Micky Waller was an
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
drummerA drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, who played with many of the biggest names on the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
scene, after he became a professional
musicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
in 1960. In addition to being a member, albeit sometimes briefly, of some of the seminal bands of the 1960s, Waller played as a
session musicianSession musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
with a host of UK and
USThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artistsA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Biography
He was born
Michael Waller in 1941, in
HammersmithHammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
,
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Waller's first professional band,
The Flee-RekkersThe Flee-Rekkers - also known as The Fabulous Flee-Rakkers - were a British instrumental rock and roll band in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The spelling of the group's name varied between records. They were fronted by tenor saxophonist Peter Fleerakkers , and their records were produced by...
, had a #23
hitA hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
in the
UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in 1960, with their recording of "Green Jeans"
producedA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by
Joe MeekRobert George "Joe" Meek was a pioneering English record producer and songwriter....
. He soon left to join a well-known band of the day,
Joe BrownJoe Brown, MBE is an English entertainer.He has worked as a rock and roll singer and guitarist for more than five decades. He was a stage and television performer in the late 1950s and a UK recording star in the early 1960s...
and the Bruvvers.
In July 1963, he joined the
Cyril Davies R&B All StarsThe All-Stars were a short-lived British blues combo active in the early-mid 1960s that later evolved into a studio supergroup...
, a band with a volatile line-up, replacing the band's original drummer
Carlo LittleCarlo Little was a rock and roll drummer, based in the London nightclub scene in the 1960s. He played in an early version of The Rolling Stones...
. At that time the line-up was:
- Cyril Davies
Cyril Davies was one of the first British blues harmonica players and blues musician.-Biography:Born at St Mildred's, 15 Hawthorn Drive, Willowbank, Denham, Buckinghamshire, near London, he was the son of William Albert Davies, a labourer, and his wife Margaret Mary...
(vocals, harmonica)
- Long John Baldry
John William "Long John" Baldry was an English and Canadian blues singer and a voice actor. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart and Elton John appearing in bands led by Baldry in the 1960s. He enjoyed pop success in the UK where Let the Heartaches Begin reached No...
(vocals)
- Geoff Bradford (guitar)
- Cliff Barton (bass)
- Keith Scott (piano)
- Micky Waller (drums)
Davies died on 7 January 1964, and Waller left as the band was changed by Long John Baldry to become the Hoochie Coochie Men. Waller went on to play with
Marty WildeMarty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
as one of the Wildecats. While with Wilde, Waller played on two tours with
Little RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
around the UK.
Like many musicians of the day, Waller moved frequently from band to band, or as was often the case, the band he was in metamorphosed into another. After a short stint with
Georgie FameGeorgie Fame is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. The one-time rock and roll tour musician, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still a popular performer, often working with contemporaries such as Van Morrison and Bill Wyman.-Early life:Fame took piano lessons from the...
and the Blue Flames, a band he was to rejoin several times, he joined
Brian AugerBrian Auger is a jazz and rock keyboardist, who has specialized in playing the Hammond organ.A jazz pianist, bandleader, session musician and Hammond B3 player, Auger has played or toured with artists such as Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Boy Williamson, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon...
to become part of The Trinity, and was soon followed by Long John Baldry. In April 1965, the group was expanded by
Rod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
and
Julie DriscollJulie Tippetts is an English singer and actress, known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan's "This Wheel's on Fire", and Donovan's "Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger & The Trinity...
and evolved into a new band, The Steampacket:
- Long John Baldry
John William "Long John" Baldry was an English and Canadian blues singer and a voice actor. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart and Elton John appearing in bands led by Baldry in the 1960s. He enjoyed pop success in the UK where Let the Heartaches Begin reached No...
(vocals)
- Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
(vocals)
- Julie Driscoll
Julie Tippetts is an English singer and actress, known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan's "This Wheel's on Fire", and Donovan's "Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger & The Trinity...
(vocals)
- Vic Briggs (guitar)
- Brian Auger
Brian Auger is a jazz and rock keyboardist, who has specialized in playing the Hammond organ.A jazz pianist, bandleader, session musician and Hammond B3 player, Auger has played or toured with artists such as Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Boy Williamson, Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon...
(keyboards)
- Rick Brown (bass)
- Micky Waller (drums)
In April 1966, Rod Stewart left, and the other members remained as the nucleus of a new band, Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll & The Trinity:
- Julie Driscoll (vocals)
- Vic Briggs (guitar)
- Rick Brown (bass)
- Brian Auger (keyboards)
- Micky Waller (drums)
Waller subsequently joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakers for a few gigs in April 1967, while Mayall looked for a permanent drummer, and was soon replaced by
Mick FleetwoodMichael John Kells "Mick" Fleetwood is a British musician and actor best known for his role as the drummer and namesake of the blues/rock and roll band Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of John McVie, was the inspiration for the name of the originally Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac...
.
- John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
(vocals, guitar, keyboards)
- Peter Green
Peter Green is a British blues-rock guitarist and the founder of the band Fleetwood Mac...
(guitar, vocals)
- John McVie
John Graham McVie is a British bass guitarist best known as a member of the rock group Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fleetwood, was the inspiration for the band's name...
(bass)
- Micky Waller (drums)
In August 1967, Waller joined the Jeff Beck Group, with former bandmate Rod Stewart:
- Rod Stewart (vocals)
- Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
(guitar)
- Ron Wood
Ronald David "Ronnie" Wood is an English rock guitarist and bassist best known as a former member of The Jeff Beck Group, Faces, and current member of The Rolling Stones. He also plays lap and pedal steel guitar....
(bass)
- Micky Waller (drums)
The group produced two albums.
Truth in 1968 saw the four piece play a mixture of blues with guitar
riffThe Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s. The
instrumentalAn instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
, "Beck's Bolero", with
Jimmy PageJames Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
on rhythm guitar,
The WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's
Keith MoonKeith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
on drums, and bassist
John Paul JonesJohn Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
; combined with Waller's playing on the remake of
The Yardbirds- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...
' hit "
Shapes of Things"Shapes of Things" is a song written by Paul Samwell-Smith, Keith Relf, and Jim McCarty, originally recorded by The Yardbirds and released as a single in March 1966 by the Columbia Graphophone Company...
"; set the template for a heavier blues style. The following year, a second album from the band was
Beck-Ola- Side two :- 2006 reissue bonus tracks :- Personnel :* Jeff Beck — guitars* Rod Stewart — vocals* Nicky Hopkins — piano and organ* Ronnie Wood — bass* Tony Newman — drums- Additional personnel :* Micky Waller — drums on "Sweet Little Angel"...
. But by this point Waller had already departed the band, to be replaced by
Tony NewmanRichard Anthony 'Tony' Newman is an English rock drummer. He was at various times a member of the bands Sounds Incorporated, May Blitz, Three Man Army and T...
. Waller's relationship with Stewart and Wood served him well, as he would go on to join them on Stewart's solo album,
Every Picture Tells a StoryEvery Picture Tells a Story is the third album by Rod Stewart, released in the middle of 1971. It went to number one on both the UK and U.S. charts and finished third in the Pazz & Jop critics' poll for best album of 1971...
. The coupling meant that Waller played percussion on Stewart's
transatlanticTransatlantic crossings are passages of passengers and cargo across the Atlantic Ocean between the Americas and Europe. Prior to the 19th century, transatlantic crossings were undertaken in sailing ships, which was a time consuming and often perilous journey. Transatlantic crossings became faster,...
chartA 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....
topping
hit singleA hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
, "
Maggie May"Maggie May" is a song written by singer Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton and recorded by Stewart in 1971 for his album Every Picture Tells a Story....
".
In 1969, Waller flew to Venice Beach Los Angeles to form the band "Silver Metre" with guitarist
Leigh StephensLeigh Stephens is an American guitarist and songwriter.Stephens became famous as the former lead guitarist of the San Francisco psychedelic rock group Blue Cheer. He was ranked number 98 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. He has claimed to have been the...
of
Blue CheerBlue Cheer was an American psychedelic blues-rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009...
fame, and fellow Brit
Pete SearsPeter 'Pete' Sears is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than four decades he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock of the 1960s, folk, country music, arena rock in the 1970s, and blues...
on bass and keyboards. They recorded one album at
Trident StudiosTrident Studios was a British recording facility, originally located at 17 St. Anne's Court in London's Soho district. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield a drummer of former 1960's group The Hunters and his Brother Barry....
in London, England which was released on National General Records.
In 1971, Waller joined the
Long John BaldryJohn William "Long John" Baldry was an English and Canadian blues singer and a voice actor. He sang with many British musicians, with Rod Stewart and Elton John appearing in bands led by Baldry in the 1960s. He enjoyed pop success in the UK where Let the Heartaches Begin reached No...
blues band for Baldry's first tour of the United States. The band included Ian Armitt on piano, and fellow Rod Stewart session men, Sam Mitchell on guitar, and
Pete SearsPeter 'Pete' Sears is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than four decades he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock of the 1960s, folk, country music, arena rock in the 1970s, and blues...
on bass. Waller continued to work regularly in both rock and blues bands, and joined the original line-up of the Deluxe Blues Band, with
Dick Heckstall-SmithDick Heckstall-Smith was an English jazz and blues saxophonist. He played with some of the most important English blues-rock and jazz fusion bands of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:...
, and bassist
Bob BrunningRobert 'Bob' Brunning was a British musician best known for his role as the original bass guitar player with the blues rock band Fleetwood Mac....
.
- Danny Adler
Danny Adler is a blues-rock guitarist.After playing with leading Cincinnati musicians, such as Bootsy Collins, Slim Harpo, H-Bomb Ferguson and Albert Washington, in the early 1960s, he went to San Francisco in 1969 to join John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Solomon Burke, and experimental group...
(vocal, guitar)
- Bob Brunning
Robert 'Bob' Brunning was a British musician best known for his role as the original bass guitar player with the blues rock band Fleetwood Mac....
(bass)
- Bob Hall
Robert 'Bob' Hall , is a leading English boogie-woogie pianist. A long-time collaborator of Alexis Korner, he also performed regularly with bottleneck bluesman Dave Kelly and his sister, Jo Ann Kelly.-Career:...
(piano)
- Dick Heckstall-Smith
Dick Heckstall-Smith was an English jazz and blues saxophonist. He played with some of the most important English blues-rock and jazz fusion bands of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:...
(sax)
- Micky Waller (drums)
In the early 1980s, Waller was a member of the
Terry SmithTerence 'Terry' Smith is a British Jazz guitarist.-Biography:Twice winner of the Melody Maker Music Polls, Smith spent the early 1960s playing with the Tony Lee Trio, before becoming Scott Walker's musical director and accompanying The Walker Brothers on their Japan tour in 1968...
Blues Band, with
Jo Ann KellyJo Ann Kelly was an English blues singer and guitarist. "To many American performers", an obituarist wrote, "Jo Ann Kelly was the only British singer to earn their respect for her development of what they would be justified in thinking as 'their' genre".-Life and career:Kelly was born in...
(vocals) and
Tony AshtonTony Ashton was an English rock pianist, keyboardist, singer, composer, producer and artist.-Biography:...
(organ). Over the intervening years Waller's playing experience included credits with
The Walker BrothersThe Walker Brothers were an American 1960s and 1970s pop group, comprising Scott Engel , John Walker , and Gary Leeds...
,
Cat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
,
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
,
Bo DiddleyEllas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
,
Dusty SpringfieldMary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
and
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
.
Brunning subsequently hung onto the Deluxe Blues band name, reusing it for a number of line-ups, whilst Waller went to play in Italy for a period. Upon his return to London, Waller briefly joined a revived Deluxe Blues Band that reunited him with Heckstall-Smith and Brunning, along with new members Dave Beaumont, Alan Vincent and Phil Taylor. He continued to play intermittently with a number of blues bands in the London area, including the eponymous Micky Waller Band.
In his later life, Waller took a degree in law, and utilised his gained knowledge to win court claims for unpaid
royaltiesRoyalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
.
Waller died of
liver failureAcute liver failure is the appearance of severe complications rapidly after the first signs of liver disease , and indicates that the liver has sustained severe damage . The complications are hepatic encephalopathy and impaired protein synthesis...
in London, in May 2008, at the age of 66.
External links