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Sea Level | |
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![]() Chuck Leavell, bandleader and namesake of Sea Level | |
Background information | |
Origin | Macon, Georgia, United States |
Genres | |
Years active | 1976–1981 |
Labels | Capricorn, Arista |
Past members | Chuck Leavell Lamar Williams Jimmy Nalls Jai Johanny Johanson Davis Causey Randall Bramblett George Weaver Joe English Matt Greeley |
Sea Level was an American rock band from Macon, Georgia. Formed in 1976, the band was an offshoot of the Allman Brothers Band. Between 1977 and 1980, the band released five studio albums which incorporated elements of funk, blues and Latin music. [1]
Sea Level took on a life of its own as tensions grew between Gregg Allman and other members resulting in the loss of two of ABBs founding members. After the Allman Brothers Band broke up when Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts left, the remaining members who evolved into Sea Level were "We Three" comprising bassist Lamar Williams, drummer Jaimoe and piano player Chuck Leavell. The trio would occasionally open shows for the group in 1975 and 1976. The trio added guitarist Jimmy Nalls and took their name from the phonetic pun of their new bandleader Chuck Leavell's name: "C. Leavell." They toured relentlessly, experimenting and refining their sound, eventually signing with Capricorn Records (home of the Allman Brothers) and recording their self-titled debut album in 1977.
Sea Level's music fuses elements of funk, blues, Latin and rock music. [1] A jam band, [2] Sea Level's sound has been classified as southern rock, [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] jazz rock, [1] [2] [3] [6] and funk pop. [2]
After the release of their first album, the group expanded to a septet with the additions of Davis Causey (guitar), George Weaver (drums, percussion) and Randall Bramblett (saxophones, keyboards and vocals). That configuration recorded the group's second album, Cats on the Coast, in 1978 (with the leadoff track, "That's Your Secret", [7] reaching #50 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #45 in Canada. [8] ) By the time of the third album, On the Edge , Jaimoe and Weaver had both left, replaced by Joe English. The sextet of Bramblett, Causey, English, Leavell, Nalls and Williams recorded the fourth album, Long Walk on a Short Pier (1979), unreleased in the United States for nearly twenty years, adding percussionist Matt Greeley for their fifth and final album, Ball Room, issued on Arista in 1980. Their greatest hits album (CD) wrapped up their body of work, minus a handful of appearances on various compilation albums (mostly Southern Rock). They were also featured on a 1978 live Southern Rock album which included a live version of "Grand Larceny."[ which? ]
Leavell later emerged as a much sought-after session musician and producer, touring with Eric Clapton and eventually becoming a "permanent" session player touring with the Rolling Stones.
In 1998, he issued his debut solo LP, a Christmas album called What's in That Bag? and more recently Forever Blue that includes solo versions of two classic Sea Level compositions: "Whole Lotta Colada" and "Song for Amy." He also released Southscape, an album of Southern anthems that hearkens back to his Southern roots.
A documentary of Chuck Leavell's career and life outside of music,"Chuck Leavell: The Tree Man" IMDb Listing, directed by Allen Farst IMDb, premiered at Dayton, Ohio's "The Neon" theatre on November 6, 2020. The film, featured in a number of film festivals in 2020, won the Sedona Film Festival's People’s Choice Award.
The film, featuring Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, David Gilmore, Dickey Betts, Warren Haynes, John Mayer, Julian Lennon, Billy Bob Thornton, Charlie Daniels, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Hornsby, Chris Robinson, Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Mike Mills, Pat Monahan, John Popper, and Lee Ann Womack among others will be available for streaming beginning December 1, 2020. Chuck Leavell: The Tree Man website
Lamar Williams died from lung cancer on January 21, 1983, at age 34.
Jimmy Nalls, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, died on June 22, 2017, at age 66. [9]
Davis Causey died on February 19, 2023, at the age of 74. [10]
Timeline
The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman, as well as Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley (bass), Butch Trucks (drums), and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson (drums). Subsequently, based in Macon, Georgia, they incorporated elements of blues, jazz and country music and their live shows featured jam band-style improvisation and instrumentals.
Forrest Richard "Dickey" Betts was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, composer and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band. He assumed sole lead guitar duties during the peak of the group's commercial success in the mid-1970s and was the writer and singer on the Allmans' hit single "Ramblin' Man". Betts was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. He was ranked No. 58 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list in 2003, and No. 61 on the list published in 2011.
John Lee Johnson, frequently known by the stage names Jai Johanny Johanson and Jaimoe, is an American drummer and percussionist. He is best known as one of the founding members of the Allman Brothers Band and, with the death of Dickey Betts on April 18, 2024, he is the last surviving original member of the band.
Win, Lose or Draw is the fifth studio album and sixth overall by American rock group the Allman Brothers Band. Produced by Johnny Sandlin and the band themselves, it was released on August 22, 1975 in the United States by Capricorn Records. It was the last studio album to feature bassist Lamar Williams and pianist Chuck Leavell.
Wipe the Windows, Check the Oil, Dollar Gas is a 1976 double live album by the Allman Brothers Band.
Lamar Williams was an American musician best known for serving as the bassist of The Allman Brothers Band (1972–1976) and Sea Level (1976–1980).
Charles Alfred Leavell is an American musician. A member of the Allman Brothers Band throughout their commercial zenith in the 1970s, he subsequently became a founding member of the band Sea Level. He has served as the principal touring keyboardist and musical director of the Rolling Stones since 1982. As a session musician, Leavell has performed on every Rolling Stones studio album released since 1983 with the exception of Bridges to Babylon (1997). He has also toured and recorded with Eric Clapton, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Gov't Mule and John Mayer.
"Jessica" is an instrumental piece by American rock band the Allman Brothers Band, released in December 1973 as the second single from the group's fourth studio album, Brothers and Sisters (1973). Written by guitarist Dickey Betts, the song is a tribute to gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, in that it was designed to be played using only two fingers on the left hand.
Randall Bramblett is an American musician and singer-songwriter, whose career as a solo artist, session player, and touring musician, has spanned more than three decades. He has worked with Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Goose Creek Symphony, Robbie Robertson, Elvin Bishop, Steve Winwood, Bonnie Bramlett, B.J. Thomas, Widespread Panic, Jay E. Livingston and Roger Glover. He plays keyboards, saxophones, flute, guitar, mandolin, and harmonica, and his songwriting is influenced by blues, folk, and gospel music.
Enlightened Rogues is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Allman Brothers Band. Produced by Tom Dowd, the album was released in February 1979 in the United States by Capricorn Records and PolyGram Records elsewhere. The Allman Brothers Band had broken up in 1976 following internal turmoil, amplified by escalating drug use. The band members splintered into different acts — among those Great Southern, Sea Level, and the Gregg Allman Band. Guitarist Dickey Betts approached his bandmates in 1978 with the prospects of a reunion. It is the first to feature guitarist Dan Toler and bassist David Goldflies. Living together in Sarasota, Florida, they rehearsed and wrote the material for their next album in fall 1978.
Nassau Coliseum: Uniondale, NY: 5/1/73 is a two-CD live album by the Allman Brothers Band. It was recorded at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on May 1, 1973. The fourth archival concert release from the Allman Brothers Band Recording Company, it features the 1972 to 1976 lineup of the band – Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Chuck Leavell (piano), Lamar Williams (bass), Jaimoe (drums), and Butch Trucks (drums). It was released in 2005.
Dinnertime is the second album by Alex Taylor, brother of James, Livingston and Kate Taylor. The album was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. The standout tracks are "Change Your Sexy Ways", Randy Newman's "Lets Burn Down the Cornfield", Scott Boyer's "Comin' Back to You", and Stephen Stills' "Four Days Gone".
Hydra is an American Southern rock band founded in 1970 by Spencer Kirkpatrick (guitar), Wayne Bruce, Steve Pace (drums) and Orville Davis (bass). In 1977, it became a three-piece band and the band broke up later that year. It released three albums, Hydra (1974), Land of Money (1975) and Rock the World (1977). In 2005, the band reunited for two shows. A live album, Hydra: Live After All These Years was released.
Cats on the Coast is the second album by American rock band Sea Level. It was released in 1977 on Capricorn Records.
The Gregg Allman Tour is the first live album by Gregg Allman, released in 1974. It was recorded at Carnegie Hall and Capitol Theatre. It peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts in 1974. It was originally released as a double LP.
Sea Level is the 1977 debut album by Sea Level which was released on the Capricorn Records label.
Jimmy Nalls was an American guitarist mostly known as a founding member of the rock band Sea Level.
Trouble No More: 50th Anniversary Collection is a compilation album by the Allman Brothers Band. A retrospective of their entire career, it includes both studio and live tracks, and was recorded from 1969 to 2014. Comprising five CDs or ten LPs, and packaged as a box set, it was released on February 28, 2020.
Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks, often referred to as BHLT, was an American musical group that existed from 1982 to 1984 and that featured former members of The Allman Brothers Band and Wet Willie. Despite a positive reception for their live performances, the group never got a recording contract.