Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
CANNED HEAT’S LIBERTY RECORDS’ YEARS.
Canned Heat’s Liberty Records Records’ Years. ‘8th’ of March 1973 marked the end of an era for Canned Heat who had just released their ninth album, The New Age. It was their swan-song for Liberty Records. After six years and nine studio albums, Canned Heat were about leave Liberty Records. They had managed to negotiate their release from …
MIKE HARRISON-FROM THE V.I.P.s TO HIS SOLO YEARS.
Mike Harrison-From The V.I.P.s To His Solo Years. For Carlisle born Mike Harrison, the period between 1963 and 1975, proved the most prolific of a six decade career. During that period, Mike Harrison was the lead singer of The V.I.P.s and Art. They would later become known as Spooky Tooth, who signed to Island Records in 1968. Three years later, and with the …
MOGOLLAR’S CAREER OF TWO PARTS.
Moğollar’s Career Of Two Parts. By 1976, Anatolian rockers Moğollar had been together for the best part of a decade, and were now one of Turkey’s most successful bands. Everything seemed to have been going well for Moğollar until they lost their latest vocalist. This was nothing new, and was a problem that had haunted the group over the years. Vocalists had been Moğollar’s …
MAJA S.K. RATKJE-SULT
Maja S. K. Ratkje-Sult. Rune Grammofon. By the time Maja S. K. Ratkje graduated from the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2000, the twenty-seven year old had already won one of the most prestigious awards in Norwegian music, an Edvardprisen. This came in 1999, when Waves 11b won an Edvardprisen in the contemporary music minor …
HENRY GROSS-HIS SEVENTIES SOLO YEARS.
Henry Gross-His Seventies Solo Years. When Henry Gross took to the stage with Sha Na Na at ‘7.30pm’ on Sunday, August the ‘17th’ 1969, the eighteen year old made history, he became the the youngest person to perform at the Woodstock Music and Arts Fair. Despite his relative youth, Henry Gross took playing in front of 400,000 people in his stride during Sha Na Na’s thirty-minute …
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SANDY DENNY.
The Life and Times Of Sandy Denny. In December 1969, an announcement was made that Sandy Denny had left Britain’s leading folk band, Fairport Convention. This came as a shock to many as Fairport Convention, who were Britain’s first electric folk band, popularity been rising over the past two years. Playing her part in the rise and rise of Fairport Convention was Sandy Denny who had previously been …
THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF JOHN WETTON.
The Life and Music Of John Wetton. On the ’31st’ of January 2017, John Wetton passed away in Bournemouth, Dorset aged just sixty-seven. Music had lost another of its most talented and successful sons. John Wetton had enjoyed success with seven bands and as a solo artist. His career began with Mogul Thrash, before he joined Family, King Crimson, Uriah Heep and …
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE YOUNGBLOODS.
The Rise and Fall Of The Youngbloods By 1965, bassist and vocalist Jesse Colin Young was twenty-four and had already enjoyed a degree of success as a folk singer. He had already released two albums The Soul Of A City Boy in 1964, and Young Blood in 1965. However, Jesse Colin Young’s solo career was …
MOTORHEAD-THE CLASSIC YEARS: 1977 TO 1983.
Motörhead-The Classic Years 1977-1983. In My 1975, Hawkwind’s tour bus arrived in Windsor, Ontario, at the Canadian-American border, but before the band could cross over into America, for the next part of their tour, the band were subjected to a routine drugs search. For Hawkwind bassist Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, this spelt disaster and resulted in his arrest on drug possession charges. For Lemmy it …
THE SEEDS: PUSHIN’ TOO HARD OST.
The Seeds: Pushin’ Too Hard OST, Label: Ace Records. When The Seeds were formed in Los Angeles in early 1965 by Sky Saxon, Daryl Hooper, Jan Savage, Jeremy Levine and Rick Andridge nobody had any idea just how influential the nascent garage band would be. Over the next four years, The Seeds released five albums, …
REGGIE YOUNG-SESSION GUITAR STAR.
Reggie Young-Session Guitar Star. Ace Records. In many ways, session musicians are the unsung heroes of the music industry, and far too often, don’t get the credit that they deserve. They’re mostly anonymous musicians, who are musical hired hands who over the course of a year, will work with countless musicians in the studio or live. However, some of these anonymous musicians have gone on to greater things This previously includes some of the legends …
DIETER MOEBIUS-THE POST CLUSTER YEARS
Dieter Moebius-The Post Cluster Years. Ten years after Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius formed Cluster in 1971, the first chapter in the Cluster story drew to a close 1981, after the release of their seventh studio album, Curiosum. Hans-Joachim Roedelius said: “Cluster had run its course. We decided to concentrate on other projects. There was …
THE MURMAIDS-A STORY OF WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN.
The Murmaids-A Story Of What Might Have Been. Sadly, musical history is littered with groups that are remembered as one-hit wonders. Their brush with commercial success may have been brief, but at least they enjoyed a tantalising taste of what some established groups take for granted. As a result, after a group has enjoyed one hit single, they want another. This …
FIVE DRUMMERS, FIVE GUITARISTS AND FOUR ALBUMS-THE STORY OF SEATRAIN.
Five Drummers, Five Guitarists and Four Albums-The Story Of Seatrain. Although Seatrain were only together for four years and released four albums, there were five separate lineups of the band. Drummers and guitarists proved to be Seatrain’s Achille’s Heel. Seatrain featured five different drummers and guitarists between the release of their 1969 debut album Sea …
THE JUNIE STORY: FROM OHIO PLAYER TO SOLO ARTIST, FUNKADELIC AND BEYOND.
The Junie Story: From Ohio Player To Solo Artist, Funkadelic and Beyond. In 1970, most sixteen years in Drayton, Ohio, were still at high school and were making plans for college or the world of work. Some were worrying about being drafted, and heading for Vietnam to fight in a war that America was struggling to win. …
FUZZY HASKINS-THE WESTBOUND YEARS.
Fuzzy Haskins- The Westbound Years. Between 1970 and 1977, Fuzzy Haskins was a member of not one, but two of the most prolific and successful funk bands of the seventies,..Parliament and Funkadelic. Still, though, Fuzzy Haskins found time to embark upon a solo career. Fuzzy Haskins released his debut album, A Whole Nother Thang on …
DEEP PURPLE’S JOURNEY TO ROCK TITANS.
Deep Purple’s Journey To Rock Titans. Little did record buyers realise it,that the seventies was the golden era for rock music. That was when rock music came of age. So did true titans of rocks, like Led Zed Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. As the seventies dawned, they become three of biggest bands in the world. For the …
MOTORPSYCHO-THE CRUCIBLE.
Motorpsycho-The Crucible. Label: Rune Grammofon and Stickman Records. Nowadays, not many bands stay together thirty years, but Motorpsycho who are one of Norway’s top bands have. They’re proof that longevity isn’t a thing of the past in the music business. Nor is releasing an album a year. That was common in the sixties and seventies, which for many people was …
THE RISE OF JUDY COLLINS THE FIRST LADY OF FOLK 1961-1970.
The Rise Of Judy Collins The First Lady of Folk 1961-1970. Judy Collins was never meant to become a folk singer. Originally, she had studied classical music and made her public debut when she was just thirteen. That night in Denver, Judy Collins played Mozart’s Concerto For Two Pianos. All Antonia Brico’s tuition and encouragement had been …
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