Alma Meador is our 2nd place winner. She gets the six cd compilation set.
The Box Tops
In Memphis, Tennessee, in 1963, the Box Tops began to play their music. The five Memphis friends called themselves the DeVilles, and their music was pop-rock. The musicianship was not necessarily outstanding, but it was good, and Alex Chilton’s tough-guy voice belied their young ages. Bill Cunningham handled bass and keyboards, and contributed background vocals. John Evan played guitar and keyboards, and helped with vocals. Gary Talley played lead guitar and did vocals, and Danny Smythe took care of the drums. They played clubs in the Memphis area until they signed with Bell Records. The name change to The Box Tops came about after they discovered another band with the name DeVilles. Their first release was an unbelievably short tune (under two minutes) that hit like a wild fire in 1967. “The Letter” was #1 on Billboard for one month and an international hit. It got them two Grammy nominations and “Record of the Year” from Cashbox magazine. Their next release, “Neon Rainbow,” didn’t do as well, reaching only to #24. Evans and Smythe went back to school, and were replaced by Rick Allen and Tom Boggs. Another big hit in 1968, “Cry Like A Baby,” reached #2 for two weeks. By the end of 1969 they had released four albums, but only a few other tunes made minor waves for them--“Soul Deep,” “Choo Choo Train,” “I Met Her In Church,” and “Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March.” At his point, Cunningham decided to return to school and Harold Cloud stepped in, but the group soon disbanded. Cunningham went on to obtain a Master’s in music and played with The White House Band, did TV work, played with famous musicians, and entertained many heads of state in his classical music career. He went on to obtain a Master of Business Administration degree in international business. Alex Chilton joined his old high school friend, Chris Bell, in Chris’group--Ice Water. They changed the name to Big Star and signed with Ardent Records. They released an album in 1972 that received acclaim, but did not meet with big success. A second album did not sell well, and a third album was not released until the late 1970s, apparently due to Ardent’s hesitancy over some of the material. Chilton recorded with other artists, and for a short time formed a group called Alex Chilton & The Cossacks, relocating to New York City. He recorded in other venues throughout the 80s, eventually reforming Big Star in 1993. In 1995 he released a solo album A Man Called Destruction, a unique combination of rock and roll and rhythm and blues. “That 70s Show” used his tune “Down The Street” as its theme song in the late 90s, and he began to come full-circle back to his beginnings. He reunited with the founding Box Tops members to record an album, Tear Off, in 1998, and the group began to tour occasionally. John Evans earned an advanced computer degree in the 90s and is a computer administrator. He had built custom guitars early in his career, one of which he used in the Box Tops. The twelve-string electric guitar is now on display at the Hard Rock Cafe. When the Box Tops reformed in 1996, he recorded and toured with them, but in 2000 he stopped due to business demands. After leaving the Box Tops, Danny Smythe form a fifteen-piece soul group called Fifth Movement which he played with for four years. He then began to play Memphis nightclubs with a blues band, and eventually went back to school to study art. He painted murals and evolved to freelance illustrating. He began playing music again in the 90s and ended up with the original Box Tops again in 1996, and designed the cover for Tear Off. Gary Talley did studio work after the disbanding of the Box Tops in the late 60s. He worked with several “biggies” and performed on numerous TV commercials. He also played concert dates with other artists. Besides playing with the reunited Box Tops, he now plays with Sam Moore, writes songs, and teaches guitar in Nashville. It is an amazing accomplishment for these guys to come together again and still maintain their careers outside the band. Tear Off is an excellent example of the decades of varying experience of the original members, all of whom can now be called outstanding musicians.
I am the author of this piece and I authorize rockandrollplanet.com to publish it. Alma Meador
September 9, 2007
Huey Lewis & the News
For anyone interested in a little more info on this group, here it is. Huey was born Hugh Anthony Cregg III on July 5, 1950, in San Francisco, California. His parents divorced when he was thirteen years old, and he was sent to a prep school in New Jersey. He graduated in 1967 and spent some time hitchhiking across America and Europe (his father’s suggestion), where he learned to play harmonica, before going to Cornell University. His mother’s boyfriend was a poet, Lew Welch, and the eventual name change to Huey Lewis evolved from his name and Donald Duck’s nephews (Huey and Louie). His father is a radiologist and jazz drummer. Lewis is divorced and the father of two children, with a home in California and one in Montana. Besides playing with The News, Lewis has made appearances in several movies and with other recording artists. He appeared in Back to the Future (1985), Short Cuts (1993), for which he received a Golden Globe award, and three films in 1998--Sphere, Shadow of a Doubt, and Dead Husbands. He was a main character in 2000’s Duets, and then .com for Murder. The song from Duets, “Cruisin’” (Smokie Robinson) hit #1. He has been in two TV series: “Just Shoot Me,” and “One Tree Hill.” He debuted in Chicago, the musical in 2005. He has done vocals with Umphrey’s McGee (since 2005) and participated on their album Safety In Numbers. Johnny Colla was born 7/2/52 in California and played in a group called Soundhole before joining Lewis in 1976. He plays sax and guitar and is the News’ main vocal arranger. He also has his own band--Johnny Colla and the Lucky Devils, in which he is the lead singer and plays guitar. He is married with three children. Chris Hayes is another California-born musician (11/24/57). He started taking music lessons at age nine. He played in several bands, preferring jazz and blues. He is one of seven musical siblings. He has three children and left the News in 2000 to spend more time with them. He still occasionally fills in with the News or plays with other groups. Mario Cipollina (11/10/54 in California) played rock and roll with his brother John (of Quicksilver Messenger Service who died in 1989). Later he played with Soundhole, Tony Williams Lifetime, Terry and the Pirates, and The Novato Frank Band before helping form the News. He left in 1994 and still plays with the group on occasion, as well as other venues. He is the father of two children. Bill Gibson was also born into a musical family on 11/13/51 in California. He is another Soundhole/News musician. He has two daughters. Keyboarder Sean Hopper (3/31/53-California) joined Clover with Huey in 1972 and backed up Elvis Costello on his first album before returning to America and ultimately helping form the News. He has two children. John Pierce is the newest bass player since Cipollina left. He has a substantial musical background and plays with many groups and does studio work. Stef Burns took over for Hayes. He also has an extensive musical background and stays very busy when not touring with the News. The Tower of Power horn section left in 1994 and were replaced with the very capable Marvin McFadden, Ron Stallings, and Rob Sudduth. The News contributed to the soundtrack of the movie Back to the Future, and their biggest selling single was from it. “Power of Love” was nominated for an Academy Award. In the same year they took part in “We Are The World,” the multi-artist single made to raise funds to fight famine in Africa. They received a Grammy for their participation. 1986 saw the album Fore released, which was another #1 multi-platinum disc; the year was made even better when they received the British Phonograpic Industry Award for Best International Group. Small World followed in 1988 and reached #11; Hard At Play in 1991 went to #27 and produced one hit--“Couple Days Off.” Also in 1991 the novel American Psycho dedicated an entire chapter to The News. A cover album, Four Chords & Several Years Ago, came out in 1994 and reached #55, giving them one hit--“But It’s All Right.” Time Flies..theBest of Huey Lewis and the News came out in 1996 and included four new songs and a Lewis favorite, “So Little Kindness.” The latest decade finds the group still active, although limited to about eighty dates a year. Plan B was released in 2001 with mostly new material and a change in style. A December concert in 2004 was recorded and released on disc. Live At25 is more of the new style. In 2006 they toured with Chicago and released Greatest Hits/Greatest Hits & Videos. Recently (August 2007) they played the California State Fair and Cipollina made an appearance with them for the first time in over ten years. All in all, the group has had twenty singles on the Top Ten Billboard Charts. They were among the first to participate in MTV. They consider themselves semi-retired, playing gigs a few months a year, and the possibility of a new album is good. They all remain friendly, an unusual trait for such a long-term relationship.
See the review of the News’ album Sports for info on the group prior to 1983.
The tour for One Of These Nights went on without Bernie Leadon. His slot was filled by Joe Walsh, a Kansas native born on 11/20/47, and formerly a James Gang member and solo artist. He took the group to a slightly harder rock sound with Hotel California, released in late 1976, especially with a tune he helped pen—“Life In The Fast Lane.” He contributed to the writing of two songs on the album, which itself went to #1 for eight weeks. The title song, “Hotel California,” and “New Kid In Town” were #1 singles. It became one of the best-selling albums in history and ranked #37 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Of particular interest is the band’s own view of the album—that it is symbolic of the moral decline of America and possibly, the world. At the end of the Hotel tour in September of 1977, Randy Meisner left and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit (California-born 10/30/47). He had also replaced Meisner in Poco. Meisner moved back to Nebraska to have a quiet life for a while, then began a solo career. He has had two solo albums, toured with Silverados, and played in a group called Black Tie with Billy Swan and James Griffin (Bread). He married his second wife in 1996 and is a grandfather. The Eagles went on to contribute to Randy Newman’s Little Criminals in 1977. In 1979 they released their final album of original material, The Long Run, which eventually went multi-platinum. It gave them another #1 hit with “Heartache Tonight,” which won a Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Group with Vocal. Two more tunes were in the top ten: “I Can’t Tell You Why” and “The Long Run.” It was a rough year as Henley was arrested for drug-related problems and Frey and Felder had a fist fight. It all basically ended on July 31, 1980 at the end of their tour with another big row. Eagles Live finished out their Warner contract, but it was produced without anyone having to be together. As Szymczyk said, “courtesy of Federal Express.” But it also went multi-platinum and the breakup was not announced until May of 1982. A new era saw them all going solo. For Walsh, that was just a continuation of business as usual as he had been doing solo material before and during his Eagles tenure. He had a successful album in 1981 with There Goes The Neighborhood. He co-wrote and produced a Ringo Starr album, and does session work. In the movie The Blues Brothers he appears as a prisoner in the last scene. He has done other films, and, in 2006, toured with his old band, James Gang. On a personal note, he is married to his third wife and a teetotaller since 1995. Schmit charted in 1987 with “Boy’s Night Out,” and contributed to movie soundtracks. He does uncountable guest vocals. He is married for the second time and has three children. Don Felder also had solo albums and did soundtrack work. He still stays busy in the music world, though his only solo album, Airborne, was in 1983. He is an avid golfer. As for Bernie Leadon, after his departure in 1976, he formed a band with Michael Georgiades and released an album called Natural Progressions in 1977. Later he became a Nashville session musician, and even later formed Run-C&W, a group that played country/R&B. His album, Mirror, was released in 2003. On a personal note--he likes surfing. Henley was the most commercially successful, working with many other artists and solo. In 1981 he did a duet with Stevie Nicks that went to #6--“Leather and Lace.” From there his career just kept going. For more on Henley, read our article in Classic Artist Update. Frey charted with “The One You Love” in 1982 and “Sexy Girl” In 1984. His soundtrack to the movie Beverly Hills Cop, “The Heat Is On,” reached #2 in 1985. He played a drug dealer in a Miami Vice episode, and his “Smuggler’s Blues” was used in the show. It ultimately reached #12 in 1985, and later in the year his “You Belong To The City” hit #2. He did several more television and movie spots and helped start a new music label called Mission Records in 1997. He began co-writing with Henley in 1990, and married his second wife in the same year. He has three children. 1993 saw the release of a country music tribute album Common Thread: The Songs of The Eagles. It lead to the reuniting of Walsh, Felder, Henley, Frey, and Schmit after a fourteen-year hiatus. They did a MTV special, “Hell Freezes Over,” which led to a live album of the same name in 1994. The album debuted at #1 on Billboard charts, and produced two hit singles--“Get Over It” and “Love Will Keep Us Alive.” In 1998 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Leadon and Meisner joined them for part of the performance. In 1999 the Recording Industry of America presented them with the award for Best Selling Album of the Century for Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975). (See this album review under our Boxed Sets and Compilations.) A four-CD boxed set , Eagles, 1972-1999: SelectedWorks, came out in 2000. They were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001. 2001 also saw Don Felder fired from the group and lawsuits ensued for several years which were finally settled out-of-court. The 9/11 attack inspired a new Eagles release in 2003 by the remaining four called “Hole in the World.” In 2005 they released a DVD box set with two new songs. They toured Europe in 2006. An album of new material, The Long Road To Eden, should be released this year. We here at the Planet hope the show goes on and on.
After Unplugged in 1992, Cream was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, at which they reunited to perform. Clapton's next solo album was From the Cradle in 1994. He stayed with the blues for this one, but added electric guitar, and it brought him a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. It went double platinum. More collaborations with other great artists followed, including his original blues influencer, B.B. King. His version of "Change The World" in 1996 that was featured in the movie Phenomenon won him another Grammy for Song of the Year in 1997. Also in 1996, he dated Sheryl Crow. The relationship did not last, but their friendship did. A solo album of mostly original material was released in 1998. Pilgrim was still bluesy, but with a pop flair. It produced a hit with "My Father's Eyes." Another song, "She's Gone," also charted. But possibly even more important to the world than his music, Clapton founded a drug and alcohol rehab center in Antigua called Crossroads Centre. The next year he auctioned off 100 of his guitars to support the center. They brought in over $5 million, and included "Brownie," the guitar he had used to record "Layla." In 1999 he lost his mother, Pat. But in that same year, while working on an album with B.B. King, the 54-year-old Clapton met 23-year-old Melia McEnery at a party. They married in 2002, although the first of their three children, a daughter, was born in 2001. A second daughter came along in 2003 and a third in 2005, making him a father for the fifth time when he was one month away from being 60 years old. Clapton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2000. In that year Riding With The King was recorded with B.B. King doing several of King's classics. It went gold within a few weeks and Eric received another Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. He returned to rock with Reptile in 2001, which went to #5 in the U.S. He announced that the tour for that album would be his last. He probably meant it at the time! Time spent recording in 2002 and 2003 culminated in two albums. Me and Mr. Johnson was released in 2004, a tribute album on which he covered many of Robert Johnson's songs. It hit #6 on the U.S. charts. And in 2005 more original material was released on Back Home, which charted U.S. at #13. In January of that year he and other stars raised $2.3 million for tsunami relief—it was the biggest charity concert since Live Aid in 1985. Also in 2005, Cream reunited to play at London's Royal Albert Hall thirty-seven years after their farewell performance there. In October they played at Madison Square Garden. Late in 2006 The Road to Escondido was released, showcasing the teaming of Clapton with J.J. Cale, whose "After Midnight" had helped launch Eric's career. Cale's "Cocaine" was also a hit for Clapton. Together they have made an album that features rock, country, blues, and folk. Of the fourteen tracks, Cale wrote eleven of them and Clapton one. "Three Little Girls" is a song about his new family. There are numerous guest musicians, including Billy Preston on piano. A second fundraising event for Crossroads in 2004 in Dallas brought together some of the best of the world's guitarists. Later in that same month there was another guitar auction that raised $6 million more, and included the sale of "Blackie" and his red Gibson known as the Cream guitar. Another guitar festival is planned for July 28, 2007 in Chicago with Jeff Beck, Robert Cray, Steve Winwood, BB King, and many, many others. Eric Clapton's career has now lasted over forty years. He has obtained eighteen Grammys and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times—once as a solo artist, once for Cream, and once for the Yardbirds. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #53 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time." He is a founding member of Bunburys, a cricket team that has raised money for charity for twenty-one years now. He has been through heroin and alcohol addiction and is now twenty years sober, and is committed to helping other addicts. A man of accomplishments with much more to come, we hope. www.ericclapton.com
Carole King After Tapestry
King followed Tapestry with a new marriage to Charles Larkey in 1970 and several more albums--Music in 1971, Rhymes and Reasons in 1972, Fantasy in 1973, and Wrap Around Joy in 1974, all of which did relatively well. In 1975 she joined with Goffin (her ex-husband), James Taylor, David Crosby, and Graham Nash for Thoroughbred. She also did the scores for a television production of Really Rosie. A divorce from Larkey in 1976 changed her life again as she busied herself raising two more children. She now had four—three girls and a boy. But she still managed to write songs and in 1977 released Simple Things and married her co-writer Rick Evers. He died of a drug overdose in 1978, and in that year Welcome Home came out. It was followed by Touch The Sky (1979), Pearls (1980), One ToOne (1982), and Speeding Time (1984), after which Carole moved to Idaho and became an environmental activist. During this time she was also in an off-Broadway play “A Minor Incident.” The early 1990s found Carole in Ireland. After this break from the music industry, she recorded City Streets in 1989, and four years later, 1993, Color ofYour Dreams. One of her songs from this album, “Now and Forever,” was used in the movie A League of Their Own in 1992. She made her Broadway debut in 1994 in “Blood Brothers.” In 1995 Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King was released with her songs being done by other artists. Carole has appeared on three episodes of the hit television series Gilmore Girls in which her song “Where You Lead” is the theme song. She co-wrote two romantic comedy theme songs for the movies One Fine Day and You’ve Got Mail. The beginning of the new century saw the album Love Makes The World, which she self-released on her own label, Rockingale in 2001. The newest albums are The Living Room Tour (2005) with just her piano and acoustic guitars, and LoveMakes the World: Deluxe Edition (2007) on her Rockingale label. King married her fourth husband, Rick Sorensen, and lives on their Idaho ranch. She has been very politically active in the Democratic Party and outspoken in her efforts to stop global warming. But her contributions to the environment, and especially her work at saving the Northern Rockies ecosystem, will be long remembered. As for her all-time great--Tapestry was placed at #36 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and “It’s Too Late” was #469 on their Greatest Songs of All Time. The album remained at #1 for over fifteen weeks and on the charts for over six years. In March of 2007 the National Association of Record Merchandisers and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released a list of 200 albums that every music lover should own. Tapestry was #7 on the list, and is the highest position held by a woman. She has ranked #10 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll. In October of this year Carole will be inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame at the great age of 65. After writing more than 400 songs that have been recorded by more than one thousand artists, who could deserve it more?
14 June 2007
Tapestry, the album, is discussed on our Classic Album Reviews page
Courtesy of Warner Brothers/Reprise
5/18/2007
The Doobie Brothers Post 1976 (See Boxed Sets And Compilations)
Tom Johnston made a few live appearances with the group in 1976 and returned to help on the 1977 album Livin’ On The Fault Line. He did not contribute any songs, but did help with vocals and guitar. He then went solo for a while and had a couple of moderately successful albums. The group remained dominated by McDonald hits and 1978 saw the release of Minute By Minute. It provided a #1 hit that had been co-written by McDonald and Kenny Loggins—“What A Fool Believes,” and the pair won a Grammy for Record of the Year. The title song of the album was also written by McDonald and got the nod for Pop Vocal Performance by a Group. The album itself was Album of the Year. Tom Johnston contributed some guest vocals on the disc. In 1979, before the fame of this album had worn off, John Hartman and Jeff Baxter left the group. This left Simmons, Knudsen, McDonald, and Porter to carry on. They added drummer Chet McCracken, and string-man John McFee (of Huey Lewis’ group Clover). Cornelius Bumpus was brought on board to supplement vocals, keyboards, and saxophone. One of their roadies, Bobby LaKind, graduated to vocals, percussion, and songwriting. In 1980 One Step Closer was released as their ninth album and contained a Top Ten hit with “Real Love.” But during its recording Tiran Porter had finally grown tired of the touring and left the band. Willie Weeks replaced him on bass guitar and vocals for the next two years. By 1982 Pat Simmons had left. Since he was the last of the original Doobie Brothers, the group had decided to call it quits. But he decided to do a farewell tour with the band, and at the last concert Tom Johnston joined them on stage for his “China Grove.” Then Tiran Porter, Michael Hossack, and John Hartman came on stage and a live album came into being—Farewell Tour was released in 1983. Over the next five years everyone went separate ways with some having moderate success. McDonald established himself as an adult contemporary artist throughout the eighties. In 1987 Knudsen recruited eleven of the other thirteen former Doobies for a benefit concert. Only Shogren and Weeks didn’t participate. The concert was so popular that they took it on a mini-tour that ended in Moscow on July 4th at the “Peace Concert.” Apparently this got them to thinking about reforming the band, and they did that with Johnston, Hartman, Porter, Simmons, Hossack and LaKind. Cycles was released in 1989 and had a Top Ten hit with “The Doctor.” Bumpus joined them for the ensuing tour. In 1991 Brotherhood was released, but neither it nor the tour following it were successful. LaKind had left due to terminal cancer, but did join them in 1992 for a benefit for his own children. He was only able to play on a few songs. He did die later that same year. 1993 saw another reuniting minus Hartman and Porter, but Knudsen and McFee came back, and John Cowan played bass as a sideman. Other occasional contributions during this time came from Bumpus, McCracken, and Skylark on bass. In 1995 they joined with McDonald for a short tour, and he still occasionally joins them, as he did for a double live album in 1996: Rockin’ Down The Highway: The Wildlife Concert. Their first boxed set was released in 1999 and was titled Long Train Runnin’: 1970-2000. Unfortunately, there were legal problems when former members of the Doobies (McCracken, Bumpus, Shogren) used the group name for advertising a tribute band. That rift did not heal. Sibling Rivalry was released in 2000 and had a mix of different styles of music. It did not do well. At this point the core band (just for clarification) consists of Hossack, Johnston, Knudsen, McFee, and Simmons. Touring with them for this album were Guy Allison-keyboards, Skylark-bass, and Marc Russo-sax. In 2004 they released Live At Wolf Trap, album #16. In 2005 Ed Toth joined as a second drummer, and it is the year that Knudsen left with illness. Michael McDonald had left the rock scene in 2001 to live in Tennessee and perform the kind of music he loves best—Gospel, though he did do a guest appearance with the Doobies as late as 2006. Besides LaKind’s death in 1992, Shogren (original bass) died in 1999, Bumpus in 2004 of a heart attack, and Knudsen in 2005 from chronic pneumonia. Still, The Doobie Brothers do rock on! See their website for updated information on their activities and tour.
A few celebrities and people of money and influence do share their bounty, and Don Henley is one of them. He actually began his activism in the ‘70s, but as he matured it became more important to him play a part in “righting wrongs,” at least as much as possible in his lifetime. He seems to be of boundless energy and gives more of his resources than most, perhaps because he has the full backing of his wife, Sharon. Married since 1995, she shares his views, and together they will instill in their three children the importance of caring for this earth and the people who share it.
Henley’s causes include environmental concerns in which he fights for clean water, wildlife habitats, and preservation. He founded the Walden Woods Project in 1990 and is still its president. The organization has purchased land around Walden Pond in Massachusetts to save it from development and has created an extensive learning environment. An extension of Walden is the Thoreau Institute where history is preserved and educational opportunities are state-of-the-art. A percentage of his concerts, as well as many benefit concerts, keep the organization alive and thriving. 1992 saw the establishment of the Caddo Lake Institute in Texas. This entity studies and monitors wetland habitats and provides conservation education.
Artists’ rights also consume a good deal of Don Henley’s time and money. He co-founded with Sheryl Crow the Recording Artists’ Coalition to affect legislation in regards to music industry problems. To understand the changes caused by the merging of giant corporations and the pirating of music, read Henley’s “Killing The Music.” The article can be found at the site www.commondreams.org/views.
He was honored in February of this year by MusiCares, an organization established by The Recording Academy in 1989 that assists people in the music industry who need help in various ways—medical, aging issues, indigence, among others.
The Henleys have resided in Texas since 1994, after losing their California home in the earthquake.
