Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings

Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings - Groovin' - 2000 - Ripple

Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings are a Blues-rock band founded and led by the Rolling Stones' bass guitarist Bill Wyman. Together with his lifelong musical partner Terry Taylor, The "Dirty Boys" duo produce, arrange and compose original material for the award winning band. The Rhythm Kings are renowned for their popular live performances as they frequently tour through Europe and the United Kingdom. The group has conducted only one tour in the United States, during the middle of 2001. The touring unit often is compared to the Ringo Starr All-Starr Band for its somewhat revolving door of membership as established musicians move from project to project.

After leaving the Rolling Stones, Wyman said, "I thought, maybe I should do some music on the side, but not heavy; I don't want to have to worry about charts, image and all that crap. It's not gonna be a career move—I'm just gonna do it for the fun. We were just gonna do a blues duo and call ourselves the Dirt Boys." Bill was determined to reintroduce older music to newer generations. Bill said the music "ranged from—all the way back to the '30s and upwards. To achieve his aim, Bill loosely organized a group of British musicians who shared his affection for rock 'n' roll, country, blues, jazz, jive and various other music styles which had influenced him. The musical influences for the band came from artists like Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, Ray Charles, Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway. Bill persuaded artists like the legendary soul-jazz/R&B singer and organ player Georgie Fame, drummer Graham Broad and vocalist Beverley Skeete to join his new band. Other great artists to play with Bill included guitarists Albert Lee, Andy Fairweather-Low, and Terry Taylor. Other occasional members have included George Harrison, Eric Clapton, his Stones buddy Mick Taylor, Nicky Hopkins, Peter Frampton, and many other music giants. Bill said that "What I found was that, when we started doing this music, whether it was a song by Fats Waller, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Chuck Berry, or whatever it was, nine times out of ten, the original piece of music was played by a double bass, not a bass guitar. So I had to change my style and play with my thumb instead of a guitar pick in order to sound as much like a double bass as possible with the way I played, but also the notes I played. I don't know how many times people have listened to the records and asked me, 'Who's playing the double bass?' No, it's me—I'm playing it with my bass guitar, but I'm playing it in a different way. I discovered that I could write songs in the old styles, because I would analyze the way they did the arrangements, the way the instrumentation sounded, the way people sang and the slang they used for the lyrics. And in the end, the track, when we'd finish it, would sound like a song from the '30s, '40s or '50s. It's almost like an archeological dig into music". "Groovin'" has been described as "Giving you the blues the way they are meant to be played, with honesty, heart and outstanding musicianship." A special album, and HR by A.O.O.F.C. Listen to Bill's 1982 s/t album and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings "Anyway The Wind Blows" album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 122 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Tell You a Secret - Taylor, Wyman 3:04
2 Groovin' - Brigati, Cavaliere 3:31
3 Rough Cut Diamond - Taylor, Wyman 4:05
4 Mood Swing - Buckner, Sewell, Toner 4:09
5 Hole in the Wall - Taylor, Wyman 3:10
6 Can't Get My Rest at Night - Ray 3:46
7 I Put a Spell on You - Hawkins 4:06
8 Tomorrow Night - Wyman 5:00
9 I Want to Be Evil - Taylor 2:32
10 Rhythm King - Fame, Robinson 4:52
11 Daydream - Sebastian 4:10
12 Oh! Baby - Ozen, Unknown 3:56
13 Streamline Woman - Taylor, Waters, Wyman 2:53
14 Yesterdays - Harbach, Kern 4:27

MUSICIANS

Albert Lee - Guitar, Vocals
Andy Fairweather Low, Martin Taylor - Guitar
Mick Taylor - Slide Guitar
Terry Norman Taylor - Rhythm Guitar
Tommy Emmanuel - Acoustic Guitar
Gerry Hogan - Pedal Steel
Bill Wyman - Bass
David Hartley - Piano
Gary Brooker, Georgie Fame - Organ, Vocals
Anthony Kerr - Vibraphone
Graham Broad, Henry Spinetti - Drums
Ray Cooper - Percussion
Frank Mead, Nick Pentelow - Horn
Nick Payn - Harmonica, Horn
Eddie Hession - Accordion
Chris Hall - Cajun Accordian
Jerry Portnoy - Harmonica
Beverley Skeete - Vocals, Background Vocals
Janice Hoyte, Adrian Byron Burns - Vocals
Sara Skeete, Melanie Redmond, Keeley Coburn, Susie Webb, Zoe Nicholas, Anita Kelsey - Background Vocals

BIO

As a member of the Rolling Stones for three decades, Bill Wyman established himself among the greatest bassists in rock & roll history; in tandem with drummer Charlie Watts, he belonged to one of the most stalwart rhythm sections in popular music, perfectly complementing the theatrics of Mick Jagger and the gritty guitar leads of Keith Richards. Born William Perks in London on October 24, 1936, Wyman was playing in a group called the Cliftons when he was asked to join the Stones in mid-1962, replacing bassist (and future Pretty Things member) Dick Taylor. Reportedly asked to join the group simply because he had his own amplifier, he was, at age 25, by several years the oldest member of the group; regardless, his chemistry with the other bandmembers was immediate, and with the subsequent arrival of Watts, the classic Rolling Stones lineup was soon cemented. The rest, of course, is history, and before too long the Stones were widely recognized as the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band. In 1974, Wyman became the first from their ranks to record a solo LP, the all-star Monkey Grip; two years later, he repeated the trick with Stone Alone. His next major side project was the 1985 cover band Willie and the Poor Boys, which also included Watts, Jimmy Page, and Paul Rodgers. While rarely the recipient of the kind of media attention given his more notorious bandmates, Wyman found himself at the center of scandal in 1989 when he married model Mandy Smith, whom he'd begun dating when she was just 13 years old; they divorced a year later. Finally, in January 1993, he publicly announced his long-rumored departure from the Stones, announcing plans to publish an autobiography, Stone Alone; in 1997 Wyman formed a new band, the Rhythm Kings, which featured guitarists Peter Frampton and Albert Lee as well former Procol Harum keyboardist Gary Brooker. The group debuted with the LP Struttin' Our Stuff, followed in 1999 by Anyway the Wind Blows. Wyman greeted the new century with a string of albums including Groovin' (2000), Double Bill (2001), Just for a Thrill (2005), and numerous live recordings and compilations. © Jason Ankeny © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bill-wyman-p21507/biography