Mountain was an American hard rock band from Long Island, New York. Formed in July 1969, the group originally consisted of guitarist and lead vocalist Leslie West, bassist and second vocalist Felix Pappalardi, drummer Norman "N. D." Smart and keyboardist Steve Knight. [1] Pappalardi and Smart had performed on West's debut album Mountain earlier in the year (which was also produced by the bassist), and subsequently added Knight to complete the initial lineup of the band of the same name. [1] Later in the year, Smart departed and was replaced by Canadian drummer Laurence "Corky" Laing. [1] The group released three commercially successful albums – Climbing! in 1970, and Nantucket Sleighride and Flowers of Evil in 1971 – before breaking up in early 1972 due to increasing tensions between band members. [2]
By mid-1973, West and Pappalardi had reformed Mountain with new members Allan Schwartzberg (drums) and Bob Mann (rhythm guitar, keyboards), who together released the live album Twin Peaks from their only concert tour. [3] Laing later returned to the group and Mann was replaced by David Perry, with the new lineup's first studio effort Avalanche released the following July. [4] Mountain broke up for a second time after another tour, with its final show taking place on December 31, 1974. [5] West subsequently embarked on a solo career, before reforming Mountain for a third time in 1981 with Laing on drums and Miller Anderson on bass. [6] On April 17, 1983, founding member Pappalardi was killed by his wife and musical collaborator Gail Collins Pappalardi, in what was deemed to be an accidental shooting. [7]
Mountain released Go for Your Life in 1985, which featured new bassist Mark Clarke. [6] Shortly after its release and promotion, the group quietly disbanded again. West and Laing returned as Mountain in 1992, with new bassist Richie Scarlet. After changing personnel again by replacing Scarlet with Randy Coven and later Noel Redding, [8] [9] the group released its sixth studio album Man's World in 1996 with a returning Clarke on bass. [10] After another breakup in 1998, Mountain returned in 2001 to record Mystic Fire , which featured session bassist Chuck Hearne alongside West and Laing. [11] For the subsequent touring cycle, Scarlet returned to the band. [12] James "Rev" Jones took over in 2008, [13] until 2010 when the band quietly dispanded.
Corky Laing formed a new project, Corky Laing Plays Mountain, in 2015. This project included bassist/vocalist Joe Venti and guitarist/vocalist Phil Baker in 2015. For their 2016 United States tour, Laing and Venti were joined by Richie Scarlet, now on lead guitar, and Ken Sidotti on keyboards. They performed Mountain music in addition to songs by West, Bruce and Laing and Cream. And in 2017, Mark Mikel was playing bass with Chris Shutters and Richie Scarlet on guitar in the lineup. [14] Mikel continued until touring was ceased in 2020 due to COVID-19. [15]
West died of cardiac arrest on December 23, 2020. [16]
In 2021 Corky Laing's Mountain resumed touring with a lineup of Laing (drums, vocals), Joe Venti (bass, vocals) and Richie Scarlet (guitar, keyboards). [15]
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Leslie West |
|
| all Mountain releases | |
Felix Pappalardi |
|
| all Mountain releases from Climbing! (1970) to Avalanche (1974) | |
Steve Knight | 1969–1972 (died 2013) | keyboards | all Mountain releases from Climbing! (1970) to Live: The Road Goes Ever On (1972) | |
Norman "N. D." Smart | 1969 | drums | Live: The Road Goes Ever On (1972) | |
Corky Laing |
|
| all Mountain releases, except Twin Peaks (1974) | |
Bob Mann | 1973 |
| Twin Peaks (1974) | |
Allan Schwartzberg | drums | |||
David Perry | 1973–1974 |
| Avalanche (1974) | |
Miller Anderson | 1981–1984 |
| Go for Your Life (1985) – one track only | |
Mark Clarke |
|
|
| |
Richie Scarlet |
|
| ||
Randy Coven | 1993–1994 (died 2014) | none | ||
Noel Redding | 1994–1995 (died 2003) | Over the Top (1995) – two tracks only | ||
James "Rev" Jones | 2008–2010 | none |
Image | Name | Years active | Instruments |
---|---|---|---|
Corky Laing | 2015–present |
| |
Joe Venti |
|
| |
Phil Baker |
|
| |
Richie Scarlet |
|
| |
Ken Sidotti |
| keyboards | |
Mark Mikel | 2017–2021 |
| |
Chris Shutters | 2017–2019 |
| |
Mark Clarke | 2022 (guest) |
| |
Brent Ek |
|
Period | Members | Studio and live albums |
---|---|---|
Mid – late 1969 |
|
|
Late 1969 – early 1972 |
|
|
Band inactive early 1972 – mid 1973 | ||
Mid – late 1973 |
|
|
Late 1973 – late 1974 |
|
|
Band inactive late 1974 – 1981 | ||
1981–1984 |
| none |
1984–1985 |
|
|
Band inactive late 1985 – 1992 | ||
1992–1993 |
| none |
1993–1994 |
| |
1994–1995 |
|
|
1995–1998 |
|
|
Band inactive late 1998 – 2001 | ||
2001–2002 |
|
|
April 2002 – August 2008 |
|
|
August 2008 – December 2010 |
| none |
Period | Members | Studio and live albums |
---|---|---|
November 2015 – May 2016 |
| |
June – December 2016 |
| |
January 2017 – July 2017 |
| |
December 2017 – November 2018 |
| |
May – June 2019 |
| |
June 2019 |
| |
August – October 2019 |
| |
October – November 2019 |
| |
August 2021 |
| |
October 2021 – October 2022 |
| |
October 2022 |
| |
October – November 2022 |
| |
January – February 2023 |
| |
September 2023 |
|
Felix A. Pappalardi Jr. was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain, whose song "Mississippi Queen" peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has become a classic rock radio staple. Originating in the eclectic music scene in New York's Greenwich Village, he became closely attached to the British power trio Cream, writing, arranging, and producing for their second album Disraeli Gears. As a producer for Atlantic Records, he worked on several projects with guitarist Leslie West; in 1969 their partnership evolved into the band Mountain. The band lasted less than five years, but their work influenced the first generation of heavy metal and hard rock music. Pappalardi continued to work as a producer, session musician, and songwriter until he was shot and killed by his wife Gail Collins in 1983.
Mountain was an American hard rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in 1969. Originally consisting of vocalist-guitarist Leslie West, bassist-vocalist Felix Pappalardi, keyboardist Steve Knight, and drummer N. D. Smart, the group disbanded in 1972, but reunited on several occasions prior to West's death in 2020. They are best-known for their 1970 smash hit song "Mississippi Queen", which remains a staple of classic rock radio, as well as the heavily sampled song "Long Red", and their performance at Woodstock Festival in 1969. Mountain is one of many bands commonly credited with influencing the development of heavy metal music during the 1970s. The group's musical style primarily consisted of hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal.
West, Bruce and Laing were a Scottish–American-Canadian blues rock power trio super-group formed in 1972 by Leslie West, Jack Bruce, and Corky Laing. The band released two studio albums, Why Dontcha (1972) and Whatever Turns You On (1973), during their active tenure. Their disbanding was officially announced in early 1974 prior to the release of their third and last album, Live 'n' Kickin'.
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Leslie Abel West was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain. West was named the 245th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023.
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Frehley's Comet is the second solo album by Ace Frehley, former lead guitarist of Kiss. It was also the first album that Frehley released after leaving Kiss in 1982.
Laurence Gordon "Corky" Laing is a Canadian rock drummer, best known as a longtime member of the pioneering American hard rock band Mountain. He and guitarist/vocalist Leslie West were the only members to appear on every album.
"Mississippi Queen" is a song by the American rock band Mountain. Considered a rock classic, it was their most successful single, reaching number 21 in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. The song is included on the group's debut album and several live recordings have been issued.
Climbing! is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Mountain. It was released on March 7, 1970, by Windfall Records.
Flowers of Evil is the third studio album and first live album by American hard rock band Mountain. The title track concerns drug abuse in Vietnam. The first side of the album includes new studio material, while the second consists of live material recorded on 27 June 1971 at the Fillmore East in New York City. It was released in November 1971 by Windfall.
Live: The Road Goes Ever On is the second live album by American hard rock band Mountain, released on 24 April 1972 by Windfall Records. It contains four songs recorded at three shows in August 1969, December 1971, and January 1972. The album was produced by the band's bassist and second vocalist Felix Pappalardi, while the artwork was created by his wife and collaborator Gail Collins. The Road Goes Ever On takes its name from J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit.
Twin Peaks is the third live album by American hard rock band Mountain, released in February 1974 by Columbia and Windfall Records. It contains recordings from the band's performance at Koseinenkin Hall in Osaka, Japan on August 30, 1973. The album was produced by the band's bassist and second vocalist Felix Pappalardi, while the artwork was created by his wife and collaborator Gail Collins. It was Mountain's first release since returning after a year-long hiatus.
The Best of Mountain is the only compilation album by American hard rock band Mountain. It consists of material recorded throughout 1970-1971, culled from their first three LPs. On 15 April 2003, the album was remastered and reissued in an expanded edition with new liner notes and four bonus tracks, two of which are taken from Leslie West's first solo album, 1969's Felix Pappalardi-produced Mountain, the project which eventually led to the formation of the band.
Stephen Sanders "Steve" Knight was an American musician best known as the keyboardist for the rock band Mountain from 1969 until his departure in 1972.
Mountain is the debut album by American rock guitarist and vocalist Leslie West, released in July 1969 by Windfall Records.
Go for Your Life is the fifth studio album by American hard rock band Mountain, released on March 9, 1985. It was their first studio album since 1974's Avalanche.
Avalanche is the fourth studio album by American hard rock band Mountain, released in July 1974. It featured the return of drummer Corky Laing and was the band's only recording with second guitarist David Perry. It was their final album of the 1970s and the last to feature bassist/producer Felix Pappalardi.
Mystic Fire is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Mountain, released in 2002. It is their final album of original material, as their following album, Masters of War, would consist solely of covers.
Jason Michael Hartless is an American musician, best known for being the drummer for fellow Detroit native Ted Nugent. He has also toured and/or recorded with Eric Martin, Pop Evil, Sponge, Mitch Ryder, C. Thomas Howell, Tantric, Insane Clown Posse, Warrior Soul and Joe Lynn Turner.