Bloodrock
Encyclopedia
Bloodrock was an American
hard rock
band, based in Fort Worth, Texas
, that had considerable success in the 1970s, and was one of the earliest of a number of significant bands to emerge from the Fort Worth club and music scene during the early to mid 1970s and on into the new century.
Dean Parks
– guitar. They released their first single in 1965 “Hey Girl” b/w “I Want You”(Rebel MME 1003).
Shortly thereafter they changed their name to Crowd + 1 and released three more singles: “Mary Ann Regrets” b/w "Whatcha Tryin’ to Do to Me"(BOX 6604), "Don’t Hold Back" b/w "Try," and "Circles" b/w “Most Peculiar Things.”
In 1967 Parks left Crowd +1 to become the musical director for the Sonny & Cher Show (the beginning of a long career as a session musician). He was replaced by Lee Pickens (b. December 8, 194?) – guitar. It was also at this time that Stevie Hill (b. Tulsa, OK) – keyboards/vocals joined the group. They continued as Crowd + 1 until 1969 when they changed their name to Bloodrock. They also recorded their first album, the Terry Knight
produced, Bloodrock (ST-435). The album peaked at 160 on the Billboard 200
chart
in 1970.
In 1970 Rutledge moved from behind the drum set to take on lead vocal duties exclusively. Rick Cobb (b. James Richard Cobb III) took over the percussive duties and added his voice to the group as well. This lineup recorded their next four albums: Bloodrock 2 (ST-491), Bloodrock 3 (ST-765), Bloodrock USA (SMAS 645), and Bloodrock Live (SVBB-11038).
Pop Album Chart
in 1971 mostly on the strength of their single "DOA"
which reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart on March 6, 1971. "DOA" also gave the band considerable regional exposure throughout the Southwest and West, particularly in Texas and Southern California. "DOA" was probably the band's most well known and well remembered single. The motivation for writing this song was explained in 2005 by guitarist Lee Pickens. “When I was 17, I wanted to be an airline pilot,” Pickens said. “I had just gotten out of this airplane with a friend of mine, at this little airport, and I watched him take off. He went about 200 feet in the air, rolled and crashed.” The band decided to write a song around the incident and include it on their second album.
Warren Ham
. The subsequent album, Passages was the last time Bloodrock visited the charts. It peaked at #104 on the Billboard 200 in 1972.
1973 brought another personnel change: Rick Cobb vacated the drums to be replaced by Randy Reader. This line up recorded one album: Whirlwind Tongues (1974).
The end of the road for Bloodrock came in 1975. Randy Reader left the group and an album, Unspoken Words, remained unreleased until 2000, where it was included as part of the CD release Triptych
(along with Passage and Whirlwind Tongues). Unspoken Words featured Bill Ham
and Matt Betton.
, Stevie Hill, *Chris Taylor
) (*in place of original drummer Rick Cobb III) was held on March 12, 2005 in Fort Worth, for the benefit
of their keyboardist Stevie Hill.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band, based in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, that had considerable success in the 1970s, and was one of the earliest of a number of significant bands to emerge from the Fort Worth club and music scene during the early to mid 1970s and on into the new century.
Early career
Bloodrock initially formed in Fort Worth in 1963, under the name The Naturals. This first lineup featured Jim Rutledge (b. January 24, 1947) – drums/vocals, Nick Taylor (b. October 29, 1946 - d. March 10, 2010) – guitar/vocals, Ed Grundy (b. March 10, 1948) – bass/vocals, andDean Parks
Dean Parks
Dean Parks is an American session guitarist and record producer from Ft. Worth, TX.-Albums:Dean was member of The North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher in 1970. Dean is best-known through his many contributions to albums by Steely Dan...
– guitar. They released their first single in 1965 “Hey Girl” b/w “I Want You”(Rebel MME 1003).
Shortly thereafter they changed their name to Crowd + 1 and released three more singles: “Mary Ann Regrets” b/w "Whatcha Tryin’ to Do to Me"(BOX 6604), "Don’t Hold Back" b/w "Try," and "Circles" b/w “Most Peculiar Things.”
In 1967 Parks left Crowd +1 to become the musical director for the Sonny & Cher Show (the beginning of a long career as a session musician). He was replaced by Lee Pickens (b. December 8, 194?) – guitar. It was also at this time that Stevie Hill (b. Tulsa, OK) – keyboards/vocals joined the group. They continued as Crowd + 1 until 1969 when they changed their name to Bloodrock. They also recorded their first album, the Terry Knight
Terry Knight
Terry Knight , born Richard Terrance Knapp, was an American rock and roll music producer, promoter, singer, songwriter and radio personality, who enjoyed some success in radio, modest success as a singer, but phenomenal success as the original manager-producer for Grand Funk Railroad and the...
produced, Bloodrock (ST-435). The album peaked at 160 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
in 1970.
In 1970 Rutledge moved from behind the drum set to take on lead vocal duties exclusively. Rick Cobb (b. James Richard Cobb III) took over the percussive duties and added his voice to the group as well. This lineup recorded their next four albums: Bloodrock 2 (ST-491), Bloodrock 3 (ST-765), Bloodrock USA (SMAS 645), and Bloodrock Live (SVBB-11038).
Bloodrock 2 and D.O.A.
Bloodrock 2 was their most successful album peaking at #21 on the BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Pop Album Chart
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
in 1971 mostly on the strength of their single "DOA"
Children's Heritage/D.O.A.
"Children's Heritage/D.O.A." is a 7" vinyl single by Texas hard rock band Bloodrock released under Capitol Records in early 1971. The version of "D.O.A." featured on the single is roughly half the length of the album version found on Bloodrock 2. The motivation for writing this song was explained...
which reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart on March 6, 1971. "DOA" also gave the band considerable regional exposure throughout the Southwest and West, particularly in Texas and Southern California. "DOA" was probably the band's most well known and well remembered single. The motivation for writing this song was explained in 2005 by guitarist Lee Pickens. “When I was 17, I wanted to be an airline pilot,” Pickens said. “I had just gotten out of this airplane with a friend of mine, at this little airport, and I watched him take off. He went about 200 feet in the air, rolled and crashed.” The band decided to write a song around the incident and include it on their second album.
Further career
In 1972 Lee Pickens left to form The Lee Pickens Group and Jim Rutlege retired from active music altogether. Rutlege was replaced byWarren Ham
Warren Ham
Warren Ham is a vocalist, saxophonist, flutist from Fort Worth, Texas. During the early 70s, Warren and his brother Bill formed The HamBrothers Band and included Ira Wilkes on bass, Red Young on piano and organ and Dahrell Norris on drums. The group recorded for Texas producer Huey P. Meaux...
. The subsequent album, Passages was the last time Bloodrock visited the charts. It peaked at #104 on the Billboard 200 in 1972.
1973 brought another personnel change: Rick Cobb vacated the drums to be replaced by Randy Reader. This line up recorded one album: Whirlwind Tongues (1974).
The end of the road for Bloodrock came in 1975. Randy Reader left the group and an album, Unspoken Words, remained unreleased until 2000, where it was included as part of the CD release Triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
(along with Passage and Whirlwind Tongues). Unspoken Words featured Bill Ham
Bill Ham
Bill Ham was the manager, producer, and image-maker of ZZ Top, from its inception in late 1969 until September 2006.-Career:...
and Matt Betton.
2005 reunion concert
A reunion concert featuring five of the six original numbers (Jim Rutledge, Lee Pickens, Ed Grundy, Nick TaylorNick Taylor
Nick Taylor is a professional squash player and squash coach from the United Kingdom....
, Stevie Hill, *Chris Taylor
Chris Taylor
Chris Taylor may refer to:*Chris Taylor , owner of TMKO Lawyers & Last Gang Records*Chris Taylor , comedian, best known from The Chaser's War on Everything, CNNNN and Triple J...
) (*in place of original drummer Rick Cobb III) was held on March 12, 2005 in Fort Worth, for the benefit
Benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...
of their keyboardist Stevie Hill.
Albums
- BloodrockBloodrock (album)Bloodrock is the self-titled debut from the Fort Worth, Texas hard rock band Bloodrock, released under Capitol Records in 1970. The cover art was designed by producer Terry Knight....
- Capitol ST 435 - (1970) U.S. #160 - Bloodrock 2- Capitol ST 491 - (1970) [RIAA Certified Gold January 3, 1990] U.S. #21
- Bloodrock 3- Capitol ST 765 - (1971) U.S. #27
- Bloodrock U.S.A.- Capitol SMAS 645 - (1971) U.S. #88
- Bloodrock Live- Capitol SVBB 11038 - (double album) (1972) U.S. #67
- PassagePassage (Bloodrock album)Passage is an album by the Texan hard rock band Bloodrock released under Capitol Records in 1972. It is the band's first album with a true progressive rock sound. On this album, the band sounds strikingly different from their earlier releases due to significant changes in their line-up...
- Capitol SW 11109 - (1972) U.S. #104 - Whirlwind Tongues- Capitol SMAS 11259 - (1974)
Compilations
- Bloodrock 'N' RollBloodrock 'N' RollBloodrock 'N' Roll is a best of compilation by Texan hard rock band Bloodrock released under Capitol in 1975. The release draws material only from the band's first three albums, which were the most successful, and none from the more progressive, Warren Ham era.-Track listing:#"D.O.A." –...
- Capitol SM 11417 - (Best Of) (1975) - Bloodrock - Hitroad - Sounds Superb SPR 80536 - (1976) (Netherlands)
- DOADOA (album)D.O.A. is a budget best of compilation by Texan hard rock band Bloodrock released under Capitol Records Special Products in 1989. It is the only release featuring contributions from both distinct eras of the band.-Track listing:#"D.O.A." – 4:34...
(Budget compilation) (1989) - TriptychTriptych (Bloodrock album)Triptych is a two-disc compilation by Texan hard rock band Bloodrock released under One Way Records in 2000. The material on the first disc consists of the 1972 album, Passage, and the first half of the 1973 album Whirlwind Tongues...
- One Way 525 437 2 - (Passage, Whirlwind Tongues and Unspoken Words on two CDs) (2000) - Two Originals- Mason MR 56461 - (Passage, Whirlwind Tongues on one CD) (2007)
Singles
- "Gotta Find a Way" / "Fatback" - Capitol ST 2736 - (1970)
- "D.O.A.Children's Heritage/D.O.A."Children's Heritage/D.O.A." is a 7" vinyl single by Texas hard rock band Bloodrock released under Capitol Records in early 1971. The version of "D.O.A." featured on the single is roughly half the length of the album version found on Bloodrock 2. The motivation for writing this song was explained...
" / "Castle Of Thoughts" - Capitol ST 3009 - (1971) - "A Certain Kind/You Gotta Roll" - Capitol ST 3089 - (1971)
- "Children's Heritage/D.O.A.Children's Heritage/D.O.A."Children's Heritage/D.O.A." is a 7" vinyl single by Texas hard rock band Bloodrock released under Capitol Records in early 1971. The version of "D.O.A." featured on the single is roughly half the length of the album version found on Bloodrock 2. The motivation for writing this song was explained...
" - Capitol ST 3399 - (1971) - "Jessica" / "You Gotta Roll" - Capitol ST 3161 - (1971)
- "Rock & Roll Candy Man" / "Don't Eat The Children" - Capitol ST 3227 - (1972)
- "Erosion" / "Castle Of Thoughts" - Capitol ST 3320 - (1972)
- "Help Is On The Way" / "Thank You Daniel Ellsberg" - Capitol ST 3451 - (1973)
- "Thank You Daniel Ellsberg" / "Voices" - Capitol ST 3770 - (1973)