The Grease Band
Encyclopedia
The Grease Band was a rock
band that started out as Joe Cocker
's backing band. They recorded two albums in the 1970s. They are probably most widely known for their performance of The Beatles
song, "With a Little Help from My Friends
", with Joe Cocker at the Woodstock Festival
in 1969. With respect to their self-titled first album, reviewer Joe Viglione said "...though this is far from commercial, it is important to have this document of the guys who made magic behind Joe Cocker in 1969 and Marianne Faithfull
in the mid-'70s. ...Recorded in London, it is vintage stuff, and 100 years from its making will no doubt be respected for the historic and studious record that it is."
The keyboard
player was Chris Stainton
, another Sheffield
born man (known to his friends as Robin) who went on to tour extensively with Eric Clapton
. The bassist
was Alan Spenner, who went on to play in the UK
white soul outfit Kokomo
, with rhythm guitar
ist Neil Hubbard
. Drummer Bruce Rowland
later joined Fairport Convention
from 1975 through 1979. Henry McCullough
was the lead guitarist, a role he later occupied in Paul McCartney's
Wings
, and continues today as a solo artist.
Rock music
Rock 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...
band that started out as Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
's backing band. They recorded two albums in the 1970s. They are probably most widely known for their performance of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
song, "With a Little Help from My Friends
With a Little Help from My Friends
-Joe Cocker version:Joe Cocker's version was a radical re-arrangement of the original, in a slower, 6/8 meter, using different chords in the middle eight, and a lengthy instrumental introduction...
", with Joe Cocker at the Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
in 1969. With respect to their self-titled first album, reviewer Joe Viglione said "...though this is far from commercial, it is important to have this document of the guys who made magic behind Joe Cocker in 1969 and Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
in the mid-'70s. ...Recorded in London, it is vintage stuff, and 100 years from its making will no doubt be respected for the historic and studious record that it is."
The keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
player was Chris Stainton
Chris Stainton
Christopher "Chris" Stainton is an English session musician, keyboard player and songwriter, who first gained recognition with Joe Cocker in the late 1960s...
, another Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
born man (known to his friends as Robin) who went on to tour extensively with Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric 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...
. The bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
was Alan Spenner, who went on to play in the UK
United Kingdom
The 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...
white soul outfit Kokomo
Kokomo (band)
-Career:Formed in May 1973 by ex-members of the pop group Arrival , Kokomo's ten-piece line-up became: Dyan Birch , Frank Collins , Paddy McHugh , Tony O'Malley , Alan Spenner , Neil Hubbard , Mel Collins , Jody Linscott , Terry Stannard and Jim Mullen...
, with rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
ist Neil Hubbard
Neil Hubbard
Neil Hubbard is a British guitarist who performed with Juicy Lucy , The Grease Band, Bluesology, Joe Cocker, Roxy Music, Kokomo, B.B. King, Kevin Rowland, and Tony O'Malley; and played on the original 1970 concept album, Jesus Christ Superstar....
. Drummer Bruce Rowland
Bruce Rowland (drummer)
Bruce Rowland is an English rock drummer best known for his memberships of The Grease Band and folk rock band Fairport Convention. He is also a prolific session musician.-Early career:...
later joined Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
from 1975 through 1979. Henry McCullough
Henry McCullough
Henry McCullough Henry McCullough Henry McCullough (born Henry Campbell Liken McCullough, 21 July 1943, Portstewart, Northern Ireland is an Irish guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, who has played guitar in such bands as Sweeney's Men, Spooky Tooth, Paul McCartney & Wings, and The Grease Band. He...
was the lead guitarist, a role he later occupied in Paul McCartney's
Paul McCartney
Sir 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...
Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
, and continues today as a solo artist.
Discography
- [ The Grease Band] (ShelterShelter RecordsShelter Records was a U.S. record label started by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell that operated from 1969 to 1981. The company established offices in both Los Angeles and Tulsa, Russell's home town, where the label sought to promote a "workshop atmosphere" with a recording studio in a converted...
, 1971) - [ Amazing Grease] (Goodear, 1975)
External links
- Profile of The Grease Band by Alex Gitlin: www.alexgitlin.com.