The Complete Derek Shulman Interview-The Tale of a Gentle Giant in Echoes Podcast

Almost everyone is familiar with the big progressive rock groups of the 70s like Yes, Genesis, King Crimson and Emerson Lake and Palmer. But one of the bands bubbling just under the surface was Gentle Giant. To true aficionados of the progressive rock genre they were icons. Early this year, the lead singer of the band, Derek Shulman, released a memoir, Giant Steps. At the time I interviewed Derek and produced a nice feature from that on Echoes and in the Echoes Podcast. But there was a lot of good stuff in there that got left out so today in the podcast, I’ve got the complete interview. It includes the influence of Elton John on the band, who they actually turned down as a possible member, their interaction with English gangsters along with Black Sabbath, and bouncing on John & Yoko’s bed at Abbey Road Studios. We also talk about his transition to the corporate side of music. And then there is the outhouse.

Derek Shulman: Certainly in Portsmouth, for a long time, we had an outhouse, no bathroom. So, you know, getting up in the middle of the night to go outside for a pee or whatever you have to do, That was not a lot of fun, especially in the middle of winter. But yeah, that’s how I grew up.

Gentle Giant was a family affair, centered by Derek Shulman on vocals and saxophone, Ray Shulman on violin and Phil Shulman playing wind instruments and trumpet. They all actually played a lot more. They were joined by guitarist Gary Green and the classic edition of the band included drummer John Weathers. They started out as Simon Dupree and the Big Sound and had hits in England under that name.  But their transformation to Gentle Giant was revolutionary.

Behind Derek Shulman’s clarion call vocals, Gentle Giant layered intricate melodies, complex rhythms and multi-sectioned songs. We all thought this was high-art, not that derivative, corporate produced pop. But while we were being snobby elitists, Shulman took a turn into the corporate rock world and signed Bon Jovi, Nickelback, AC-DC, and more. This is an extended version of our feature which was broadcast this past Monday. We’ll hear about Derek Shulman’s journey from the outhouse to the executive suite.

Hear the produced version of this interview with music.