Rock History"For those about to rock (We salute you)" – AC/DC
On This Day in Rock History: February 8Sep 25
2004 – Radiohead’s Thom Yorke speaks at the ‘No to Star Wars’ CNDPosted in 2000s, Agents & Lawyers, Albums/Singles that Rock, Bands/Artists that Rock, Billboard charts, Chart Toppers, Classic, Composers & Songwriters, General, Gold, Platinum, Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (honoured diety), Singers | No Comments »
2004 – Radiohead’s Thom Yorke speaks at the ‘No to Star Wars’ CND rally outside an air force base in Yorkshire, England. Jul 04
1976 – Elton John and Kiki Dee release their No. 1 duet…Posted in 1970s, Agents & Lawyers, Albums/Singles that Rock, Bands/Artists that Rock, Billboard charts, Chart Toppers, Classic, Composers & Songwriters, General, Gold, Holidays, Industry, July 4th (U.S), Keys, Misc., Off the Hook, Platinum, Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (honoured diety), Singers | No Comments »
1976 – Elton John and Kiki Dee release their No. 1 duet, “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” Kiki Dee (born Pauline Matthews, 6 March 1947, Little Horton, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England) is a successful singer-songwriter, with a career that has lasted over 40 years. Her most famous song was a duet with Elton John, entitled “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”, which was released in 1976 and went to Number 1 both in the UK Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 1993 she performed another duet with Elton John for his Duets album, a cover version of Cole Porter’s “True Love”, which reached #2 in the UK. Sep 22
1949 – David Coverdale of the groups Whitesnake an…Posted in 1940s, Bands/Artists that Rock, Billboard charts, Bio, Birthdays, Chart Toppers, Classic, Composers & Songwriters, General, Gold, Platinum, Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (honoured diety), Singers | 1 Comment »
1949 – David Coverdale of the groups Whitesnake and Deep Purple is born in Saltburnon- Sea, England. David Coverdale (born September 22, 1951 in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire) is an English rock vocalist most famous for his work with the English hard rock band Deep Purple, and his later band Whitesnake. Career Coverdale, briefly a student at Middlesbrough Art College, was largely unknown until he was selected to replace Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan (who had resigned) in September 1973. He was living in Marske-by-the-Sea and working in a clothes shop in Redcar, Teesside fronting a local group called Government which had supported Deep Purple. With Deep Purple advertising for a vocalist, he sent them a demo tape of his vocals. Impressed by his deep blues timbre, Coverdale was recruited to the band, sharing vocal duties with bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes. Coverdale immediately became an international rock superstar with the million selling albums Burn, Stormbringer, and Come Taste the Band. In April 1974, he sang to over 200,000 music fans in his first trip to America at the California Jam. He also sang on Jon Lord’s Windows and Roger Glover’s Butterfly Ball. His tenure ended in March 1976 when Deep Purple (in that incarnation) finally split up. Coverdale soon formed Whitesnake and during the late seventies and early eighties, with ever changing line-ups, recorded a series of well-received blues-rock albums. With ex-Deep Purple founders Jon Lord followed by Ian Paice joining in 1979, Whitesnake worked hard to become international superstars. According to British heavy metal magazine Kerrang!, in 1982, Coverdale was considered for the vocalist position with Black Sabbath following the departure of Ronnie James Dio. Coverdale declined. Whitesnake gained large popularity in the UK, Europe, and Asia but North American success remained elusive. In 1984 the album “Slide It In” dented the US charts but not enough to be considered a success. In time for the US release of “Slide It In” David Coverdale made a calculated attempt in updating Whitesnake’s sound and look by recruiting guitarist John Sykes. Sykes brought a more contemporary, aggressive guitar sound with him and had stage manners to match. In 1985 Sykes and Coverdale started working on new songs for the next album but Coverdale soon contracted a troublesome sinus infection that made recording close to impossible for the most part of 1986. Coverdale eventually recovered and recordings were continued but before “1987″ (the name the album has become popularly known as) was fully recorded and released, Sykes and the rest of the recording band had parted company with Whitesnake. The split with Sykes was not amicable. In many period interviews David Coverdale openly stated that the next album was a make or break album for Whitesnake and if not successful he would disband the band altogether. During 1987 and 1988 North America was finally won with the multi-platinum self-titled Whitesnake album, co-written for the most part with John Sykes. The 1987 album has sold 8 times platinum since its release, propelled by hit singles such as “Here I Go Again.” Through the late 80′s and early 90′s, caught in the “hair-band” era, Coverdale kept Whitesnake going with great success and with changing lineups until the end of 1991. It is no secret that Coverdale wanted out of the business at that point. He’d grown uncomfortable with the entity he then felt Whitesnake had become and admits that he got “caught up in it”. In a candid period interview, Coverdale sums it up in one sentence: “It got louder and louder, and so did I, to the point now where I have to get dressed up as a “girly man” and tease ones questionable bangs (or hair) and it’s all getting a bit… boring.” In 1994 Whitesnake was put on the road again in support of a Greatest Hits compilation. Citing weak sales figures for this compilation, Geffen Records elected not to renew Whitesnake’s recording contract, and Whitesnake was again put on ice. In December 2002, Coverdale re-reformed Whitesnake again for an American and European tour, with Tommy Aldridge on drums, Marco Mendoza (bass), Doug Aldrich (guitar), Reb Beach (guitar) and Timothy Drury (keyboards). In 2004-2005 saw Whitesnake embark on a tour of the U.S., South America and Europe. A live DVD, shot during the 2005 tour at the legendary Carling Apollo (better known as the Hammersmith Odeon) in London, was released in February 2006. In June 2006 David Coverdale signed a new record deal with Steamhammer/SPV. The first release under the new contract was the double live album Live: In The Shadow Of The Blues (released Nov. 27th 2006), the album also contained 4 brand new studio tracks written by Coverdale and Aldrich. Coverdale recently (2006) had a song written about him by Australian independent band the Fauves. The song alludes to buying one of his albums at a gas station and driving through the night listening to it. In 2008, Coverdale with the new Whitesnake line-up embarked on a European Tour as part of a double bill with fellow Yorkshire rockers Def Leppard, featuring a triumphant return to Wembley Arena. Band history David Coverdale has been in many different well known musical movements other than the one he is best known for (Whitesnake). * The Government (1968 – 1972) Personal life David Coverdale was first married in 1974 to Julia, and their daughter Jessica was born in 1978. Coverdale’s second marriage was to actress Tawny Kitaen, from February 17, 1989 until their divorce in April 1991. Kitaen was known for her “provocative” appearances in Whitesnake’s music videos for “Here I Go Again” and “Is This Love.” Currently he is married to Cindy (they married in 1997), an author, her most recent work being The Food That Rocks. They have a son, Jasper (b. 1996). Coverdale is also a grandfather to his daughter Jessica’s two children, Georgina and Mathilda. He has been linked to Gabrielle Jamae (83-97) but no photographic proof has been produced (or found) to substantiate these allegations. On March 1st 2007 David Coverdale became a U.S. citizen, in a ceremony in Reno, and now holds dual US/UK citizenship. He has lived near Lake Tahoe for more than 20 years. Guitarists Over his 30 year career, Coverdale has worked with many of rock music’s most accomplished guitar players. * Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmore’s Night) – in Deep Purple (1973-1975) Discography With Deep Purple * Burn (1974) Post-1976 Albums with Deep Purple * Last Concert in Japan (1976) Solo * White Snake (1977) With Coverdale/Page * Coverdale Page (1993) With Whitesnake * Snakebite (1978) Others * Various artists – Days of Thunder soundtrack (song “The Last Note Of Freedom”) (1990) Mar 06
1947 – Singer Kiki Dee (Pauline Matthews) is born …Posted in 1940s, Alternative or something else, Bands/Artists that Rock, Billboard charts, Chart Toppers, Classic, Composers & Songwriters, General, Girlfriends, Groopies, Husbands, Wifes, & Lovers, Gold, Platinum, Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (honoured diety), Singers | No Comments »1947 – Singer Kiki Dee (Pauline Matthews) is born in Yorkshire, England. Her biggest hit is “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” a 1976 duo with Elton John that tops Chart Toppers’s Hot 100. Nov 02
1944 – Keyboardist Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake …Posted in 1940s, Agents & Lawyers, Albums/Singles that Rock, Bands/Artists that Rock, Billboard charts, Bio, Birthdays, Blues, Chart Toppers, Classic, Composers & Songwriters, General, Gold, Industry, Keys, Platinum, Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (honoured diety), Singers | 1 Comment »
1944 – Keyboardist Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer is born in the U.K. The group’s biggest album is the live triple album “Welcome Back, My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends; Ladies and Gentlemen … Emerson Lake and Palmer.” It sells more than 1 million copies and reaches No. 4. Keith Noel Emerson (born 2 November 1944 in Todmorden, West Yorkshire) is a British keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown’s Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold’s backing band, and The Nice (which evolved from P.P.Arnold’s band), he started Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), one of the early supergroups, in 1970. Following the breakup of ELP, circa 1979, Emerson had modest success with Emerson, Lake & Powell in the 1980s. ELP reunited during the early 90s. Emerson also reunited The Nice in 2002 for a tour. He is currently on tour (as of Aug/Sept 2008) with The Keith Emerson Band and the new album titled “Keith Emerson Band Featuring Marc Bonilla” is released in Aug/Sept 2008. Emerson grew up in the seaside resort of Worthing, West Sussex, England. As a child, he learned western classical music, from which he derived a lot of inspiration to create his own style, combining classical music, jazz, and rock themes. Emerson became intrigued with the Hammond organ after hearing jazz organist Jack McDuff perform “Rock Candy” and it subsequently became his instrument of choice for performing in the late 60s. In 1969, Emerson incorporated the Moog modular synthesizer into his battery of keyboards. While other artists such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones had used the Moog in studio recordings, Emerson was the first artist to tour with one. He is known for his technical skill and for his live antics, including using knives to wedge down specific keys of his Hammond organ during solos, playing the organ upside down while having it lie over him and backwards while standing behind it. He also employed a special rig to rotate his piano end-over-end while he’s “playing” it (purely theatrical, since acoustic pianos cannot function when turned upside down in this manner). Along with contemporaries Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, Tony Banks of Genesis, Billy Ritchie of Clouds and Rick Wakeman of Yes, Emerson is widely regarded as one of the top keyboard players of the progressive rock era. Emerson has performed several notable rock arrangements of classical compositions, ranging from J. S. Bach via Modest Mussorgsky to 20th century composers such as Béla Bartók, Aaron Copland, Leoš Janác(ek and Alberto Ginastera. Occasionally Emerson has quoted from classical and jazz works without giving credit, particularly early in his career, from the late 1960s until 1972. The song “Rondo” by The Nice is a 12/8 interpretation of “Blue Rondo à la Turk” by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, originally in 9/8 time signature. The piece is introduced by an extensive quote from Bach’s Italian Concerto, third movement. In fact, considering the Bach and Emerson’s own improvisations, the Brubeck contribution is merely the anchoring theme. On ELP’s eponymous first album, Emerson’s classical quotes went largely uncredited. “The Barbarian” is heavily influenced by Allegro Barbaro by Bartók, and “Knife Edge” is virtually a note-for-note restatement of “Sinfonietta” by Janác(ek. Note-for-note extracts were taken from pieces by Bartók, Janác(ek and Bach, mixed in with some original material, and credited completely to Emerson, Lake, Palmer and roadie Richard Fraser. By 1971, with the releases Pictures At An Exhibition and Trilogy, Emerson began to fully credit classical composers, Modest Mussorgsky for the piano piece which inspired the first album, and Aaron Copland for “Hoedown” on the second. Emerson was adamant that he did not use Maurice Ravel’s orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition in developing his own version. In 2004 Emerson published his autobiography entitled Pictures of an Exhibitionist, which deals with his entire career, particularly focusing on his early days with The Nice, and his nearly career-ending nerve-graft surgery in 1993. Emerson has provided music for a number of films since 1980, including Dario Argento’s Inferno and World of Horror, the 1981 thriller Nighthawks and, more recently, Godzilla: Final Wars. He was also the composer for the short-lived 1994 animated television series Iron Man. Emerson has released a number of solo albums and is currently working on another with regular collaborator Marc Bonilla and producer Keith Wechsler. The new album titled, “Keith Emerson Band Featuring Marc Bonilla” was released in August/September 2008. He currently on tours with his own band in Russia and Baltic (Aug/Sept 2008) and in Japan (Oct 2008). The current tour band members are Marc Bonilla (G/Vo), Travis Davis (B), Tony Pia (Dr). Instrumentation and playing style On stage Emerson started out on Hammond organ, with a grand piano toward the back of the stage. By the end of his time with The Nice, the standard arrangement was two Hammond organs, a C-3 and an L-100, placed facing each other with the C-3 to the left from the audience point of view. The L-100 took plenty of abuse during the stage act and was usually reinforced, to the point where it weighed so much that, on at least one occasion, Emerson became trapped beneath it and had to be rescued by a roadie. At any given time Emerson is said to have owned several L-100 models, in various stages of repair, to support his act. The C-3, in contrast, seems to have lasted for years. Although the Hammond L-100 with its shorter manuals is considered a “poor man’s” Hammond, Emerson not only played much of the early Nice music on his L-100, but also made good use of some of its unique features which his bigger Hammond C-3 does not provide. The L-100 has a self-starting motor, which – if turned off and on in short intervals – renders the whole organ into a wailing howl while the note generator tries to recover to pitch. The L-100 also features a spring-loaded reverb tank, which produces bomb-like noises if shaken. Both effects can be heard in abundance on “Rondo 69”. On “Ars Longa Vita Brevis” Emerson even uses the reverb tank as a musical instrument, tapping the internal spring against the tank bottom in an effort to create a chromatic scale of “boings”. With ELP, Emerson added the Moog synthesizer behind the C-3 with the keyboard and ribbon controller stacked on the top of the organ. The ribbon controller allowed Emerson to vary pitch, volume or timbre of the output from the Moog by moving his finger up and down the length of a touch-sensitive strip. It also could be used as a phallic symbol, which quickly became a feature of the act. When the Minimoog entered the act it was placed where needed, such as on top of the grand piano. The same location was also used for an electric Clavinet keyboard, used almost exclusively for the encore piece Nut Rocker. During the Brain Salad Surgery tour of 1974 (one show of which was documented on the 3-LP set, Welcome Back My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends), Emerson’s keyboard setup included the Hammond C-3 organ, run through multiple Leslie speakers driven by HiWatt guitar amplifiers, the Moog IIIC modular synthesizer (modified by addition of various modules and an oscilloscope) with ribbon controller, a Steinway concert grand piano with a Moog Minimoog synthesizer on top of it (used for the steel drum part on Karn Evil 9, 2nd Impression), an upright acoustic-electric piano that was used for honky-tonk piano sounds, a Hohner Clavinet and another Moog Minimoog synthesizer. Emerson also used a prototype polyphonic synthesizer produced by Moog, which was the test bed for the Moog Polymoog polyphonic synthesizer. The original synthesizer setup as envisioned by Moog was called the Constellation, and consisted of 3 instruments – the polyphonic synthesizer, called the Apollo, a monophonic lead synthesizer called the Lyra, and a bass-pedal synthesizer, called the Taurus. Moog eventually produced the Moog Taurus bass pedal synthesizer as a separate instrument, as well as the Polymoog Synthesizer and Polymoog Keyboard. The Apollo polyphonic synthesizer is currently at a keyboard museum in Calgary, Canada. Emerson still owns the Lyra synthesizer. Occasionally Emerson used a pipe organ, when available. In particular, at the Newcastle City Hall he used the Harrison & Harrison pipe organ for the introductory section of Pictures at an Exhibition. The organ is located at the rear above the stage, at the top of a series of steps where choirs can stand. The end of the introductory passage is followed by a drum roll, covering the time while Emerson descended the steps. While all went well for the recording used to produce the album, the debut tour performance at the same venue ground to a halt as the power failed, just as Emerson arrived at the Hammond organ to open the next part of the piece. After a lengthy delay the performance continued with only the Hammond L-100 functioning. Emerson also used the organ at the Royal Festival Hall for “The Three Fates” from the eponymous debut album by the group. He also used another pipe organ for “The Only Way (Hymn)” from the sophomore Tarkus album. It is not known if he also used it in a live context. Amplifiers and speakers behind Emerson became more elaborate, including a Leslie unit. There was also a board attached to the front of the stack, intended as a target for his knife throwing. During the Brain Salad Surgery tour, at the end of the show, a sequencer in the Moog Modular synthesizer was set running at an increasing rate, with the Moog Synthesizer pivoting to face the audience while a large pair of silver bat wings was deployed at the back of the synthesizer. As the technology of electronic keyboard instruments became more sophisticated, Emerson was quick to adopt new instruments, such as the Yamaha GX1 polyphonic synthesizer, one of which can be seen on the video promoting Fanfare for the Common Man. Emerson was reported to have spent $50,000 to buy the Yamaha GX-1 synthesizer at the time of the Works album. Emerson later bought a 2nd GX-1 from John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, to use to repair his GX-1, which was damaged by a tractor crash into Emerson’s home studio. At the time that Emerson left England in the early 1990s to move to Santa Monica, California, he sold the majority of his keyboard equipment, though not the modular Moog. The original Yamaha GX-1 was bought by Hans Zimmer of movie soundtrack fame, while the John Paul Jones GX-1 was bought by a collector in Italy. Other more elaborate innovations have been previously described in this article. In 1978 Emerson became the official endorser of the world’s first fully polyphonic synthesizers, namely the Korg PS-3300 and PS-3100. He started recording with them around this time too and the Korg PS-3300 was heavily used on the ELP album Love Beach. Only 50 units were produced of this mega-monster of a synthesizer and it has achieved cult status today partly thanks to Emerson’s endorsement. He carried on using it into the 80s, for example the Korg PS-3300 also dominates the 1981 film soundtrack for Nighthawks which starred Sylvester Stallone. Even on the grand piano, Emerson refused to limit his technique to hitting the keys. He would sometimes reach into the interior and hit, pluck or strum the strings with his hand. The introduction to “Take a Pebble” includes chords and arpeggios played by pressing down on keys, to raise the dampers from the strings, and playing the strings inside the piano as one might play the autoharp. In the live performance of “Hang on to a Dream” with the Nice, recorded for the post-breakup album Elegy, he performed a cadenza of sorts hitting the piano strings with a small hammer, followed by a lengthy wind-down returning to the song in which he alternated keyboard arpeggios with blows directly on the bass strings. The standard finale to the song has him reaching into the piano with fingers spread on both hands to pluck the final chord, presumably depressing the sustain pedal at the same time to lift all the string dampers. This can be clearly seen on a performance filmed for the television show Beat Club. Personal life * During the late 1970s and the 1980s, Emerson owned and lived in a house previously owned by J.M. Barrie, the author who created Peter Pan. * Emerson has a private pilot’s license, and enjoys riding motorcycles. * He currently plays with his own group, the Keith Emerson Band featuring Marc Bonilla. Their newest self-titled album was released in Japan in August 2008, and Europe in September 2008. * Emerson has two sons, Aaron (who is also a musician) and Damon (who is involved with graphics). * Emerson currently lives in Southern California with his girlfriend. Partial list of pieces based on other composers’ works Note that lack of credit does not imply plagiarism. It is certain that, where required, royalties were paid to composers or their estates. Permission to use pieces was sometimes denied by the composer’s family or estate, as for instance with Gustav Holst’s Mars, the Bringer of War. Aaron Copland was said to be somewhat puzzled by Emerson’s take on Fanfare For the Common Man, but approved its use. Alberto Ginastera, on the other hand, was thrilled by Emerson’s electronic realization and declared that he wished he could have done it in that fashion himself. With The Nice * America, 2nd Amendment, from West Side Story’s America, by Leonard Bernstein, credited, quoting Antonín Dvor(ák’s symphony No. 9, From the New World, uncredited. With ELP * The Barbarian, based on Allegro barbaro, Sz. 49, BB 63 by Béla Bartók, uncredited (credited on Manticore re-pressing of the original LP – though not on cover). Jan 04
1942 – Fusion guitarist John McLaughlin, who as well as founding the blisteringPosted in 1940s, Agents & Lawyers, Albums/Singles that Rock, Bands/Artists that Rock, Billboard charts, Birthdays, Chart Toppers, Classic, Composers & Songwriters, General, Gold, Guitarists, Platinum, Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (honoured diety), Singers | No Comments »
1942 – Fusion guitarist John McLaughlin, who as well as founding the blistering Mahavishnu Orchestra is also a good pal of Carlos Santana, is born in Yorkshire. From Wikipedia: John McLaughlin (born 4 January, 1942 in Doncaster), also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin is an English jazz fusion guitarist and composer. He played with Tony Williams‘s group Lifetime and then played with Miles Davis on his landmark electric jazz-fusion albums In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew. His 1970s electric band, The Mahavishnu Orchestra performed a technically virtuosic and complex style of music that fused eclectic jazz and rock with eastern and Indian influences. His guitar playing includes a range of styles and genres, including jazz, Indian classical music, fusion and Western Classical music, and has influenced many other guitarists. He has also incorporated Flamenco music in some of his acoustic recordings. The Indian Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain often refers to John McLaughlin as being “one of the greatest and most important musicians of our times”. Musical career
1960sBefore moving to the U.S., McLaughlin recorded Extrapolation (with Tony Oxley and John Surman) in 1969, in which McLaughlin showed technical virtuosity, inventiveness, and the ability to play in odd meters. He moved to the U.S. in 1969 to join Tony Williams‘s group Lifetime. He subsequently played with Miles Davis on his landmark albums In A Silent Way, Bitches Brew (which has a track named after him), On The Corner, Big Fun (where he is featured soloist on Go Ahead John) and A Tribute to Jack Johnson — Davis paid tribute to him in the liner notes to Jack Johnson, calling McLaughlin’s playing “far in”. McLaughlin returned to the Davis band for one recorded night of a week-long club date, which was released as part of the album Live-Evil and as part of the Cellar Door boxed set. His reputation as a “first-call” session player grew, resulting in recordings as a sideman with Miroslav Vitous, Larry Coryell, Joe Farrell, Wayne Shorter, Carla Bley, The Rolling Stones and others.
1970sHe recorded Devotion in early 1970 on Douglas Records (run by Alan Douglas), a high-energy, psychedelic, fusion album that featured Larry Young on organ (who had been part of Lifetime), Billy Rich on bass and the R&B drummer Buddy Miles (who had played with Jimi Hendrix). Devotion was the first of two albums he released on Douglas. On the second Douglas album, however, McLaughlin went in a different direction in 1971 when he released My Goals Beyond in the U.S., an amazing collection of unamplified acoustic works, including extended performances on side A of “Peace One” and “Peace Two”, offering a fusion blend of jazz and Indian classical forms. Side B features some of the most melodic acoustic playing McLaughlin ever recorded, including such standards as “Goodbye Pork-Pie Hat”, by Charles Mingus whom McLaughlin considered an important influence on his own development. Other tracks that expressed some of McLaughlin’s other influences include “Something Spiritual” (Dave Herman), “Hearts and Flowers” (P.D. Bob Cornford), “Phillip Lane”, “Waltz for Bill Evans” (Chick Corea), “Follow Your Heart”, “Song for My Mother” and “Blue in Green” (Miles Davis). “Follow Your Heart” had been released earlier on Extrapolation under the title “Arjen’s Bag”. My Goals Beyond was inspired by McLaughlin’s decision to follow the Indian spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy, to whom he had been introduced in 1970 by Larry Coryell’s manager. The album was dedicated to Chinmoy, with one of the guru’s poems printed on the liner notes. It was on this album that McLaughlin took the name “Mahavishnu.” Around this time, McLaughlin began a rigorous schedule of woodshedding, resulting in a transformation in his playing from his usual odd-timed, angular guitar lines to a more powerful, aggressive and fast style of playing, which would be put on display to great effect in his next project, the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Mahavishnu OrchestraMcLaughlin’s 1970s electric band, The Mahavishnu Orchestra [1] included violinist Jerry Goodman (later Jean-Luc Ponty), keyboardist Jan Hammer (later Gayle Moran and Stu Goldberg), bassist Rick Laird (later Ralphe Armstrong), and drummer Billy Cobham (later Narada Michael Walden). The band performed a technically virtuosic and complex style of music that fused eclectic jazz and rock with eastern and Indian influences. This band established fusion as a new and growing style within the jazz and rock worlds. McLaughlin’s playing at this time was distinguished by fast solos and exotic musical scales. In 1973, McLaughlin collaborated with Carlos Santana, also a disciple of Sri Chinmoy, on an album of devotional songs, Love Devotion Surrender, which included recordings of Coltrane compositions including a movement of A Love Supreme. He has also worked with the jazz composers Carla Bley and Gil Evans. The Mahavishnu Orchestra’s personality clashes were as explosive as their performances and consequently the first incarnation of the group split in late 1973 after just two years and three albums, one of which was a live recording “Between Nothingness and Eternity”. In 2001 the “Lost Trident Sessions” album was released, recorded in 1973 but shelved when the group disbanded. Mclaughlin then reformed the group with Narada Michael Walden (drums), Jean Luc Ponty (violin), Ralphe Armstrong (bass) and Gayle Moran (keys and vocals). The incarnation of the group recorded a further two albums, after which time Mclaughlin was almost completely absorbed in his acoustic playing with his Indian classical music based group Shakti (see below). A third album was recorded in 1976 largely due to contractual obligations. Around this time, McLaughlin also appeared on Stanley Clarke‘s School Days album, among a host of other musicians.
Other activitiesAfter the first reincarnation of the Mahavishnu Orchestra split, McLaughlin worked with the far more low-key acoustic group Shakti. This group combined Indian music with elements of jazz and thus may be regarded as a pioneer of world music. McLaughlin had already been studying Indian classical music and playing the veena for several years. The group featured Lakshmirnaraya L. Shankar (violin), Zakir Hussain (tabla), Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram (ghatam) and earlier Ramnad Raghavan (mridangam). John was the first westerner to attain any acclaim performing Indian music for Indian audiences. In this group, Mclaughlin played a custom made steel string acoustic guitar made by luthier Abe Wechter and the Gibson guitar company, which featured two tiers of strings over the soundhole: a conventional six string configuration with an additional seven strings strung underneath on a forty-five degree angle – these were independently tunable and were played as “sympathetic strings” much like a sitar or veena. The instrument also featured a scalloped fretboard along the full length of the neck which enabled Mclaughlin to play bends far beyond the reach of a conventional fretboard. In 1979, he teamed up with flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía and jazz guitarist Larry Coryell (replaced by Al Di Meola in the early 1980s) as the Guitar Trio. For the fall tour of 1983, they were joined by Dixie Dregs guitarist Steve Morse, who opened the show as a soloist and participated with The Trio in the closing numbers. The Trio, again featuring McLaughlin along with de Lucía and Di Meola, reunited in 1996 for a second recording session and a world tour. In 1979, Mclaughlin recorded the album “Johnny Mclaughlin: Electric Guitarist”. This was the title on Mclaughlin’s first business cards as a teenager in Yorkshire. This recording was a return to more mainstream Jazz/Rock fusion and to the electric instrument after three years of playing acoustic guitars, particularly his Gibson 2-tier custom-made steel string with the Shakti group. Mclaughlin was so used to the scalloped fretboard from his Shakti days and so accustomed to the freedom it provided him that he had the fretboard scalloped on his Gibson Byrdland Electric hollowbody. He also formed the short-lived One Truth Band who recorded one studio album: “Electric Dreams”. The group had L. Shankar on violins, Stu Goldberg on keyboards, Fernando Saunders on electric bass and Tony Smith on drums. 1979 also saw the formation of the very short-lived Trio of Doom. Here McLaughlin teamed up with Jaco Pastorius (bass) and Tony Williams (drums). They only played one concert, at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana, Cuba on March 3, 1979 [2], this concert was part of a US State Department cultural exchange program known by some musicians as the ‘The Bay of Gigs’. They went on to record three of the tracks at CBS Studios in New York City, United States on March 8, 1979.
1980s
 John McLaughlin performing in 1986 Hollabrunn, Austria 
John McLaughlin, Remember Shakti Concert, Munich/Germany (2001) In the late ’80s and early ’90s Mclaughlin recorded and performed live with a trio including bassist Kai Eckhardt and percussionist Trilok Gurtu. The group recorded two albums: “Live at The Royal Festival Hall” and “Que Alegria”, with latter featuring Dominique DiPiazza on bass for all but two tracks. These recordings saw a return to acoustic instruments for McLaughlin, performing on nylon-string guitar. On “Live at the Royal Festival Hall” McLaughlin utilised a unique guitar synth which enabled him to effectively “loop” guitar parts and play over them live. The synth also featured a pedal which provided sustain when pressed. McLaughlin played parts which sound overdubbed and creating lush soundscapes, aided by Gurtu’s unique percussive sounds. This approach is used to great effect in the track “Florianapolis”, amongst others. With the group Fuse One, he released two album in 1980 and 1982.[3] In 1986 he appeared with Dexter Gordon in Bertrand Tavernier‘s film “Round Midnight.” He also composed The Mediterranean Concerto, orchestrated by Michael Gibbs. The world premier featured McLaughlin and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It was recorded in 1988 with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. McLaughlin does improvise in certain sections.
1990sIn the early 1990s he toured with his Quartet on the Que Alegria album. The quartet comprised John McLaughlin, Trilok Gurtu, Kai Eckhardt and Dominique DiPiazza. Following this period he recorded and toured with The Heart of Things featuring Gary Thomas, Dennis Chambers, Matthew Garrison, Jim Beard and Otmaro Ruiz. In recent times he has toured with Remember Shakti. In addition to original Shakti member Zakir Hussain, this group has also featured eminent Indian musicians U. Srinivas, V. Selvaganesh, Shankar Mahadevan, Shivkumar Sharma, and Hariprasad Chaurasia. In 1996, John McLaughlin, Paco DeLucia and Al DiMeola (known collectively as “The Guitar Trio”)reunited for a world tour and recorded an album by the same name.
2000sIn 2003, he recorded a ballet score, Thieves and Poets, along with arrangements for classical guitar ensemble of favorite jazz standards, and a three-DVD instructional video on improvisation entitled “This is the Way I Do It” (which contributed to the development of video lessons [4]) In June 2006, he released a hard bop/jazz fusion album entitled Industrial Zen, on which McLaughlin experiments with the Godin Glissentar as well as continuing to expand his guitar-synth repertoire. 2007, he left Universal Records and joined the small Internet-based Abstract Logix label that works closely with independent jazz, progressive rock, and world music bands. Recording sessions for his first album on the label took place in April. That summer, he began touring with a new jazz fusion quartet, the 4th Dimension, consisting of keyboardist/drummer Gary Husband, bassist Hadrian Feraud, and drummer Mark Mondesir. During the 4th Dimension’s tour, an “instant CD” entitled “Live USA 2007: Official Bootleg” was made available comprising soundboard recordings of 6 pieces from the group’s first performance. The album was available after that and all subsequent performances and a limited number were made available through Abstract Logix. Following completion of the tour, McLaughlin personally sorted through recordings from each night to release a second MP3 download-only collection entitled “Official Pirate: Best of the American Tour 2007″. During this time, McLaughlin also released another instructional DVD entitled “The Gateway to Rhythm”, featuring Indian percussionist and Remember Shakti bandmate Selva Ganesh Vinayakram (or V. Selvaganesh), focusing on the Indian rhythmic system of konnakol. John also remastered and released a shelved project dating back to 1980 called “The Trio of Doom” featuring jazz/fusion luminaries Jaco Pastorius and Tony Williams. The project had been aborted due to conflicts between Williams and Pastorius as well as what was at the time a mutual dissatisfaction with the results of their performance. 
From left to right: Zakir Hussain, U. Srinivas, Shankar Mahadevan, John Mclaughin, Selvaganesh Vinayakram, during a performance by the band Remember Shakti, 2004
On April 28, 2008 the recording sessions from the previous year surfaced on the album “Floating Point”, featuring the rhythm section of keyboardist Louiz Banks, bassist Hadrien Feraud, percussionist Sivamani and drummer Ranjit Barot bolstered on each track by a different Indian musician. Coinciding with the release of the album was another DVD, “Meeting of the Minds”, which offered behind the scenes studio footage of the “Floating Point” sessions as well as interviews with all of the musicians. McLaughlin is set to begin a late summer/fall tour with Chick Corea, Vinnie Colaiuta, Kenny Garrett and Christian McBride under the name “5 Peace Band”.
InfluenceMcLaughlin has been cited as a major influence on many of the ’70s and ’80s fusion guitarists. Some prominent guitarists he influenced include Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, Mike Stern, Al Di Meola, and Scott Henderson. According to Pat Metheny, McLaughlin has changed the evolution of the guitar during several of his periods of playing. McLaughlin is also considered a major influence on composers in the fusion genre. In an interview with Downbeat, Chick Corea remarked that “…what John McLaughlin did with the electric guitar set the world on its ear. No one ever heard an electric guitar played like that before, and it certainly inspired me. John’s band, more than my experience with Miles, led me to want to turn the volume up and write music that was more dramatic and made your hair move”. Progressive metal band Cynic cites McLaughlin and The Mahavishnu Orchestra as an influence on their music, and often perform “Meeting of the Spirits” live.
DiscographyMain Article: John McLaughlin discography.
Guitars (selection)
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