Foghat are an English rock band formed in London in 1971.[1][2][3] The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music.[4] Their best known song is the 1975 hit "Slow Ride". The band has released 17 studio albums, including eight gold albums and one platinum; along with one double platinum live album. Despite several line-up changes, the band continues to record and perform.
The band initially featured Dave Peverett ("Lonesome Dave") on guitar and vocals, Tony Stevens on bass and Roger Earl on drums, after all three musicians left Savoy Brown in 1971.[5]Rod Price, on guitar/slide guitar, joined after he left Black Cat Bones in December 1970. The new line-up was named "Foghat" (a nonsense word from a Scrabble-like game played by Peverett and his brother[6]) in January 1971. There is a cartoon drawing on the back cover of the group's first album of a head wearing a foghat.
Foghat relocated to the United States after signing a deal with Bearsville Records.[7] Its debut album, Foghat (1972), was produced by Dave Edmunds and featured a cover of Willie Dixon's "I Just Want to Make Love to You",[5] which received considerable airplay, especially on FM stations. The album also included a remake of Savoy Brown's bluesy ode to the road "Leavin' Again (Again!)", and "Sarah Lee", a classic blues burner featuring Price's slide guitar solo. The band's second self-titled album went gold. It was also known as Rock and Roll for its cover photo of a rock and a bread roll. Energized (1974) came out, followed by Rock and Roll Outlaws (1974) and Fool for the City (1975). In 1974, Stevens left the band due to its relentless touring schedule and was temporarily replaced by producer Nick Jameson for the recording of Fool for the City. During the next year, Jameson was replaced by Craig MacGregor, and the group released Night Shift (1976), a live album (1977) and Stone Blue (1978), each attaining gold status in record sales. Fool for the City spawned the hit single "Slow Ride" (which reached No. 20 in the United States and No. 14 in Canada), but the greatest sales figures were reached by Foghat Live,[5] which went double platinum.[8] More hits followed: "Drivin' Wheel", "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (from the live album), "Stone Blue" and "Third Time Lucky (First Time I Was a Fool)". Price left the band in November 1980, unhappy with the group's still constant touring and the shift away from the hard boogie sound toward a more new wave-influenced pop direction. By February 1981, after months of auditions, he was replaced by Erik Cartwright.[5]
1980s
After 1978, Foghat's record sales began to slip, and its last album for the Bearsville label, Zig-Zag Walk (1983), only briefly touched the charts at number 192. MacGregor quit in 1982, and Jameson returned to play on In the Mood for Something Rude and Zig Zag Walk before being replaced by Kenny Aaronson (1983) and then Rob Alter (1983-1984). MacGregor returned in 1984.[citation needed]
The band briefly disbanded in 1984 after Peverett left and returned to England.[5] Earl, along with MacGregor and Cartwright, reformed with a new singer/guitarist, Eric (E.J.) Burgeson, and continued touring as Foghat into the early 1990s. MacGregor (1986-1987, 1991), Cartwright's brother Brett Cartwright (1987, 1988–1989) and Jeff Howell (1987-1988, 1989–1991) alternated on bass during that period, while Phil Nudelman (1989-1990) and Billy Davis (1990-1993) took over for Burgeson. Dave Crigger joined on bass in 1991–1993.[citation needed]
1990s
Peverett had returned to the United States by 1990 and formed his own version of the band, Lonesome Dave's Foghat, which featured Bryan Bassett (ex-Wild Cherry), Stephen Dees (bass) and Eddie Zyne (drums). Dees and Zyne had played with Hall & Oates, among others. Former Molly Hatchet bassist Riff West replaced Dees in 1991, and Price made several guest appearances.[citation needed]
In 1993, the original line-up reunited at the urging of producer Rick Rubin. Although Rubin ultimately proved to be unavailable to produce their comeback project, the group went ahead and released a studio album titled Return of the Boogie Men (1994) and the Road Cases live album (1998). Its final album of the decade, King Biscuit Flower Hour (taken from the syndicated radio show of the same name), was released in May 1999 and consisted of live recordings from 1974 and 1976.[citation needed]
After being back together for six years, the original line-up once again ended after Price decided to retire from touring for good. Bassett (who had been playing with Molly Hatchet), from Lonesome Dave's Foghat, was brought in on guitar.[citation needed]
2000s
The 2000s saw the deaths of founding members Peverett and Price. Peverett died on 7 February 2000, aged 56, from complications from kidney cancer.[8]
Charlie Huhn (formerly of Humble Pie, Ted Nugent, and Victory) was brought in to replace him on lead vocals and guitar. This line-up of Earl, Stevens, Bassett, Huhn and Steve "ih" Farrell on backing vocals and hand percussion recorded the album Family Joules (2003).[9]
Price died on 22 March 2005, aged 57, due to a fall resulting from a heart attack.[4] Later that year, original bassist Stevens left the band and was replaced by former bassist MacGregor.[10]
2010s
Foghat performing in 2015
The 2010 version of Foghat consisted of Earl, MacGregor, Huhn and Bassett. Former Rainbow and Black Sabbath drummer Bobby Rondinelli had temporarily replaced Earl for a summer 2010 concert, while Earl was recovering from surgery. At another Foghat concert that summer, after Earl had returned to the band, bassist Jeff Howell temporarily replaced an ill MacGregor. Foghat's next album, Last Train Home (released 15 June 2010), was the culmination of a dream shared by Earl and Peverett. It contained some of their favorite blues songs, three originals ("Born for the Road", "Last Train Home" and "495 Boogie"), and two songs by special guest performer and longtime friend Eddie Kirkland, who was 86 years old at the time. He had played with Foghat as a guest in 1977 at Foghat's "Tribute to the Blues" show at New York City's Palladium, and remained a good friend of the band until he was killed in a car accident on 27 February 2011.
Also performing on Last Train Home were Howell (bass), Colin Earl (piano) and Lefty Lefkowitz (harmonica). According to Earl, the album was "a testimony to Lonesome Dave. We always planned to do this. I am so fortunate to have partners in band members Charlie Huhn and Bryan Bassett who share the same passion for the blues. It was not hard work putting this album together; playing this kind of music is joyous. We had a blast!"[10]
The band released a DVD in December 2013 called Live in St. Pete.
On 10 November 2015, Foghat announced that they would start work on a new studio album, completely fan-funded through PledgeMusic. The album, titled Under the Influence, was released on 24 June 2016. The album went on to chart of Billboard and debuted at No. 17 on Billboard's Hard Rock Albums, and peaked at No. 40 on the Independent Album charts.[11][12]
The band went on to release another live album, Live at the Belly Up in June 2017. On 9 July 2017, Erik Cartwright, who played lead guitar from 1981 to 1984, died at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, from a heart attack. He was 66 years old.[13]
Longtime bassist MacGregor was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in 2015. The cancer was first detected at an earlier stage in 2012, but MacGregor was not informed until 2015. Following this incident, he became a proponent of a bill that would require physicians to communicate test results with patients promptly. Although still officially a member of Foghat, the effects of chemotherapy made him unable to play music. former Pat Travers bassist Rodney O'Quinn filled in for him on tours.[14] MacGregor died on 9 February 2018.[15]
The lineup of Earl, Bassett, Huhn and O'Quinn would go on to record a live record in November 2019 called 8 Days on the Road. The album was released in July 2021.[16]
In January 2022, lead singer Charlie Huhn retired. Scott Holt, formerly a guitarist for Buddy Guy, became the new lead singer and guitarist. Holt had previously lent his vocals for Under the Influence and was lead vocalist in Foghat side project Earl & the Agitators.[17]
In August 2023, Foghat announced plans to release their 17th studio album, Sonic Mojo, with first single being “Drivin’ On,” co-written by Kim Simmonds from Savoy Brown in November 2023.[18] It was released on 10 November, a year after the ailing Simmonds' death[19] from colon cancer.
"Live Now-Pay Later" reached #15 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart.
"Slipped, Tripped, Fell in Love" reached #12 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart.
Related Research Articles
Fool for the City is the fifth studio album by English rock band Foghat, released on 15 September 1975. Featuring the band's signature song "Slow Ride", along with the title track, it was the band's first album to go platinum. It was also the first album the band recorded after the departure of original bassist Tony Stevens. Producer Nick Jameson played bass and keyboards on the album, and co-wrote the closing track, "Take It or Leave It", with Dave Peverett. Appearing in the photograph on the back cover of the album, Jameson is not known to have toured with Foghat in support of the album. A new bassist, Craig MacGregor, was recruited shortly after the album's release, but Jameson would continue to produce and record intermittently with the band over the next couple of decades.
Foghat is the second album, and the second self-titled album, by the English rock band Foghat, released in March 1973. It is generally known by fans as Rock 'n' Roll, because of its cover picture depicting a rock and bread roll, a concept thought up by art director and filmmaker Robert Downey Sr..
Foghat is the debut studio album by American-based English rock band Foghat. The first of their two self-titled albums, it was released in 1972 on Bearsville Records.
Energized is the third album by rock band Foghat, released in January 1974. It peaked at #34 on the Billboard 200 and was certified as an RIAA Gold Record in the United States.
Rock and Roll Outlaws is the fourth album by Foghat, released in October 1974. The album cover shows a picture of the band near a Learjet in the Mojave Desert. Though the airplane displayed the band's logo, it did not belong to them; the band borrowed it and stuck on the logo.
Night Shift is the sixth studio album by the rock band Foghat. It was released in 1976 by Bearsville Records.
Charles Huhn is a retired American rock singer and guitarist. He got his start playing with Vic Amato, Andy Dennen and Al Lesert in the band Cirrus, in and around Grand Rapids, Michigan, playing many gigs in West Michigan before joining Ted Nugent in 1978.
Tight Shoes is the ninth studio album by the band Foghat. It was released in 1980 on Bearsville Records. It was also the last release Rod Price participated on until 1994's Return of the Boogie Men.
Foghat Live is a 1977 live album by Foghat. The release is Foghat's bestselling album with over two million copies sold, and certified double platinum in the United States.
Girls to Chat & Boys to Bounce is the tenth studio album by British rock band Foghat, released in 1981. It was the first with new guitarist Erik Cartwright. The album peaked at No. 92 on the Billboard 200, making it a slight improvement over the group's previous record, Tight Shoes. In addition, the album's single "Live Now, Pay Later" bubbled under the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 102 and also hit No. 15 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
Boogie Motel is the eighth studio album by rock band Foghat, released in 1979. It was recorded at the Boogie Hotel Studios in Port Jefferson, NY, and was certified gold in the US. The cover art is by Jim Baikie.
David Jack Peverett, also known as Lonesome Dave, was an English singer and guitarist, best known as the original lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Foghat, which he co-founded following his tenure in Savoy Brown.
Stone Blue is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Foghat. It was released in May 1978 on Bearsville Records. Stone Blue paired Foghat with producer Eddie Kramer, who had previously engineered recordings for Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. Kramer and Foghat did not collaborate smoothly, but the tension in the studio may have helped to give the album an added edge. The album contains a ferocious cover of Robert Johnson's "Sweet Home Chicago".
In the Mood for Something Rude is the eleventh studio album by British hard rock band Foghat, released in 1982. All eight tracks on the album were penned by outside writers, and the record is something of a covers album in which the band applies its bluesy rock and roll style over a collection of R&B and country tunes.
Zig-Zag Walk is the twelfth studio album by British hard rock band Foghat, released in 1983. Unlike the previous year's In the Mood for Something Rude, which consisted of all outside material, lead singer Dave Peverett wrote five of the album's ten songs, with guitarist Erik Cartwright contributing a sixth. A few of the songs are given a rockabilly treatment augmenting the blues rock the band is better known for. It would be the band's last album for over a decade until their comeback album, Return of the Boogie Men, in 1994.
Return of the Boogie Men is the thirteenth studio album by British hard rock band Foghat, released in 1994. This album reunited the original members of the band, Dave Peverett, Roger Earl, Rod Price and Tony Stevens. Price had left the group after the completion of 1980's "Tight Shoes" release; Stevens had departed following the recording of "Rock and Roll Outlaws" in 1974. Beginning in June, 1994, Foghat toured through the end of 1996 to promote "Return of the Boogie Men". Two performances at the Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon on October 25 and 26, 1996 were recorded which resulted in the 1998 live album, Road Cases.
Under the Influence is the sixteenth studio album by British hard rock band Foghat. Kim Simmonds, the guitarist of Savoy Brown, which Earl and two other men left to form Foghat, makes an appearance. Also, Nick Jameson, who played bass on "Slow Ride," sat in on a new version of their biggest hit which celebrates the 40th anniversary of the song. The band launched a Pledgemusic Campaign on 10 November 2015. The album is completely fan-funded.
Family Joules is the fourteenth studio album by Foghat, released in 2003. It is the first album by the band without its founding member, guitarist and singer Dave Peverett and their first album to feature singer/guitarist Charlie Huhn and guitarist Bryan Bassett.
Decades live is the second live album by Foghat, released in 2003. It is the first live album by the band since 1977's Foghat Live. It contains live recordings of the band, featuring different lineups, from between 1977 and 1996.
↑ Fuchs, Aaron (20 September 1980). "East Coastings: More Shmooz"(Scan). Cash Box. Vol.32, no.42. New York City, New York: Cash Box Publishing. p.19. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
1 2 "The Coast"(Scan). Record World. Vol.30, no.1445. New York City, New York: Record World Publishing. 1 March 1975. p.21. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
1 2 "Foghat Gets Gold"(Scan). Record World. Vol.31, no.1500. New York City, New York: Record World Publishing. 20 March 1976. p.59. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
1 2 "Foghat". ClassicBands.com. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
↑ "Foghat". ClassicBands.com. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
↑ "Tony Stevens". Tony Stevens Slow Ride. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
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