Under The Classic Rock

The Band Boston was invented from an engineer's perspective. Tom Sholtz is that engineer.

The band continued to play under the name Pigeons as they recorded their first album and played local clubs. According to Carmine Appice, from his book Stick It, the band was playing a club on Long Island, when they were on a break, they started talking to a waitress named Dee Dee. She mentioned that her grandfather used to call her Vanilla Fudge… The band looked at one another and said… "Yeah, that’s it." The band’s name would be Vanilla Fudge.

When Linda Ronstadt got to LA Bobby Kimbal was already working with folk-rock guitarist Kenny Edward's. The three of them played Coffee houses and restaurants in the LA area.  It was a gig at Olivia’s soul food restaurant in Ocean Park that got them and her noticed by a couple of record company execs. Demos were recorded, and the Stone Ponys were born. The band was eventually signed to Capitol Records where Herb Cohen took over management of the band. But he was more interested in Ronstadt as opposed to the band.

Greg Lake took on the management of the ELP. He stated in an interview in 2003 that the three were not good friends. They were very much a working partnership. He had been producing King Crimson’s records and took on the same role with ELP. But the band got so popular so fast that Lake realized he could not wear all the hats anymore. They needed management and quickly. They were just about to sign on with Peter Grant who was successful with Led Zeppelin… but Jimi Page stepped in.

The band was only together for two years. Buffalo Springfield was a collection of mutually ambitious, very talented individuals who happen to form a group that profoundly influenced the folk rock genre and showed the way for artists like Jackson Brown, Glen Fry, and Don Henley. The original band was Steven Stills Guitar, Neil Young Lead guitar, Rickie Furay Guitar, Dewey Martin Drums, and Bruce Palmer Bass. Stills, Young, Furay, and Palmer, met playing gigs in Toronto and Ontario with bands The Myna Birds… and The Ah Go Go Singers.  Drummer Dewey Martin came from the country-side of music playing with artists like Patsy Cline and The Dillards.

After the 3rd album, Pretzel Logic, Steely Dan stopped doing live shows. Fagan and Becker were always impressed with the Beatles work, so they took another cue from them and became a studio band. The record company was furious… Until they saw the sales figures. The audience didn’t care. They just were hooked on the Steely Dan Sound.

When you think of Steppenwolf, the band’s two songs huge top 10 songs come to mind, both released in 1968, Magic Carpet Ride and Born to Be Wild.  But dig a little deeper, and you find that Rock Me did reach number 10 on the Billboard charts and The Pusher got a lot of airplay from FM jocks… So I discount some critics saying this band was one short of being a one hit wonder. 

Episode 28

Grand Funk Railroad sprang up in 1966 from Don Brewer’s band The Jazz Masters. A former Disc jockey, who wanted to be a singer in a rock and roll band approached Don one night after a gig and not only talked his way into the band but also got them to rename the band to Terry Knight and the Pack. He got his way because he could get gigs. Soon Mark Farner joined as a bass player. 

The band grew out of three hard working LA solo singers deciding to make a go at it as a threesome. Danny Hutton, Corey Wells, and Chuck Negron were lead vocalists moving around the LA music scene all having various degrees of success. But nothing on the scale that was about to become Three Dog Night.

Episode #26

After the Success of working with Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, Seals and Crofts, and a host of other successful acts, Jeff Porcaro and David Paich wanted a band of their own. The new band was made up of mostly high school buddies that had played together in a group called 'Still Life' at Grant High School in Van Nuys. The original Toto was Steve Lukather- guitar, David Paich-Keyboards, Jeff Porcaro drums, brother Steve Porcaro on an another set of Keyboards, David Hungate-Bass, and Bobby Kimball-lead Vocals.