Taj Mahal bassist

[Mushroo]

Man, this looks like it was a fun gig!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0hZ_6xIjywI

Yeah, baby!

Does anyone know who this bass player is?

M

[Busker]

That is Gary Gilmore, although he looks different than most photos I've seen of him. He was Taj's bassist during that period. The guitarist is Jesse Ed Davis, the drummer is Chuck Blackwell. He had a rockin' band. The same lineup did the Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus show of Dec. 1968.

[Mushroo]

Thanks, Busker, for the quick reply! I will Netflix the Rock n Roll Circus and check it out. I remember seeing a clip from that concert of Tony Iommi playing air guitar with Jethro Tull

[Busker]

Please do see Rock n Roll Circus.

Yes, Tony Iommi is with Jethro Tull, as a fill-in guitarist. Air guitar? No, he was really playing. He looked kinda nervous, but got the job done. This was pre-Black Sabbath.

I love to watch this and add the commentaries. You get commentaries from Taj Mahal, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, Keith Richards, Maryanne Faithfull, and several others, depending how you set up the DVD.

Also, its the very last time Brian Jones appeared with the Stones (he died about 6 months later, right after he was let go from the band), and is worth seeing for that reason alone, IMO.

[Mushroo]

Just watched the Tull performance, wow, what a reminder of how great Glenn Cornick is! I am pretty sure he's not really playing that harmonica though

[Busker]

Now that you mention it, Tony Iommi might have been miming the guitar parts on that song - I seem to remember that being mentioned by Ian Anderson (he's another who did a lot of commentary on the show - all the commentaries were done 30+ years after the fact, which makes it interesting).

And Glen Cornick was definintely miming the harmonica parts. Most of the rest of the performances by the other acts were live.

As a side note, Led Zeppelin was considered for the show - they were a brand new band at the time - but it was decided to go with Jethro Tull instead.