He embodied the spirit of “Rock ‘n’ Roll Stew” a seminal track he composed with drummer Jim Gordon.

 

The late Richard Roman Grech was a major presence on the British music scene of the late 1960s – 70s, plying his craft with a Fender Jazz bass -and a wad of foam (“waddafoam”) strategically placed in proximity to the bridge to render a partially muted resonance akin to an upright.

 

Ric, who also doubled on violin and cello, anchored a who’s who of Brit rock royalty: Family, Blind Faith, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane, Eddie Harris, Jim Capaldi, Gram Parsons, the Bee Gees, and the KGB band with Mike Bloomfield and Carmine Appice – to cite a very select few.

 

Widely respected by his peers and the among the most in-demand session players of his era, Grech was an exceptionally skilled pocket and melodic player who incorporated jazz, rhythm & blues, and classical influences into his expansive body of work.

 

After the commercial failure of KGB, Ric retired from the music business in 1977, and sadly passed at the age of 43.  

 

The Rick Grech story would not be complete sans the mention of his relationship with Gram Parsons.

 

Reflects James Spina of Creem Magazine / Hit Parader: Grech produced Gram’s first solo LP called GP. He built quite a friendship with Rick previous to that and in fact lived with Rick and his family when in England and when not hanging with Keith during the Exiles daze. Daze might be a key word for all of this since some much of it happened under a haze of drugs. Both Gram and Rick had substance abuse issues but even in light of that the actual production and even the song writing process for GP is clean and classic.

 

 

Musician Kenny Wilson recalls his close relationship with Ric Grech. Courtesy of www.KennyWilson.Org

 

However, personally untouched by the economic downturn (living “on the dole” was alright as long as you didn’t have expensive habits), I continued to pursue and develop my career as a singer/songwriter. There weren’t many gigs in the centre of Leicester at that time so I and some of my musical friends started a club in the top room of a pub called the Town Arms on Pocklington’s Walk. We met every week and played songs and generally had a good time. Everyone at that time was making a big effort and many of the songs were excellent. Regulars at the time included Geoff Overon, Mick Pini, Dave Plimmer, Gwyn Jones, Annie Williamson and many others, some of whom I’ve forgotten the names of. None of us were making much money at the time but that didn’t really matter. We were more interested in writing and performing good songs.

 

In 1975 I was living on the St. Matthews Estate which was an area of social housing near the centre of Leicester. It was a time of economic upheaval with hyper-inflation and widespread industrial unrest. The then prime minister, Ted Heath,  announced a three day week at the height of a miner’s strike that eventually brought down the government and returned Harold Wilson and a Labour government to power. On top of that there were many terrorist acts being committed by the IRA and other extremist groups with particularly horrendous bombings in Birmingham and Guildford. It was a time of great unrest and social change. The hope of the 60s had dissolved into the pessimism and paranoia of the 70s.

 

What I do know is that I met him late 1975 and subsequently did gigs, wrote songs and recorded demos with him until the early eighties when we went our separate ways. When you look at biographies of Rick they all tend to agree that his career ended in 1977. Bizarrely, many say he became a carpet salesman. I don’t know where that came from but it was the sort of thing he would say as a joke. He had a cynical and sometimes surreal sense of humour. He actually saw himself as a musician and played in various combinations until his untimely death in 1990. The period I knew and worked with him was between 1975 and 1982 and we did many gigs together mainly around the Midlands area in the U.K.

 

I realized as I started this memoir that I don’t really know how to either spell or pronounce Rick’s name. Until recently I thought it was Ric and that Grech was pronounced with a hard “K” sound. I’m not sure now. On most of his recordings, and his own signature on a photograph I have, it is spelled Rick and many people I have spoken to who knew him assure me that Grech should be pronounced with a “CH” sound. I also thought he was of Polish origin but many biographies online say he was Ukrainian. Not a great start really as I am now totally confused and can hardly put myself forward as an expert! Mind you, it fits the person I knew for many years who was both interesting and sociable but was also a bit of an enigma who rarely gave a straight answer to  any personal question.

 

One night, out of the blue, Rick Grech turned up with his violin. He commenced to play along with people and then borrowed a guitar and sang some of his own songs. He obviously enjoyed himself and started to come every week. At the time he had just finished working with Gram Parsons and had even made two records with the original Crickets! One week he brought a cardboard box full of records to the club. It was by a “super-group” called KGB featuring Rick on bass. He proceeded to give everyone a free copy of this! This is when I first encountered Rick’s evasiveness. I said shouldn’t he be in America promoting this record but he told me nothing and didn’t want to discuss it! It was at this time that rumours started circulating that he had been expelled from America and could not return. I don’t know any facts about this but I know he never returned when I knew him in the 70s.

 

At the beginning Rick was a bit of an anachronism with his Rock Star status and red Ferrari which he crashed and abandoned shortly after I met him. But he was a nice guy who was soon part of the scene and we started working with him in various ways. At the time my maisonette (like a third story house on top of another house!) was a centre for continual jam sessions. I had a reel to reel tape recorder set up (a bit like the Basement Tapes) and recorded many sessions that involved Rick and lots of others. Unfortunately, the tapes I used were the cheapest available and oxidized over time and are virtually unplayable now. Rick was buzzing with ideas and writing some great songs and playing some fine fiddle. He was still involved in recording as a session musician with people like Rod Stewart and was still managed by impresario Robert Stigwood who released a compilation album of him in 1973. He had also promoted the talents of guitarist Albert Lee and had involved him in records with the Crickets and “Doctor to the Stars” turned country singer, Hank Wangford. It seems like Rick was everywhere, doing everything, he couldn’t fail, but cracks were beginning to show. Hank Wangford says this of his time with Gram Parsons and Rick:

 

“I spent four months in Canada, and came back and resolved to make a country album with Rick Grech for Robert Stigwood, I called Rick up one day and said, ‘You know who should co-produce this? Gram Parsons.’ He said, ‘I know Gram well’, and called him up. And Gram came over. “This was 1972. I did a demo with Rick on bass, Mike Kellie from Spooky Tooth on drums, Mike Storey on piano, and Pete Townshend on lead guitar. Glyn Johns was the engineer. I could have been forgiven for thinking I’d made it. But the whole thing fell apart. Gram came over, we spent a couple of days at Rick’s house going over the songs, but it fell apart because of heroin. Rick and Gram just got really stoned, and I didn’t take heroin. I hated it. Rick was so wrecked, he couldn’t get his recording machine to work. For hours and hours, he and Gram would get higher and higher, and nothing happened. Nothing was put on tape. Actually, that time, he brought with him George and Tammy’s new duets album We Go Together. And that was Gram’s role model for him and Emmylou.”

 

There’s a horrible prescience to this because years later I was with Rick when he was incapable of working his tape machine because he was so wasted! He became a victim of serious drug and alcohol abuse that eventually sent him to an early grave!

 

In 1976 Rick decided to form a band to showcase his songs. It was based on the kind of music Gram Parsons had been producing on his two solo albums “GP” and “Grievous Angel” both of which contained songs written by Rick although he didn’t play on them. He did have a producer credit on “GP” though. He teamed up with a local Irish/Country band called the Lentones at the time but who changed their name to Rhinestone in 1976.

 

They did gigs at Irish clubs and were breaking into the Country & Western club scene that was becoming very popular at the time. They were a very good band who won a national Country Music competition and played at the Wembley Stadium at a big festival with Rick on fiddle. To get the “Gram” sound he invited singer Claire Hamill to join him. She was a fairly well-known singer/songwriter at the time from the North East (I’d seen her play when I was a student in Darlington) and had recorded four solo albums at that time. She was favourably compared to Joni Mitchell. Praise indeed!!

 

In 1976 we had moved operations from The Town Arms to a place called Watson’s Restaurant on Belvoir Street, Leicester. This was originally intended as a kind of club for well-to-do business types but it was short on customers. We turned it into a live music venue and it did very well for over a year until the owners went bankrupt. It was here that Rick and Claire refined their songs and harmonies and they sounded very good. It was time to go on the road. A band was formed and a tour was set up. Robert Stigwood was still the manager and was setting up recording etc.

 

What happened then can only be called a disaster. I went to one of the gigs at the Nottingham Boat House (a well known venue at the time) and Rick was not on his best form. Captain Video (an up and coming country rock band) did the support but the main problem was that most of the audience were not expecting Country music. They were there to hear Rick play bass and do a Rock set. He didn’t touch the bass and played no Rock, no Blind Faith, no Traffic, no Family. I believe this was the reaction that met most of the gigs on this tour! Although Gram Parsons had convinced us that Country was hip there were a lot of people who hadn’t got the message.

 

A shame, because actually it was potentially very good. The harmonies and songs were excellent and the musicians were good if a little unrehearsed. They should have toured the Country Music Clubs who would have loved it! To make matters worse I believe Claire and Rick ran up enormous expenses at London’s Claridges Hotel and charged them to Robert Stigwood who then immediately dropped Rick from his management. Well, that was the story at the time and I’m sure that’s what Rick told me!

 

It was towards the end of 1976 that I started doing gigs with Rick. By this time his drug and drink addiction was spiralling out of control and he was getting short of money. A Gibson Dove that had belonged to Gram Parsons began to be pawned regularly and the royalties from his recordings had begun to dry up. For the next four years I did many gigs with Rick as a duo and also in a band. At one point we were doing over four gigs a week! One of the most memorable regular gigs we did was at the Crows Nest on King Richards Road, Leicester every Tuesday night.

 

Kenny and Ric courtesy of Kenny Wilson Org

 

Ric Grech Sound & Vision…

 

Family:

 

“How Hi The Li” (composed by Grech) https://youtu.be/8GgzLYI1RK0

 

“Old Songs New Songs” https://youtu.be/8cJAB7Wk8y8

 

“Face in the Cloud” (composed by Grech) https://youtu.be/–BtEE2f9Ck

 

Traffic:

“Rock and Roll Stew” https://youtu.be/RjztpVSLFS8

 

“Medicated Goo” https://youtu.be/Pew9CweLjAU

 

“40,000 Headmen” https://youtu.be/pc1Hz8S2qhs

 

Blind Faith:

 

“Can’t Find My Way Back Home” Live at Hyde Park  https://youtu.be/PJJnA6zEcGk

 

“Well Alright” https://youtu.be/oj5u3Yf28LE

 

KGB: “I’ve Got a Feeling” https://youtu.be/jtHCtR02cjo

 

Gram Parsons: “Streets of Baltimore” https://youtu.be/Xi0c2clOqp0

 

Courtesy of Steve Winwood Com

Courtesy of Little Feat Net

 

They were a matchless combination of a great American songwriter and a great American rhythm section: Lowell George and Little Feat. When Kenny Gradney assumed the bass chair from ex-Mothers of Invention player Roy Estrada for Dixie Chicken (1973), this versatile LA based ensemble commenced a groundbreaking run of albums and tours which uninhibitedly fused rock ‘n’ roll, blues, New Orleans funk, gospel, soul, jazz, and every variation thereof like no other band before – or since.

 

A prolific studio player as well, Gradney also waxed sides with Delaney & Bonnie, Chico Hamilton, Robert Palmer, Carly Simon, and Bob Weir, among others.

 

His greatest performance on record, to my ears, can be found on one of the greatest concert slabs ever committed to tape – Little Feat’s Waiting for Columbus (1978).

 

On the classic Feat slabs, Kenny’s weapon of choice was the Fender Precision. He’s also used Gibson and Kubeki instruments over the years.

 

Kenny Gradney Sound & Vision…  

 

With Little Feat:

 

“Oh Atlanta” https://youtu.be/osuvybCkK4g

 

“Hate to Lose Your Lovin’” https://youtu.be/Cva6Es9igz4

 

“Let It Roll” https://youtu.be/9IyRNKleyyg

 

“Rock and Roll Doctor” https://youtu.be/NLFkSJr-PBE

 

“Spanish Moon” https://youtu.be/o6ljNi7RRmE

 

“Dixie Chicken” with special guests  https://youtu.be/3z-GwdaKrn8

 

Kenny’s solo break “Dixie Chicken” circa 2009 https://youtu.be/hKUiovvXOIs

 

Chico Hamilton: “One Day Five Months Ago” https://youtu.be/C_deCJTjc3Q

 

Delaney & Bonnie: “They Call It Rock and Roll Music” https://youtu.be/qhIDFhkZxe4

 

Robert Palmer: “Trouble” https://youtu.be/qhIDFhkZxe4

 

Carly Simon: “Cow Town” https://youtu.be/jSGyTbS7rdY

 

 

 

For all the hipster hosannas heaped upon the Velvet Underground – and deservedly so, one essential member who is oft overlooked is bassist / multi-instrumentalist / singer / composer Doug Yule. Yule joined the ranks upon John Cale’s dismissal in 1968 and played a major role in the Velvet’s evolution. Doug anchored two seminal slabs and several archival and live releases which have inspired generations of rockers.

 

Unlike Cale, who was somewhat indifferent to the instrument, Yule was a fluid player and vocalist who complimented Lou’s gravitation from the avant-garde towards the then burgeoning singer-songwriter movement.

 

Though The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) and White Light/White Heat (1968) were critically acclaimed groundbreaking efforts; to my ears Velvet Underground (1969) and Loaded (1970) both with Yule, represent the band’s most enduring works.

 

When VU finally split following Lou’s departure and the recording of Squeeze (1973), which was essentially a Yule solo album under the VU moniker to fulfill contractual obligations / management shenanigans –  Doug founded American Flyer with Steve Katz (Blood, Sweat & Tears), Eric Kaz (Blues Magoos), and Craig Fuller (Pure Prairie League).

 

Despite critical acclaim the Flyers’ two Americana flavored releases, produced by George Martin, failed reach a wide audience. In addition to a tour or two with Lou, Doug anchored the cut “Billy” from Reed’s only Top Ten album – Sally Can’t Dance (1974) and appears on the 30th Anniversary edition alternate takes from Coney Island Baby (1975). Doug also waxed tracks with Elliott Murphy which were released on his stellar platter Night Lights (1976).

 

When the Velvet’s reunited for a money grab tour and live twofer in 1993, Yule was not invited despite the insistence of Sterling Morrison.

 

And Doug’s omission from the Velvet Underground’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame induction is inexplicable – especially given the fact that the majority of the band’s signature tracks feature Yule on bass and vocals! 

 

Tom Semioli / Huffington Post 2015  Doug Yule “Eleven Bass Players Who Belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Doug Yule” https://bit.ly/2VpzRyy

 

Doug Yule currently lives in Seattle, and plays, restores, and makes violins. Follow him at www.dougyule.com

 

 

 

Doug Yule Sound & Vision…

 

Velvet Underground:

 

“Candy Says” https://youtu.be/O4rbTBKRedE

 

“New Age” https://youtu.be/Z_-NAdntfqk

 

“Lonesome Cowboy Bill” https://youtu.be/MdqdietRww8

 

“Mean Old Man” (from Squeeze / 1973) https://youtu.be/0qh3rXu5cNY

 

Lou Reed: “Billy” https://youtu.be/U2WUlRDFmAI

 

American Flyer: “Lady Blue Eyes” https://youtu.be/0SzaJD5MhsU

 

 

 

 

Rock lore on the “buzz” inspiration of their band moniker ranges from a reference to the Manchester drug scene to a line lifted from the British television series Rock Follies, whereas “cock” is simply local slang for a mate: “It’s the buzz, cock!”

 

Regardless, The Buzzcocks were among the most influential bands to emerge from the UK punk – new wave era with their deft combination of pop melodies as penned by Pete Shelley, stripped down arrangements, and boundless energy.  

 

Employing no frills four-to-the-bar roots passages to creative counter-melodic motifs, the bassist during the band’s glory years was Steve Garvey, who anchored some of their finest singles along with The Buzzcocks’ essential early canon: Another Music in a Different Kitchen (1978), Love Bites (1978), and A Different Kind of Tension (1979).

 

Garvey, who also moonlighted with pop punks The Teardrops (which also included members of The Fall and PIL) and drummer John Maher were a ferocious rhythm section which grooved mightily at a frenetic pace.

 

After The Buzzcocks’ initial split in 1981, Garvey worked with Steve Diggle (50 Years of Comparative Wealth / 1981), toiled in various ensembles, produced, lectured, and returned to the band briefly in the early 1990s for one of their numerous reunions. 

 

Steve Garvey Sound & Vision with The Buzzcocks

 

“What Do I Get” https://youtu.be/iMXR7w76VZU

 

 “Everybodys’ Happy Nowadays” https://youtu.be/pf2DgSJuUHc

 

By Thomas Semioli

A composer, producer, bandmember, collaborator and recording artist – Kenny Passarelli has been the go-to bass player for numerous Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artists, serving as the harmonic and rhythmic catalyst on several seminal sides, and ensembles.

 

Born in Denver, Colorado, Kenny’s musical journey began as a classical trumpet player – studying with Byron Jolivett, and performing with the “Inaugural Band” as a member of the Denver Junior Police Band.

 

Following his meeting with Stephen Stills, who played him demos of his new group Crosby Stills Nash &Young, Kenny opted for a career in rock and roll. Though he missed the opportunity to work with the iconic guitarist at Woodstock in ‘69, Kenny nailed a gig with Joe Walsh, fresh out of the James Gang, with his band Barnstorm  also featuring drummer Joe Vitale.

 

Working on-and-off with Walsh throughout the 70s, Kenny co-authored “Rocky Mountain Way”  and his ascending fretless motif enabled Wash to live a “Life of Illusion” – another classic rock track which he co-wrote with Walsh.

 

Dig Tony Senatore’s rendition of  Joe Walsh’s “Life of Illusion” https://youtu.be/guBps-ftmPk

 

Along with Rick Danko and Boz Burrell, Kenny was an early proponent of the fretless bass in a rock context which he plays with a decidedly soulful / rhythm and blues approach.

 

At the recommendation of Walsh, Kenny was the foundation of Reg Dwight’s second greatest band as heard on Rock of the Westies (1975), Blue Moves (1976), and the archival Captain Fantastic Live at Wembley (2005).

 

 

Dig Kenny on “Island Girl” https://youtu.be/H19MbiOICa0

 

Dig Tony Senatore’s rendition of Kenny on “Grow Some Funk of Your Own” https://youtu.be/ZuvUxFqiPyM

 

As the bedrock of the Darryl Hall & John Oates band, Kenny waxed Livetime and Along the Red Ledge (1978) in addition to Hall’s iconic Sacred Songs slab.

 

 

Dig Tony Senatore’s renditions of Kenny’s select work with Darryl Hall and John Oates:

 

“It’s a Laugh” https://youtu.be/kUyVrBftDGY

 

“Pleasure Beach” https://youtu.be/U-eDze5_f4Y

 

“Serious Music” https://youtu.be/U-eDze5_f4Y

 

“Room to Breathe” https://youtu.be/VL_hBn0UPkg

 

“Don’t Blame It On Love” https://youtu.be/2q9Tzc8CTwA

 

“I Don’t Want to Lose You” https://youtu.be/kUyVrBftDGY

 

An extended range version of “The Last Time” https://youtu.be/JnOJP6-L0AE

 

Several musical guests on Live From Daryl’s House have rendered compositions from Sacred Songs with their esteemed host– and with good reason: it stands among the seminal slabs of its era!

 

Go figure why RCA shelved it for three years fearing its lack of commercial potential.

 

Produced by Robert Fripp, who also renders his signature sonic guitar soundscapes, Sacred Songs prominently features the core of Sir Elton’s most dexterous ensemble : guitarist Caleb Quaye, drummer Roger Pope, and bassist Kenny Passarelli. The tracks, which were recorded in 1977, burst forth with the vibrancy a concert performance – even though they never played ‘em on stage!

 

Kenny works his gritty soul influences from cut to cut, and keeps the pocket percolating when reinforcing Daryl’s left-hand keyboard motifs throughout.

 

Dig Tony Senatore’s rendition of Kenny’s bass passages from Sacred Songs…

 

“Sacred Songs” https://youtu.be/NUxbDLSIGDk

 

“Something in 4/4 Time” https://youtu.be/W-SFYbN9BMg

 

“NYCNYC” https://youtu.be/_jj_jIUdxUQ

 

Dig Kenny on Sacred Songs

 

Dig “Survive” https://youtu.be/0ZaLqTd9wWk

 

Dig “Babs and Babs” https://youtu.be/235nPzFOXSY

 

Kenny also shined on notable slabs by Stephen Stills (Stills and Stephen Stills Live -1975), Rick Derringer (All American Boy / 1973), Otis Taylor, and Dan Fogelberg (Souvenirs / 1974), among others.

 

His impressive solo canon, which also features Kenny’s talents as a pianist, includes releases which are a meld of classical, new age, and Spanish heritage.

 

Coda: In November 2016, I cited Kenny Passarelli among Eleven More Bass Players Who Belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Huffington Post http://huff.to/2gHNIOA in the Musical Excellence category.

 

Among Kenny’s weapons of choice include the Fender Jazz bass, and the fretless Fender Precision bass.

 

He anchored one of the most successful ensembles in the history of popular music – and one which furthered the careers of several iconic songwriters including Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Laura Nyro, Paul Williams, Harry Nilsson, Hoyt Axton, and Randy Newman – to cite a very select few.

 

We all know Jeremiah was a bullfrog, however if you came within earshot of an AM radio in the late ‘60’s – early 70s you also know the work of late Joe Schermie by way of “One,” “Easy To Be Hard,” “Eli’s Comin” “Celebrate,” “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” “Joy to the World,” “Liar,” “Old Fashioned Love Song,” “Never Been To Spain,” and “Black & White” among others.

 

Three Dog Night was America’s premier pop singles band of the era, knocking out 21 Top 40 hits between ‘69 and ’75.

 

Founding bassist Joe Schermie (nee Shermeltzer) was their soul-inspired harmonic bedrock: always in the pocket, rendering all the right notes with a diversity of rhythmic variations, and allowing space within the songs for their remarkable triumvirate of singers to shine. Joe was a true finesse player with a rock ‘n’ roll edge. Schermie’s weapon of choice was the Fender Jazz, which he customized, and affixed a fuzzy Troll doll to the headstock which he never explained!

 

A powerhouse live ensemble, Three Dog Night’s album tracks where equally as engaging as their singles – dig their rendition of a Beatles track which was never officially released by the Fab Four “It’s For You” from Captured Live at the LA Forum https://youtu.be/PFaIwt6nfdU

 

Following his dismissal from the band in ‘73 – for reasons unknown, Joe later emerged in the ensemble S.S. Fools featuring Bobby Kimball who would go on to front Toto, along with former TDN members Mike Allsup and Floyd Sneed, who were also axed, again, for reasons unknown. They waxed one slab which sank in the marketplace which was now focused on punk, disco, and hard rock.

 

In his later years, Joe worked in various ensembles – some with Floyd Sneed, which featured his former band’s hits, and new material. Schermie passed at age 56 in 2002 shortly after the filming of the aforementioned television show.

 

Joe Schermie Sound & Vision….

 

 

 

Three Dog Night:

 

BBC In Concert  1972 https://youtu.be/6SBd9ZfzzMA

 

“My Impersonal Life” https://youtu.be/U6IjeTXHKU8

 

“Eli’s Coming” https://youtu.be/K8SRD0FK2EE

 

“Try a Little Tenderness” https://youtu.be/eyNRMkrfyFk

 

Tony Senatore’s rendition of “One” https://youtu.be/JIQWQlTfDok

 

S.S. Fools:

 

American Bandstand: https://youtu.be/xAovwsPiReQ

 

“Whatever Happened to America” https://youtu.be/BHhQfO7pz9Y

 

Dig Joe and Floyd cooking fried chicken on an independent TV program entitled Food Rules https://youtu.be/yf051qxnnZ4

 

Bassist Fran Festa with his Joe Schermie Tribute Bass.

Check out Fran’s Joe Schermie Fans Facebook Page!  (12) Joe Schermie Fans | Facebook