Beneath the rock-star locks and the cape of prog rock, keyboard wizard Rick Wakeman has a coronary heart beating for R&B and blues. Rising up in northwest London as trad jazz, skiffle and blues have been setting minds on fireplace, younger Rick discovered himself in quite a lot of aspirational bands. He’s recognized greatest for his time in The Strawbs and Sure, nevertheless it was R&B that obtained him a foot on the music trade ladder.
“Once I was a youngster, everybody was in an R&B band,” says Wakeman. “Twelve-bar blues was the simplest factor to be taught, and when you had three chords you had a band. Shifting on a few years, I used to be skiving off college to work in a music store in South Ealing. Someday Chas Cronk [future Strawb] got here in and was speaking to the proprietor, Dave Simms, saying he was in a spot, looking for gamers for a session with Ike Turner’s singer Jimmy Thomas. His personal band had been ‘detained’ at Customs. Dave checked out me and stated: ‘Rick will kind that for you.’ Chas went: ‘Good. I’ve obtained a demo on quarter-inch. I’ll convey it in. If I discover and rating the brass part, you do the organ bit, my issues might be solved.’
“My mind was saying: ‘Excuse me, I’m nonetheless at college.’ However my mouth stated: ‘Yeah, no drawback.’ I obtained the tape and performed it. It was a enjoyable monitor referred to as Working Time. However I wanted the gamers. As a result of I used to be already working at Watford High Rank, I obtained some numbers from them for session guys. I referred to as one of many trumpet gamers, who stated: ‘We’ll do trumpet, trombone and tenor sax doubling on alto.’ All I needed to do was rating the brass components – which I’d by no means accomplished. Brass devices are in a special key to live performance pitch – I didn’t know that but. It was the evening earlier than the session and I’ve obtained college through the day, so I’m up at midnight copying out these components, attending to mattress at 4 a.m., up at six, dog-tired.
“That night I get to Olympic Studios for eight p.m., with my components underneath my arm, and meet the engineer, Vic Smith, who takes me in. Other than me, Chas and Vic, the remainder of the band are Afro-American, and I’m so nervous I can’t perceive a phrase they’re saying. I’m attempting to be cool – I’m nonetheless a youngster and I’m attempting to behave older.
“We begin taking part in, they usually’re funking away and I find yourself doing nearly a classical organ factor. I’m considering: ‘This ain’t good. They need Booker T.’ However what was actually daft is producer Denny Cordell says: ‘Love the organ sound!’ He tells me they’re searching for new organ gamers, so I ought to go into his workplace and see him.
“Then the brass gamers arrive. The monitor is working, they usually begin to play my rating. It’s a cacophony of full and utter garbage. I’m going: ‘Oh shit.’ The trumpet participant walks away from the mic and calls me over with the components, saying: ‘You’ve copied all of them down in live performance pitch.’ I panic. He says: ‘Alright son, don’t fear,’ sits down with the opposite two, says: ‘Live performance’, they usually nod and transpose all of the components whereas taking part in. Now it sounds nice. Then Denny Cordell says: ‘What was that every one about?’ And I say: ‘I simply needed to attempt one thing totally different out, nevertheless it didn’t work.’ So I bullshitted by means of that!
“On the finish, Jimmy says to me: ‘I need you in my band. I need you all over the place I’m going.’ And Denny Cordell calls all the way down to me: ‘I need you to return up and see me tomorrow – Regal Zonophone, Oxford Road, about eleven, twelve o’clock.’
“That is the ridiculous bit. I say: ‘I’ve obtained a maths examination within the morning.’ And he goes: ‘What?!’ I knew I’d blown it. ‘Are you at college?’ he says. ‘Erm, yeah.’ And he stated: ‘Properly skive off tomorrow and are available and see me.’ “So I met him, Gus Dudgeon and Tony Visconti. They performed the monitor again, and requested me why I did the organ on this type. I stated: ‘That’s the one approach I understand how to play. However I suppose you need Booker T-type stuff.’
“Denny Cordell stated: ‘That was what we have been anticipating, and it’s at all times fascinating if you don’t get what you anticipate. Don’t change. Don’t attempt to copy what everybody else does. You do what you’re doing now, nearly like bringing classical stuff into rock. Give it a number of years and all people might be copying you.’”
Kenny Ball – I Nonetheless Love You All (Pye, 1961)
This impressed me to kind a trad jazz band once I was 13 – Brother Wakeman And The Clergymen. I didn’t get to fulfill Kenny Ball till Lonnie Donegan’s memorial live performance on the Royal Albert Corridor in 2004. He launched himself: “Howdy, I’m Kenny.” I stated: “I do know precisely who you might be!” He simply seemed surprised. I stated to him: “You initially had a clarinet participant referred to as Dave Jones.”
He stated: “Yeah, I did. How the hell do you know that?” I stated: “Dave Jones labored for my dad – he was a rep in a constructing agency.” I keep in mind my dad coming residence at some point saying Kenny Ball and his jazz band have been turning professional from being amateurs – his good friend Dave had advised him. They remained nice buddies up till my dad died.
Lonnie Donegan – Seven Daffodils (B-side to Have A Drink On Me) (Decca, 1961)
As a child, pop music was good, however there’s a bit extra to skiffle. On Rock Island Line, what comes throughout is his nice sense of humour, the joy of a dwell recording and the way very properly put collectively it’s. However what’s even higher, however not often performed as a result of it’s a B-side, is Seven Daffodils, one of many nice blues tracks of the time. I adore it. I used to be requested to play at Lonnie’s memorial service, and I selected Seven Daffodils with Chrissie Hammond, who didn’t know the track however beloved it when she heard it.
Inez & Charlie Foxx – Mockingbird (Image, 1963)
That actually was an affect, taking a traditional track, ripping it aside and placing it again collectively. I assumed that was sensational. Ashley Holt [from The Atlantic Blues, then Warhorse, and still Rick’s vocalist today] performed me that first, on the High Rank membership. Anybody can copy one thing observe for observe, but when you are able to do what Inez & Charlie Foxx did you’re particular. Mockingbird is the blues stuff that’s very danceable too. The issue is I can’t dance. Besides within the time signature of 13/8.
Numerous – Pye Golden Guinea Rhythm & Blues Quantity 2 (Pye, 1965)
I keep in mind going to the little report store down by my home in Perivale, and LPs weren’t actually an ‘in’ factor but, however there was the Pye Golden Guinea sequence of long-playing compilations costing one guinea, or twenty-one shillings. I purchased a blues one as a result of it had Dave ‘Child’ Cortez, a blues organ participant, on it, and his monitor Rinky Dink, which was only a three-chord trick. It was an amazing sampler, and on the primary quantity [from 1964] there have been previous authentic black blues singers from the previous included. Sadly I don’t have it any extra. With so many divorces passed by it’s most likely been melted down and was a flexible toy.
Tom Jones – Chills And Fever (Decca, 1965)
I can’t get this report once more for love nor cash. Tom Jones was a blues singer initially, and his band have been referred to as The Squires. This was his first single, and I heard it simply as soon as on the radio. I went straight to the report store. Very quickly The Squires have been kicked into contact and Tom turned a pop star. However that wasn’t the Tom Jones I appreciated. The fascinating factor is, he’s very a lot gone again to these days. If he was in live performance now and he did Chills And Fever, that may do it for me.
Otis Redding – Shake (from the album Otis Blue) (Volt/Atco, 1965)
Again within the previous days, you bought your report and also you learn who was on it, why and what, the place and when. Shake is once I seen Steve Cropper. I beloved his nice, chunky guitar taking part in, so correct and such an excellent sound. English productions on the time have been shrouded in echo, whereas all the pieces was crystal clear on all that Stax and Atlantic stuff. I by no means understood the ‘that is black music, that is white music’ concept – when you don’t see who the particular person is, you don’t know. Nevertheless, I used to be stunned once I met Steve Cropper for the primary time, as a result of it by no means occurred to me that he’d be white.
Etta James – You Acquired It/Fireplace (Cadet, 1968)
I heard You Acquired It on a jukebox, purchased it, beloved it to bits. What an amazing voice! A few years later I used to be residing in Montreux and she or he got here to play the jazz competition. [Festival organiser] Claude Nobs stated to me: “I’ve obtained an issue.” Like a repeat of the Jimmy Thomas story, Etta’s band had been detained at Geneva airport and Claude wanted assist. “There’s an amazing band referred to as Stuff,” he stated. “They’re gonna fill in. They’re simply in need of a clavinet participant. Are you able to try this?”
I stated: “Yeah!” Etta got here all the way down to rehearsal, walked over to me and stated: “So what have you learnt about my stuff?” I discussed a number of tracks, then she stated: “Identify me an obscure one.” I stated: “Fireplace.” She went: “Okay, let’s see when you can play.” We went by means of a number of issues and she or he then stated: “Properly, you’ll do for me.” It was beautiful, and a giant thrill for me. Afterwards Claude requested how a lot cash I needed for the job, and I stated: “Nothing. It was a pleasure.”
This function was initially revealed in situation 16 of The Blues, revealed in September 2014.