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Jess Roden | |
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| Born | 28 December 1947 Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Labels | Island |
| Website | www |
Jess Roden (born 28 December 1947) is an English rock singer, songwriter and guitarist.
Roden's first band was The Raiders followed by The Shakedown Sound which also included the guitarist Kevyn Gammond, [1] and keyboard player August Eadon (a.k.a. Gus Yeadon).
In 1966, he joined The Alan Bown Set as their new lead singer. Although their records rarely charted, Roden and the band did pick up a considerable fan base in London, and belatedly became a minor star on the Northern soul scene, with the release of their single "Emergency 999".
He remained with the Alan Bown through the late 1960s, but left after recording the album The Alan Bown! His vocals were re-recorded by his replacement Robert Palmer for the UK release of the album, although Roden's original vocals remained on the US release. [2] Roden later appeared as a backing vocalist to Palmer on his 1983 appearance on The Tube .
In 1970, Roden returned to Worcestershire and formed Bronco, who toured extensively with Island Records' label-mates Traffic, Free, Mott the Hoople, Fotheringay, and John Martyn, but left after two albums to embark on a solo album. During this period, he also sang on Wildlife , the third Mott the Hoople album; sang and played on albums by Carol Grimes, Jim Capaldi, and Sandy Denny; and sang lead vocals on Keef Hartley's 1973 album Lancashire Hustler .[ citation needed ]
His solo album plans were sidelined when, in the same year, he was asked to team up with ex-Doors John Densmore and Robby Krieger in The Butts Band, together with Phil Chen (bass) and Roy Davies (keyboards). Their first album was recorded in London and Kingston, Jamaica and released in the United States on Blue Thumb Records and Island Records (rest of the world). The Butts Band played a short US tour including multiple dates at New York's Max's Kansas City, a handful of British dates including opening for The Kinks at London's Finsbury Park Astoria, later The Rainbow Theatre as well as recording one session for BBC TV's The Old Grey Whistle Test , after which Roden, Chen, and Davies left the group.
Roden finally emerged as a solo artist in the mid-1970s on Island Records with his 1974 self-titled solo album. It was recorded at Olympic Studios and Basing Street Studios in London, as well as at Sea-Saint Studios in New Orleans, Louisiana. This record included contributions from Allen Toussaint and The Meters from the US sessions and in London, John Bundrick and Mick Weaver (keyboards), Steve Webb (guitar), Richard Bailey, and Simon Kirke (drums).
He then formed The Jess Roden Band (originally Iguana – based in Southampton). The initial album sessions were with Steve Smith (and featured Steve Winwood on Hammond organ), but these were eventually discarded in favour of producer Geoff Haslam, with whom the group's first two studio albums were recorded – Keep Your Hat On and Play It Dirty, Play It Class. A major touring draw, the band never achieved significant record sales and disbanded in early 1977. This was after the release of their live album, Blowin', which was recorded during capacity shows at Birmingham Town Hall and Leicester University in late 1976. Their final show was, however, also recorded and later issued as Live at the BBC.
Following the ending of the JRB, Roden relocated to New York City and cut two further solo albums for Island (The Player Not The Game and Stonechaser) after which his association with Island ended. He formed The Rivits with Peter Wood (who had co-written "Year of the Cat" with Al Stewart), for one album, Multiplay; the album was released by Antilles in North America and via Island for the rest of the world. The Rivits played two UK shows only, one in Stamford in Lincolnshire, the other at The Venue in Victoria, London.
During initial sessions for a second Rivits album that had begun to be recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, Roden sang back-up vocals for Grace Jones' Pull Up to the Bumper . With the sessions incomplete (Woods had to leave to re-join Pink Floyd's band of musicians for The Wall tour) and on returning to New York, Roden and Island parted for the final time.
He began a new career as a graphic artist while, at the same time, recording Seven Windows, an album that was produced by Steve Dwire (who had played bass on The Rivits' album) and A. T. Michael MacDonald that featured the cream of New York-based session players / arrangers (including Elliot Randall, Mark Egan, Jack Waldman, Rob Mounsey, Michael Dawe, Lou Marini, and Paul Buckmaster). Just before the album was released, Roden returned to live and work in the UK.
Combining graphic art with music, he recorded two albums with a new band, The Humans (named by Jim Capaldi) with a line-up that featured Gary Grainger, Bill Burke and Nick Graham; the group also recorded with Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi. After the release of both records and due to work commitments, Roden's live appearances became increasingly rare, with occasional performances with the SAS band that featured Roy Wood, Roger Taylor, Brian May, and Paul Young.
In 2009, Lemon Recordings (a subsidiary of Cherry Red) issued a 'Best Of...' and, a year later, BGO issued both Bronco albums as a single CD package.
During the winter of 2009, deep archive research began into a full-scale anthology – designed to encompass Roden's entire musical career. During this process, well over 800 pieces of music were logged (and in the vast majority of instances, digitised for the first time) from which a career-defining anthology has been compiled. The set, Hidden Masters: The Jess Roden Anthology – which includes over 50% of previously unheard material – was issued as a limited edition, first pressing of 950 copies, 6-CD set by Hidden Masters in 2013. [3]
Mott the Hoople were a British rock band formed in Hereford, Herefordshire in 1969. Originally named the Doc Thomas Group, the band changed their name after signing with Island Records in 1969. The band released albums at the beginning of the 1970s but failed to find any success. On the verge of breaking up, the band were encouraged by David Bowie to stay together. Bowie wrote their glam-style signature song "All the Young Dudes" for them, which became their first hit in 1972. Bowie subsequently produced their album of the same name, which added to their success.
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Michael Geoffrey Ralphs is a retired English guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, who was a founding member of rock bands Mott the Hoople and Bad Company. Though not a constant member, he appeared on every studio album by the latter band alongside drummer Simon Kirke.
Nicola James Capaldi was an English singer-songwriter and drummer. His musical career spanned more than four decades. He co-founded the progressive rock band Traffic in 1967 with Steve Winwood with whom he co-wrote the majority of the band's material. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a part of Traffic's original lineup.
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Ian Hunter Patterson is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Mott the Hoople, from its inception in 1969 to its dissolution in 1974, and at the time of its 2009, 2013, and 2019 reunions. Hunter was a musician and songwriter before joining Mott the Hoople, and continued in this vein after he left the band. He embarked on a solo career despite ill health and disillusionment with commercial success, and often worked in collaboration with Mick Ronson, David Bowie's sideman and arranger from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars period.
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