Herbie Rich | |
---|---|
Birth name | Herbert Lewis Rich |
Born | February 23, 1944 |
Origin | Omaha, Nebraska, United States |
Died | May 12, 2004 60) Mableton, Georgia, United States | (aged
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | |
Years active | 1960s - 2000s |
Herbie Rich (February 23, 1944 – May 12, 2004) was an American multi-instrumentalist from Omaha, Nebraska, who was a member of The New Breed, The Electric Flag, and the Buddy Miles Express. He also played with Jimi Hendrix, Mike Bloomfield and others. [1]
In the 1950s, Rich was a member of The 7-Wonders, a group that included his family members. Around 1964, he formed the Omaha group, The New Breed. Members included Stemsy Hunter, Hoshal Wright, Jerry Bennett, Hank Redd and Curly Martin and Jerry Bennett. [2]
Mike Bloomfield once said of Herbie Rich that he plays keyboard like Jimi Hendrix plays guitar. [3] Another member of The Flag, Peter Strazza referred to Rich as a monster, an unbelievable musician who could play any instrument. [4]
Having been a member of The Electric Flag since joining in 1967, Rich had been with the band from its early days. Mike Bloomfield had added the baritone saxophonist in time for their show at the Monterey Pop Festival. [5] [6] Rich was part of the band's horn section that included Marcus Doubleday and Peter Strazza. [7] Michael Fonfara had replaced the organist Barry Goldberg who had left in early December 1968. When Fonfara was arrested for drugs, Rich took over as the band's organist. He had a dual role, playing both saxophone and organ until Stemsy Hunter came on board in the beginning of 1968 [8] Rich had really been brought into the band as a sax player and to increase the breadth or the horn section. Now playing organ, Bloomfield got to hear how good he really was. And he was very impressed. Rich had a liking for Jazz and a soulful sound which to a degree had an effect on where the band was heading. [9]
An incident took place after the band did a one night show in Detroit. Peter Strazza had tried to make a drug deal in his room. This resulted in Rich and Stemsy Hunter being up and robbed by the drug dealers, who had also taken Strazza hostage. Unwise to what was taking place, Buddy Miles and Mike Bloomfield who were in another room, slept through the whole event. In addition to Rich and Hunter having their money stolen, the band's clothes were stolen, the dealers even stole Rich's wig. [10]
By March 1968, the Flag had released A Long Time Comin' . In addition to both baritone and tenor sax, Rich had contributed some vocals and guitar to the album. [11] [12]
In late 1968, An American Music Band was released on Columbia CS 9714. Mike Bloomfield was not featured on the album as he had left in May 1968. [13] Rich played an active part on the album. His organ solos can be heard on "Hey, Little Girl", and their rendition of Bobby Hebb's "Sunny" with Buddy Miles on vocals. Rich also did the sax solo and sang lead on a song called "Qualified". He also did the sax solo for " My Woman That Hangs Around The House" and did the horn arrangements for " Mystery". [14]
After the Electric Flag broke up, Buddy Miles formed The Buddy Miles Express. [15] Rich was one of the four ex-Flag members of the group that joined Miles's new band. [16] [17] In addition to Miles and Rich, the group included his brother Billy Rich on bass, Jimmy McCarty on lead guitar, who was formerly with Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Terence Clements on tenor sax, and Virgil Gonsales on baritone sax. [18] Rich played organ on The Buddy Miles Express debut album, Expressway to your Skull which was released in 1968. [19] He also played some sax and co-wrote two songs, "Spot On The Wall" and "Train". [20] A short review on the album in the November, 30 issue of Billboard , singled out those two songs as the ones that would give the fuel for the album's quick rise to the charts etc. [21] "Train" Part 1 bw "Train" Part 2 was released as a single on Mercury 72860. [22]
On March 17, 1968, Rich got to play with Jimi Hendrix when Hendrix was invited to Jam with Butterfield on stage at the Café Au Go Go in New York. Rich was playing organ. Other musicians present were Harvey Brooks on bass, Phil Wilson and Buddy Miles on drums, and James Tatum on sax. [23] Rich would play with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. One live show was at Winterland in San Francisco on October 11, 1968. He joined the group on its cover of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone". According to review Alan Bershaw, the presence of Rich sent Hendrix into new areas. Rich played on other songs like "Lover Man", Hey Joe", "Fire" and "Foxy Lady". [24] Carter Shelter of Paste in his May 15, 2017 article, noted his organ playing on "Fire" adding a new dynamic to the song. [25]
Rich became involved in the ministry with his wife Hilda who he had married in 1989. They would take their message to places like large malls around Atlanta, to schools and nursing homes. They also visited homeless shelters and halfway houses.
Rich died in Mableton, Georgia, on May 12, 2004, at the age of 60. [26]
Act | Title | Release info | Year | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Electric Flag | A Long Time Comin' | Columbia CS 9597 | 1968 | LP |
The Electric Flag | An American Music Band | Columbia CS 9714 | 1968 | LP |
The Buddy Miles Express | Expressway to Your Skull | Mercury SR-61196 | 1968 | LP |
Various artists | You Are What You Eat (Original Soundtrack Recording) | Columbia Masterworks OS 3240 | 1968 | LP [27] |
The Electric Flag | The Best of the Electric Flag | Columbia C 30422 | 1971 | LP [28] |
Mike Bloomfield | Bloomfield: A Retrospective | Columbia C2 37578 | 1983 | LP |
The Electric Flag | The Best Of The Electric Flag | Back-Trac Records P 17721 CBS Special Products P 17721 | 1984 | LP |
The Jimi Hendrix Experience | Live At Winterland +3 | Rykodisc RCD 20038/+3 | 1992 | CD, EP |
Jimi Hendrix | Blues At Midnight | Radioactive RRCD 105 | 2009 | CD |
The Electric Flag Featuring Erma Franklin | Live 1968 | RockBeat Records ROC-3311 | 2015 | CD |
Mike Bloomfield | Don't Say That I Ain' Your Man! Essential Blues 1964-1969 | Columbia CK 57631 Legacy CK 57631 | (unknown year) | [29] |
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A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of effects pedal designed for electric guitar that alters the timbre of the input signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The pedal sweeps a band-pass filter up and down in frequency to create a spectral glide. The wah-wah effect originated in the 1920s, with trumpet or trombone players finding they could produce an expressive crying tone by moving a mute in, and out of the instrument's bell. This was later simulated with electronic circuitry for the electric guitar when the wah-wah pedal was invented. It is controlled by movement of the player's foot on a rocking pedal connected to a potentiometer. Wah-wah effects may be used without moving the treadle as a fixed filter to alter an instrument’s timbre, or to create a "wacka-wacka" funk-styled rhythm for rhythm guitar playing.
Michael Bernard Bloomfield was an American blues guitarist and composer. Born in Chicago, he became one of the first popular music stars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, as he rarely sang before 1969. Respected for his guitar playing, Bloomfield knew and played with many of Chicago's blues musicians before achieving his own fame and was instrumental in popularizing blues music in the mid-1960s. In 1965, he played on Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited, including the single "Like a Rolling Stone", and performed with Dylan at that year's Newport Folk Festival.
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The Electric Flag was an American blues/rock/soul band from Chicago, led by guitarist Mike Bloomfield, keyboardist Barry Goldberg and drummer Buddy Miles, and featuring other musicians such as vocalist Nick Gravenites and bassist Harvey Brooks. Bloomfield formed the Electric Flag in 1967, following his stint with the Butterfield Blues Band. The band reached its peak with the 1968 release, A Long Time Comin', a fusion of rock, jazz, and R&B styles that charted well in the Billboard Pop Albums chart. Their initial recording was a soundtrack for The Trip, a movie about an LSD experience by Peter Fonda, written by Jack Nicholson and directed by Roger Corman.
George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr. was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–1970), founder and leader of the Buddy Miles Express and later, the Buddy Miles Band. Miles also played and recorded with Carlos Santana and others. He also sang lead vocals on the California Raisins claymation TV commercials and recorded two California Raisins R&B albums.
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