The MJ Show #28 (Supergroups)
Tonight's special revolves around "Supergroups"!!
What are Supergroups you ask? I shall tell you what they are.
When you're an awesome musician, and you're famous...you land up having friends who are also awesome musicians and famous. When such awesomely famous musicians decide to get together and form a band...you get a super group.
See my very first band tonight for example.
Eric Clapton (Cream)
John Lennon (as "Winston Leg-Thigh") (The Beatles)
Mitch Mitchell (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones)
Now if that's not a SUPER group...I don't know what is! :)
Here's a song that they did in a Rolling Stones TV Special called "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus". Recorded on 11 December 1968, this was the first time that Lennon, who was still with The Beatles, had performed in public without the other Beatles.
1st Song - The Dirty Mac - Yer Blues #TheMJshow
Now speaking of Cream, they're my second Supergroup for the night.
Cream had:
Eric Clapton (The Yardbirds and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers)
Jack Bruce (Manfred Mann)
Ginger Baker (Graham Bond Organisation)
They had some HUGE hits in the late 60s and as often with these Supergroups, they broke up after making just 4 albums because they couldn't bear each other any more. :) Big musicians = BIG egos :)
Anyhow, of all the hits they've had, the song that I chose for tonight is...
2nd Song - Cream - Sunshine Of Your Love #TheMJshow
Well soon after Cream broke up Clapton formed another supergroup. It was a group consisting of:
Eric Clapton (The Yardbirds, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Cream)
Ginger Baker (Graham Bond Organisation, Cream)
Steve Winwood (Traffic, The Spencer Davis Group)
Ric Grech (Family)
They made just one album, a self titled album and here is one of the best songs from that album.
3rd Song - Blind Faith - Presence Of The Lord #TheMJshow
After playing in all these awesome supergroups, Clapton decided to step into the background for a time. He played the sideman role with the American group Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, who had been the support act for Blind Faith's U.S. tour. He also played two dates that fall as a member of The Plastic Ono Band, including the famous performance at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival in September 1969, released as the album Live Peace in Toronto 1969.
But soon thereafter, he formed another Supergroup of sorts - Derek and the Dominos in the spring of 1970 by with keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon, who had all played with Clapton in Delaney, Bonnie & Friends.
Their only album was called "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" and it featured the great Duane Allman on a few songs.
Check out a live version of...Layla.
Though originally the song had Clapton and Allman, I have for you a version which features Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck on guitars and Charlie Watts on drums. Holy Supergroup again Batman! :)
You might remember that Page, Beck and Clapton started off their careers together in The Yardbirds. That's a Supergroup in retrospect...but wasn't one when the band was formed. At that time, these guys were just starting off. Man! What an awesome way to start off a career eh? :)
4th Song - Derek And The Dominos - Layla #TheMJshow
Now Layla was a song that was inspired by Clapton's love for his friend George Harrison's then wife, Pattie Boyd.
I now have for you a Supergroup that George Harrison was a part of. And what a Supergroup it was!
I'm talking about...the Traveling Wilburys. Check out the members:
George Harrison (The Beatles)
Bob Dylan
Tom Petty (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
Jeff Lynne (Electric Light Orchestra, The Move)
Roy Orbison
Here's a bit of history on the band.
"Wilburys" was a slang term coined by Harrison and Lynne during the recording of Cloud Nine as a pet name for various types of equipment in the recording studio; Harrison, referring to errors caused by malfunctioning equipment, jokingly remarked to Lynne: "We'll bury 'em in the mix".
The term was used again when the entire group was together. Harrison suggested "The Trembling Wilburys" as the group's name; instead, Lynne suggested "Traveling", which was agreed on by the group. The American spelling of "Traveling" rather than the British spelling "Travelling" was used because the band started in the US and consisted of three Americans and only two Britons.
5th Song - Traveling Wilburys - Handle With Care #TheMJshow
Okay my next Supergroup is one of the projects that Paul Rodgers was a part of.
The band was massively successful and had some incredible hits in the 70s and 80s.
The band under Rodgers comprised of:
Paul Rodgers (Free)
Mick Ralphs (Mott the Hoople)
Boz Burrell (King Crimson)
Simon Kirke (Free)
Here's a song of their's that I really love!
6th Song - Bad Company - Feel Like Making Love #TheMJshow
Bad Company earned six platinum albums until Rodgers left in 1982 at the height of their fame to spend time with his young family.
Soon though, he got back into the music business with his friend Jimmy Page!
(Bad Company released their albums on the company founded by Led Zeppelin - Swan Song Records)
Rodgers and Page got together with a couple of other super musicians and formed The Firm. The two albums they released didn't do a lot of business but they did spawn a few hits. One of which is the song I've got for you tonight.
The band comprised of:
Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company)
Jimmy Page (The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin)
Tony Franklin (Roy Harper)
Chris Slade (Uriah Heep, Manfred Mann's Earth Band)
And the song I have for you is:
7th Song - The Firm - Radioactive #TheMJshow
Now that I have mentioned Led Zeppelin, I've gotta talk about another new supergroup featuring a Zeppelin member.
I'm talking about John Paul Jones and his new band Them Crooked Vultures! Just heard them and I have a feeling that this one's going to be a good one!!
Here's what the band looks like:
John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin)
Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters)
Josh Homme (Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal)
Here's the first single from their debut album.
8th song - Them Crooked Vultures - New Fang #TheMJshow
My next supergroup, Temple of the Dog, was an American
The band released its only album, the self-titled Temple of the Dog, in April 1991 through A&M Records. Although earning praise from music critics at the time of its release, the album was not widely recognized until 1992, when Vedder, Ament, Gossard and McCready had their commercial breakthrough with Pearl Jam.
The band comprised of:
Chris Cornell (Soundgarden)
Stone Gossard (Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam)
Jeff Ament (Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam)
Matt Cameron (Soundgarden)
Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam)
Mike McCready (Pearl Jam)
My favourite song from that album was:
9th Song - Temple Of The Dog - Hunger Strike #TheMJshow
In 2001, Chris Cornell got involved in another supergroup which comprised of him and the musicians of Rage Against The Machine.
The band comprised of:
Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, solo)
Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Lock Up)
Tim Commerford (Rage Against the Machine)
Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine)
Here's one of their biggest hits:
10th Song - Audioslave - Be Yourself #TheMJshow
Another ass kicking supergroup that had some great rock n roll songs was Velvet Revolver who had Scott Weiland singing for them till he left the band in 2008. As far as I know, they're on a hiatus right now and are in the process of getting a new singer in place. Looking forward to seeing who joins them...but here's the initial line up of the band.
Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots)
Slash (Guns N' Roses, Slash's Snakepit)
Duff McKagan (Guns N' Roses, Loaded)
Matt Sorum (Guns N' Roses, Hawk, The Cult)
Dave Kushner (Wasted Youth)
And coming up is their Grammy Award winning song from their debut album "Contraband". It was awarded a Grammy in 2005 for Best Hard Rock Performance. Here it is...an asskicking live version of...Slither!
11th Song - Velvet Revolver - Slither #TheMJshow
The next supergroup I have is something else! Here's what Sammy Hagar, singer of the band had to say regarding the band's status as a "supergroup" - "We’re not a supergroup, we like hanging out together and the music is a bonus. We just happen to be in other groups." Full on eh? :)
The band that he's got along with some other super musicians or friends as he likes to call 'em is called Chickenfoot and check out who's in it!
Sammy Hagar (Van Halen, Montrose, solo)
Michael Anthony (Van Halen)
Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Joe Satriani (solo, Mick Jagger, Deep Purple)
Here's another interesting story about them.
While the band's name and logo reference a disparaging term used to describe the peace symbol, the "footprint of the chicken", bassist Michael Anthony asserts that the name originated from initial jam sessions between Hagar, Smith and himself: "there are three talons on a chicken’s foot and there were three of us." Later Anthony stated: "It was just supposed to be a bullshit name that we’d used for a while, and then when the rumors spread about the band, everybody used that name so we thought, 'fuck it, let’s call it Chickenfoot' - it all comes down to the music anyway."
Okay, enough talking...I LOVE the sound of this band. Can't wait to pick up their album.
Here's a song off it.
The first single...this one's called "Oh Yeah!"
12th Song - Chickenfoot - Oh Yeah! #TheMJshow
That's it for tonight. An even dozen. My top 12 to be precise. Sure there have been a lot more supergroups...maybe you can tell me some I missed here and you really like. Put it down in the comments here :) And for the love of God...do comment! So many of you are RTing the shows and telling me about it on twitter. Leave a word or two here as well. Doesn't take too long :)
Thanks for the support so far. Keep it going on. Pass the word around about this page and I hope you've seen the older shows too. If not, go through them now :)
Right then...good night and take care :)
This is your Musicman Mihir...signing off :)
