Silver | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Genres | Rock, country rock, pop rock, soft rock |
Years active | 1971–1978 |
Labels | Arista Records |
Past members | John Batdorf Tom Leadon Brent Mydland Greg Collier Harry Stinson |
Silver was an American 1970s country rock band, best known for their 1976 pop hit "Wham Bam," written by country songwriter Rick Giles. The song peaked in charts in USA, Canada and Australia.
Members of the group included John Batdorf (formerly of Batdorf & Rodney), lead vocals and guitar; Brent Mydland (later of the Grateful Dead), keyboards and vocals; Tom Leadon (brother of the Eagles' Bernie Leadon and a former member of Tom Petty's early group Mudcrutch), bass guitar and vocals; Greg Collier, guitar and vocals; and Harry Stinson, drums and percussion. Phil Hartman designed the cover art for Silver, the quintet's only album. The band's recordings were released on the Arista record label.
The single's title, "Wham Bam," was shown as "Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang" and peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of October 2, 1976. [1] It is ranked as the 70th biggest hit of 1976. [2] Arista executives gave the band the song to record after concluding that none of the other tracks on the album they produced had single potential.[ citation needed ] Arista head Clive Davis himself co-produced the single with Tom Sellers; the rest of the album was produced by Sellers and Silver.
Chicago radio superstation WLS, which gave "Wham Bam" much airplay, ranked the song as the 80th biggest hit of 1976. It peaked at number eight on their surveys of October 23 and 30, 1976. [3]
Arista released two further singles by the band, "Musician (It's Not an Easy Life)" and "Memory" which featured the non-album track "So Much for the Past", written by Brent Mydland, on the B-side.
Silver broke up in 1978. Mydland joined the Grateful Dead in 1979, and was the band's longest-tenured keyboardist, remaining with the group until his death in 1990 at the age of 37. [4] Mydland was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Dead in 1994. Leadon rejoined Mudcrutch when that band reunited in 2007. Stinson became a country session musician, and was a member of Steve Earle's backing band The Dukes in the mid 1980s. [5] [6]
The band can be heard in the 2017 Marvel Studios sequel film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 , as "Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang" is included on the movie's soundtrack.
Brent Mydland was an American keyboardist and singer. He was a member of the rock band The Grateful Dead from 1979 to 1990, a longer tenure than any other keyboardist in the band.
Without a Net is the eighth live album by the Grateful Dead. It compiles performances from October 1989 to April 1990, and was released in September 1990. The album simulates the progression of an actual Grateful Dead concert and was certified Gold by the RIAA in November 1990. It is the final contemporary live album that was released in their career.
Go to Heaven is the eleventh studio album by rock band the Grateful Dead, released April 28, 1980, on Arista Records. It is the band's first album with keyboardist Brent Mydland. Go to Heaven was both the third Grateful Dead studio album in a row to use an outside producer, this time Gary Lyons, and the last for over seven years.
Reckoning is a 1981 live double album by the Grateful Dead. It is the band's sixth live album and seventeenth album overall. It consists of acoustic material recorded live in September and October 1980. Some of the tracks are shortened versions of the live performances.
Built to Last is the thirteenth and final studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between February 1 and October 20, 1989, and originally released on October 31, 1989.
The Arista Years is a compilation album that chronicles the Grateful Dead's studio and live albums during their time with Arista Records. The album was released on two-CD and two cassette tapes on October 15, 1996. It contains tracks from Terrapin Station, Shakedown Street, Go to Heaven, Reckoning, Dead Set, In the Dark, Built to Last, and Without a Net. The set does not contain any new or expanded recordings. A media outlet sampler, Selections from the Arista Years, was released by Arista in January 1997.
Tom Leadon was an American musician. He was one of the founding members of Tom Petty's original band, Mudcrutch, and remained its guitarist following its revival in 2007. He was the brother of Bernie Leadon, the former banjoist and guitarist of the Eagles.
Mudcrutch was an American musical group from Gainesville, Florida, whose sound touched on southern rock and country rock. They were first active in the 1970s and reformed in 2007, and are best known for being the band that launched Tom Petty to fame.
Truckin' Up to Buffalo is a double CD soundtrack to the DVD video of the same name by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded at Rich Stadium in Orchard Park on July 4, 1989. There are no differences in the track listings of the CD and DVD versions. Two tracks had already been released: "All Along the Watchtower" was included in the compilation of Dylan songs, Postcards of the Hanging, and "Man Smart " was released on Weir Here – The Best of Bob Weir. The album title is taken from a line in the band's song "Truckin' ", though it was not included in the setlist that night.
Mudcrutch is the first studio album by American rock band Mudcrutch, released on April 29, 2008. The album was recorded during a two-week period in August 2007. Mudcrutch was originally formed in 1970. The band recorded several demos and singles but never released a record. Mudcrutch was disbanded by the record company in 1975 and did not play together again until recording this album 32 years later. After the initial break-up, band members Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench went on to form Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
"Scare Easy" is a song written and sung by Tom Petty. It featured on the debut album by rock band Mudcrutch featuring Petty and Mike Campbell. The song was used in a 2008 commercial for My Name Is Earl. The song peaked at #4 on the Billboard chart.
"Thanks for the Memory (Wham Bam Thank You Mam)" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released in 1975 as a non-album single. It was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and produced by Chas Chandler. It reached No. 7 in the UK, remaining in the charts for seven weeks.
"Wham Bam" is a 1976 song by the American group Silver, written by country songwriter Rick Giles. It was the only charting song by the group. John Batdorf sings lead vocals.
Batdorf & Rodney were an early-1970s folk rock duo consisting of John Batdorf and Mark Rodney.
John Batdorf is an American singer and songwriter from Yellow Springs, Ohio. Nephew of Earl Batdorf, aka Earl Scott, a Country singer who charted several hits during the mid-1960s.
Harry Stinson is an American multi-instrumentalist, noted as a session drummer and vocalist in the Nashville music community. He is also a songwriter and producer.
The Best of the Grateful Dead Live is a compilation album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains songs that were recorded live in concert and previously released on other Grateful Dead albums. It was released on March 23, 2018.
An American Treasure is a 2018 compilation album and box set of Tom Petty, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch released by Reprise Records on September 28, 2018. The set includes several rare and unreleased songs alongside more obscure album tracks that showcase Petty's songwriting. The majority of the content is Heartbreakers material but there are also several solo songs and some recordings by Mudcrutch. Critical reception has been positive.
The Best of Everything is a 2019 greatest hits album with recordings made by Tom Petty, with his backing band The Heartbreakers, as a solo artist, and with Mudcrutch. It was released on March 1.
Silver is the debut studio album by American country rock band Silver, it was released in May 1976 through Arista Records.