Formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1972, this hard rock outfit featured former Guess Who member Randy Bachman (27 September 1943, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; guitar, lead vocals). Bachman had left the Guess Who in July 1970, recorded a solo album, Axe, and, owing to a bout of illness, had to cancel a projected collaboration with former Nice keyboard player Kei
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Theodore Nugent, 13 December 1948, Detroit, Michigan, USA. Inspired by 50s rock n roll, Nugent taught himself the rudiments of guitar playing at the age of eight. As a teenager he played in the Royal Highboys and Lourds, but this formative period ended in 1964 upon his familys move to Chicago. Here, Nugent assembled the Amboy Dukes, which evolved from garag
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Formed in 1968, Grand Funk Railroad was the first American heavy rock power trio to achieve massive fame, while alienating another large segment of the rock audience and critics at the same time. The group was a spin-off of Terry Knight And The Pack, a popular soul rock group in the Michigan area in the mid-60s, and originally comprised guitarist Mark Farner (29
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After working with Van Morrison, Boz Scaggs and Edgar Winter, guitarist Ronnie Montrose (Colorado, USA) formed Montrose in San Francisco in the autumn of 1973. Comprising vocalist Sammy Hagar (b. Samuel Roy Hagar, 13 October 1947, Monterey, California, USA), bass player Bill Church and drummer Denny Carmassi, they signed to Warner Brothers Records in 1973 and released their
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This solid, highly acclaimed UK heavy rock outfit was formed in 1973, with a line-up comprising Paul Rodgers (17 December 1949, Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England; vocals), Simon Kirke (b. 28 July 1949, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England; vocals/drums), Mick Ralphs (b. Michael Geoffrey Ralphs, 31 May 1944, Hereford, Herefordshire, England; vocals/guitar) and Boz
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This Lynyrd Skynyrd -style, blues rock outfit emerged from the US deep south. The name derived from a tale of a woman in seventeenth-century Salem who beheaded her lovers with an axe after sleeping with them. The initial line-up comprised Dave Hlubek (guitar), Steve Holland (guitar), Duane Roland (3 December 1952, Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA, d. 19 June 2006, St. Augustine,
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An early example of the supergroup, Humble Pie was formed in April 1969 by Peter Frampton (22 April 1950, Beckenham, Kent, England; guitar/vocals, ex-Herd), Steve Marriott (b. 30 January 1947, London, England, d. 20 April 1991, Essex, England; guitar/vocals, ex-Small Faces) and Greg Ridley (b. 23 October 1947, Carlisle, Cumberland, England, d. 19 November 2003, A
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One of the first generation heavy metal bands, Mountain was formed by ex-Vagrants guitarist Leslie West (Leslie Weinstein, 22 October 1945, Forest Hills, New York, USA) and bass player Felix Pappalardi (b. 30 December 1939, the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA, d. 17 April 1983, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA) in New York in July 1969. Pappalardi had produced W
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Formed in 1967 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, the embryonic James Gang comprised Glenn Schwartz (guitar/vocals), Tom Kriss (bass/vocals) and Jim Fox (drums/vocals). Schwartz left in April 1969 to join Pacific Gas And Electric, but Joe Walsh (Joseph Fidler Walsh, 20 November 1947, Wichita, Kansas, USA) proved a more than competent replacement. Yer Album blended originals with
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An example of stubborn belligerence ensuring longevity despite limited musical identity, Head East persevered on the Midwest, USA circuit for several years, releasing a sequence of competent hard rock albums without ever making the transition to international fame that peers such as REO Speedwagon enjoyed. Originally from south central Illinois, Roger Boyd (keyboards), Larry Bo
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Southern US rock practitioners Blackfoot formed in 1970, with the original line-up featuring Rick Medlocke (17 February 1950, USA; guitar/vocals), Charlie Hargrett (guitar), Greg Walker (bass/vocals) and Jakson Spires (b. 12 April 1951, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, d. 16 Mach 2005, Fort Pierce, Florida, USA; drums/vocals). The quartet shared common origins with Lynyrd Skyny
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Richard Zehringer, 5 August 1947, Fort Recovery, Ohio, USA. Originally a member of the chart-topping McCoys (Hang On Sloopy), Derringer went on to produce two of their later albums, paving the way for his new career. Along with his brother Randy, Rick formed the nucleus of Johnny Winters backing group. After producing four of Winters albums, he joined
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12 May 1950, Boston, USA. Having gained valuable experience as guitarist in the power-pop group Sidewinders, Squier, who had also appeared in the less celebrated Magic Terry And The Universe, formed his own band under the name of Piper and recorded two albums for A&M Records during the late 70s. He dissolved Piper in 1979 and signed a solo contract with Capitol Records.
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Samuel Roy Hagar, 13 October 1947, Monterey, California, USA. Hagar is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter whose father was a professional boxer. Legend has it that Elvis Presley persuaded him not to follow in his fathers footsteps, and instead he started out in 60s San Bernardino bands the Fabulous Castillas, Skinny, Justice Brothers and rock band Dust Cloud. He joine
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