Butts Band

Last updated

Butts Band
Origin London, England
Genres Rock
Years active1973–1975
Past members

Butts Band was a British and American group formed by ex-Doors members John Densmore and Robby Krieger, active from 1973 to 1975. The band released two albums and, with the exception of Krieger and Densmore, they consisted of different band personnel on each. [1]

Contents

History

Butts Band came about as a consequence of the Doors trying to find a replacement for lead singer Jim Morrison, who had died in July 1971. The three remaining Doors had released two albums ( Other Voices in 1971 and Full Circle in 1972), with Ray Manzarek and Krieger sharing vocals. [2] Unable to recruit a singer in the US, the three Doors went to London in 1973 seeking an experienced lead singer and auditioned several British singers, including Howard Werth (the singer of Audience), Kevin Coyne (from Siren) and Jess Roden (who was the leader of Bronco).

Werth rehearsed with the band for a week. Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman favoured Werth to replace Morrison, as he had at one stage foreseen Audience taking over the Doors' spot on Elektra, but Audience had disbanded and Holzman now envisioned Werth and the Doors merging as the "new Doors". However, the three remaining Doors felt that adding a new singer was not working out and decided to disband. With Manzarek returning to Los Angeles, Krieger and Densmore began looking for a new project, linking up with Roden, Phil Chen and Roy Davies to form the Butts Band [3] (allegedly named after a cave where Roden's previous band used to practice).

The band signed with Blue Thumb Records and began working on their first album, with longtime Doors sound engineer/co-producer Bruce Botnick taking the producer role. [4] Recording was split between studios in London (three weeks at Olympic Studios) and Kingston, Jamaica (for another three weeks) on their way home to California. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1973. [3] Krieger was quoted as saying, "It's not 'head music', it's 'heart music'. It's 'up music'. It's music you can dance to."[ citation needed ]

Following the album's release, the band appeared on The Midnight Special and the Old Grey Whistle Test . Following the pressure of having two members living in California and three in London, this incarnation of the band split up. The former British musicians were replaced by musicians from the Los Angeles area: Michael Stull (guitar/piano), Alex Richman (keyboards), Karl Rucker (bass), Bobbi Hall (congas) and an additional drummer, Mike Berkowitz. [3] This line-up released Hear and Now in 1975. [3]

The Butts Band permanently disbanded after the second album, with Krieger and Densmore embarking on solo projects. [3] In 1978, the three remaining Doors reunited for the first time to record An American Prayer . [5]

Former members

Timeline

Butts Band

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Doors</span> American rock band

The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts of the 1960s, primarily due to Morrison's lyrics and voice, along with his erratic stage persona and legal issues. The group is widely regarded as an important figure of the era's counterculture.

<i>The Doors</i> (album) 1967 studio album by the Doors

The Doors is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on January 4, 1967, by Elektra Records. It was recorded in August and September 1966 at Sunset Sound Recorders, in Hollywood, California, under the production of Paul A. Rothchild. The album features the extended version of the band's breakthrough single "Light My Fire" and the lengthy closer "The End" with its Oedipal spoken word section. Various publications, including BBC and Rolling Stone, have listed The Doors as one of the greatest debut albums of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robby Krieger</span> American guitarist (born 1946)

Robert Alan Krieger is an American guitarist and founding member of the rock band the Doors. Krieger wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including the hits "Light My Fire", "Love Me Two Times", "Touch Me", and "Love Her Madly". When the Doors disbanded shortly after the death of lead singer Jim Morrison, Krieger continued to perform and record with other musicians including former Doors bandmates John Densmore and Ray Manzarek. In the 2023 edition of Rolling Stone's 250 greatest guitarists of all time, he was positioned at number 248.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Manzarek</span> American keyboardist (1939–2013)

Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the rock band the Doors, co-founding the group in 1965 with fellow UCLA Film School student Jim Morrison. Manzarek is credited for his innovative playing and abilities on organ-style keyboard instruments.

Rick & the Ravens was an American surf rock and frat rock band founded in 1961, known as the forerunner of the Doors. Members Ray Manczarek, John Densmore, and Jim Morrison renamed the group in the latter half of 1965 after joining forces with Robby Krieger.

<i>Other Voices</i> (The Doors album) 1971 studio album by the Doors

Other Voices is the seventh studio album by the Doors, released by Elektra Records in October 1971. It was the first album released by the band following the death of lead singer Jim Morrison in July 1971 with keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger sharing lead vocals. Tracks for the album had begun before Morrison's death and the band hoped that Morrison would return from Paris to finish them.

<i>Full Circle</i> (The Doors album) 1972 studio album by the Doors

Full Circle is the eighth studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released in August 1972. It is the second album after Jim Morrison's death, and their last until the 1978 album An American Prayer. The album includes "The Mosquito", the last Doors single to chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Me Two Times</span> 1967 single by the Doors

"Love Me Two Times" is a song by the American rock band the Doors. First appearing on their second studio album Strange Days, it was later edited to a 2:37 length and released as the second single from that album. The single reached number 25 on the charts in the United States.

<i>Legacy: The Absolute Best</i> 2003 greatest hits album by the Doors

Legacy: The Absolute Best is a two-disc compilation album by American rock band the Doors. Released in 2003, it includes the uncensored versions of both "Break On Through " and "The End". Also included is a previously unreleased studio version of Morrison's epic poetry piece "Celebration of the Lizard," a rehearsal outtake from the band's Waiting for the Sun sessions.

<i>13</i> (The Doors album) 1970 compilation album by the Doors

13 is the first compilation album by American rock band the Doors, released by Elektra Records on November 30, 1970. The title refers to the thirteen tracks included, which feature a variety of songs from their five studio albums released up to that point. The cover shrink wrap featured a clear sticker that read: "A Collection of Thirteen Classic Doors Songs". It is the band's only compilation album released while lead singer Jim Morrison was alive.

"When the Music's Over" is an epic song by the American rock band the Doors, which appears on their second album Strange Days, released in 1967. It is among the band's longer pieces, lasting 11 minutes.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (The Doors album) 1980 greatest hits album by the Doors

Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American rock band the Doors, released in 1980. The album, along with the film Apocalypse Now, released the previous year, created for the band an entirely new audience of the generation that did not grow up with the Doors. The album went on to become one of the highest-selling compilations of all time, with combined CD and vinyl sales of 5,000,000 in the United States alone.

<i>Essential Rarities</i> 2000 compilation album by the Doors

Essential Rarities is a compilation album by the Doors, originally released as part of the boxed set The Complete Studio Recordings in 1999, but reissued in 2000 as a single CD, containing studio cuts, live cuts and demos taken from the 1997 The Doors: Box Set.

<i>The Best of The Doors</i> (1973 album) 1973 greatest hits album by the Doors

The Best of the Doors is a compilation album by the American rock band the Doors, released in September 1973 by Elektra Records. It was the third compilation album to be released by the band and contains seven of the Doors' eight Top 40 hits.

"Soul Kitchen" is a song by the Doors from their first album The Doors. Singer Jim Morrison wrote the lyrics as a tribute to the soul food restaurant Olivia's in Venice Beach, California. Because he often stayed too late, the staff had to kick him out, thus the lines "let me sleep all night, in your soul kitchen".

<i>Live in Hollywood: Highlights from the Aquarius Theater Performances</i> 2001 live album by The Doors

Live in Hollywood: Highlights from the Aquarius Theater Performances is a compilation live album released by the band the Doors, live in Hollywood. The album was released in 2001 by the label of Bright Midnight Archives. Is the first of five albums released by the Doors of the live recordings in the Aquarius Theatre.

<i>Butts Band</i> (album) 1974 studio album by Butts Band

Butts Band is the first album by Butts Band, released on January 15, 1974. "Pop-a-Top" was released as a single, with "Baja Bus" on the B side. Band founders Robby Krieger and John Densmore would assemble an entirely new group of musicians for the band's second and final album, 1975's Hear and Now.

<i>Hear and Now</i> (album) 1975 studio album by The Butts Band

Hear and Now is the second and final album by Butts Band, released in 1975. With the exception of founders Robby Krieger and John Densmore, the band consists entirely of different musicians than the band's debut album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manzarek–Krieger</span> American rock band

Manzarek–Krieger was an American rock band formed by two former members of the Doors, Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger, in 2002. They were also known as "The Doors of the 21st Century", "D21C", and "Riders on the Storm" after the Doors song of the same name. They settled on using "Manzarek–Krieger" or "Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger of The Doors" for legal reasons, after acrimonious debates and court battles between the two musicians and Doors co-founder/ drummer John Densmore. They performed Doors material exclusively until the death of Manzarek in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Changeling (song)</span> 1971 single by the Doors

"The Changeling" is a song by the American rock band the Doors. It appears as the opening track on their sixth album and final with Jim Morrison, L.A. Woman. Released in April 1971, as the B-side of "Riders on the Storm", the single peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

References

  1. "The Untold Story of The Butts Band". Robbykrieger.com. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  2. Allen, Jim (18 October 2016). "When the Doors Continued Without Jim Morrison on Other Voices". Ultimate Classic Rock . Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 380. ISBN   0-85112-939-0.
  4. "THE BUTTS BAND "BUTTS BAND"". Therisingstorm.net. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  5. Ruhlmann, William; Unterberger, Richie. "The Doors – Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 6 September 2020.