ^ "100 Greatest Guitarists: David Fricke's Picks: Paul Kossoff". The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Rolling Stone.
  2. ^ Dimery, Robert; and Macdonald, Bruno. Rock Connections: The Complete Family Tree of Rock 'n' Roll, p. 94. HarperCollins, 2010. ISBN 0-06-196655-X. Accessed 1 September 2011. "Green befriended another Anglo-Jewish guitar player Paul Kossoff, who formed Free"
  3. ^ Barker, Dennis. "David Kossoff: Actor and storyteller who charmed audiences on stage, screen, radio and in books", The Guardian, 24 March 2005. Accessed 1 September 2011.
  4. ^ Barker, Dennis (24 March 2005). "Obituary: David Kossoff". The Guardian.
  5. ^ "Did Jimi Hendrix owe it all to West Hampstead's Linda Keith?". West Hampstead Life. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Selmer: The London Music Shop Where Clapton, Page, Beck, and More Bought Their Guitars". Reverb.com. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Champion Jack Dupree discography". WeGoNews.com. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  8. ^ a b Guerra, Tom (16 May 2001). "Paul Kossoff". Vintage Guitar® magazine. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Obituary: John Martyn". the Guardian. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Free: All right now? Nope". The Independent. 22 September 2006.
  11. ^ August 2016, Paul Elliott17. "Paul Rodgers: "My greatest regret is not having Paul Kossoff around."". Loudersound.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ a b December 06, Corbin Reiff; 2013. "Forgotten Heroes: Paul Kossoff". www.premierguitar.com. Retrieved 13 May 2020. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Paul Kossoff". Findagrave.com. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  14. ^ "Iron Maiden's Dave Murray Talks About His 1957 Fender Stratocaster Guitar". Blabbermouth.net. blabbermouth.net. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Gibson Custom Paul Kossoff 1959 Les Paul Standard". Gibson Legacy Archive. Retrieved 11 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ "Bonhams : Paul Kossoff/Free: A 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard with sunburst finish owned by Paul Kossoff, 1970-1976,". www.bonhams.com. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  17. ^ November 2015, Grant Moon 05. "The unlikely life story of Paul Kossoff's guitar". loudersound. Retrieved 13 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Paul Kossoff's 'Stripped' Les Paul". Guitar.com | All Things Guitar. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2020.

Further reading

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