The Band Plays On

Last updated
The Band Plays On
The Band Plays On.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 1975
Genre Hard rock, blues rock
Length44:16
Label Atlantic
Producer Back Street Crawler
Back Street Crawler chronology
The Band Plays On
(1975)
2nd Street
(1976)

The Band Plays On is the debut album from Back Street Crawler, fronted by ex-Free guitarist Paul Kossoff. Keyboard player Mike Montgomery composed six songs and co-wrote two others on the album, in addition to singing lead vocals on "All the Girls Are Crazy" and "Survivor". He dueted with Terry Wilson-Slesser on "New York, New York" (a Mike Montgomery original, and not the tune made famous by Liza Minnelli and Frank Sinatra). Montgomery subsequently left the band and was replaced by John "Rabbit" Bundrick.

Contents

The Mike Montgomery songs, "Jason Blue" and "The Band Plays On", had previously appeared on a self-titled 1973 album by Bloontz, in which Terry Wilson, Mike Montgomery and Tony Braunagel had played together prior to the formation of Back Street Crawler.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Mike Montgomery; except where indicated

  1. "Hoo Doo Woman" (Back Street Crawler) - 4:17
  2. "New York, New York" - 4:40
  3. "Stealing My Way" (Mike Montgomery, Paul Kossoff) - 4:21
  4. "Survivor" - 3:35
  5. "It's a Long Way Down to the Top" - 5:58
  6. "All The Girls Are Crazy" - 3:33
  7. "Jason Blue" - 4:57
  8. "Train Song" (Terry Wilson, Tony Braunagel) - 4:36
  9. "Rock & Roll Junkie" - 3:17
  10. "The Band Plays On" (Terry Wilson) - 5:02

Personnel

Back Street Crawler

with:

Production

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free (band)</span> English rock band

Free were an English rock band formed in London in 1968, best known for their hit songs "All Right Now" and "Wishing Well". Although renowned for their live shows and non-stop touring, their studio albums did not sell very well until their third, Fire and Water (1970), featured the massive hit "All Right Now". The song helped secure them a place at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970, where they played to an audience of 600,000 people. In the early 1970s they became one of the biggest-selling British blues rock groups; by the time they disbanded, they had sold more than 20 million records worldwide and had played more than 700 arena and festival concerts. "All Right Now" remains a R&B staple, and has been entered in ASCAP's "One Million" airplay singles club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart (band)</span> American rock band

Heart is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Seattle, Washington, as The Army. Two years later they changed their name to Hocus Pocus. The year following they changed their name to White Heart, and eventually changed the name a final time to Heart, in 1973. By the mid-1970s, original members Roger Fisher (guitar) and Steve Fossen had been joined by sisters Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson, Michael Derosier (drums), and Howard Leese to form the lineup for the band's initial mid- to late-1970s success period. These core members were included in the band's 2013 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Kossoff</span> English guitarist (1950–1976)

Paul Francis Kossoff was an English guitarist, mainly known as the co-founder and guitarist for the rock band Free. He was ranked number 51 in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

<i>Keepin the Summer Alive</i> 1980 studio album by The Beach Boys

Keepin' the Summer Alive is the 24th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released March 24, 1980 on Brother, Caribou and CBS Records. Produced by Bruce Johnston, the album peaked at number 75 in the US, during a chart stay of 6 weeks, and number 54 in the UK. It is the group's last album recorded with Dennis Wilson, who drowned in 1983, although he only appears on one song.

Back Street Crawler was an English-American rock band formed in 1975 by ex-Free guitarist Paul Kossoff. They were signed to Atlantic Records in 1975. The band took the name from Kossoff's solo album, Back Street Crawler. Terry Wilson, Mike Montgomery and Tony Braunagel had played together in the short-lived Bloontz, whose only album was released in 1973 and included versions of the Mike Montgomery songs, "Jason Blue" and "Long Way Down", both of which featured on Back Street Crawler's album The Band Plays On.

<i>Heartbreaker</i> (Free album) 1973 studio album by Free

Heartbreaker is the sixth and final studio album by the English rock band Free, that provided them with one of their most successful singles, "Wishing Well". It was recorded in late 1972 after bassist Andy Fraser had left the band and while guitarist Paul Kossoff was ailing from an addiction to Mandrax (Quaalude) and features a different line up from previous albums. Tetsu Yamauchi was brought in to replace Fraser, while John "Rabbit" Bundrick became the band's keyboard player to compensate for the increasingly unreliable Kossoff. Both Yamauchi and Bundrick had played with Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke on the album Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu & Rabbit during that period in late 1971 when Free had broken up for the first time. Also, several other musicians were used on the album. The album was co-produced by Andy Johns as well as Free themselves.

Crawler was a British heavy rock band formed in the late 1970s as an offshoot of Back Street Crawler, following the death of guitarist, Paul Kossoff.

Black Cat Bones were a British heavy blues rock band that existed with various lineups from 1966 to 1971.

Terry Slesser is a blues rock singer from South Shields, England. He is chiefly known for his role as vocalist in ex-Free guitarist Paul Kossoff's band Back Street Crawler, renamed Crawler after Kossoff's death in 1976.

<i>Back Street Crawler</i> (album) 1973 studio album by Paul Kossoff

Back Street Crawler is the debut studio album by English guitarist Paul Kossoff, released in 1973; the same year Kossoff's band Free disbanded, Kossoff was able to moderate his drug addiction to record the album, which featured contributions from his former Free bandmates as well as Yes drummer Alan White.

Comeback is an album by Eric Burdon released in 1982, during the Comeback film project. It was the studio album to the film. Live tracks recorded during the sessions were released later on compilations.

Beckett was an English hard rock band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1970. The band released one self-titled album in 1974 and disbanded shortly thereafter. Original singer Rob Turner was killed in a car crash and replaced by Terry Wilson-Slesser, who would later go on to perform with Back Street Crawler and then Geordie whose previous front man Brian Johnson left to join AC/DC in 1980.

<i>2nd Street</i> (album) 1976 studio album by Back Street Crawler

2nd Street is the second studio album by the English rock band Back Street Crawler and was released on the Atco Records label. It was released after Paul Kossoff's death in March 1976, and is dedicated to him. The album is regarded as a considerable advance on their 1975 debut The Band Plays On, but Kossoff's involvement in it is limited to lead guitar lines over the completed tracks.

<i>Brand New Day</i> (Blood, Sweat & Tears album) 1977 studio album by Blood, Sweat & Tears

Brand New Day is the tenth album by the band Blood, Sweat & Tears, released in November 1977. This was the band's only release on ABC Records. Brand New Day was produced by Roy Halee and former BS&T drummer Bobby Colomby. Colomby and Halee had also co-produced the group's fourth album, Blood, Sweat & Tears 4 in 1971. This collection failed to chart on the Billboard Album Charts in the top 200 even though it did reach #205 under the chart.

<i>Head Like a Rock</i> 1994 studio album by Ian McNabb

Head Like a Rock is a 1994 concept album released in July, 1994. by Ian McNabb. The album was nominated for the 1994 Mercury Music Prize and was McNabb's second solo album. The album was recorded in Los Angeles with the backing band Crazy Horse. The album peaked at No. 29 on the official UK charts.

Robert Terry Wilson is an American bass player, record producer and composer.

Live at Croydon Fairfield Halls 15/6/75 is a live album by English rock guitarist Paul Kossoff.

<i>Live – The 50th Anniversary Tour</i> 2013 live album by The Beach Boys

Live – The 50th Anniversary Tour is a live album by the Beach Boys released on May 21, 2013. The album was recorded during the band's 50th anniversary reunion tour.

<i>Til Your River Runs Dry</i> 2013 studio album by Eric Burdon

'Til Your River Runs Dry is a 2013 album by Eric Burdon. It is his "first high-profile record in eons and his first album of largely original material since 2004", states Stephen Thomas Erlewine in his Allmusic review.

Tony Braunagel is an American drummer, producer, and songwriter from Houston, Texas, United States, who is based in Los Angeles, California. Braunagel has played on many film scores and television shows as well as numerous albums as a musician, composer and producer. He is best known as a session drummer and/or percussionist of over 200 albums including those of Otis Rush, Eric Burdon, Johnny Nash, Coco Montoya, Lucky Peterson, as well as Grammy winning albums of Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy (percussion) and for performing live with dozens of music icons including Bonnie Raitt, Rickie Lee Jones, BB King, Lightnin’ Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Robert Cray, Bette Midler, Lyle Lovett, and Taj Mahal to name just a few.