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Roger Ball (born 4 June 1944, Broughty Ferry, Scotland) is a Scottish saxophonist, keyboardist, songwriter and arranger. He is a former original member of the Average White Band (AWB).
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Roger Ball (born 4 June 1944, Broughty Ferry, Scotland) is a Scottish saxophonist, keyboardist, songwriter and arranger. He is a former original member of the Average White Band (AWB).
Ball attended the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee from 1962, studying architecture. While there he met Malcolm "Molly" Duncan and Alan Gorrie. The three of them relocated to London separately, but joined forces again in 1971 to form the nucleus of the Average White Band (AWB).
They were later joined by Onnie McIntyre, Hamish Stuart and Robbie McIntosh, completing the original line-up. [1] These six Scots were an unlikely group to be successful playing American styled funk, but went on to be nominated for three Grammy Awards in the Rhythm & Blues category. Ball was the principal composer of "Pick Up the Pieces" which topped the US Billboard chart [2] on 22 February 1975. It was written from a rehearsal "jam" over which he superimposed the melody line and the bridge. Since then it has been covered by many musicians and used in television programmes, films and commercials. He co-wrote a total of forty three songs for the Average White Band.
Before forming AWB in 1971, Ball was a session musician in London, arranging and playing for Vinegar Joe, Badfinger, Kiki Dee and Elton John, Mama Cass, Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music and others. He has played on stage with Chaka Khan and Marvin Gaye. As an arranger with AWB he wrote and played with Michael and Randy Brecker.
In 1995, he released his first solo album, Street Struttin' and, in 2005, his second CD, Childsplay. He cites his influences on saxophone as Johnny Hodges, John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley and, as an arranger, Oliver Nelson.
John Symon Asher Bruce was a Scottish musician. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and bassist of rock band Cream. After the group disbanded in 1968, he pursued a solo career and also played with several bands.
The Average White Band are a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track "Pick Up the Pieces", and their albums AWB and Cut the Cake. The band name was initially proposed by Bonnie Bramlett. They have influenced others, such as the Brand New Heavies, and been sampled by various musicians, including the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, TLC, The Beatnuts, Too Short, Ice Cube, Eric B. & Rakim, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Christina Milian, and Arrested Development, making them the 15th most sampled act in history.
AWB is the second studio album by the Scottish funk and soul band Average White Band, released in August 1974.
Stephen "Steve" Ferrone is an English drummer. He is known as a member of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 to 2017, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch, and as part of the "classic lineup" of the Average White Band in the 1970s. Ferrone has recorded and performed with Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Duran Duran, Stevie Nicks, Laura Pausini, Christine McVie, Rick James, Slash, Chaka Khan, Bee Gees, Scritti Politti, Aerosmith, Al Jarreau, Mick Jagger, Johnny Cash, Todd Rundgren and Pat Metheny. Ferrone also hosts The New Guy radio show on Sirius XM's Tom Petty Radio.
Alan Edward Gorrie is a Scottish bassist, guitarist, keyboardist and singer. He is a founding member of the Average White Band and remains one of two original members in the group's current line-up.
James McCulloch was a Scottish musician best known for playing lead guitar and bass as a member of Paul McCartney's band Wings from 1974 to 1977. McCulloch was a member of the Glasgow psychedelic band One in a Million, Thunderclap Newman, and Stone the Crows.
Thunderclap Newman were a British rock band that Pete Townshend of the Who and Kit Lambert formed in 1969 in a bid to showcase the talents of John "Speedy" Keen, Jimmy McCulloch, and Andy "Thunderclap" Newman.
Jim Mullen is a Scottish, Glasgow-born jazz guitarist with a distinctive style, like Wes Montgomery before him, picking with the thumb rather than a plectrum.
"Pick Up the Pieces" is a song by the Average White Band from their second album, AWB. On the single, songwriting credit was given to founding member and saxophonist Roger Ball and guitarist Hamish Stuart individually and the entire band collectively. It is essentially an instrumental, apart from the song's title being shouted at several points in the song.
Paul Korda was a Singaporean songwriter, singer, musician, and actor. He wrote and performed music from the 1960s onwards, and his songs have been covered by artists such as Roger Daltrey, Dave Edmunds, Frankie Valli, and Love Sculpture.
Caleb Quaye is an English rock guitarist and studio musician best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Hall & Oates and Ralph McTell, and also toured with Shawn Phillips in the 1970s. He is the son of singer/pianist Cab Kaye, younger brother of musician Terri Quaye, and elder half-brother of singer Finley Quaye.
James Hamish Stuart is a Scottish guitarist, bassist, singer, composer and record producer. He was an original member of the Average White Band.
Robert Broderick James McIntosh was a Scottish drummer from Dundee who was a founder-member of the Average White Band (AWB). His father was American-born actor Bonar Colleano, who had a successful career in films, especially in the UK.
Cut the Cake is the third album released by Average White Band, released in 1975. This album's hit title track reached #10 on the Billboard pop singles chart. It was dedicated to "our friend and brother Robbie McIntosh."
Malcolm "Molly" Duncan was a Scottish tenor saxophonist, and founding member of Average White Band.
Show Your Hand is the first album by Scottish funk band Average White Band, likely recorded at RG Jones Recording Studios, Wimbledon, London, and released in 1973 by MCA Records. After the success of AWB, the album was re-issued in 1975 with a new title, Put It Where You Want It, a different opening track and new cover artwork. The re-issued version finally made it to the Billboard Top 200, peaking at No. 39, and No. 69 in Canada.
Eliot Lewis is an American rock, and soul singer, multi-instrumentalist and solo artist. He is best known for his work with Average White Band (1989–2002) and Hall & Oates (2003–2023). Lewis was the original featured musician on Live from Daryl's House, an Internet-based show hosted by Daryl Hall that now can be seen on its popular YouTube channel. In addition, Lewis maintains his own successful solo career as well as a prolific output of music.
Warmer Communications is a studio album released by Average White Band. The title is a play on Warner Communications, parent company of AWB's Atlantic Records label at the time of the album's release.
Feel No Fret is the seventh album by Scottish funk and R&B band Average White Band released in 1979 on the RCA label in the United Kingdom and the Atlantic label in North America.
Cupid's in Fashion is the ninth album by the Average White Band, a Scottish funk and R&B band. It was released in 1982 on the RCA label and peaked at #49 in the R&B album charts.
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