HOW ABOUT 2 ARTISTS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE? - "FREE" AND "BOBBY FREEMAN"
Dec 23 '04 (Updated Jan 01 '05)
The Bottom Line The original members of "Free" were "And Fraser" on bass, "Simon Kirke" on drums, "Paul Kossoff" on guitar and "Paul Rodgers" on vocals.
In April 1968 "Paul Kossoff" born on 14 September 1950 in London, England and son of British actor "David Kossoff" and "Simon Kirke" born on 28 July 1949 in Shrewsbury, England decided to form they own band. They had previously both been members of the British R&B group "Black Cat Bones". They asked "Paul Rodgers" born on 12 December 1949 in Middlesbrough, Cleveland, England who was currently in the group "Brown Sugar" to join them after hearing him sing at the Fickle Pickle an R&B club in Finsbury Park in London. Rodgers had also previously been in "Titan" who later changed their name to "Roadrunners" and also in the group "Wild Flowers". They then added "Andy Fraser" born on 7 August 1952 in London who was recently playing bass in "John Mayall's Bluesbreakers" before being fired. They have their first rehearsal together in the upstairs room of the Nag's Head pub in Battersea, London.
"Alexis Korner" whose daughter Sappho is a very close friend of Fraser's will attend their first gig and suggest the name "Free" after the name of his 60's blues trio "Free At Last" and they except his suggestion. Korner born in Paris France and having lived in Switzerland, North Africa and finally having settled down in London played in "Chris Barber's Jazz Band" and then the "Ken Colyer Jazz Group". Korner and a close friend "Cyril Davies" in 1962 formed the supergroup known as "Blues Incorporated". On 21 June "Free" opens for "Albert King" at London's Marquee Club. In November they sign a contract with "Island" records. The owner of the company "Chris Blackwell" wanted them to change the name of the group to the "Heavy Metal Kids" but they refuse to change it. They release their debut album this month "Tons Of Sobs" but it fails to make the UK charts it does chart in the US almost a full year later and peaks at #197. They begin touring the UK in January 1969 and build a strong fan following. Their debut single "I'm A Mover" backed by "Worry" is released in March but it fails to make any of the singles charts.
In May "Broad Daylight" backed by "The Worm" is released but it also fails to make any of the charts. Their 3rd single "I'll Be Creepin'" backed by "Mouthful Of Grass" is released next in July but once again it does not chart. "In September they begin touring the US supporting the group "Blind Faith". In November they release a self-titled album "Free" and it goes to #22 in the UK. They appear on the West German Musical Rock series "Beat-Club" broadcast from Bremen on 31 January 1970 with "Canned Heat", "Colosseum", "Peter Frampton", "Humble Pie" and "John Mayall". On 24 May they perform at the Hollywood Music Festival near Newcastle-under-Lyme, England with "Black Sabbath", "Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band", "Colosseum", "Jose Feliciano", "The Grateful Dead", "Albert King", "Steppenwolf", "Traffic", "The Russian Front" and many others. "The Russian Front" was a British skiffle group lead by "Paul King" who would quickly change their name to "Mungo Jerry" and had one charting single in the US with "In The Summertime" that peaked at #3 on the pop chart later in the year.
Also in May they release "All Right Now" and it is their second single to have "Mouthful Of Grass" on the B-side. It would eventually peak at #2 on the UK chart where it stayed for 3 weeks being kept out of the top spot there by "In The Summertime". Their 3rd album "Fire And Water" is released in June and it goes all the way to #2 in the UK. They are signed to a contract by "A&M" records for all their US record releases next. On 15 August "All Right Now" debuts on the US singles chart and it later peaked at #4 here. They next appear at the 3rd Annual Isle Of Wight Festival in Godshill, Newport, Isle Of Wight, England from 26th to the 30th of August. This is considered the UK's version of the US's Woodstock Festivals. Others performing were "Joan Baez", "Chicago", "Leonard Cohen", "Miles Davis", "The Doors", "Jimi Hendrix", "Joni Mitchell", "The Moody Blues", "Procol Harum", "Supertramp", "The Who" and many, many others. They appear again on "Beat-Club" on 5 September with "Humble Pie", "The Pretty Things", and "Cat Stevens".
"Fire And Water" makes the US album chart in October peaking at #17 here. On 28 November "Stealer" backed by "Broad Daylight" debuts on the US singles chart and would peak at #49. "Stealer is also released in the UK this month with "Lying In The Sunshine" on the flip side but it fails to make their chart. "Highway" is their next album release in December and it goes to #41 in the UK but only peaks at #190 in the US. From the 14th through the 17th and the 21st through the 24th of January 1971 they perform at the Fillmore West in San Francisco with "Bloodrock", the "Spencer Davis Group" and "Taj Mahal". "The Highway Song" with "Love You So" on the B-side is also released this month but it fails to make any of the singles charts. In March they release "I'll Be Creepin'" again but this time it has "Mr. Big" on the flip side but it fails to make the singles charts. In April they release "My Brother Jake" with "Only My Soul" on the flip side and it peaks at #4 on the UK singles chart.
On 9 May at the end of their tour in the Pacific they decide to split-up to pursue individual projects. On the 21st they make the announcement of the group breaking up publicly and say it is just temporary. "Free Live!" with only 8 tracks on it is finally released in July and it goes to #4 on the UK albums' chart and to #89 in the US. In November Kossoff and Kirke along with bassist "Tetsu Yamauchi" from Fukuoka, Japan and keyboardist "John Rabbit Bundrick" from Houston, Texas join to form "Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu & Rabbit". They release one self-titled reggae album this month "Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu & Rabbit" with guest steel guitarist "B.J. Cole" from London on "Island" records but it fails to make any of the charts. Also this month Rodgers with bassist "Stewart McDonald" and drummer "Mick Underwood" from the group "Peace" and they tour the UK supporting "Mott The Hoople". Andy formed the group "Toby" with "Adrian Fisher" on guitar and "Stan Speake" on drums.
In January 1972 all 3 groups having quickly dissolved "Free" is reformed with all 4 original members and they begin touring the UK. In May they release "Little Bit Of Love" backed by "Sail" and it goes to #13 on the UK singles chart. In June "Free At Last" is released and it goes to #69 on the US album chart and all the way to #9 on the UK chart. The album had 9 songs on it all composed by 3 or more members of the band. The group next tours the US but Kossoff suffers from drug abuse induced health problems and misses several concert dates. In July Andy leaves to form the group "Sharks" with "Chris Spedding" and "Alan Wilson" who later add "Paul Hodge Hodges" and "Steve Whitehouse". Because Rodgers is still suffering with medical problems they add Tetsu and Rabbit and begin a tour of Japan and Rodgers would play guitar at a few stops.
In September they begin a new UK tour but 8 dates have to be cancelled because Kossoff is knocked out on stage at one performance during rehearsal at Mayfair, Newcastle, Tyne & Wear. He is rushed to a local hospital where X-rays indicate he had received a concussion. In October Kossoff is out of the Hospital and rejoins the group on their current UK tour and they begin recording a new album. Before the album is half finished he leaves the group permanently to go solo. He releases his debut album "Back Street Crawler" on "Phantom" records with 5 tracks on it but it fails to chart. In December "Free" releases "Wishing Well" backed by "Let Me Show You" and it peaks at #7 on the UK singles chart. In January 1973 they add "Wendell Richardson" from "Osibisa" on guitar to help finish up their UK concert dates. They also release "Heartbreaker" this month and it would later peak at #47 on the US album chart and at #9 on the UK chart. The "Sharks" released "First Water" next and it peaked at #189 on the US album chart. Sometime after the release of this album Andy leaves the group to pursue a solo career.
"The Best Of Free" is released next on "A&M" records in February but it fails to make any of the album charts. "Travellin' In Style" backed by "Easy On My Soul" is released next in March but it fails to make any of the singles charts. In July they announce that they are splitting up once again with no intention to re-form later on. Rodgers is asked to join "Deep Purple" but declines and decides to form "Bad Company" with Simon and they add bassist "Boz Burrell" formally with "King Crimson" and guitarist "Mick Ralphs" formally of "Mott The Hopple". The name of the group was taken from a 1972 Western starring "Jeff Bridges". "All Right Now" is re-released in the UK next in August and it goes to #15 on the singles chart there. In January 1974 "Peter Grant" the manager of "Led Zeppelin" signs "Bad Company" to his new record label "Swan Song". In March "The Free Story" on "Island" records is released and goes all the way to #2 on the UK album chart. In May "Bad Company" releases their debut single "Can't Get Enough" and it goes to #15 in the UK.
In June "Bad Company" is released and it goes to #3 on the UK album chart and peaks at #1 in the US and by the end of 1993 it had sold over 5 million copies. "Can't Get Enough" debuts on the singles chart in the US on 17 August and later peaks at #5 here. In January 1975 Kossoff forms a group named after his debut album "Back Street Crawler". The other members included "Terry Wilson-Slessor" on vocals, "Terry Wilson" (no relation) on bass, "Mike Montgomery" on keyboards and "Tony Braunagel" on drums. "Bad Company" released "Movin' On" on 18 January and it peaked at #19 on the US singles chart. From 1974 to 1992 "Bad Company" would have 18 singles on the US pop chart with one million seller in "Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy" that peaked at #13 in 1979. In April "The Best Of Free" is released and it later peaks at #120 on the US album chart. Andy released his solo debut album "Andy Fraser Band" on "CBS" records in June but it failed to make any of the album charts.
On 30 August Kossoff is back in the hospital again and dies for a 35-minute period before being resuscitated. In October Andy released "In Your Eyes" with 19 tracks all composed by him but it fails to make any of the album charts. On 23 November Kossoff returns to his group beginning a gig at the Empire Theater in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. On 19 March 1976 Kossoff dies of a heroin induced heart failure on a flight from Los Angeles to New York City. Montgomery leaves the group and they add Bundrick and guitarist "Geoff Whiteburn" and rename the group "Crawler". In November "Crawler" releases "2nd Street" and it peaks at #140 on the US albums chart. A previously un-released single "The Hunter" with "Worry" on the B-side by "Free" is also released this month but it fails to make any of the charts. Also this month "Free And Easy, Rough And Ready" is released by "Free" but it fails to make any of the album charts.
In August 1977 "Crawler" released their 3rd and final album of original material self-titled "Crawler" and it peaks at #85 on the US chart. On 15 October "Stone Cold Sober" by "Crawler" debuts on the singles charts and later peaks at #65 in the US. Also this year Andy helps "Brian Eno" on his newest album "Before And After Science" released in December but it fails to make any of the charts. In February 1978 "The Free EP" is released with 3 songs "All Right Now", "My Brother Jake" and "Wishing Well" and it goes all the way to #11 on the UK singles chart. "Crawler" in September releases "Live: The Agora Club, Cleveland 1978 (Live)" but it doesn't make any of the album charts. In 1980 Andy along with "Gary Numan" helps "Robert Palmer" with his newest solo album "Clues" that is released in August and it peaks at #59 on the US chart and at #31 on the UK chart.
"Completely Free" a compilation album by "Free" on "Island" records is released in October 1982 but it does not make any of the charts. "All Right Now" is re-released again in the UK this month and it peaks at #57 this time on the singles chart there. Rodgers decides to leave "Bad Company" and releases his solo debut album in May 1983 titled "Cut Loose" that went to #135 on the US album chart. The very unique thing about this 10-track album is he not only composed, produced and sang every song but he also played bass guitar, lead guitar, keyboards and drums on it as well. On 3 March 1984 Andy releases "Do You Love Me" composed by "Berry Gordy Jr." and it goes to #82 on the US singles chart. It was first recorded by "The Contours" in 1962 and went to #3 on the pop chart for them. It was also a #11 US pop hit in 1964 for "The Dave Clark 5". In July Andy released "Fine Fine Line" on "Island" records but it failed to make any of the album charts.
On 8 December Rodgers plays alongside "Eric Clapton", "Jimmy Page" and many others in the "Ronnie Lane" ARMS Appeal concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In May 1985 "Wishing Well" is re-released this time with "Woman" on the B-side by "Free" but it fails to make any of the singles' charts. Rodgers next joins the supergroup "The Firm" with guitarist "Jimmy Page" formally with "Led Zeppelin", "The Honeydrippers" and "The Yardbirds", drummer "Chris Slade" formally with "Toomorrow", "Manfred Mann's Earth Band" and "Uriah Heep" and bassist and keyboardist "Tony Franklin". On 9 February "The Firm" released their debut single "Radioactive" and it goes to #28 on the US pop chart. This is followed in March by their self-titled debut album "The Firm" that peaks at #17 on the US chart. On 4 May "The Firm" released "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and it peaked at #73 on the US singles pop chart. "The Firm's" final charting single "All The Kings Horses" was released on 15 February 1986 and it peaked at #61 on the pop chart. Their final charting album is released next in July titled "Mean Business" and it peaks at #22 on the US album chart.
The group split up with Page and Rodgers perusing a solo career and Franklin would later play in "Blue Murder", "Slade" and then "AC/DC". Chris would later play with "AC/DC" and then go to the group "Asia". "Free" was next seen via old concert footage on the MTV special "Closet Classics" that was later released as a video. Others that appeared either live or via old footage were "The Beach Boys", "The Grateful Dead", "Ike & Tina Turner", "The Moody Blues", "The Who" and "Yes". On 14 May 1988 Rodgers sang "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" which was a #1 hit in 1968 by "Otis Redding" at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary Bash in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Other artists that performed this day were "The Coasters", "Roberta Flack", "Foreigner", "Iron Butterfly", "Led Zeppelin", "The Spinners", "Vanilla Fudge" and many many others. In February 1991 a remixed version of "All Right Now" with "I'm A Mover" on the flip side is released and it peaked at #8 on the UK singles chart. The remixed version also appears in a Wrigley's Chewing Gum ad in the UK.
In March "The Best Of Free – All Right Now" is released and it goes all the way to #2 on the UK album chart. In April a remixed version of "My Brother Jake" with a remixed version of "Wishing Well" on the flip side is released but it fails to make any of the singles charts. Rodgers next formed "The Law" with drummer "Kenny Jones" formally of "Small Faces" who later shortened their name to "The Faces". He also replaced the recently deceased "Keith Moon" in 1978 in "The Who" until they officially split in December 1983. They did reform on 13 July 1985 for a one time only appearance at Wembley Stadium in London for the "Live Aid" benefit concert. Jones and Rodgers used a core band of studio musicians to back them up in the group. They released only one self-titled album "The Law" that peaked at #126 in the US and at #61 in the UK then they decided to split-up.
In November 1992 "Fire And Water" the title song from "Free's" 1970 album backed by "Heartbreaker" the title song from their 1973 album is released as a single but it fails to chart. Also this year Rodgers with "Nuno Bettencourt", "Steve Vai" and "Joe Walsh" perform "Can't Get Enough Of Your love", "Feel Like Making Love" and "All Right Now" at the Guitar Legends concert at Expo '92 in Seville, Spain. On 7 April 1993 Paul appears on "Late Night With David Letterman" on NBC TV with "George Forman", "Catherine O'Hara" and "Brian Setzer". In May Rodgers sings lead vocals on the album "Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute To Muddy Waters" that includes performances from "Jeff Beck", "Dave Gilmour", "Buddy Guy", "Brian May", "Gary Moore", "Trevor Rabin", "Richie Samboro", "Carlos Santana", "Neil Schon" and "Slash". The album peaks at #91 in the US and goes to #9 in the UK. In August "The Hunter" by Rodgers is released as a single and goes to #6 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
In January 1994 Rodgers forms a new group with "Dean Castronovo", "Todd Jenson" and "Neal Schon" calling themselves "Paul Rodgers & Company. Rodgers with his new group begins touring the UK and in February "Muddy Waters Blues" from his last album is released as a single and peaks at #45 in the UK. "Molten Gold: The Anthology" a compilation album of 30 "Free" tracks is released in May on "A&M" records but it fails to chart. Also this year a song written by Rodgers "Shooting Star" is performed by "Golden Smog" for the soundtrack to the Comedy "Clerks". The Movie starred "Jeff Anderson", "Walter Flanagan", "David Klein", "Brian O'Halloran", "Kevin Smith", "Lisa Spoonhauer" and others. On the 12th through the 14th of August Paul performed at Woodstock 2 in Saugerties, New York that was recorded and released as a video in 1995. Other artists that performed during these 3 days were "Aerosmith", "The Band", "Blind Melon", "Blues Traveler", "Johnny Cash", "Jimmy Cliff", "Joe Cocker", "The Cranberries", "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young", "Bob Dylan", "Jefferson Airplane", "Melanie", "Metallica", "Nine Inch Nails", Red Hot Chili Peppers", Santana", "Traffic" and many, many others.
The "Message Of Love: Isle Of Wight Festival" that was recorded live in August 1970 is finally released on video on 3 June 1997 by "Sony/Columbia" productions. On 17 June Rodgers released "Now & Live" a 2-CD set of 24 songs on "Velvel" records in the US and on "CBH" records in the UK but it fails to make any of the album charts. He next releases "Soul Of Love" in October and it peaks at #15 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. On 3 November 1998 "Walk In My Shadow – An Introduction To Free" was released on "Polygram International" records a 14-track compilation album but it failed to chart. On 5 October 1999 the soundtrack album for the Drama "American Beauty" with "All Right Now" by "Free" on it is released. The album also included songs by "Betty Carter", "Bobby Darin", "Peggy Lee", "Bill Withers", "The Who" and 5 others but it fails to make the charts. The Movie starred "Scott Bakula", "Annette Bening", "Wes Bentley", "Thora Birch", "Chris Cooper", "Peter Gallagher", "Kevin Spacey" and others.
Because of how popular the Movie was "All Right Now" was re-released again this month but it failed to make any of the singles' charts. On 20 June 2000 Rodgers appears on the "Late Show With David Letterman" on CBS TV with "Dyan Cannon", "The Deftones" and "Mark Wahlberg". On 10 October "Island" records released a 80-track, 5-CD "Free" box set titled "Songs Of Yesterday" but it too failed to make any of the charts. On 18 September 2001 "Karussell" records released an 18-track compilation album "Free All Right Now" but it failed to chart. In October "Universal International" records released a 16-hit compilation album called "Classic Free The Universal Masters Collection" and it too failed to make any of the charts. Also this year Kirke along with 3 others composed the original score for the Movie "Riders". The Drama starred "Bodine Alexander", "Jane Beard", "Don Harvey", "Jerry Richardson", "Sarah Stusek" and others.
On 4 February 2002 "Universal" records released the album "Free Live" with 7 additional tracks not included on the 1971 version. Also on 4 February "Universal" re-released their 1970 album "Highway" with 6 bonus tracks, which included single versions, alternate versions and re-mixes. This album was also re-released again on 6 March by "Island" records in Japan in a limited edition paper sleeve with all Japanese writing. "A&M" records released "20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best Of Free" on 6 August that included 11 songs, one of which was a live version of "Mr. Big". On 4 November 2003 the album "Best of Paul Kossoff" was released on "Navarre" records that included 17 songs most of which were songs originally recorded by "Free". There is also another version of this CD out on "Track" records with only 11 songs on it.
On 1 June 2004 Andy released "Andy Fraser Band…In Your Eyes" on "Gottdiscs" records that included 17 songs all of which he composed. On 18 October the album "Inside Free – (1968 – 1972) on "Classics Rock Legends" records was released and it will be released as a DVD on 15 February 2005. None of the aforementioned albums charted anywhere. Also this year "Free" appeared via old concert footage on the UK made video release "Heavy Rock Masterpieces". Other artists on the via most of which was old concert footage were "Asia", "Deep Purple", "The Sensational Alex Harvey Band", Lynyrd Skynyrd", "Magnum", "Poison", "Saxon", "Thin Lizzy", "UFO" and "Uriah Heep". The only album I own by this group is "THE BEST OF FREE" on "A&M" records in 1973. The songs on this album are listed below in the order, as they appear followed by the length of each song and then my rating of each:
1. Fire And Water – 3:42 – 5
2. The Highway Song נ:14 – 5
3. Little Bit Of Love – 2:32 – 3
4. Mouthful Of Grass – 3:36 – 4
5. My Brother Jake – 2:55 – 4
6. The Hunter – 5:25 – 4
7. All Right Now – 5:32 – 5
8. Woman – 3:45 – 3
9. Catch A Train – 3:25 – 3
10. I'm A Mover – 2:49 – 3
11. Stealer – 3:13 – 5
12. Goodbye – 5:00 ן
TOTAL POINTS: 47 POINTS DIVIDED BY 12 SONGS = 3.92 or 3 3/4 STARS
Rating Key:
5 – Great
4 – Very Good
3 – Good
2 – Fair
1 – Poor
0 – This song does not belong here!
Billboard US Top 100 Pop Singles for "FREE"
1. All Right Now – Debut 08/15/70, Peaked at #4 (GOLD)
2. Stealer – Debut 11/28/70, Peaked at #49
Billboard US Top 200 Pop & UK charting Albums for "FREE"
1. Tons Of Sobs – Debut November 1968, Peaked at #197 US
2. Free – Debut October 1969, Peaked at #22 UK
3. Fire & Water – Debut June 1970, Peaked at #17 US & #2 UK
4. Highway – Debut December 1970, Peaked at #190 US & #41 UK
5. Free Live! – Debut June 1971, Peaked at #89 & #4 UK
6. Free At Last – Debut June 1972, Peaked at #69 & #9 UK
7. Heartbreaker – Debut January 1973, Peaked at #47 & #9 UK
8. The Free Story – Debut March 1974, Peaked at #2 UK
9. The Best Of Free – Debut April 1975, Peaked at #120 US
10. All Right Now – The Best Of Free – Debut February 1991, Peaked at #9 UK
SOME SONG LYRICS FOR FREE
ALL RIGHT NOW
There she stood in the street
Smiling from her head to her feet
I said Hey, what is this
Now baby, maybe she's in need of a kiss
I said Hey, what's your name baby
maybe we can see things the same
Now don't you wait or hesitate
Let's move before they raise the parking rate
All right now baby, it's all right now
All right now baby, it's all right now
I took her home to my place
Watching ev'ry move on her face
She said Look, what's your game baby
are you tryin' to put me in shame?
I said slow don't go so fast,
don't you think that love can last?
She said Love, Lord above,
now you're tryin' to trick me in love
All right now baby, it's all right now
all right now baby, it's all right now
That's all for now, take care and I'll
be back with more in a few days
FIRE AND WATER
Every single day, I got a heartache comin' my way
I don't wanna say goodbye
Baby but look at the tears in my eye
I don't wanna say goodbye
Mama but look at the way you made me cry
Every way that's nice
You show you've got a heart that's made of ice
and I know
Fire and water must have made you their daughter
You've got what it takes, to make a poor man's heart break
A poor mans heart break
Baby you turn me on
But as quick as a flash your love is gone
Baby I'm gonna leave you now
But I'm gonna try to make you grieve somehow
Fire and water must have made you their daughter
You've got what it takes to make a poor man's heart break
A poor man's heart break
And my heart is breakin' too
STEALER
I went down to the center of town
Beneath my feet was the burning ground
Just stood on the corner as sexy as could be
Said hey good looking, walk away with me
I said yeah, I'm your stealer,
Come to steal your love
Sun was shining, the world was bright,
I said, tell me darling, where you gonna be tonight?
I'm tired of the city, gonna cat me around.
And I said yeah, I'm your stealer,
I come to steal your love.
I come to
I come to steal
Goin' around the corner, where the music's loud.
I'm tired of the city, gonna cat me around.
And I said yeah, I'm your stealer
I come to steal your love
I'm stealin'...let me steal now...come steal it...
Come steal it...come steal it...
JAGUARDOG'S FINAL THOUGHTS ON "FREE"
The British hard rock group "Free" had a very short musical span together of only 5 ½ years. Two of the members Fraser and especially Rodgers still had great solo careers after the group disbanded. Rodgers was in two other great groups "Bad Company" and "The Firm". When I was in college back in late 1970 "All Right Now" was a song I used to play to death either on my own record player, on a juke box at my favorite pub or on the College Radio Station WCVM (College Voice of Morrisville) where I was a part-time disc jockey and program director. There were a few other songs I also played to death this year that included "American Woman", "Bridge Over Troubled Water", "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)", "My Sweet Lord", "Venus" and "War". The only record I owned by "Free" was "All Right Now" until I bought the CD I mentioned above. Their music sound was aggressive, brash, celebratory, confident, exuberant, fiery, greasy, gritty, hedonistic, intense, organic, passionate, raucous, rousing, rowdy and sexual.
DO YOU WANNA DANCE (with) – BOBBY FREEMAN
THE BOTTOM LINE:
"Bobby Freeman" was born on 13 June 1940 in San Francisco, California
Bobby formed the soul R&B group "The Romancers" at the age of 14 in 1954 where he played the piano. The group was the originators or what then was known as the East, Los Angeles sound a combination of blue-eyed (sometimes called brown-eyed) soul and latin-rock. They recorded first for a small independent label called "Dootone" records and then quickly went to "Del-Fi" records releasing mostly instrumental music beginning in 1955. Their music was a solid R&B rock driven sound and they did release a few vocal records for other small record companies, none of which charted. They performed with "The Premiers" on their #19 pop hit in 1964 called "Farmer John". They also backed up the "Heartbreakers" on "Everytime I See You" written by "Frank Zappa" in 1964. The other two members of the R&B trio were "Andy Tesso" and "Max Uballez"
Some of their minor local hits were "Don't Let Her Go", ""Love's the thing", "She Took My Oldsmobile" and "Tell Her I Love Her (No Other Love)" to name a few. It seems to be that the only record of this group still in circulation is the album "The Romancers! The Slauson Shuffle" released in 1995 on "Del-Fi" records that includes 15 previously recorded and released songs from 1955 and 1956. In 1957 Bobby formed the R&B vocal group "The West Coast Vocaleers" as opposed to "The Vocaleers" that formed in Harlem in New York City. This group is very short lived and Bobbie is spotted in early 1958 playing and singing in a club in San Francisco at night while still in high school. The President of "Josie" records signed him to a recording contract at the age of 17. On 26 April Bobby performed on "The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show" on ABC TV with "The Chordettes", "Connie Francis", "Melvin Smith" and "Somethin' Smith & The Redheads".
On 12 May his self composed debut single "Do You Want To Dance" is released. It would go to #5 on the US pop singles chart and all the way to #2 on the R&B chart and sell gold. The song would be covered by many artists over the years such as "Cliff Richard", "Del Shannon", "The Mamas & The Papas", "Bette Midler" and "The Ramones". My personal favorite version of this song was covered by "The Beach Boys" in 1965 and went to #12 on the US pop singles chart for them. In 1972 it was a #38 country hit for "Jack Reno. "John Lennon" also has an awesome version of the song on his 1975 album "Rock 'N' Roll". On 5 July he performs again on "The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show" with "Johnny Cash", "Don Cornell", "The Upbeats" and "Jan & Arnie". Clark presented a gold record to "Jan & Arnie" for their million selling song "Jennie Lee" on this show. The song was recorded in "Jan Berry's" garage with "Arnie Ginsburg" (not the famous rock 'n' roll DJ from WMEX radio in Boston, MA.) who was a member of "The Baron's". Upon returning from serving 6 months in the Army Reserve "Dean Torrence" joined up with Berry to form the very successful "Jan & Dean".
On 4 August Bobby released his second single "Betty Lou Got A New Pair Of Shoes" also written by him and it went to #37 on the pop singles chart and to #20 on the R&B chart. This song was covered on albums by both "Menster Phip & The Phipsters" in 1993 and "Kenny Vance" in 1983. For some strange reason I also thought that either "Chuck Berry" or "Little Richard" also did a version of this song but I cannot find proof of it? On 11 August Bobby is the only performer on "American Bandstand" on ABC TV. His debut album "Do You Wanna Dance" (also shown by some sources as "Do You Want To Dance") is also released in August but it fails to make any of the charts. On 28 September he makes his 3rd appearance on "The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show" this time with "Valerie Carr", "Connie Francis" and "Gordon McRae". On 24 November he releases his 3rd self-penned single "Need Your Love" and it peaks at #54 on the pop chart and at #29 on the R&B chart.
He is on "The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show" again on 28 February 1959 with "Neil Sedaka" and "Dodie Stevens". Bobby finally graduates high school this month officially becoming a fulltime professional performer. On 1 June "Mary Ann Thomas" his first single release not composed by himself but it stops at #90 on the Pop chart. On 18 June he is the only performer on "American Bandstand". He appears again on "The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show" on 28 November with "Frankie Avalon", "Rod Lauren", "Lloyd Price" and "Gary Stites". On 14 December he releases his version of "Ebb Tide" written by "Robert Maxwell" and "Carl Sigman" that is only on the pop chart for one week at #93. The first recordings of this song were made in 1953 by "Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra" who took it to #2 on the pop chart that year and "Vic Damon" who had a #10 hit of it that year. "Frank Sinatra" also covered the song this year on his album "Capitol Years: The Best Of Frank Sinatra".
"Ebb Tide" over the years has been recorded at least 260 times by many, many different artists. Some of the other artists that have recorded this song are "Rosemary Clooney", "Ray Conniff", "Vic Damone", "Robert Goulet", "Henry Mancini", "The Platters", "Lenny Welch", "Nancy Wilson" and "Stevie Wonder". "The Righteous Brothers" released my all time favorite version of this song in 1966 and they took the song to #5 on the US pop chart. Also in December he releases his 2nd album "Get In the Swim" but it fails to chart. On 14 March 1960 he is once again on "The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show" with ""The Fleetwoods", "Connie Francis" and "Ron Holden". He is the only performer again on "American bandstand" next on 17 May. In June he signed a new contract this time with "King" records. On 15 August his first release on his new label "(I Do The) Shimmy Shimmy" makes its' singles chart debut going to #37 on the pop chart. The song brings about a new teen dance craze. He is on the "American Bandstand" show again as the only performer on 9 September.
In October he releases his first album on "King" titled "Loveable Style of Bobby Freeman" but it is his 3rd album not to make any of the charts. "Josie" records on 17 April 1961 releases a previously recorded but yet un-released single "The Mess Around" and it peaks at #89 on the pop chart. In February 1962 he releases "Twist With Bobby Freeman" on "Jubilee" records and it too fails to chart. In January 1964 after no recordings in almost 2 full years with a few personal performing gigs he becomes the first artist to sign a contract with the new "Autumn" records owned by San Francisco DJ's "Tom Donahue" and "Bob Mitchell". Bobby's first release on "Autumn" was "Let's Surf Again" with "Come To Me" on the flip side but it failed to make any of the singles charts. This single since it was the very first ever record released on "Autumn" and not many copies were pressed is said to be very, very rare, hard to find and highly collectible.
The only album that "Let's Surf Again" ever appeared on was "Memories Of The Cow Palace" on "Rhino" records released in late 1964. Other artists that appear on this album includes "Freddy Boom Boom Cannon", "The Drifters", "Jan & Dean", "The Righteous Brothers", "The Ronettes", "Dee Dee Sharp", "Dionne Warwick" and others. Bobby has the 2nd record releases on "Autumn" as well when "C'mon And Swim" debuts on the singles charts on 11 July and it goes to #5 on both the pop and R&B charts. The record was produced by local KDIA and KSOL radio DJ "Sylvester Stewart". Sylvester or Sly as he would be known would go on to be the leader of San Francisco group "Sly & The Family Stone" in 1967. He appears again on "American Bandstand" with "Terry Stafford" on 18 July. "C'mon And Swim" on "Autumn" records with 12 songs on it is also released this month and it fails to make any of the album charts. The album would be re-issued on 26 June 2000 on "Ace" records with 13 additional songs on it and also not make the charts.
In August "Grand Prix" records released a album "Bobby Freeman & Chuck Jackson" but it too failed to chart. Jackson was another R&B singer like Freeman and he was born on 22 June 1937 in Latta, SC. Chuck had 23 songs on the pop charts from 1961 to 1968 with his biggest seller being "Any Day Now (My Wild Beautiful Bird)" that peaked at #23 on the pop chart and peaked at #2 on the R&B chart in 1962. On 23 September he is on "Shindig" on ABC TV with "Pamela Bennett", "Delaney Bramlett", "The Cables", "Darlene Love", "Jody Miller", "The Righteous Brothers", "Johnny Rivers" and "Alan Sues". Stewart produces Bobby's next release "S-W-I-M" that debuts on the singles charts on 31 October and it peaks at #56 on the pop chart. In October "Get In The Swim" on "Josie" records was released but it too failed to make any of the album charts. Bobby appears on "American Bandstand" again on 14 November with "Dick & Dee Dee". On 28 November he is on "American Bandstand" again with "Jimmy Boyd" and "Chad & Jeremy".
On 17 September 1965 he performs on "Where the Action Is" on ABC TV with "Ray Peterson". 3 days later he is on the show again this time with the group "The Astors". "The Astors" had only one charting record in "Candy" in 1965 that peaked at #63 on the pop chart. Starting this year Bobby would begin a regular club touring circuit that would continue throughout the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. He would record every so often for the following record companies "Autumn","Double Shot", "Imperial", "Kimray", "King", "Nothern" and "Touch" records but none of the records made any of the charts. Most of the singles on those labels are listed below with the record company name and B-side song if I could locate either and some of his non-charting singles on "Josie".
A Love To Last A Lifetime/When You're Smiling – Josie
Can You Stand The Pressure/Put Another Dime In the Parking Meter – Double Shot
Duck/Cross My Heart – Autumn
Elvis Goodbye/? – Kimray
Everything's Love/? – Touch
Everybody's Got A Hang Up/Oughta Be A Law – Double Shot
First Day Of Spring/I Need Someone - Josie
Little Girl Don't You Understand/Love Me – Josie
Love To Last A Lifetime/When You're Smiling - Josie
Miss You So/Baby What Would You Do – Josie
My Guardian Angel/? – Josie
Need You Love – Bobby Freeman/Hey Girl – Freddie Scott – Collectibles
Never Fall in Love Again/? – Autumn
Put You Down/She Said She Wants To Dance – Josie
Raunchy/? – Imperial
Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To People In Love/? – Double Shot
Somebody Somewhere/Be My Little Chick A Dee – King
Soulful Sound Of Music/Shadow of your Love – Northern
Susie Sunshine/Four Piece Funky Nitty Gritty Junky Band – Double Shot
There's Gonna Be A Change/? – King
The only CD I own by Bobby is "BEST OF BOBBY FREEMAN" released on "Sequel" records in 1992. The songs on this CD are listed below in the order, as they appear followed by the length of each and then my rating of each song:
1. Do You Wanna Dance? – 2:42 – 5
2. Betty Lou Got A New Pair Of Shoes – 2:34 – 5
3. Need You Love – 2:44 – 4
4. Mary Ann Thomas – 1:58 – 5
5. Ebb Tide – 2:27 – 5
6. The Mess Around – 2:37 – 5
7. Mardi Gras Rock – 2:07 – 3
8. Good Lovin' Is What I Need – 2:19 – 3
9. Big Fat Woman – 1:49 – 3
10. Shame On You Miss Johnson – 2:00 – 4
11. She Said She Wants To Dance – 2:45 – 3
12. Baby, What Would You Do – 2:13 – 3
13. When You're Smiling – 2:26 – 5
14. I Need Someone – 2:24 – 3
15. Where Did My Baby Go – 1:56 - 3
16. Love Me – 2:14 – 4
17. My Guardian Angel – 2:11 – 4
18. Follow The Rainbow – 2:10 – 3
19. C'mon And Swim – 3:13 – 5
20. S-W-I-M – 2:39 – 5
TOTAL POINTS: 80 POINTS DIVIDED BY 20 SONGS = 4.00 or 4 STARS
Rating Key:
5 – Great
4 – Very Good
3 – Good
2 – Fair
1 – Poor
0 – This song does not belong here!
Billboard US Top 100 Pop Singles for "BOBBY FREEMAN"
1. Do You Want To Dance – Debut 05/12/58, Peaked at #5 (GOLD)
2. Betty Lou Got A New Pair Of Shoes – Debut 08/04/58, Peaked at #37
3. Need Your Love – Debut 06/01/59, Peaked at #54
4. Mary Ann Thomas/Love Me – Debut 06/01/59, Peaked 90
5. Ebb Tide – Debut 12/14/59, Peaked at #93 (#2 pop hit for "Frank Chacksfield & His Orchestra" in 1953)
6. (I Do The) Shimmy Shimmy – Debut 08/15/60, Peaked at #37
7. The Mess Around – Debut 04/17/61, Peaked at #89
8. C'mon And Swim – Debut 07/11/64, Peaked at #5
9. S-W-I-M – Debut 10/31/64, Peaked at #56
SOME SONG LYRICS FOR BOBBY FREEMAN
Shimmy shimmy to an fro
Shimmy shimmy to an fro
Shimmy shimmy to an fro
Shimmy shimmy to an fro
Shimmy shimmy
Shimmy shimmy
Shimmy shimmy to an fro
I do the shimmy when I walk down the street
Cause that good music gives me the creeps
I do the shimmy even when I walk
My baby does the shimmy when she talks that talk
A shimmy shimmy ah-ooo-wah-wee
An you can do the shimmy by watchin me
The shimmy shimmy is the dance of today
The shimmy shimmy is a here to stay
The shimmy shimmy's for old folks too
You go backwards and forwards
An you're in the groove
A shimmy shimmy a-ooo my soul
The shimmy shimmy will never grow old
I did the shimmy with a Betty Lou
She sure can shimmy with her brand new shoes
I did the shimmy out on a date
My girl looked at me and said
You're stayin in taste
A shimmy shimmy ah-ooo-wah-wee
A shimmy will go down in history
The shimmy shimmy is the dance of today
The shimmy shimmy is a here to stay
The shimmy shimmy's for old folks too
You go backwards and forwards
Then you're in the groove
A shimmy shimmy
A shimmy shimmy a-ooo my soul
The shimmy shimmy will never grow old
I did the shimmy with a Betty Lou
She sure can shimmy with her brand new shoes
A shimmy shimmy out on a date
They look at you and say
You're stayin in taste
A shimmy shimmy a-ooo-wah-wee
A shimmy will go down in a history
Shimmy shimmy to an fro oh yeah
Shimmy shimmy to an fro hey now
Shimmy shimmy to an fro oh yeah
Shimmy shimmy to an fro
Shimmy shimmy shimmy shimmy
Shimmy shimmy shimmy shimmy whoa yeah
Shimmy shimmy to and fro yeah
C'MON AND SWIM
C'mon everybody come on it
Bobby's gonna show you how to do the swim
Kinda like the monkey
Kinda like the twist
Pretend you're in the water
And you go like this
Now baby swim
Baby do the swim
Just like the dog
but not so low
Like the hully gully
but not so slow
Now baby swim
Baby do the swim
Do what you wanna
Do like you wish
C'mon baby now
and swim like a fish
Now baby swim
Baby c'mon in
Shake it up baby
twist and shout
An do the swim baby
now work it on out
Now baby swim
Baby do the swim
Do what ya wanna a-it's alright
Cause Bobby's gonna teach ya how to swim tonight
Now baby swim!
Come on bab-ay!
I want ya to swim
Whoa-yeah I want ya to do the dog paddle baby
Now do the backstroke!
Whoa-yeah kinda like the monkey
Kinda like the twist
Pretent ya in the water and you go like this
Now baby swim
Baby do the swim
Just like the dog but not so low
Like the hully gully but not so slow
Now baby swim
Baby do the swim
Do what cha' wanna
A do like ya wish
C'mon baby now and swim like a fish
Now baby swim
Baby come on in
Shake it up baby twist and shout
A do the swim baby
Now work it on out
Now baby swim
Baby do the swim ah
Do what ya wanna a-it's alright
Cause Bobby's gonna do the swim
For you tonight
Now baby swim
C'mon bab-ay
Whoa-yeah we gonna swim tonight-a
I want ya ta do the dog paddle
I want ya to bend your arms way out now
Now baby do the backstroke whoa-yeah
Whoa-yeah c'mon baby now
DO YOU WANT TO DANCE or DO YOU WANNA DANCE
Well do ya wanna dance and-a hold my hand
Tell me I'm your lover man
Oh baby do ya wanna dance
Well do ya wanna dance and make romance
Squeeze me all through the night
Oh baby do you wanna dance
Well do you wanna dance under the moonlight
Squeeze me all through the night
Oh baby do you wanna dance
Hey Well do ya wanna dance and-a hold my hand
Squeeze me if I'm your man
Oh baby do you wanna dance
Well do you wanna dance under the moonlight
Squeeze and kiss me all through the night
Oh baby do you wanna da-ance
Well do ya wanna dance and-a make romance
Kiss and squeeze umm yeah
Do you wa-anna dance
Well do ya wanna dance and-a hold my hand
Squeeze and tell me I'm your lover man
Oh bab-ay-ay, do you wanna dance
Yeah do ya wanna dance under the moonlight
Squeeze and hug me all through the night
Oh bab-ay, do you wanna dance
Well do-ya do-ya do-ya do-ya
Wanna dance
Do-ya do-ya do-ya do-ya
Wanna dance
Do-ya do-ya do-ya do-ya
Wanna dan-ance
JAGUARDOG'S FINAL THOUGHTS ON "BOBBY FREEMAN"
I only ever owned one record by Bobby and that was "Do You Want To Dance" until I purchased the CD I mentioned above. "C'mon And Swim" was his second record to start a teen dance craze and on the front cover of the album of the same name is pictures of 6 lovely young girls going through the motions of the dance. It looks like the last record ever released with all Freeman songs on it was "C'mon And Swim" on "Ace" records on 26 June 2000. It is a compilation of his greatest hits with a total of 25 songs on it. Bobby's musical sound was amiable, calm, carefree, celebratory, cool, earthy, exuberant, fun, gleeful, happy, joyous, playful, rambunctious, rollicking, rousing, silly, smooth and witty. Well that's all I have for today and I hope you enjoyed this "Double Shot" of artists' review. Thanks for reading, rating and commenting. As always I Wish Everyone to have a Very Safe, Happy and Wonderful Christmas and God Bless!
POSSIBLE UPCOMING REVIEWS:
(F)
JOHN FRED & HIS PLAYBOY BAND - UP NEXT
GLEN FREY
FRIENDS OF DISTINCTION, THE
FRIJID PINK
LEFTY FRIZZELL
MAX FROST & THE TROOPERS
BOBBY FULLER FOUR, THE
BILLY FURY
(G)
PETER GABRIEL
GALLERY
GAP BAND, THE
LEIF GARRETT
LARRY GATLIN & THE GATLIN BROTHERS
MARVIN GAYE
CRYSTAL GAYLE
GLORIA GAYNOR
G-CLEFS, THE
J. GEILS BAND, THE
GENESIS
GENTRYS, THE
GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS
ANDY GIBB
TERRI GIBBS
DEBBIE GIBSON
DON GIBSON
DON GIBSON
NICK GILDER
JOHNNY GILL
VINCE GILL
MICKEY GILLEY
GIRLS NEXT DOOR, THE
GLASER BROTHERS, THE
GARY GLITTER
GO GO'S, THE
GOLDEN EARRING
BOBBY GOLDSBORO
GOO GOO DOLLS, THE
DICKIE GOODMAN
LESLEY GORE
EYDIE GORME
VERN GOSDIN
ROBERT GOULET
BILLY GRAMMER
GRAND FUNK RAILROAD
AMY GRANT
EARL GRANT
GOGI GRANT
GRASS ROOTS, THE
GRATEFUL DEAD, THE
DOBIE GRAY
GREAT WHITE
R. B. GREAVES
AL GREEN
NORMAN GREENBAUM
JACK GREENE
GREEN DAY
LEE GREENWOOD
GUESS WHO, THE
BONNIE GUITAR
GUNS N' ROSES
ARLO GUTHRIE
(MORE TO COME)
SOME MUSIC SOURCES USED INCLUDE:
http://www.allmovie.com
http://www.allmusic.com
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.ask.com
http://www.billboard.com
http://www.biography-search.com
http://www.bizrate.com
http://www.classic-tv.com
http://www.80sretromusic.com
http://www.famousbirthdays.com
http://www.icebergradio.com
http://www.imdb.com
http://www.infoplease.com
http://www.leoslyrics.com
http://www.lyrics.com
http://www.lyricsconnection.com
http://www.lyricsfind.com
http://www.lyricsworld.com
http://www.movies.go.com
http://www.mtv.com
http://www.rockhall.com
http://www.rockonthe net.com
http://www.rollingstone.com
http://www.surfablebooks.com
http://www.tvguide.com
http://www.tvtome.com
http://www.user.tninet.se
http://www.vh1.com
http://www.worldhistory.com
AND
http://www.gemm.com/c/q
http://www.letssingit.com
http://www.lyricsconnection.com
http://www.members.aol.com
http://www.rare-lyrics.com
http://www.tuneman56/main.html
http://www.webfitz.com/lyrics/index.php
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Epinions.com ID:
JAGUARDOG
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 - Top 100 |
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Member: Ron Drain
Location: Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Reviews written: 235
Trusted by: 494 members
About Me:
I LOVE Music/TV/Movies & sports like Football - NFL/College, Baseball, Olympics - Summer/Winter and Wrestling.
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