By Joe Gagliardo
Gordon Patriarca was born into a family that loved music – dad was a jazz / blues buff and mom played piano and show tunes.
Then along came the transistor radio! Gordon and his brother were inseparable from these new portable devices as the Top 40 sounds of WLS and WCFL in Chicago became the soundtrack of their childhood.
When Gordon was in 8th grade, a friend from Ireland with older brothers introduced him to Rory Gallagher and Taste, Jethro Tull, John Mayall, Cream, Led Zeppelin, and much of the great British blues rock of the era. By the time he entered high school, Gordon was in love with the music, however had yet to pick up a bass. That was about to change soon…
His younger brother was excelling with guitar lessons, and Gordon – fired up by Jack Bruce’s incendiary musicianship – decided that playing bass would be “cool.” A neighbor kid owned a Montgomery Ward’s bass and amp that he loaned to Gordon, and he and his brother would spend hours playing 12-bar blues progressions.
Eventually Gordon got bass, a cherry red Epiphone Newport, and joined a band with his brother while taking lessons from a pro – Paul Zibits. Gordon’s high school graduation gift was ’76 Fender Jazz bass.
Circa 1979-80, Gordon honed his craft with Trouts, which was in the Elvis Costello / Squeeze / Joe Jackson bag: melodic and hooky.
At this point, Bruce Thomas (Elvis Costello & The Attractions) became a huge influence. Regulars on the local circuit, Trouts lasted for three years.
Following Trouts, Gordon took on a rockabilly gig with Stevie Starlite’s band, followed by a blues-rock-fusion gig with Don Griffin and the Griff Band. Gordon then spent five years with The Remainders, a band that started out as a Cajun / Zydeco / New Orleans style band which morphed into an Americana / roots-rock/ pop band which released a cassette and CD.
After his tenure in The Remainders, Gordon was back on the local club circuit, and busy in the studio appearing on over forty releases. His many studio credits include albums with Yardsale and Word Bongo, Joe Pug, Kelley McCrae and Sage Francis, also recording sessions at Abbey Road Studio with Icos. Gordon also anchored European tours and recorded with Jan James.
Over a forty-year span, Gordon has played thousands of gigs, including shows with Survivor, Spirit, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Sugar Blue, and Robbie Fulks, among others.
Gordon’s go-to bass for twenty years was an Ampeg AEB-1 Scroll bass that he purchased for $90.00 in 1984, and consequently modified.
These days he has a penchant for Squire Precision and Tele basses which he “hot rods” by, among other things, changing the pick ups and bridges. He also uses a custom SG Bass, and a Fender Jazz bass with DiMarzio pickups and flat wound strings. His bass rig is a Yamaha PB-1 Pre amp, run through a Peavey IPR Power Amp, into either an Eden 2×12, Sunn 1×18, Mesa 1×15, or some combination thereof.
Gordon’s playing philosophy is to focus on the groove with melodic flourishes, as well as to be intimately familiar with the style of music he is playing, and how to play it, whether it is rock, pop, country, blues, or reggae.
In addition to Jack Bruce and Bruce Thomas, his early bass influences include James Jamerson, Phil Lynott, Tony Stevens (Savoy Brown and Foghat), and Greg Ridley (Humble Pie). Later on Gordon drew inspiration from Jaco Pastorius, Colin Moulding, and Rocco Prestia.
In addition to being the Musical Director for The School of Rock, he is involved in multiple projects: Simply Elton, Simply Billy(Joel), Too Bad Company, Heroes (Bowie), Yacht Rock with the Yacht Rockettes, Rick Lindy and Dave Specter.
Gordon Patriarca Sound & Vision …
Gordo’s Gigs Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNPW-Nl7KKAP3QkN3zt07Gh5etV39Hv5g
Music I have appeared on as a bassist from 1980 to the present. Some solo bass weirdness included here too. Tracks include recordings as a band member and as a studio musician. Some live stuff too.
The Remainders “Two For The Blues” https://youtu.be/b-_GxL2a_Lc
Word Bongo “Witnesses” https://youtu.be/Csj9ftRiAp8
Yardsale “How Good It Feels” https://youtu.be/-R1Ysrormpg
Icos “Only You and I” https://youtu.be/QNGI7aa1vpA
Courtesy of Matthew Seligman FB
By Thomas Semioli
A master of the instrument in a pop context, a consummate song player, and among the most prolific players whose career emerged during the “new wave” rock era of the 1980s and continued until his untimely passing in 2020, Matthew Seligman anchored several influential slabs, singles, and ensembles throughout his remarkable career.
He was an official member of Bruce Wooley and The Camera Club, the Thompson Twins, The Soft Boys (replacing founding bassist Andy Metcalfe), and The Dolphin Brothers, among others.
Seligman’s array of session / sideman credits read akin to a who’s who of modern rock, including: David Bowie’s Live Aid band, the hit “Absolute Beginners” and the soundtrack to Labyrinth; Thomas Dolby (“She Blinded Me With Science”), Robyn Hitchcock, The Waterboys, Stereo MCs, Chris Bell, Sinead O’Connor, Tori Amos, Kimberley Rew, Alex Chilton, Morrissey, Chrissie Hynde, and Sam Brown to cite a select few.
A melodic / pocket fretted and fretless player Matthew’s main weapons of choice were the Fender Jazz and Ibanez bass.
Matthew Seligman Sound & Vision…
Bruce Wooley: “Video Killed the Radio Star” (Original Version 1979) https://youtu.be/kNq0pajn2ME
Matthew with The Soft Boys:
“Underwater Moonlight” https://youtu.be/DsnVzwiH5XE
“Insanely Jealous” https://youtu.be/sZ3-R1ig9sk
David Bowie:
“Absolute Beginners” https://youtu.be/iCJLOXqnT2I
Live Aid 1985 “Modern Love” https://youtu.be/jLMUZahN7NU
Mozzer:
“Ouija Board” https://youtu.be/T8V82TXOzm0
Thomas Dolby:
“She Blinded Me With Science” https://youtu.be/V83JR2IoI8k
Tori Amos:
“China” https://youtu.be/7pEfCe1-KTw
The Thompson Twins:
“In the Name of Love” https://youtu.be/Uh6C3WE9DdY
Courtesy Matthew Seligman FB
From Robyn Hitchcock ….
I’m writing this as Matthew Seligman slips out of this life and into wherever souls go next. Everybody goes, but none of us were expecting Matthew to leave us so abruptly, forever. It is strange and very sad to be talking of him in the past tense. I first met Matthew in 1976 in Cambridge, just before the beginning of the Soft Boys. He had nice dark hair and was very charming, with a slight break in his voice.
A joyous and funky bass player, he made Underwater Moonlight an exuberant LP to record and listen to. His manic bass run at the end of “Insanely Jealous” and his stately propeller dive into the last chorus of the title track, as well as the insistent groove he brought to “Kingdom of Love” are some of the finest bass playing I have ever witnessed.
Matthew truly believed in the Soft Boys and the record. It was early 1980 and the second Cold War was intensifying. I fondly remember stomping over to the pub after a session and him saying through the dismal spring wind, “We may all be about to be blown up, but at least we’ll have made a classic album.”
The band didn’t survive too long into the bleak 1980s, but Matthew found a home as a bass player in many great musical shells. The Thompson Twins, David Bowie, Morrissey and Chrissie Hynde were all lucky beneficiaries of his intuitive and circular grooves.
As well as bass playing, he specialized in one-liners. “Pop music is about over-stating the obvious” and “What you’ve proved to the music industry is that you can’t sell records” are two of my favorites.
I’m profoundly grateful to have played music with him – you could really see his face light up like a full moon when he listened back to a take he enjoyed. Onstage he would lope and lurch and pace when the music moved him. Matthew is, was, and always will be one of the greats. My heart goes out to his partner,Mami; his children Daisy and Lily, and all who were close to him and his lunar intensity.
Robyn H, Nashville, April 17, 2020
Courtesy Matthew Seligman FB
By Joe Gagliardo
Influenced by jazz and rhythm and blues bassists, Charles Colbert started playing his Fender Precision bass guitar in his church, and graduated to playing the “chitlin circuit” behind many successful singers and groups, including Jan Bradley (a protégé of Curtis Mayfield), The Contours and The Drifters.
In the early 60’s, Charles was a member of The Daylighters; a Chicago-based soul vocal group. Their single, “Cool Breeze,” was produced by Johnny Pate, and was a regional hit.
“Cool Breeze” https://youtu.be/iNGgcoVLWXo
In 1965, Charles was playing bass with Gary and the Knight Lites. The band released a number of singles on local labels, but chart success eluded them until they changed their name to The American Breed, who were among the first racially integrated rock bands.
In 1967, with Charles on bass guitar, Gary Loizzo (American Breed, Pumpkin Studios Production) and Al Ciner (American Breed, Rufus and Three Dog Night) on guitars, and Lee Graziano (American Breed and Rufus) on drums; took “Step Out of Your Mind” to the Top 10 in Chicago, and it climbed to # 24 on the national charts.
“Step Out of Your Mind” https://youtu.be/cC1cl3LiJeU
Their next single, “Bend Me Shape Me,” with its immediately recognizable drum and horn introduction, took them to # 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, and resulted in multiple appearances on national TV, including American Bandstand and The Joey Bishop Show, where they were presented a Gold Record for their million-selling record.
“Bend Me Shape Me” https://youtu.be/9vXD55sf6ZU
Their live shows were filled with great music, vocals, and energy including drummer Graziano, who simultaneously played the drums and trumpet! As they were sponsored by Baldwin, the band had an array of fine guitars and amplifiers, which, combined with their stylish suits, created a cool visual on-stage symmetry.
As the musical and social landscapes were changing, so did the music of the American Breed. The band gravitated towards funky soulful sounds.
Check out Charles’ driving bass and singing on “Hunky Funky” and on the socially conscious “Room At The Top,” co-written by Charles.
“Hunky Funky” https://youtu.be/yXv92nYDD_0
“Room at the Top” https://youtu.be/zFVNdJlPQhg
This was the precursor to what was to become Ask Rufus, and later Rufus. However, Charles, deciding he wanted to sing and perform more, became one of Rufus’ three dynamite lead singers. Charles was joined by Paulette McWilliams (Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, solo) and Jimmy Stella (The Circus). At that point, Willie Weeks took over the bass chair in Rufus. Note that this was pre-Chaka Khan!
Since the American Breed and Rufus, Charles has worked with, and/or produced, a virtual who’s who of artists, including Harry Belafonte, Ahmad Jamal, Johnny Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Kurtis Blow, Pops and Mavis Staples, Peabo Bryson, Rufus Thomas and Oscar Brown, Jr.
Charles is currently producing an inspirational CD on the American Breed entitled “Epiphany”, and he is also currently part of a musical project that will build on the We Are The World concept, using all legendary Chicago singers and musicians.
True to its name, it is an effort to “Bring Back The Love” between people. These days, Charles’ go-to basses are his vintage Fender Precision and Jazz basses.
By Thomas Semioli
With a penchant for grooves, inventive rhythmic variations, solid pocket lines, and the occasional glissando and other techniques, bassist Steve Fossen is the consummate song-player. His tenure in Heart from 1969 to 1982 embraced the golden era of album rock and pop singles. Heart was that rare collective who waxed deep tracks and hits which were staples on two important mediums: FM and AM rock radio.
Steven and his Heart bandmembers were elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Among Steve’s weapons of choice include the Fender Jazz, Fender Precision, and Gibson Thunderbird.
Steve Fossen Sound & Vision on select Heart tracks wherein he shares writing credits:
“Little Queen” https://youtu.be/kKY1wJlzqjo
“Sing Child” https://youtu.be/QQk867izt4M
Dig Steve on Bebe Le Strange live 1980: https://youtu.be/zxrbU2pgiPI
Along with founding Heart drummer Michael Derosier, Steve anchors Heart By Heart repertory ensemble.
Says Steve on www.HeartByHeart.com “I’m very appreciative of classic rock and classic hits radio for keeping our music alive for so many years,” he said. “It’s really cool to listen to the radio and hear a Pink Floyd song followed by a Led Zeppelin song and The Beatles and then a song by Heart will come on. It’s just a great feeling. I sit there and think ‘How did that ever happen?’”
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
By Thomas Semioli
If you had to choose a role model of a classic rock bassist …look no further than this cat!
Huffington Post / Tom Semioli : Carl Radle: Eleven Bass Players Who Belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame https://bit.ly/38WUMh2
He was the consummate sideman who came to prominence on seminal sides and concert performances with Derek & The Dominoes, George Harrison, Delaney & Bonnie, Eric Clapton, Leon Russel, and Joe Cocker. Bassist Carl Dean Radle’s motifs are so essential to the compositions that he waxed with those aforementioned rock icons; that if you were to play the songs without rendering his lines (near) verbatim – the tune sounds… wrong!
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and migrating to Los Angles in the 1960s, Radle’s association with fellow Tulsan Leon Russell, then a prominent member of the Wrecking Crew, afforded Carl entry into the elite sessions circles.
Radle’s jaw-dropping resume also spans Gary Lewis & The Playboys, The Concert for Bangladesh (with Klaus Voorman), Dr. John, Dave Mason, J.J. Cale, Buddy Guy, Rita Coolidge, John Lee Hooker, King Curtis, Bobby Whitlock, Art Garfunkel, Donovan, and Bob Dylan, to cite a very select few.
Carl’s weapons of choice included a ’65 sunburst Fender Precision with a blocked and bound neck, ’68 blonde Fender Telecaster bass with a single coil Telecaster pickup and a split-coil Precision pickup, MusicMan Stingray, and a ’75 Alembic.
Radle’s fluid lines are a study in rhythm and space. His meld of staccato phrasing, sustained notes, and unadorned countermelodies sounds deceptively effortless – which further exemplifies Carl’s mastery.
Among Carl’s finest recordings include his work with drummer Jim Keltner as captured on Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen (1970).
To my ears, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970) represents Carl’s most enduring recorded work and stands as a definitive example of the supportive role of the bass in a rock guitar-based setting.
Carl Radle Sound & Vision…
Derek and the Dominos
“Got to Get Better” https://youtu.be/ywdU0C2GH2o
“Bell Bottom Blues” https://youtu.be/FclW0go4Cfc
“I Looked Away” https://youtu.be/PMlmoLvRBNQ
“Anyday” https://youtu.be/QrWK5XWuGpk
Eric Clapton:
“Let It Rain” https://youtu.be/vFoheneUfU0
“Motherless Children” https://youtu.be/9EZlmqWmcqw
“Let It Grow” https://youtu.be/YpDlmop0uYU
Delaney & Bonnie & George & Eric “Comin’ Home” https://youtu.be/aazChqk4U-c
George Harrison “You” https://youtu.be/3xnTWee4eAI
Rita Coolidge “Superstar” https://youtu.be/e4Xi1I78Kms
Leon Russell “Stranger in a Strange Land” live https://youtu.be/Hjy7RAu8TJ4
Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen
“Delta Lady” https://youtu.be/uIz8n4fprxw
“Darling Be Home Soon” https://youtu.be/RCl-zznJ5so
“Space Captain” https://youtu.be/RCl-zznJ5so
Courtesy of Herbie Flowers Com
“Being a bass-player is like being a truck driver… you’re paid to arrive on time and safely at your destination!” – Brian Keith “Herbie” Flowers
Just another day on the job? Probably! In a career that has spanned over a half century, Herbie Flowers is not only among the instrument’s preeminent players, and most prolific studio cats – he created two of rock’s most mind-blowing bass passages, all in a successful effort to earn double wages!
With a blue Fender Jazz he purchased from Manny’s in New York City for $79.00, this Isleworth Middlesex protégé helped to establish the electric bass on stage and in the studio by way of his instantly recognizable tone which he augments with a plectrum, coupled with his adventurous phrasing and melodic instinct. On every track Flowers has waxed, he melds his classical and jazz pedigree with a profound love of soul and blues.
An upright / electric and tuba player, Flowers’ resume is a study in 20th Century pop music history: Serge Gainesbourg, Harry Nilsson, Roger Daltrey, Brian Ferry, Henry Mancini (“Pink Panther”), Frank Sinatra, Cat Stevens, Sky, Bing Crosby, Elton John, David Bowie, Melanie, Al Kooper, David Essex, Marc Bolan, and Paul McCartney, along with numerous sides produced by Mickie Most, Richard Perry, Gus Dudgeon, Shel Talmy, and Tony Visconti simply skim the surface of his extraordinary body of work. Flowers also did a stint in the London Symphony Orchestra and has anchored scores of film and television scores and theater performances.
A witty scribe (read his blogs), solo recording artist, composer, university educator, and engaging stage performer – to list Flowers’ pop / classical / jazz / credits would break the internet, so we advise you to explore www.HerbieFlowers.Com if you need to know exactly what he played on, what he wrote, which bands he led, along with humorous anecdotes regarding his childhood, military service, and observations of the human condition.
If it were only for his contributions to Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side,” and “Rock On” by David Essex – Flowers would still be legend.
Herbie’s repetitive, major 10th interval glissando from the I to the IV chord, doubled with an upper register contrapuntal melody afforded Lou the radio (and career defining) hit he so desperately needed. It’s that rare groove that grabs you in the first few bars.
Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side” https://youtu.be/oG6fayQBm9w
Herbie takes a walk on the financial side: https://youtu.be/7AwFq1u6gzU
Herbie explains the passage in musical terms: https://youtu.be/XBXUP5GqYJs
Once again, Flowers blew minds (and home audio speakers) on David Essex smash hit “Rock On” (1973). Akin to his ingenious plot to earn twice his pay for Lou’s signature song, Herbie double-tracked his part. Significantly detuning the E string which was further enhanced with a wobbly delay effect, Flowers upped his remuneration for the day’s work from £12 to £24! An astonishing passage – it sounds like nothing before it, and nothing has sounded like it since
“Rock On” https://bit.ly/2RUebt9
Herbie Flowers Sound & Vision…
David’s “Space Oddity” https://youtu.be/5PgdZDXg0z0
Sir Elton’s “Country Comfort” https://youtu.be/0MxT31Nqysw
Harry’s “Jump Into the Fire” https://youtu.be/CfjNpgZ4C5Q
Der Bingle “Beautiful Memories” https://youtu.be/O-EVdjlUCCA
Marc Bolan “Dandy In the Underworld” https://youtu.be/82FB5OC-AOo
Watch Herbie guffawing aplenty with Blue Mink “ The Banner Man” https://youtu.be/x66xQ1rK2q0
Sir Paul “No More Lonely Nights” https://youtu.be/rlplvX07Li0
Chris Spedding “Hurt By Love” https://youtu.be/3xIrw3Nitjg
David Bowie “Rebel Rebel” https://youtu.be/8jxhpOYNcDY
With Melanie “Lay Down Stay Down – Candles in the Rain” https://youtu.be/MaiT8gATzxc
Watch Herbie on Top of the Pops with Sky “Tocatta” https://youtu.be/GX1elWIvP58
Dig video of Marc Bolan’s funky remake / remodel of “Jeepster” with Herbie outfitted in overalls! https://youtu.be/mcLT7Ubz7H0
Herbie anchors Ziggy Souldust – From David Live “Watch That Man” https://youtu.be/S_ho5el2_7o
Courtesy of Herbie Flowers Com