Unusual Rock Trivia?

[Colonel Barnes]

I am like you. For years I could see Schon on stage with A big Afro behind Carlos on stage at Woodstock. It must be a vision I dreamed.

I don't think Neal got involved with Santana until a couple of years later. You can see him with Santana in the 1971 film 'The Last Days of Fillmore West'. His first appearance on a Santana album is Santana III released in 1971. I never heard that bit about Clapton before.

Michael Shrieve was Santana's drummer at Woodstock. He was 20 and looked 16. Carlos was only 22 . . .

 

[JimmyM]

Mick Jagger got his start as the lead singer for the Rolling Stones.

Sting not only sings, but he also plays bass.

And not many people know this, but Prince could play guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums.

 

[Colonel Barnes]

That would be the Graham Bond Quartet in 1963 IIRC. Bond, originally an alto sax player, left Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated* to form his own band, taking Korner's rhythm section (Bruce and Ginger Baker, who had replaced Charlie Watts) with him. McLaughlin rounded up the combo until Baker had him fired for being, in Ginger's words, "a whiner and a miserable moaner"... John was replaced by the late, great Dick Heckstall-Smith on tenor and soprano, while Bond switched to organ (he was a pioneer of the Hammond in Britain, and influenced all the prominent players in the scene: Brian Auger, Jon Lord, Georgie Fame, Alan Price, you name it - McLaughlin also had stints with Fame and Auger). The band's name accordingly changed to 'The Graham Bond ORGANisation'. The line-up lasted until Baker convinced Bond to also fire Jack because his style was, wait for it, "too busy", and carry on without a bass player. For the next few gigs Bruce kept coming to play and get paid, until Baker pointed a knife to his belly and said "If you show up one more time, this goes in you".
(Of course, he had to relent one year later when Clapton accepted to form a band with him on condition that he convinced Jack to be on board - Eric had played with Bruce when the latter replaced John McVie for a while in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.)
Other Bond alumni include two incredible drummers, Jon Hiseman who went on to form Colosseum with Heckstall-Smith and John 'Pugwash' Weathers, later of Gentle Giant. Graham also played in some of Bruce and Baker's post-Cream projects. McLaughlin too raised some money for his trip to America to take part in the In a Silent Way sessions by recording about half of the tracks in Bruce's free jazz album Things We Like (again with Heckstall-Smith and Hiseman, and Jack on the upright - it was his first solo album but was released after Songs for a Tailor). They later reconnected when Bruce was asked to join Tony Williams's Lifetime.

I could go on for days with this stuff. The friends-and-family tree of John Mayall collaborators is often deservedly brought up in rock histories, while that other veritable Who's Who of British jazz and pop heroes that is the list of Alexis Korner associates is much less so (I'd flat out call him nearly as essential to the development of British pop as the Beatles were). Colosseum's connections are also sizable.

Anyone interested in all this should look up the film 'Red, White and Blues'. It was part of the Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues series.

 

[jamro217]

The Ace song "How Long" was written about the bassist's possible quitting, not about a love affair. Notice how the song starts off with just the bass and then modulates up. A hint? Paul Carrack sang lead on that. Carrack also sang on hits with Squeeze ("Tempted") and Mike and the Mechanics. He was a member of Roxy Music, as well.

 

[jamro217]

Rocks come in three varieties: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.

 

[Aberdumbie]

Rocks come in three varieties: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.

Well played sir! I need a "hats off to ya" meme.

 

[jamro217]

Well played sir! I need a "hats off to ya" meme.

Didn't want to monopolize this thread, at least without some sarcasm.

 

[FilterFunk]

Mick Jagger got his start as the lead singer for the Rolling Stones.

Sting not only sings, but he also plays bass.

And not many people know this, but Prince could play guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums.

Oh, a wise guy!

 

[Aberdumbie]

Most people may not know that Clarence was the 5th Beatle:

You can hear Clarence on the Beatles early Anthology series.

 

[FatStringer52]

Rod Stewart was so shy when he began to sing for Jeff Beck that he would do a lot of his singing back stage . . .

 

[Son of Wobble]

Paul McCartney owns the cufflinks Buddy Holly was wearing when he died in a plane crash.

That's a rather macabre keepsake.

Granted, I did consider buying this gold necklace Tupac was wearing when he died. But I thought better
of it and donated the $125,000 asking price to my favorite charity instead.

 

[Hahaha]

1.The guitar part on Bread's Guitar Man and the piano on Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Waters were both played by Larry Knechtel.

2. Black Sabbath's first choice to replace Ozzy Osbourne was Wayne Newton. Just kidding.

Number one is true though.

 

[Michedelic]

Glen Campbell is the lead vocalist on this studio-only Mamas & Papas/Beach Boys inspired bit of a Baroque pop rare gem...

 

[Michedelic]

Take it with a grain of salt, but it's very plausible; Jimmy Page tells the tale that he(along with 'Big' Jim Sullivan)play the guitars on Shirley Bassey's iconic hit "Goldfinger" theme. Big Jim got his nickname to differentiate from 'little' Jim Page, both being the mainstay guitarists in the mid-60's London session musician scene. Big Jim went on to be featured quite a bit on Tom Jones' TV variety show of the late 60's(fantastic Who appearance and a duet with Tom and Janis Joplin can be found in the DVD box set).

 

[Aberdumbie]

1.The guitar part on Bread's Guitar Man and the piano on Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Waters were both played by Larry Knechtel.

2. Black Sabbath's first choice to replace Ozzy Osbourne was Wayne Newton. Just kidding.

Number one is true though.

I was this close to opening google and searching Black Sabbath/Wayne Newton.... This close...

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Tony Iommi has said that Michael Bolton tried out for Sabbath, but Bolton denies it.

 

[Son of Wobble]

....a duet with Tom and Janis Joplin...

Wow, thanks for the tip! Never heard of this.

I like the angles over the bass and featuring the Fender Hootenanny button in the foreground, too!

 

[Michedelic]

Aside from the two of them working together on various(usually Mickie Most produced)sessions for the likes of Herman's Hermits and Donovan, the real birth of Led Zeppelin occurred in 1966 with these two singles...
The way ahead of it's time "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago" by the Yardbirds

Recorded during the brief spell when both Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck were on twin lead guitars, John Paul Jones was on bass(I believe Chris Dreja was still handling rhythm guitar at this point)

Then there was Beck's first solo effort, an all-star affair actually recorded while he was still in the Yardbirds, way ahead of the JBG with Rod Stewart, featuring Page on acoustic, JPJ on bass, the ubiquitous Nicky Hopkins on piano, and Keith Moon on drums(you can hear him screaming right before the instrumental bridge at 1:32)...

 

[Geronimo Atwater]

A Couple More Fab Fun-Facts:

"Badfinger Boogie" was the working title of "With A Little Help From My Friends", whence the band Badfinger got its name.

"Death Cab For Cutie" was a song performed in the film "Magical Mystery Tour" (by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band during the striptease scene), whence that band of the same name copped its moniker.

 

[Son of Wobble]

Ex-Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher believes he is the reincarnation of John Lennon.
(Never you mind that they were alive at the same time).

Sasha Baron Cohen can explain better than I: