Billy Preston

Billy Preston - That's The Way God Planned It - 1969 - Apple

The late Texan Soul musician began playing piano at the age of three. He collaborated with some of the greatest artists in the music industry, including Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, The Rolling Stones and of course, The Beatles. The Beatles first met Billy Preston in 1962 when he was a member of Little Richard's backing band. In Autumn, 1962, The Beatles had been on the same bill as Little Richard in two concerts produced by Brian Epstein. In 1969, when George Harrison saw Billy at a concert at The Royal Festival Hall, playing keyboards for Ray Charles, he left a message for Billy to drop into the Apple studios, where he later joined the Beatles in a basement studio recording session. Billy played keyboards on the "Get Back" ("Let It Be" album) sessions. He also played on early Beatles sessions for "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and "Something." Soon after the "Get Back" sessions, Apple bought out Billy Preston's Capitol Records contract, at a time when Billy had already recorded some tracks for a new album. In April, 1969, George brought Billy into the studio to record an album with musicians that included Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Keith Richard, Klaus Voormann and Ringo Starr. "That's The Way God Planned It" b/w "What About You," produced by George Harrison, was released as a single in July 1969. The single hit No.62 in the U.S. The "That's The Way God Planned It" album was released in September, 1969, and nine of the tracks were produced by George Harrison. The album contains three of the original Capitol sessions tracks, produced by Wayne Schuler. Other Capitol tracks were re-recorded for Apple. "That's The Way God Planned It" is not one of Billy Preston's stronger albums, but there's enough quality funky rock/blues/jazz/R&B tracks from the late keyboards master to make it a good album. George Harrison plays on nine tracks, and there are contributions from Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Ginger Baker and others. [ All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 91.1 Mb ]. Billy Preston recorded two instrumental albums, "The Most Exciting Organ Ever" and "Wildest Organ In Town!" for the Beatles American Vee-Jay label. "Wildest Organ In Town!" included a Billy Preston cover of "A Hard day's Night". Try and find Billy's little known 1970 "Encouraging Words" album. It's a masterpiece of blues/jazz rock, released on the Apple label. It contains covers of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and "All Things (Must) Pass", and also a great cover of Lennon & McCartney's "I've Got A Feeling". Check out "The Best Of Billy Preston" album @ BILPREST/BOBILPREST

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

A SIDE

1 Do What You Want - Preston 3:44
2 I Want to Thank You - Preston 3:13
3 Everything's Alright - Preston, Doris Troy 2:44
4 She Belongs to Me - Bob Dylan 4:09
5 It Doesn't Matter - Preston 2:41
6 Morning Star - W.C Handy, Mack David 3:20

B SIDE

7 Hey Brother - Preston, Jesse Kirkland 2:34
8 What About You - Preston 2:10
9 Let Us All Get Together (Right Now) - Preston, Troy 4:06
10 This Is it - Preston, Troy 2:45
11 Keep it to Yourself - Preston 2:47
12 That's the Way God Planned It (Parts 1 & 2) - Preston 5:34

All songs produced by George Harrison except Tracks 2, 7, & 11 which were produced by Wayne Schuler


MUSICIANS

Billy Preston - Keyboards, Piano, Vocals
George Harrison - Guitar on Tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10: Slide Guitar on Tracks 8, & 12
Eric Clapton - Guitar on Tracks 1, & 12
Keith Richards - Bass guitar
Ginger Baker - Drums
John Barham - Strings on "Morning Star"
Doris Troy - Backing Vocals

N.B: Did Klaus Voormann and Ringo Starr play on this album?

SHORT BIO

It's advantageous to get an early start on your chosen career, but Billy Preston took the concept to extremes. By age ten he was playing keyboards with gospel diva Mahalia Jackson, and two years later, in 1958, he was featured in Hollywood's film bio of W.C. Handy, St. Louis Blues, as young Handy himself. Preston was a prodigy on organ and piano, recording during the early '60s for Vee-Jay and touring with Little Richard. He was a loose-limbed regular on the mid-'60s ABC TV series Shindig, proving his talent as both vocalist and pianist, and he built an enviable reputation as a session musician, even backing the Beatles on their Let It Be album. That impressive Beatles connection led to Preston's big break as a solo artist with his own Apple album, but it was his early-'70s soul smashes "Outa-Space" and the high-flying vocal "Will It Go Round in Circles" for A&M that put Preston on the permanent musical map. Sporting a humongous Afro and an omnipresent gap-toothed grin, Preston showed that his enduring gospel roots were never far removed from his joyous approach. He continued to perform and record throughout the '80s, '90s, and 2000s, until he fell into a coma caused by pericarditis late in 2005; sadly, he never regained consciousness and passed away on June 6, 2006. © Bill Dahl, allmusic.com

BIO (Wikipedia)

William Everett "Billy" Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American soul musician from Houston, Texas, raised mostly in Los Angeles, California. In addition to his successful, Grammy-winning career as a solo artist, Preston collaborated with some of the greatest names in the music industry, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Nat King Cole, Little Richard, Eric Burdon, Ray Charles, George Harrison, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Sam Cooke, King Curtis, Sammy Davis Jr., Sly Stone, Aretha Franklin, the Jackson 5, Quincy Jones, Mick Jagger, Richie Sambora, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. He played the Fender Rhodes electric piano and the Hammond organ on the Get Back sessions in 1969. Preston along with Tony Sheridan are the only two non-Beatles to receive billing as an artist alongside the Beatles (as distinct from receiving credit as a session musician on album packaging) on an official Beatles record release. The label of the Get Back single credits the artists on the record as "The Beatles with Billy Preston". Preston began playing piano while sitting on his mother's lap at age three, and he was considered something of a prodigy on piano and organ. By the age of 10 he was performing in the bands of gospel singers Mahalia Jackson and James Cleveland. At age 12 he appeared in the 1958 Paramount Pictures film St. Louis Blues, portraying blues composer W.C. Handy as a young man. In the 1960s he performed with Little Richard and Ray Charles. He also began a recording career as a solo artist with the 1965 album The Most Exciting Organ Ever. He was also a regular on the mid-1960s ABC-TV musical variety series Shindig! as a member of the show's house band. Preston is one of several people sometimes referred to by outsiders as "the Fifth Beatle" — though he was never described as such by any of the four Beatles. Preston first met the Beatles in 1962 as part of Little Richard's touring band when their manager Brian Epstein organized a Liverpool show, for which the Beatles opened. The Washington Post explained their subsequent meeting: - "They'd hook up again in 1969, when The Beatles were about to break up while recording the last album they released, Let It Be (they would later record Abbey Road, which was released prior to Let It Be). George Harrison, always Preston's best Beatles buddy, had quit and walked out of the studio and gone to a Ray Charles concert in London, where Preston was playing organ. Harrison brought Preston back to the studio, where his keen musicianship and gregarious personality temporarily calmed the tension." Preston played with the Beatles for several of the Get Back sessions, some of the material from which would later be culled to make the film Let it Be and its companion album, during which he joined the band for its rooftop concert, its final public appearance. "Get Back", one of the album's singles, was credited to "the Beatles with Billy Preston", the only time such a joint credit had been given on an official Beatles-sanctioned release (as distinct from an unsanctioned reissue of some Hamburg-era recordings on which they were the backing group for Tony Sheridan). The credit was bestowed by the Beatles to reflect the extent of Preston's presence on the track; his electric piano is prominent throughout and he plays an extended solo. Preston also worked (in a more limited role) on the Abbey Road album, contributing to the track "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and "Something". Years later, he appeared as Sgt. Pepper in Robert Stigwood's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, a film very loosely based on the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Signed to the Beatles' Apple label, in 1969, Preston released the album That's the Way God Planned It and a single of the same name (produced by George Harrison). His relationship with Harrison continued after the breakup of The Beatles; he was the first artist to record "My Sweet Lord", in his album Encouraging Words (Harrison's own version of the single hit number one in the U.S. and the UK and was the first number one by a former Beatle after they disbanded) and he was on several of Harrison's 1970s solo albums. Preston also made notable contributions to The Concert for Bangladesh, the Harrison-organized charity concert, toured with Harrison on his 1974 tour of North America and, after Harrison's death, The Concert for George. Preston also worked on solo recordings by two other ex-Beatles, John Lennon and Ringo Starr. His solo career also peaked at this time, beginning with 1972's "Outa-Space", an instrumental track that further popularized the sound of the clavinet in funk music. The song reached #2 on the U.S. Hot 100, #1 on the R&B chart, and won the Grammy award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Over the next two years, he followed up with the #1 hits "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing From Nothing", and the #4 hit "Space Race". American Bandstand host and executive producer Dick Clark enjoyed "Space Race" to the extent that he used the instrumental for the mid-show break for virtually the remainder of its run. After the Beatles, Preston played keyboards for the Rolling Stones, alongside pianist Nicky Hopkins. Preston appears on the Stones' albums Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street, Goats Head Soup, It's Only Rock'n Roll and Black and Blue. He toured as a support act on their 1973 European Tour and recorded his live album Live European Tour 1973 in Munich with Mick Taylor on guitar. In 1974 he composed one of Joe Cocker's biggest hits, "You Are So Beautiful". On October 11, 1975, he was a musical guest on Saturday Night Live's series premiere episode (along with Janis Ian). Also in that year, and in 1976, he again toured with the Stones. This time he played two of his own songs, backed by the Stones, in the middle of every concert. Preston's 1973 "Do You Love Me" was the basis for the Stones' "Melody" on their 1976 Black and Blue album. The Stones and Preston parted company in 1977, mainly due to a row over money. He continued to play on solo records by Stones members and made appearances again on the Stones' 1981 Tattoo You and 1997 Bridges to Babylon albums. He had a hit single in 1980 with Syreeta Wright with the ballad "With You I'm Born Again" that reached number four on the charts. A few years later, however, he was arrested and convicted for insurance fraud after setting fire to his own house in Los Angeles, and he was treated for alcohol and cocaine addictions. In 1991, Preston was arrested in Los Angeles after physically attacking a teenage transvestite prostitute after he discovered the prostitute's real age and sex. After going over a drug test, he tested positive for cocaine. That year, he entered no-contest pleas to the cocaine and assault charges. He was sentenced to nine months at a drug rehabilitation center and three months of house arrest. Preston overcame his problems in the early 1990s, toured with Eric Clapton, and recorded with a wide range of artists. He also toured with Ringo Starr and appeared on the 1990 live album Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band. He was also invited to become a member of The Band in 1991, after the death of their piano player, Stan Szelest. He completed a tour, but his above-mentioned legal problems put an end to the collaboration before they had a chance to record together in the studio. While touring and fighting his own health problems, Preston received the news that on 29 November 2001, his longtime bandmate, friend and guitarist of the 1960s, George Harrison had died after a long battle with throat cancer. Preston, among many of Harrison's longtime friends, performed in the 2002 Concert for George in London, England, to play a tribute song. Preston participated in the concert at the Royal Albert Hall, and his performance of "My Sweet Lord" has received critical acclaim. Preston played the Hammond Organ for the show and sang "Isn't It A Pity" and "My Sweet Lord" plus backing vocals to most of the songs. Ringo Starr called him one of the greatest Hammond players of all time (in the theatrical version of the concert). In 2002 he appeared on the Johnny Cash album American IV: The Man Comes Around, playing piano on "Personal Jesus". He toured with The Funk Brothers and Stevie Winwood in Europe in early 2004 and then with his friend Eric Clapton in Europe and North America. It has been claimed that his big contribution to the Beatles' sound was made clear with the release of the Let It Be... Naked album. In 2005 he recorded "Go Where No One's Gone Before", the main title song for the anime series L/R: Licensed by Royalty. Preston played clavinet on the song "Warlocks" for the Red Hot Chili Peppers album Stadium Arcadium released in 2006. Although very ill by this point, he jumped out of his bed after hearing a tape of the song given to him by the band, recorded his part, and went back to bed. Preston's final contributions were the gospel-tinged organ on the Neil Diamond album 12 Songs, and his keyboard work on The Road to Escondido by Eric Clapton and J. J. Cale. In March 2005, Preston appeared on the American Idol's fourth season finale. Playing piano, he performed "With You I'm Born Again" with Vonzell Solomon, who finished in third place. Preston made his last public appearance in late 2005 at the Los Angeles press junket for the re-release of the Concert for Bangladesh movie. He was in good spirits and talked to many in the press. Afterwards he played a three song set of "Give Me Love", "My Sweet Lord" and "Isn't It a Pity", featuring Dhani Harrison on guitar and Ringo Starr on drums for the final song only. There still remains an unreleased CD of Beatles covers that he had been working on for several years before his death. Many tracks from this CD were previewed by him at The Fest For Beatles Fans shows in the years before his death. Preston had battled kidney disease in his later years, brought on by his hypertension. He received a kidney transplant in 2002, but his health continued to deteriorate. He died on June 6, 2006 in Scottsdale, Arizona, of complications of malignant hypertension that resulted in kidney failure and other complications. He had voluntarily entered a drug rehabilitation clinic in Malibu, Calif., and suffered pericarditis there, leading to respiratory failure that left him in a coma since November 21, 2005. His funeral was held on June 20 at the Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, California. Preston was interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, California.

Cold Blood

Cold Blood - Cold Blood - 1969 - San Francisco Records

Cold Blood was one of the Bay Area's non-psychedelic contributions to pop music in the late '60s and early '70s. Their R&B-influenced combination of rock, blues, and jazz stood out from the guitar-driven acid rock bands most identified with that scene. After establishing themselves at dancehalls such as the Avalon or Bill Graham's Winterland Ballroom, Cold Blood became one of the first acts signed to Graham's Fillmore record label -- which was named after another one of his venerable venues. Their 1969 self-titled debut -- although somewhat contained in comparison to their live shows -- is a good representation of their soulful, horn-driven funk. One of the major reasons for the band's success is the unadulterated and otherwise raw vocal style of Lydia Pense. The album features a mixture of dramatic ballads -- such as the medley of "I'm a Good Woman" and "Let Me Down Easy" -- as well as full-blown R&B rave-ups on the cover of Sam & Dave's "You Got Me Hummin'" or their freewheeling version of "I Just Want to Make Love To You." Keyboardist Raul Matute's contribution, "If You Will," is a perfect vehicle for Pense's vocals as it glides between licks from lead guitarist Larry Fields and the five-piece brass section. Inevitable comparisons have been made between Pense, Janis Joplin, and Lynn Hughes -- of another San Fran rock and soul combo, Stoneground. However, there is a smoky scintillation to Pense's approach -- particularly potent on the gospel-tinged opener, "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" -- that is downplayed or altogether lacking from her contemporaries. This intangible quality would become increasingly pronounced and evident on Cold Blood's follow-up LP, the classic Sisyphus (1971). In 2001 Collectables reissued this album along with Sisyphus as part of two LPs on one CD collection. Although marred by sloppy mastering, it is recommended as the only place to hear this album in its entirety. © Lindsay Planer © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/cold-blood-r60881/review

Between 1967 and 1977 Lydia Pense was a well known vocalist in the San Francisco/Oakland area. She has been called "the female voice of San Francisco" and was one of the best rock'n blues singer of her day. She was produced by Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, guitarist with the legendary Booker T. & The MG's. She temporarily retired from the music scene in the '80s and early '90s, to rear a daughter, but returned with a bang to reform the great soul/jazz rock band Cold Blood, with a new line-up of some talented local Bay Area musicians. In 2005 Lydia and Cold Blood released "Transfusion" which got many great reviews. The album featured ex-members of Cold Blood as well as members of the brilliant East Bay Grease champs Tower of Power. If you like BS&T, early Chicago and Tower of Power you may like this early S/T album which is full of terrific jazz and soul funk grooves. Hornwork is brilliant and Lydia's vocals are special. Sound quality could be better but the album is very listenable and is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Try and listen to Lydia Pense's 1974 "Lydia" album, and Cold Blood's 1971 "Sisyphus" album. You can also find the aforementioned Lydia Pense & Cold Blood's "Transfusion" album on this site

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

A1 I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free - BillyTaylor, D.Dallas 5:58
A2 If You Will - Raul Matute 5:35
A3 You Got Me Hummin - Isaac Hayes, David Porter 5:47
B1 I Just Want To Make Love To You - Willie Dixon 5:13
B2 I'm A Good Woman - Barbara Lynn 3:00
B3 Let Me Down Easy - Wrecia Holloway, James McDougal 5:35
B4 Watch Your Step - Bobby Parker 5:27

MUSICIANS

Vocals - Lydia Pense
Guitar - Larry Fields
Bass - Rod Ellicott
Keyboards, Organ, Piano - Raul Matute
Drums - Frank J. Davis
Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Saxophone, Trumpet - Jerry Jonutz
Sax (Tenor), Saxophone, Vocals - Danny Hull
Trumpet - Carl Leach, Larry Jonutz, David Padron
Horn, Trumpet - Mic Gillette



ABOUT LYDIA PENSE (WIKIPEDIA)

Lydia Pense (born Lydia Jane Pense in San Francisco, California on December 14, 1947) is an American rock-soul-jazz singer who since 1969 has performed with the band Cold Blood. Her style has been compared to powerful singers including Janis Joplin (who recommended the band to Bill Graham for their first audition), Aretha Franklin and Teena Marie. Pense's mother, the former is Miss Ramos, was born in Madrid, Spain, while her father came from Nebraska, United States. While attending Sequoia High School in Redwood City, California at the age of 16, Pense started singing with a band called The Dimensions, With Guitarist Paul C Saenz. They initially played Big Band songs, but she soon was attracted to the music of Ray Charles and Chuck Berry. Lydia joined Cold Blood in 1968. Their initial four albums, Cold Blood, Sisyphus, First Taste of Sin (produced by Donny Hathaway), and Thriller remain their best known work. The band continues to record and perform today. The band separated in the late 1970s and Pense suspended her career in the 1980s to raise her daughter before re-forming the group.

COLD BLOOD BIO (WIKIPEDIA)

Cold Blood is a long-standing soul-rock-jazz band founded by Larry Field in 1968 and originally based in the San Francisco East Bay area. They have also gone by the name "Lydia Pense and Cold Blood" due to the popularity of their lead singer, Lydia Pense. The band first came to prominence in 1969 when rock impresario Bill Graham signed them after an audition and they played the Fillmore West in San Francisco. Pense has been compared to Janis Joplin, and it was Joplin who recommended the audition to Graham. The band has often been compared to another long-standing popular Northern California group, Tower of Power, and like Tower of Power they were rare in that they featured a horn section in addition to guitar, bass and drums. The Tower of Power horn players have performed with Cold Blood on a regular basis since the early 1970s. Skip Mesquite and Mic Gillette have been members of both Tower Of Power and Cold Blood. Their fan base also overlaps with the Sons of Champlin, although their musical styles are quite different. Their initial four albums, Cold Blood, Sisyphus, First Taste of Sin (produced by Donny Hathaway), and Thriller remain their best known work. The band disbanded in the late 1970s, reformed in the 1980s and stabilized with its current membership in the 1990s. Cold Blood continues to record and perform today, and some former band members such as Raul Matute (and some from Tower of Power) appear on its most recent album. Original band members were founder Larry Field (lead guitar), Lydia Pense (vocals), Danny Hull (tenor saxophone and songwriter), Larry Jonutz (trumpet), Raul Matute (Hammond organ, piano, arranger and songwriter), Jerry Jonutz (Baritone, alto and tenor saxophone), David Padron (trumpet), Rod Ellicott (bass), Paul C Saenz (Guitar), and Frank Davis, who was replaced on drums by the legendary Sandy McKee during the Sisyphus sessions. Narada Michael Walden and Jonathan "Sugarfoot" Moffett both mention McKee on their short list of drummers most influential in their stylistic development. Over the years there have been various incarnations of the band including singer/trumpet player Max Haskett, Tower Of Power horn player Mic Gillette, Journey keyboardist Stevie "Keys" Roseman on Hammond B-3 organ, Sons Of Champlin drummer Jim Preston, guitar player Michael Sasaki, Tower Of Power guitarist Jeff Tamelier, Boz Scaggs horn player Tom Poole, Elvin Bishop sax player Bill Slais, bass player Michael White & others. Current personnel are Lydia Pense (vocals), Steve Salinas (keyboards), Steve Dunne (guitar), Mike Morgan (percussion), Evan Palmerston (bass), Rich Armstrong (trumpet, percussion), Rob Zuckerman (alto, tenor, baritone saxes) and Donny Baldwin (drums). Cold Blood is featured playing live in Fillmore, a documentary of the last concerts at The Fillmore auditorium.

Pacific Gas & Electric

Pacific Gas & Electric - Get It On [The Kent Records Sessions (Bonus Tracks)] - 2008 - Big Beat Records

The original Pacific Gas & Electric "Get It On" LP was released on Kent Records in 1968. The album was reissued on CD in 2008 by Big Beat Records entitled "Get It On The Kent Record Sessions", which featured the original album, and nine bonus tracks of alternate takes. The post here contains those nine extra tracks only
Pacific Gas and Electric were a great late sixties/early seventies dynamic R&B/soul blues band. The late Charlie Allen, with his gritty vocals added drive and excitement to the band, and Glenn Schwartz was a terrific guitarist. A Shame there's not that much recorded output from PG&E, but quality is always better than quantity. Check out the original "Get It On" album @ PG&E/GIO and the band's "Live 'N' Kicking at Lexington" album can be found @ PG&E/LAX Please read what the great bassist Brent Block has to say about Pacific Gas & Electric's ex-guitarist, and founder Tom Marshall HERE

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

9. My Sweet Baby - (Take 6, alternate take) *
10. Dirty Mistreater - (Take 2, alternate take) - Charlie Allen, F. Cook, J. Hill
11. Wade in the Water - (undubbed version alternate take) - Trad.
12. Cry, Cry, Cry - (take 2 alternate take) - Deadric Malone
13. Stormy Times - (Take 9, alternate take) - Brent Block
14. Long Handled Shovel - (Take 8, alternate take) - Allen, Charlie/Brent Block/Frank Cook/Marshall, Tom/Glenn Schwartz
15. Jelly, Jelly - (Take 1, alternate take) - Eckstine, William/Earl Hines
16. Hunter, The - (Take 1, alternate take) - Steve Cropper/Donald "Duck" Dunn/Jackson, Al Jr./Booker T. Jones/Wells, Carl
17. Blues Chant - (Take 2, alternate take)

* [ It has been said that the track "My Sweet Baby" on the "Get It On" CD does not sound like Charlie Allen's vocals. According to drummer, Frank Cook, Freddie DeMann heard a few young guys singing one night and was interested in the guys' recording potential. Freddie DeMann called some musicians and formed a makeshift studio band. One of the musicians is definitely PG&E's drummer, Frank Cook. Frank can't remember the other singers names. He may have never been told. Although it's not strictly a genuine "PG&E" recording, it's a good song, and an interesting piece of rock music history ] N.B: The preceding article may not apply to "My Sweet Baby" on this CD issue, as the track is a 6th alternate take. Any more info would be appreciated on this (A.O.O.F.C)

BAND

Glenn Schwartz, Tom Marshall - guitar
Brent Block - bass
Joe Sample - organ
Frank Cook - drums
Charlie Allen RIP - vocals

BIO (Wikipedia)

Pacific Gas & Electric was an American rock band, best known for the song "Are You Ready?" released in 1970. The band's history dates from 1967 in Los Angeles. Self-taught guitarist Tom Marshall met bassist Brent Block at a party thrown by Block's former art teacher and formed a band then named "Pacific Gas and Electric Blues Band". It was one of the first multiracial bands to be part of the Los Angeles music scene. An early member was Charlie Allen (May 1, 1942 - May 7, 1990), a drummer from San Francisco, whose vocal abilities were so good that he moved from drums to lead singer, and was replaced on drums by Canned Heat's former drummer, Frank Cook, who had earlier signed to manage the band. In 1968, the band name was shortened to "Pacific Gas & Electric", and included Allen, Cook, Marshall, Block, and guitarist Glenn Schwartz (also of James Gang and All Saved Freak Band). They released their first album, Get It On, that year on the Power record label (it was subsequently released on Big Orange, Kent and United Superior as well). Although it only reached #159 on the album charts, someone at Columbia Records was listening, as they signed the band to a recording contract shortly after their appearance at the Miami Pop Festival in December of 1968. The next album, and the first released by Columbia, was simply called Pacific Gas and Electric (1969). However, it was the next release, Are You Ready, that included their first mainstream hit. The title track reached #14 in the summer of 1970, and featured the backing vocals of The Blackberries. Wholesale changes were in store for the group after recording the Are You Ready album. After a serious car accident, Cook was replaced on drums by Ron Woods, and he stayed on as manager. Schwartz announced his conversion to Christianity onstage during a concert and then later joined the All Saved Freak Band. Marshall also left, and the two were replaced by Frank Petricca on bass and Ken Utterback on guitar, with Brent Block moving to rhythm guitar from bass. This is the line-up that toured in support of Are You Ready. This version of the band recorded a self-titled album in 1971 (minus Block, who had left the band in late 1970), adding Jerry Aiello on keyboards, trumpet player Stanley Abernathy, sax players Alfred Galagos and Virgil Gonsalves, and percussionist Joe LaLa. At the request of the utility company sharing the same name, the band name was shortened to "P G & E". The band did countless concerts, often appearing with other big musical acts of the era. At one P G & E show, writer and film producer Lawrence Schiller filmed his documentary, The Lexington Experience. Disagreements with the owners to the rights to the music caused the film to be shelved after only a few showings, and the only copies known to exist are in Schiller's vault. They made more movie history when they appeared in, and provided music to, the Otto Preminger film Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon, starring Liza Minnelli. Their song "Staggolee" was also featured in the Quentin Tarantino film Death Proof. After 1972, the group's line-up became unstable, resembling more of an Allen solo project. One more album was forthcoming: ...Starring Charlie Allen in 1973 on the Dunhill label, featuring Allen and a host of studio musicians.

Georgie Fame

Georgie Fame - The Third Face of Fame - 1968 - CBS (Mono & Stereo)

Georgie Fame, (b. Clive Powell ), was spotted as far back as 1959, by the great musical songwriter, Lionel Bart in a London dance club. At that stage, Fame was a sixteen year old pianist/singer, who played with the then popular bandleader Rory Blackwell's band. Bart persuaded him to audition for Larry Parnes, then a big name in beat group/record promotion. The rest is history. Fame had two number one hits in the U.K with "Yeh Yeh" (1965) and "Get Away" (1966). He also had a no.7 hit Stateside in 1968 with "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde", (included on this album). He had major success with the single "Rosetta", in 1971, who he recorded with his great friend, Alan Price, ex-keyboard player of The Animals. Fame's biggest influences were artists like Jimmy Smith, Mose Allison, James Brown, and anything R&B or Motown. "The Third Face of Fame" is a collection of cover songs which reflect Georgie Fame's love of these artists. Among the songs on the album are compositions by Mose Allison, George & Ira Gershwin, and J. Primrose. He also includes covers of The Beatles' "When I'm 64", and Donovan's "Mellow Yellow". Georgie played organ with Van Morrison for a few years, and worked with Bill Wyman, Count Basie, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Eric Clapton, and Muddy Waters. Georgie remains one of the great British rhythm and blues and jazz singers. He is also a very talented keyboardist. Read his bio's for his many musical achievements. In recent years, Georgie Fame has not been too successful, so buy this album, and if you can find it, the album, "Somebody Stole My Thunder: Jazz-Soul Grooves 1967-1971" on Sony/BMG, is a great buy. The "Shorty featuring Georgie Fame" album can be found @ GEOFAM/SHORTY and his "Name Droppin'" album @ GEOFAM/ND

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

The Ballad Of Bonnie and Clyde - M. Murray / P. Callander
When I'm Sixty-Four - J. Lennon / P. McCartney
Ask Me Nice - M. Allison
Exactly Like You - D. Fields / J. McHugh
Someone To Watch Over Me - G. Gershwin / I. Gershwin
Blue Prelude - G. Jenkins / J. Bishop
Bullets Laverne - N. Greenbaum / B. Kane
This Is Always - H. Warren / Gordon
Side By Side - H. Woods
St. James Infirmary - J. Primrose
Mellow Yellow - D. Leitch (aka Donovan)

MUSICIANS

Georgie Fame - Keyboards, Vocals
George Kish, John McLaughlin, Terry Smith, Ernie Shears - Guitar
Frank Clarke, Phil Bates, Ronnie Seabrook - Bass
Gordon Beck, Arthur Greenslade - Keyboards
Bill Eyden, Hayden Jackson - Drums
Tommy Whittle, Ronnie Scott, Cyril Reubens, John Marshall, Harry Klein, Art Ellefson, Tony Coe - Saxophone
Les Condon, Greg BowenDerek Watkins, Derek Healey, Bobby Haughey, Ian Hammer, Albert Hall - Trumpet
Gib Wallace, Morris Platt - Trombone

REVIEW

Georgie Fame was firmly enrolled within his pop phase by 1968, and Third Face of Fame did not care who noticed. In fact, it rather hoped that everybody lured into earshot by his recent chart-topping lament for outlaws Bonnie & Clyde (the opening "The Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde," of course), would all come hurtling in. In fact they didn't, and the album marked Fame's first non-charting outing since his debut, five years before — which means the millions missed out on a handful of cuts that were at least as enjoyable as the hit. A version of the Beatles' "When I'm 64" rivals any other cover of that song, with Fame's treatment truly capturing the foreboding that lurks behind the superficial buoyancy of the lyric, while there's also a heartfelt version of George and Ira Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me." Earlier fans are treated to a powerful visit to "St James Infirmary," which proves that Fame has lost none of his earlier taste for menacing R&B, while the closing romp through Donovan's "Mellow Yellow" is nothing if not, er, mellow. Third Face of Fame can scarcely be recommended to anybody yearning for Fame himself to return to the blues-breaking growl of old. But, as an example of British pop's own longtime fascination with "adult"-sounding entertainment, it's certainly an enjoyable slice of very easy listening. © Dave Thompson, allmusic.com

ABOUT GEORGIE FAME

Georgie Fame's swinging, surprisingly credible blend of jazz and American R&B earned him a substantial following in his native U.K., where he scored three number one singles during the '60s. Fame played piano and organ in addition to singing, and was influenced by the likes of Mose Allison, Booker T. & the MG's, and Louis Jordan. Early in his career, he also peppered his repertoire with Jamaican ska and bluebeat tunes, helping to popularize that genre in England; during his later years, he was one of the few jazz singers of any stripe to take an interest in the vanishing art of vocalese, and earned much general respect from jazz critics on both sides of the Atlantic. Fame was born Clive Powell on June 26, 1943, in Leigh, Lancashire (near Manchester, England). He began playing piano at a young age, and performed with several groups around Manchester as a teenager, when he was particularly fond of Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1959, his family moved to London, where the 16 year old was discovered by songwriter Lionel Bart (best known for the musical +Oliver). Bart took Powell to talent manager Larry Parnes, who promoted British rockers like Billy Fury, Marty Wilde, Johnny Gentle, and Vince Eager. Powell naturally had to be renamed as well, and as Georgie Fame, he played piano behind Wilde and Eager before officially joining Fury's backing band, the Blue Flames, in the summer of 1961. (The Blue Flames also included guitarist Colin Green, saxophonist Mick Eve, bassist Tony Makins, and drummer Red Reece.) When Fury let the band go at the end of the year, Fame became their lead singer, and they hit the London club circuit playing a distinctive blend of rock, pop, R&B, jazz, and ska. Their budding reputation landed them a residency at the West End jazz club the Flamingo, and thanks to the American servicemen who frequented the club and lent Fame their records, he discovered the Hammond B-3 organ, becoming one of the very few British musicians to adopt the instrument in late 1962. From there, the Blue Flames became one of the most popular live bands in London. In 1963, they signed with EMI Columbia, and in early 1964 released their acclaimed debut LP, Rhythm and Blues at the Flamingo. It wasn't a hot seller at first, and likewise their first three singles all flopped, but word of the group was spreading. Finally, in early 1965, Fame hit the charts with "Yeh Yeh," a swinging tune recorded by Latin jazz legend Mongo Santamaria and given lyrics by vocalese virtuoso Jon Hendricks of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. "Yeh Yeh" went all the way to number one on the British charts, and Fame started living up to his stage name (although the song barely missed the Top 20 in America). His 1965 LP Fame at Last reached the British Top 20, and after several more minor hits, he had another British number one with "Getaway" in 1966. After one more LP with the original Blue Flames, 1966's Sweet Thing, Fame broke up the band and recorded solo; over the next few years, his backing bands included drummer Mitch Mitchell (later of the Jimi Hendrix Experience) and the young guitarist John McLaughlin (Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra). At the outset, Fame's solo career was just as productive as before, kicking off with the Top Ten big-band LP Sound Venture (recorded with Harry South's orchestra); thanks to its success, he toured with the legendary Count Basie the following year. Several hit singles followed over the next few years, including "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde," which became his third British chart-topper in late 1967 and, the following year, his only Top Ten hit in America. But by 1969, his success was beginning to tail off; hoping to make inroads into the more adult-oriented cabaret circuit, Fame was moving more and more into straight-up pop and away from his roots. In 1971, he teamed up with onetime Animals organist Alan Price and recorded an album of critically reviled MOR pop, Fame & Price; the partnership produced a near-Top Ten hit in "Rosetta," but ended in 1973. Fame re-formed the Blue Flames with original guitarist Colin Green in 1974 and attempted to return to R&B, but his records for Island attracted little attention. He spent much of the '70s and '80s making ends meet by performing on TV and the cabaret circuit, as well as writing advertising jingles; he also continued to make records, to little fanfare. In 1989, Fame played organ on Van Morrison's Avalon Sunset album, which grew into a fruitful collaboration over the course of the '90s; Fame played on all of Morrison's albums through 1997's The Healing Game, received co-billing on Morrison's 1996 jazz album How Long Has This Been Going On, and even served a stint as Morrison's musical director. Meanwhile, Fame's own solo work during the '90s received some of his best reviews since the '60s, starting with 1991's jazzy Cool Cat Blues, which featured a duet with Morrison on "Moondance." 1995's Three Line Whip featured his sons Tristan and James Powell on guitar and drums, respectively, and 1996's The Blues and Me further enhanced his growing jazz credibility. In 1998, Fame split with Morrison to record and tour with former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman's new group the Rhythm Kings, contributing organ and vocals to several albums. In 2000, now signed to Ben Sidran's Go Jazz label, Fame released the acclaimed Poet in New York, which established him as an impressive student of jazz's vocalese tradition. © Steve Huey, All Music Guide

BIO (Wikipedia)

Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell, 26 June 1943, Leigh, Lancashire) is a British rhythm and blues and jazz singer and keyboard player. At sixteen years of age, he entered into a management agreement with Larry Parnes, who gave artists new names such as Marty Wilde and Billy Fury. Fame was already playing piano for Billy Fury in a backing band called the Blue Flames, which later became billed as "Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames". The band had great success with rhythm and blues. Fame's greatest success was "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde" in 1968, which was a number one hit in the United Kingdom, and No.7 in the United States; Fame also had UK number one hits with "Yeh Yeh" (1965) and "Get Away" (1966). Although he enjoyed regular chart success with singles in the late 1960s, it was a peculiar quirk of chart statistics that his only three Top 10 hits all made number one. Fame continued playing into the 1970s, having a hit, "Rosetta", in 1971. He suffered from some bad publicity, as a result of being convicted of possessing drugs and then being named as co-respondent in the divorce case of the Marquess of Londonderry. In 1972, he married the former Marchioness of Londonderry, Nicolette (née Harrison); she committed suicide in 1993. Georgie Fame recorded "Rosetta" with a close friend, Alan Price, ex-keyboard player of The Animals, and they worked together extensively for a time. He has also toured as one of the Rhythm Kings, with his friend, Bill Wyman, playing bass. From the late 1980s, until the 1997 album The Healing Game, Fame was a core member of Van Morrison's band, as well as his musical producer, playing keyboards and singing harmony vocals on tracks like "In the Days before Rock 'n' Roll", whilst still recording and touring as an artist in his own right. He frequently plays residences at jazz clubs, such as Ronnie Scott's. He has also played organ on Starclub's album. Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames were the only act from the UK to be invited to perform with the first Motown Review when it hit London in the mid-'60s. Fame has also collaborated with some of music world's most successful music names. He played organ on all of the Van Morrison albums between 1989-1997, and served as the musical director. Fame was also founding member of Bill Wyman's early band Rhythm Kings and he has also worked with the likes of Count Basie, Alan Price, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Joan Armatrading and the band The Verve.

MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST

The beginnings of Georgie Fame started on June 26, 1943 when he was born as Clive Powell in Leigh, Lancashire. By 1957, at the age of 14, he had joined a local pop group called the Dominoes, as a pianist. In 1959 the group won a talent contest put on by bandleader Rory Blackwell, at which point Blackwell offered Clive a job playing piano with his band. Clive accepted, and soon after moved into a London flat, which he shared with members of the instrumental group Nero and the Gladiators. It was during a routine show with Blackwell's band at the Islington Ballroom (where the band had a residency) that Clive was spotted by songwriter Lionel Bart, who urged him to audition for beat group/record mogul Larry Parnes. Well, Parnes liked what he saw and snapped up Clive as his new 'discovery', and then changed his name to Georgie Fame. Most of Parnes' talent roster also had odd names; Marty Wild, Vince Eager, and Duffy Power for examples. 'Georgie' was employed as a back-up musician for many of these singers as well as for touring American artists like Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran. Georgie then joined Billy Fury's first back-up band, The Blue Flames, with whom he stayed until late 1961. At the end of that year he switched from piano to organ and formed his own Blue Flames with Colin Green (guitar), Mick Eve (sax), Tony Makins (bass), and Red Reece (drums). The Blue Flames line-up, however, was fairly flexible and changed throughout their career. By 1963, Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames were playing R&B and had switched managers to Rik Gunnel. Andrew Oldham became the publicist. '63 turned out to be an important year for Georgie when the group became the first resident act at London's subterranean Flamingo Club, on Wardour street in Soho. The Flamingo, owned by Ember Records boss Jeffrey Kruger, was one of the most famous R&B/jazz clubs at the time, and was frequented by the hippest of London's mohair-clad modernists, as well as black U.S. servicemen and West Indian immigrants. By the summer of that year, Georgie Fame had added another saxophone and a conga player to the lineup and was drawing on a number of influences including Jimmy Smith, Mose Allison, James Brown, Motown, R&B and the ska/bluebeat rhythm (which was probably picked up from the West Indian immigrants at The Flamingo). The band's song list of R&B faves like 'Night Train', 'Get On The Right Track, Baby', 'Do The Dog', 'Green Onions' and 'Shop Around' packed the club most nights and gained Georgie Fame a sort of cult following among London's booming mod underground. With all of the mop-top Beatle-types battling each other for a little chart action (nothing against the Beatles), Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames' hip 'Hammond and Horns' sound was indeed an alternative to the Rickenbacker/Hofner onslaught. Georgie also became something of a style-setter in his madras and seersucker jackets. The group was cool, sophisticated, and sharp as hell, which made it no surprise·when they became favorites of the mods and one of the most popular white R&B acts on the circuit. With this growing army of supporters, Georgie Fame was finally signed to a record contract by Columbia in 1963. The first three singles, released in 1964, 'Do The Dog', 'Do Re Mi', and 'Bend A Little', didn't go very far. This isn't to say that they were bad at all, in fact the B-side of 'Do Re Mi' .was an amazing rendition of 'Green Onions'. Also released in '64 was an e.p. titled 'Rhythm and Blue Beat'. The first track on this record was a cover of 'Madness', which leads one to wonder if Georgie Fame anticipated 2-tone by about 15 years (?). In any case, this record didn't go very far either. But Georgie didn't have to wait too long for Fame, because in December of '64 his cover of Jon Hendricks' 'Yeh Yeh' hit number one on the charts in the U.K. and was a minor hit in the U.S. as well which made Georgie Fame big news at the age of 21. The success of 'Yeh Yeh' also earned Georgie an appearance on Ready Steady Go! to promote the record. Around this time an album was released- a live set from The Flamingo Club titled, appropriately enough, 'R&B At The Flamingo'. The next two singles, 'Something' (Oct. '65), and 'In The Meantime' (Dec. '65) didn't equal the success of 'Yeh Yeh', but 'In The Meantime' did make the top twenty. Perhaps people were thinking that Georgie Fame was just another one-hit-wonder, because it was another six months before his next single, 'Get Away', was released in June 1966. But once again, it went straight to number one and everyone knew that he was back. 'Get Away' was a smash, as was the album 'Sweet Things'- released around the same time. However, many of Georgie Fame's original mod followers had left him because they felt that he was becoming too commercial. Even though a drug bust had made him cooler in the street credibility department, that didn't keep many of these fans, who preferred his earlier, more authentic R&B sound. After this second number one, Georgie Fame disbanded the Blue Flames in September 1966 and decided to go solo. This pretty much signaled his move away from strict R&B to a more mainstream pop approach (not that 'Get Away' and 'Sweet Things' weren't in that direction anyway). He continued to have a string of hits with a version of Bobby Hebb's 'Sunny' in October 1966, and Billy Stewart's 'Sitting In The Park' in December 1966. Georgie then switched over to CBS records and continued the hits with 'Because I Love You' in April 1967, and a third number one with 'The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde' (December '67), which was the theme song for the movie of the same name. This song was also a hit in the U.S. and can occasionally be heard on oldies stations. After this, his music, and consequently his career, went downhill. He teamed up with Alan Price for a variety show act. In recent years he has spent time writing jingles. When he was in his prime, there wasn't another British artist working in the same field that could touch Georgie Fame for great R&B sounds. Georgie's music has been re-issued and is available at Amazon and on iTunes. IMDb Mini Biography © Daniel Geddes , © 1990-2008 IMDb.com, Inc., www.imdb.com/name/nm0266600/bio

Doc Thomas Group (Mott The Hoople related)

Doc Thomas Group - Doc Thomas Group - 1967 - Dischi Interrecord (Italy)

This album would be of no interest whatsoever if two of its members had not gone on to Mott the Hoople in a few years. It's guitar-oriented R&B/soul in the mold of the Small Faces and (more obscurely) the Byrds, although lacking anything like the personality of those two outfits. The all-cover LP is heavy on well-trod soul tunes like "Rescue Me," "Barefootin'," "Harlem Shuffle," and "I Got You," done with enough spirit to convey the band's qualifications for playing clubs of the time. The vocals aren't so hot, though, and the drumming falters into near amateurishness from time to time. The album has been reissued in its entirety (and retitled The Italian Job) on a single-disc CD that also includes 15 tracks by a reunited version of the Silence, an unrecorded '60s band that went through various lineups and featured a few future members of Mott the Hoople. © Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

This obscure Doc Thomas Group s/t album was was recorded in Turin in October 1966, and released in Italy only in January 1967. The album is typical of the band's live repertoire at the time, and was produced by Stian Giarelli. All the tracks are R&B/soul covers. There is nothing earth shattering about the album. All the tracks are well known R&B/soul standards, and have been covered much better by other bands. 42 years on, the album sounds dated, but for the time period, this was a competent band, and also in the "psychedelic sixties", it was unusual to find "all cover" albums like this. It's quite a good album. It's never dull, and two years after this album was released, two members of this band, Mick Ralphs, and Pete Watts were in a band called Mott The Hoople, along with the great Ian Hunter, Verden Allen, and Dale Griffin. All these Young Dudes taught the rock world a thing or two !

N.B: This album was also reissued on Akarma records, and in August 1998, the album was reissued on CD by Angel Air, called "The Italian Job" and was paired with a 1990 Soulents/Silence reunion album, "Shotgun Eyes".

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

I'll Be Doggone - Robinson, Moore, Tarplin
She Was Really Saying Something - Whitfield, Stevenson, Holland
Steal Your Heart Away - Parker
My Babe - Harthfield, Medley
Please Do Something - Covay
Shake - Cooke
I Got You - Brown
Harlem Shuffle - Relf, Nelson
Talking About My Baby - Mayfield
Just Can't Go To Sleep - Davies
Barefootin' - Parker
Rescue Me - Smith, Miner

BAND

Stan Tippins - Lead Vocals
Mick Ralphs, Dave Tedstone - Guitar
Pete Watts - Bass
Bob Hall - Drums

A LITTLE ABOUT THE BAND

From the very tangled tree of about a dozen '60s bands that fed into the eventual formation of Mott the Hoople, the Doc Thomas Group were one of the most important, chiefly because they actually released an album. Future Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and bassist Pete Watts were both on board when the group recorded their sole LP (released only in Italy, where they were based for a time) in late 1966. Future Mott drummer Dale Griffin (aka Buffin) joined the band in the spring of 1967, although he doesn't appear on the album, which featured Stan Tippins as lead singer. The self-titled LP consisted entirely of R&B/soul covers, executed derivatively and just about competently, in the style of mod bands of the period such as the Small Faces. The Doc Thomas Group struggled on until 1968, changing their name to Silence with the addition of organist Terry (soon to become Verden) Allen; from that point, it was only a matter of recruiting Ian Hunter to replace Tippins to create Mott the Hoople in 1969. The extremely rare Doc Thomas Group album was reissued on CD in 1998, on a disc that also included a Silence "reunion" session recorded in 1990. © Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

A LOT ABOUT THE BAND !

Long before Pete Watts and Dale Griffin teamed in in Ross-on-Wye, the roots of the Silence were planted when the Camp Road Cats formed. The Camp Road Cats were a garage band that consisted of Paul Jeffery, Lionel Jeffery, and Robert Fisher. [Robert Fisher] That was me and the Jeffrey brothers, and it was a garage band. That would have been about 1957. Those guys live in Camp Road, so we called ourselves the Camp Road Cats. We were aged about 10, 11, and 12 at the time. We had kazoos, and I played what they called a tea chest bass, you know, a broom handle thing. We used to sing shit like Rock Island Line and Freight Train and Last Train To San Fernando. We always dreamed of having a band. I was going to be a sax player at one time - of course, I couldn't afford a saxophone or anything! The Camp Road Cats eventually gave way to The Sandstorms, when Pete Watts joined Robert Fisher and the Jeffrey brothers. The Sandstorms took their name from the song Sandstorm, the b-side to the Johnny and the Hurricanes single Beatnik Fly. [Robert Fisher] The Sandstorms lasted probably two months, from about August 1962. We maybe played two gigs. We played one for the Ross Women's Institute, which was a Ladies Guild type thing, because Paul Jeffrey's mother was in it. We did that at the grammar school where we went. After the Sandstorms were finished, Pete Watts was asked to join the Hawaiianaires, fronted by American guitarist Rory Haisley. Watts was with the band from late 1962 through early 1963. The band consisted of Haisley (guitar), Pete Watts (guitar), Derek Young (steel guitar), John Sutton (bass), and Paul Philips (drums). [Robert Fisher] Watts went off into the Hawaiianaires. He was dragged into this band because he was one of the few guys who had a solid body electric guitar, and he could play stuff like that. They played mostly arrangements of songs like Apple Blossom Time done in 1960s instrumental Shadows style. That's what they wanted Watts for, because he was good at that kind of shit. I'd say it lasted three or four months. Later in 1963, Pete Watts was playing with guitarist Bob Davies, bassist John Sutton, singer Patrick O'Donnell, and drummer Pat Brooke. Dale Griffin, however, had recently caught Pete's attention with his new Premier drumkit and soon took over the drummer's stool. In the summer of 1963, they adopted the name The Anchors to reflect their new gig as the house band at the Cabin, the music bar at the Hope And Anchor. The band went through a few quick personnel changes, when Sutton, Davies, and Patrick O'Donnell left. A number of singers were auditioned before the lineup settled into Watts, Griffin, Patrick Brooke (now on vocals), Robert Fisher (second vocalist), and Paul Jeffery (guitar). The Anchors played out the summer at the Cabin and disbanded in September 1963. In October 1963 the band decided to reform to play Ross Grammar School dances, and played out 1963 as Wild Dog's Hell Hounds. (The name came from the 'Wild Dog Treble' setting on a Burns guitar.) Pete 'Wild Dog' Watts would crawl out onstage on all fours, working his way toward a dog bowl and bone. By the spring of 1964, the band had changed their name to the Soulents and gigged steadily around the Midlands during the next year. In mid 1965 they changed their name to The Silence, and could be found opening local shows for the Who, The Yardbirds, and the Zombies, among others. By late 1965, though, it was clear that Pete Watts wanted to turn pro. The other members of the Silence were not in any position to do that, and so he gave up his lead guitar and accepted a job as the bass player for a rival Hereford group, The Buddies. Buddies' bassist Cyril Townsend had decided against a professional career, and so Watts joined guitarist Mick Ralphs, singer Stan Tippins, and drummer Bob Hall in November 1965. Almost immediately, Watts found himself touring the continent with the Buddies, playing Cortina D'Ampezzio in Italy and later in Germany at The Horse Stable (Hargen), and the E and Club Europa (Marberg). Watts fell ill for a short time during the tour, and Dave Mason subbed for him. The Buddies stayed on the continent until February 1966, and after a brief return to Hereford went right back to Hamburg in April 1966. Meanwhile, The Silence limped along for a couple shows after adding ex-Beatniks guitarist Ricky Welch for a few shows, but he soon departed. Being near the Christmas holiday, Paul Jeffery was available for a couple shows, including the band's last at the 1600 Club in Hereford on December 28, 1965 before calling it quits. Fisher and Brooke went on to join the Uncertain Kind and toured Germany in 1966. In the meantime, Pete Watts' band The Buddies picked up Dave Tedstone, the former lead guitarist in the Hereford pop group Lee Starr and the Astrals. With Tedstone aboard, the band toured Italy and recorded an album in October 1966 under the name The Doc Thomas Group, which had been suggested by Dave Mason earlier. The album featured a hastily recorded set of the band's repertoire of cover songs, and was produced by Stian Giarelli. They soon returned to Hereford, picking up Dale Griffin to fill in for the departing Bob Hall. Dave Tedstone also called it quits, but was not replaced. The Doc Thomas Group LP was released in Italy in January 1967, along with the single Harlem Shuffle. The Buddies, (now known as The Problem in the UK) quickly returned to Italy to capitalize. They made a couple TV appearances in Milan in March, and soon afterward sent for keyboard player Geoff Peacey. Peacey finished the summer season with the group, but upon returning to England Geoff's parents were alarmed at how thin and gaunt he looked. As band's prospects were not looking too good, it was decided that he would quit the group. The remainder of the band continued as a four piece with an uncertain future, and finally dissolved when Mick Ralphs accepted an offer from Verden Allen to replace Kevin Gammond in the Shakedown Sound, Jimmy Cliff's backing band. Later, Buffin would also join the group, replacing Sean Jenkins for the last three weeks. When the Shakedown Sound gig ended, Ralphs, Griffin, and Allen returned to Hereford to reunite with Pete Watts and Stan Tippins, cementing the final lineup of the group before Mott The Hoople. The group continued to use the Shakedown Sound moniker in the UK, but reverted to The Doc Thomas Group wne they returned to Italy in the summer of 1968. The group played engagements at the Pinetta Club in Milano Marittima, and the Bat Caverna in Riccione. As the season ended, Pete Watts remained in Italy with his fiance, Maria Jannelli, in anticipation of joining a 'supergroup' with members of the recently split I Giganti. But I Giganti reformed, and so Pete eventually went home. Nearing the end of 1968 and back in Hereford, the band made one final push toward the big time. They bought a van and new equipment, and began using the Jay Vee agency in Swansea, Wales. They used the better known Shakedown Sound moniker while playing Hereford and the Midlands, but for gigs in Wales the band resurrected the old Silence banner. Using Buffin's contacts at Rockfield, the band recorded a demo tape, which included The Rebel and Find Your Way. Despite the effort, though, the band still foundered. They unsuccessfully auditioned for Apple under the name The Archers, and also failed to distinguish themselves at an audition to back the Swedish band Paper Dolls. Buffin auditioned for Dave Edmunds and was offered a job with Love Sculpture, but turned it down. Sensing the lack of success with Silence, Watts and Ralphs traveled to London to audition for Free, but apparently failed to impress producer Guy Stevens. When EMI rejected The Rebel at the last moment, Mick Ralphs took it to Stevens in London. The meeting went well enough for the band to scheduled an audition at Spot Studios, but on the eve of a Liverpool Cavern show Stan's jaw was broken during a scuffle. The band auditioned without Tippins, and won a second audition the next month for the entire group. In a story that has been retold tirelessly, Guy Stevens was reported to be so impressed with the band's ability to maneuver Verden's Hammond upstairs that he decided to take them on. He was not, however, impressed with Tippins, who voluntarily withdrew from the band rather than hinder the success of the others. (See the Mott The Hoople archive for the rest of the story.) In June 1989, the original Soulents - Pete Watts, Dale Griffin, Robert Fisher, Paul Jeffrey, and Patrick Brooke - got together in Acton for a few hours to relive the old days. The session went better than anticipated, so the following year the group booked Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales to finally record their debut album. On October 8, 1990, the group converged on the studio and ran through a number of old cover songs, plus one new autobiographical number written by Robert Fisher and Paul Jeffrey. The album lay unissued for several years until Angel Air decided to package it, now titled Shotgun Eyes, in with their reissue of the original 1967 Doc Thomas Group album. The disc contains the entire Doc Thomas Group album, plus fifteen tracks from the 1990 silence sessions. [ from Just a Buzz - A Mott The Hoople Fan Site @ www.justabuzz.com/index.shtml ]

Pacific Gas and Electric

Pacific Gas and Electric - Get It On - 1968 - Kent

Pacific Gas and Electric were a great late sixties/early seventies soul blues band. The late Charlie Allen, with his gritty vocals added drive and excitement to this album, and Glenn Schwartz plays some terrific guitar leads. Check out the band's "Are You Ready" album which featured their huge hit with the sane title. Arguably "Get It On" is a better album. The "Get It On" LP was reissued on the Power label in 1969, and reissued on CD by Big Beat in 2008 with the subtitle "The Kent Record Sessions". This CD included 9 extra tracks of outtakes. There is info on PG&E's "Live 'N' Kicking at Lexington" album @ PG&E'/LNK&LEX

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

Wade in the Water - (Traditional)
Cry Cry Cry - Deadric Malone
Motor City Is Burning - Al Smith
Hunter - Al Jackson Jr. Booker T. Jones, Junior Wells
Long Handled Shovel - (Traditional)
Jelly Jelly - James Cotton
Stormy Times - Brent Block
Live Love - Tom Marshall

BAND

Charlie Allen R.I.P - vocals
Glenn Schwartz - guitar
Tom Marshall - guitar
Brent Block - bass, fuzz bass
Frank Cook - drums
Joe Sample - organ, piano

REVIEW

The debut album of the five-member Pacific Gas & Electric reveals a nimble little blues band with a great shouter for a lead singer. Far less lumbering than the band became on their better-known major-label recordings, the Modern release of Get It On begins with the kind of maximum R&B bang that few American rock groups beyond the MC5 or Young Rascals would have been able to muster: a six-minute version of "Wade in the Water" that careens through its six long minutes with power and just enough balance between control and chaos. (The track was billed as being recorded "live," but it was actually a studio creation with overdubs.) Lead singer Charlie Allen was a charismatic force up front, and lead guitarist Glenn Schwartz, a transplant from Cleveland and the James Gang, matched Allen's charisma with his solos. If they have a weakness on Get It On, it's the rhythm section, which despite including Frank Wilson of Canned Heat, can't always keep up with Allen or Schwartz, and sounds pretty stiff in comparison. [A 2008 reissue of Get It On on Ace added nine bonus tracks, most unreleased takes and some unreleased songs from the same sessions.] © John Bush, All Music Guide

BIO (Wikipedia)

Pacific Gas & Electric was an American rock band, best known for the song "Are You Ready?" released in 1970. The band's history dates from 1967 in Los Angeles. Self-taught guitarist Tom Marshall met bassist Brent Block at a party thrown by Block's former art teacher and formed a band then named "Pacific Gas and Electric Blues Band". It was one of the first multiracial bands to be part of the Los Angeles music scene. An early member was Charlie Allen (May 1, 1942 - May 7, 1990), a drummer from San Francisco, whose vocal abilities were so good that he moved from drums to lead singer, and was replaced on drums by Canned Heat's former drummer, Frank Cook, who had earlier signed to manage the band. In 1968, the band name was shortened to "Pacific Gas & Electric", and included Allen, Cook, Marshall, Block, and guitarist Glenn Schwartz (also of James Gang and All Saved Freak Band). They released their first album, Get It On, that year on the Power record label (it was subsequently released on Big Orange, Kent and United Superior as well). Although it only reached #159 on the album charts, someone at Columbia Records was listening, as they signed the band to a recording contract shortly after their appearance at the Miami Pop Festival in December of 1968. The next album, and the first released by Columbia, was simply called Pacific Gas and Electric (1969). However, it was the next release, Are You Ready, that included their first mainstream hit. The title track reached #14 in the summer of 1970, and featured the backing vocals of The Blackberries. Wholesale changes were in store for the group after recording the Are You Ready album. After a serious car accident, Cook was replaced on drums by Ron Woods, and he stayed on as manager. Schwartz announced his conversion to Christianity onstage during a concert and then later joined the All Saved Freak Band. Marshall also left, and the two were replaced by Frank Petricca on bass and Ken Utterback on guitar, with Brent Block moving to rhythm guitar from bass. This is the line-up that toured in support of Are You Ready. This version of the band recorded a self-titled album in 1971 (minus Block, who had left the band in late 1970), adding Jerry Aiello on keyboards, trumpet player Stanley Abernathy, sax players Alfred Galagos and Virgil Gonsalves, and percussionist Joe LaLa. At the request of the utility company sharing the same name, the band name was shortened to "P G & E". The band did countless concerts, often appearing with other big musical acts of the era. At one P G & E show, writer and film producer Lawrence Schiller filmed his documentary, The Lexington Experience. Disagreements with the owners to the rights to the music caused the film to be shelved after only a few showings, and the only copies known to exist are in Schiller's vault. They made more movie history when they appeared in, and provided music to, the Otto Preminger film Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon, starring Liza Minnelli. Their song "Staggolee" was also featured in the Quentin Tarantino film Death Proof. After 1972, the group's line-up became unstable, resembling more of an Allen solo project. One more album was forthcoming: ...Starring Charlie Allen in 1973 on the Dunhill label, featuring Allen and a host of studio musicians.

Booker T. & The M.G.s

Booker T. & The M.G.s - Green Onions - 1962 - Stax

Green Onions by the legendary Booker T. & the M.G.'s is a masterpiece of instrumental soul/r&b. There is even a "jazzy" track thrown into the mix here with the brilliant "Comin' Home Baby." Just listen to this album and you'll understand why it's regarded as a classic, and buy their great "Hip Hug-Her" album.

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

"Green Onions" (Steve Cropper, Booker T. Jones, Lewie Steinberg, Al Jackson, Jr) – 2:45
"Rinky Dink" (David Clowney, Paul Winley) – 2:39
"I Got a Woman" (Ray Charles, Renald Richard) – 3:32
"Mo' Onions" (Cropper, Jackson, Jones, Steinberg) – 2:50
"Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Berns) – 2:09
"Behave Yourself" (Cropper, Jackson, Jones, Steinberg) – 3:45
"Stranger on the Shore" (Acker Bilk, Robert Mellin) – 2:18
"Lonely Avenue" (Doc Pomus) – 3:25
"One Who Really Loves You" (Smokey Robinson) – 2:22
"I Can't Sit Down There Boy!" (Dee Clark, Kal Mann, Cornell Muldrow) – 2:46
"A Woman, a Lover, a Friend" (Sidney Wyche) – 3:15
"Comin' Home Baby" (Bob Dorough, Ben Tucker) – 3:09

BAND

Steve Cropper - guitar
Booker T. Jones - organ, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards
Lewie Steinberg - upright bass
Al Jackson, Jr. - drums

REVIEW

There's not a note or a nuance out of place anywhere on this record, which was 35 of the most exciting minutes of instrumental music in any category that one could purchase in 1962 (and it's no slouch four decades out, either). "I Got a Woman" is the single best indicator of how superb this record is and this band was — listening to this track, it's easy to forget that the song ever had lyrics or ever needed them, Booker T. Jones' organ and Steve Cropper's guitar serving as more-than-adequate substitutes for any singer. Their version of "Twist and Shout" is every bit as satisfying. Even "Mo' Onions," an effort to repeat the success of "Green Onions," doesn't repeat anything from the earlier track except the tempo, and Jones and Cropper both come up with fresh sounds within the same framework. "Behave Yourself" is a beautifully wrought piece of organ-based blues that gives Jones a chance to show off some surprisingly nimble-fingered playing, while "Stranger on the Shore" is transformed into a piece of prime soul music in the group's hands. "Lonely Avenue" is another showcase for Jones' keyboard dexterity, and then there's the group's cover of Smokey Robinson's "One Who Really Loves You," with a ravishing lead performance by Jones on organ and Cropper's guitar handling the choruses. Just when it seems like the album has turned in all of the surprises in repertory that it could reasonably deliver, it ends with "Comin' Home Baby," a killer jazz piece on which Steve Cropper gets to shine, his guitar suddenly animated around Jones' playing, his quietly trilled notes at the crescendo some of the most elegant guitar heard on an R&B record up to that time. © Bruce Eder, allmusic.com

BIO [ © http://www.history-of-rock.com/booker_t_and_the_mgs.htm]

Best remembered historically as the studio band for Stax-Volt Records during the 60s, Booker T. and the MGs created the "Memphis Sound behind the hit recordings by Carla and Rufus Thomas, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, among others. Booker T. Jones began working at Stax Records in Memphis as a saxophonist in 1960. In 1962 Booker T. and the MGs were formed as the house band for Stax-Volt Records. Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn, who had been members of the Mar-Keys, played on the groups' 1961 instrumental hit "Last Night." Dunn remained with the Mar-Keys until 1964 when he replaced the group's original bassist Lee Steinberg. In the early '60s, Booker T. and the MGs provided the instrumental backing for Carla Thomas ("Gee Whiz") and her father Rufus Thomas ("Walkin' the Dog:). The reputation as a band in their own right was established in 1962 with their instrumental hit "Green Onions." Over the next seven years, the group recorded independently, backed various Stax acts while individuals pursued their own careers. Jones worked with artist-producer William Bell and co-wrote the blues classic "Born Under a Bad Sign." In 1966, Jones received a degree in music from Indiana University. Crooper supervised the recordings of Otis Redding and co-wrote hits by Wilson Pickett ("In the Midnight Hour:), Eddie Floyd ("Knock On Wood"), and Otis Redding ("Dock of the Bay"). Al Jackson produced blues guitarist Albert King. Booker T. and the MGs served as the backing band for Sam and Dave's "Hold On I'm Coming" and "I'm a Soul Man." On their own Booker T. and the MGs had rhythm and blues hits with "Hip Hug-Her," "Groovin'," "Soul Limbo," and "Time Is Tight." "Goovin'," "Time Is Tight," and "Soul Limbo" also became pop hits along with "Hang'em High." In 1967 the group toured Great Britain in support of Otis Redding, Sam and David, Eddie Floyd, Carla Thomas, and others. They backed Otis Redding at The Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967. In 1969 Cropper recorded With A Little Help from My Friends and, with Albert King and gospel patriarch "Pop" Staples Jammed Together. In 1970 Booker T. and the MGs quit being the Stax house band, officially disbanding in 1972. Jones moved to California and joined A&M Records as a staff producer. There he supervised the recording sessions for Rita Coolidge, his wife Priscilla (Rita's sister), and Bill Withers. In there early '70s he recorded three albums with his wife, plus the solo album Evergreen. Cropper continued with session work and producing at Stax-Volt until 1975, when the label folded. Cropper then moved to Los Angeles. The group was planning a reunion when Al Jackson was shot to death in Memphis October 1, 1975. The band did reunite with Willie Hall on the drums for Universal Language, and Jones later recorded three solo albums for A&N. Jones, Cropper, and Dunn recorded with others as the RCO All-Stars. Cropper and Dunn recreated their distinct style behind The Blues Brothers on tours and albums as well as in the movie The Blues Brothers in 1980. Jones produced Willie Nelson's 1978 album Stardust. In 1988 Booker T. and the MGs reunited with drummer Anton Fig to play at Atlantic Records' fortieth anniversary show at Madison Square Garden and subsequently stayed together for several years to perform as Booker T. and the MGs. October 1992 Jones, Cropper, and Dunn joined session drummer Jim Keltner to serve as the house band for the four hour Bob Dylan tribute at Madison Square Garden. In 1994, Jones, Cropper, and Dunn recorded their first album in seventeen years, That's the Way It Should Be, with session drummers. Cropper and Dunn reunited in the Blues Brothers Band for 1998 movie Blues Brothers 2000. Booker T. and the MGs were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992