 |
Rhys Clark | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Rhys Edward Clark |
| Born | 17 September 1946 |
| Origin | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Occupation(s) | Drummer |
| Years active | 1963–present |
Rhys Edward Clark (born 17 September 1946) is a New Zealand drummer who, since moving to the United States in 1970, has played with such artists as Hoyt Axton, Freddy Fender and, most notably, Billy Joel. [1]
Clark's career as a drummer began when he was a teenager in New Zealand. In 1963, he became the drummer for the Zodiacs, followed by a 1964 stint with The Chequers. In 1965, he joined the Auckland-based pop band, The Silhouettes, who had a number of local hits, as well as a national hit with "Theme From The Endless Summer". He was also a founding member of the very successful Australian pop band, The Executives. Between 1966 and 1969, the Executives had a number of hit records, performed throughout Australia, and appeared on many television shows, including their own nationwide television specials, as well as in a number of commercials for such companies as Coca-Cola, Qantas, P&O and Revlon. In 1969, the Executives recorded an album in the United States, but they disbanded shortly thereafter. Some of the band members returned to Australia, but Clark stayed in the States and became a Los Angeles-based session musician.[ citation needed ]
Between 1971 and 1975, Clark toured with Billy Joel and worked on his albums Cold Spring Harbor and Piano Man . Clark was also the drummer on Joel's breakthrough Sigma Sound radio concert, broadcast on WMMR-FM in April 1972, as well as at the Mar y Sol Festival two weeks prior, where they played to a crowd of 50,000. After his time with Joel, Clark ultimately hooked up with Hoyt Axton, and toured and recorded with him from 1979 through 1999. In the 1990s, he also began touring with Freddy Fender, as well as the Texas Tornados, which he did until Fender died in late 2006. Since 2006, Clark has performed with a number of artists, such as Johnny Rodriguez, Sam the Sham, Charlie Rich Jr., Jann Browne, Chris Gaffney, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Rosie Flores, Wanda Jackson, Michael Chain and Rick Shea.[ citation needed ]
In September, 2013, Clark reunited with his former Billy Joel bandmates, Larry Russell and Don Evans, along with singers/piano players, David Clark and Elio Pace, to re-create the WMMR/Sigma Sound concert that jump-started Joel's career. They did two sold-out performances of "Long Long Time: A Historic Tribute to Billy Joel", in New York, and in Philadelphia where the original show was broadcast. A documentary and CD will be released in early 2014 with more shows to follow.[ citation needed ]
ALBUMS
EPS
SINGLES
William Martin Joel is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his signature 1973 song of the same name, Joel has had a successful music career as a solo artist since the 1970s. From 1971 to 1993, he released twelve studio albums that spanned the genres of pop and rock music, and in 2001 released a one-off studio album of classical music compositions. Joel is one of the world's best-selling music artists and the fourth-best-selling solo artist in the United States, with over 160 million records sold worldwide. His 1985 compilation album, Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II, is one of the best-selling albums in the United States.
Piano Man is the second studio album by American recording artist Billy Joel, released on November 14, 1973, by Columbia Records. The album emerged from legal difficulties with Joel's former label, Family Productions, and ultimately became his first breakthrough album.
Cold Spring Harbor is the debut studio album by American recording artist Billy Joel, released on November 1, 1971, by Family Productions. The album sold poorly, receiving attention mainly after 1973's Piano Man and later albums became popular. Due to a mastering error, the original LP release ran at a faster speed than originally recorded. In 1983, producer Artie Ripp oversaw a remixed, edited and speed-corrected version of the album. This revised edition was issued by Columbia Records.
Hoyt Wayne Axton was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. Among his best-known songs are "Joy to the World", "The Pusher", "No No Song", "Greenback Dollar", "Della and the Dealer" and "Never Been to Spain".
Donald "Duck" Dunn was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax Records. At Stax, Dunn played on thousands of records, including hits by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, William Bell, Eddie Floyd, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, Bill Withers, Elvis Presley, and many others. In 1992, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Booker T. & the M.G.'s. In 2017, he was ranked 40th on Bass Player magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time".
"Only the Good Die Young" is a song written and recorded by Billy Joel from his fifth studio album The Stranger, released in 1978 as its third of four singles.
Robert Stanley Crewe was an American songwriter, dancer, singer, manager, and record producer. Crewe co-wrote and produced a string of Top 10 singles with Bob Gaudio for the Four Seasons.
"Daydream Believer" is a song composed by American songwriter John Stewart shortly before he left The Kingston Trio. It was originally recorded by the Monkees, with Davy Jones singing the lead. The single reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1967, remaining there for four weeks, and peaked at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the Monkees' third and last No. 1 hit in the U.S.
Michael Gene Botts was an American drummer, best known for his work with 1970s soft rock band Bread, and as a session musician. During his career, he recorded with Linda Ronstadt, Karla Bonoff, Andrew Gold, Olivia Newton-John, Peter Cetera, Anne Murray, Warren Zevon and Dan Fogelberg, among many others. He also contributed to several soundtracks for films, and to albums released under the name of The Simpsons. Although known primarily as a drummer, Botts also contributed backing vocals to some Bread songs.
Wilton Lewis Felder was an American saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders, later known as The Crusaders. Felder played bass on the Jackson 5's hits "I Want You Back" and "ABC" and on Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On".
"The Pusher" is a rock song written by Hoyt Axton, made popular by the 1969 movie Easy Rider which used Steppenwolf's version to accompany the opening scenes showing drug trafficking.
"Captain Jack" is a song by Billy Joel featured on his 1973 album Piano Man as its closing track with a live version on his 1981 album Songs in the Attic.
The Hassles were a rock group in the 1960s, most notable for recording the first releases to feature Billy Joel. The group released two full-length albums and a number of singles.
"There Stands the Glass" is a country song written by Russ Hull, Mary Jean Shurtz, and Autry Greisham. Originally recorded by Blaine Smith in 1952, it was a hit for Webb Pierce in 1953. It was Pierce's fifth release to hit number one on the country chart. It spent 27 weeks on the chart and was at the top for 12 weeks.
Solitaire is the thirty-first studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in the fall of 1973 by Columbia Records and was an attempt to move away from his formulaic series of recent releases that relied heavily on songs that other artists had made popular.
The Executives were an Australian pop music band, formed in 1966 and reformed in 1974, consisting of band members Ray Burton, Rhys Clark, Gino Cunico, Brian King, Carol King, Gary King, Keith Leslie and Brian Patterson. They are arguably best known for their top 40 singles "My Aim Is To Please You" (1967), "Sit Down, I Think I Love You" (1967) and "Windy Day" (1968) reaching No. 18, No. 20 and No. 24 respectively on the Australian charts.
Larry Russell is a New York City-based performing musician, recording producer, audio engineer, and composer. He achieved national recognition for his collaborations with Billy Joel.
Greatest Hits Volume III is the second greatest hits album from American singer songwriter Billy Joel. The volume follows Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II (1985) and includes hits from 1983 to 1993. Two previously unreleased studio tracks are included, Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love" and Goffin/King's "Hey Girl", while the third new track, "Light as the Breeze", was originally recorded for a Leonard Cohen tribute album known as Tower of Song in 1995. Cover songs are a rare occurrence in Joel's catalogue.
Michael Curtis is a musician and composer. He was also a member of These Vizitors consisting of his family members, The Curtis Brothers, Crazy Horse, Buffalo Springfield Again, the Byrds with Gene Clark, and later with Hoyt Axton. He also co-wrote the hit "Southern Cross" with Steve Stills, which was recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. It had originally been "Seven League Boots" written with brother Rick.
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
