Fire Up (album)
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Fire Up (album)
''Fire Up'' is an album by Merl Saunders. It was released in May 1973 through Fantasy Records. The self-produced album features many high-profile collaborators, including Grateful Dead members Jerry Garcia and Bill Kreutzmann alongside Creedence Clearwater Revival guitarist Tom Fogerty. It peaked at number 197 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. Six of the album's eight tracks were included on the compilation ''Fire Up Plus'' in 1992. Background Despite meeting resistance from his label over the album's lyrical content, Garcia encouraged Saunders to write the way he wanted: Reception In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Eugene Chadbourne stated the album "emphasizes aunders'clever songwriting", listing "Soul Roach" and "Chock-Lite Pudding" as highlights. Track listing Personnel *Merl Saunders – electric piano, organ, ARP (flute), ARP (band), clavinet *Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals *Tom Fogerty – rhythm guitar *John Kahn – bass *Bill Vitt – drums *Gay ...
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Merl Saunders
Merl Saunders (February 14, 1934 – October 24, 2008) was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ. Biography Born in San Mateo, California, United States, Saunders attended Polytechnic High School in San Francisco. In his first band in high school was singer Johnny Mathis. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1953 to 1957. He worked as musical director of the Billy Williams Revue and served in a similar capacity in Oscar Brown Jr.'s off-Broadway show, ''Big Time Buck White''. He gained notice in the 1970s when he began collaborating with Jerry Garcia, with whom he had begun playing in 1971 at a small Fillmore Street nightclub called The Matrix. He sat in with the Grateful Dead and co-founded the Saunders/Garcia Band which produced three albums and would become the band Legion of Mary, with the addition of Martin Fierro (saxophone), in 1974. It disbanded the following year, however he and Garcia continued to ...
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After Midnight (J
After Midnight may refer to: Film * ''After Midnight'' (1921 film), an American film directed by Ralph Ince * ''After Midnight'' (1927 film), an American silent film starring Norma Shearer * ''After Midnight'' (1938 film), a German film directed by Carl Hoffmann * ''After Midnight'' (1989 film), an American horror anthology film * ''After Midnight'' (1990 film), a film starring Hayley Mills * ''After Midnight'' (2004 film), an Italian romantic comedy film (Italian: ''Dopo mezzanotte'') * ''After Midnight'' (2014 film), an American mystery thriller film directed by Fred Olen Ray * ''After Midnight'' (2019 film), an American romantic monster movie directed by Jeremy Gardner and Christian Stella Television * ''After Midnight'' (TV series), an American late night celebrity game show hosted by Taylor Tomlinson Radio * ''After Midnight'', was an alternative music show on KMUW during the 1980s Games * ''After Midnight'' (adventure), for the role-playing game ''Marvel Super Her ...
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Merl Saunders Albums
Merl or MERL may refer to: Merl * Merl (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Merl, Luxembourg, a quarter of Luxembourg City * Merl (Buffyverse), a fictional character in the television series ''Angel'' MERL * Mechanical Engineering Research Laboratory, near Glasgow, Scotland, original name of the National Engineering Laboratory * Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States * Museum of English Rural Life, Reading, Berkshire, England See also * Common blackbird, ''merl'' in Scottish English * Merle (other) * Merlin (other) Merlin is a Welsh wizard in Arthurian legend. Merlin may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Mr. Merlin'', a 1981-82 American sitcom * ''Merlin'', a 1993 film starring Richard Lynch * Merlin (miniseries), ''Merlin'' (m ...
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Walter Hawkins
Walter Lee Hawkins (May 18, 1949 – July 11, 2010) was an American gospel singer, songwriter, composer, and pastor. An influential figure in urban contemporary gospel music, his career spanned more than four decades. He was consecrated to the bishopric in 2000. Biography The 7th of 8 children born to the late Dan Lee and Mamie Vivian Hawkins, Walter Lee Hawkins was born on May 18, 1949, in Oakland, California. Hawkins was the brother of Edwin Hawkins (d. 2018), Marava Ladale Hawkins (d. 1988), Carol Lee Hawkins (d. 2020), Feddie Joyce Hawkins, Jervis Ersell Hawkins (d. 1952), Daniel Lee Hawkins (Marcia) and Lynette Gail Hawkins-Stephens (Reginald). Bishop Hawkins started his career in one of his brother's chorales, the Northern California State Youth Choir of the Church of God in Christ. The choir recorded an album in 1968 as a local fundraiser. When a song from that album, "Oh Happy Day", became a crossover hit, Buddah Records purchased the master and released it as "the Edwi ...
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Chuck Rainey
Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,000 albums, and is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of recorded music. Early life Rainey was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 17, 1940, and grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, Youngstown. His parents were both amateur pianists. He learned viola, piano, and trumpet as a child and majored in brass instruments in college. He attended Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. Rainey began playing bass guitar in the military. Career After leaving the military, Rainey joined a local band. His first big professional gig was playing with Big Jay McNeely. He then joined up with Sil Austin to tour Canada and New York. In 1962, Rainey joined King Curtis and his All-Star band; in 1965, they opened for The Beatles' 1965 US tour. He joined Qui ...
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Gaylord Birch
Gaylord G. Birch (March 10, 1946 – April 14, 1996) was an American drummer for the bands Santana, Graham Central Station, Cold Blood, Pointer Sisters and Herbie Hancock. History Birch was the drummer for the Pointer Sisters during 1974 and performed many live performances with the group. Birch also appeared in the band Santana during 1976 and again in 1991, as well as playing the drums for a number of Herbie Hancock performances. In 1979, he joined Merl Saunders & Jerry Garcia in Reconstruction, a band which also included Ed Neumeister (trombone), Ron Stallings (tenor sax & vocals) and John Kahn (bass). This band existed for just a few months during 1979. The only traces remaining are live recordings made in Bay Area's clubs and small venues. Birch also played drums briefly with Cold Blood, and is on the recordings '' Thriller!'' (1973) and ''Live at the Record Plant Sausalito, CA JUL 2, 1974''. He played and recorded with Charles Brown in the 1980s. In the early 1970s B ...
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Bill Vitt
Bill Vitt (May 6, 1943 - July 16, 2019, aged 76) was an American drummer and keyboardist. He worked extensively as a live performer and as a session musician. In the 1970s he played with Brewer & Shipley, Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders, and the Sons of Champlin. He retired from the music business in the 1980s, but became active again in the 2000s, playing live shows and recording albums. He played the music that he loved until his death. He died with his adoring daughter, Aura, by his side, grateful and content with the life he led Discography *'' Tarkio'' – Brewer & Shipley – 1970 *''Danny Cox'' – Danny Cox – 1971 *'' Hooteroll?'' – Howard Wales and Jerry Garcia – 1971 *'' Heavy Turbulence'' – Merl Saunders – 1972 *'' Rural Space'' – Brewer & Shipley – 1972 *''Tom Fogerty'' – Tom Fogerty – 1972 *''Excalibur'' – Tom Fogerty – 1972 *'' Fillmore: The Last Days'' – various artists – 1972 (as a member of Sons of Champlin) *''Casting Pearls'' – Mil ...
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John Kahn
John Kahn (June 13, 1947 – May 30, 1996) was an American bassist. From 1970 to 1995, Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal musical collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead. Biography John Kahn was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Adopted at birth by Hollywood talent agents, he grew up in Beverly Hills, California, and was babysat by Marilyn Monroe, who was represented by his father in the early stages of her career. According to spouse Linda Kahn in a 2017 Reddit Ask Me Anything prompt, he began to take piano and music theory classes at 4 and 5, respectively. Following the death of his father at a young age, he was mentored by Mischa Elman, a cousin of his father. At Beverly Hills High School, he earned a reputation as a talented jazz guitarist. He also composed a symphonic piece, "Western Impressions," the first orchestral work by a student to be publicly performed by the school's orchestra (under the direction of Robert Holmes). In his junior year, Kahn switched to double bass and f ...
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Doc Pomus
Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer in 1992, the Songwriters Hall of Fame (1992), and the Blues Hall of Fame (2012). Early life Jerome Solon Felder was born on June 27, 1925, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. He was the son of British born Jewish immigrants. Having contracted polio as a boy, he was in an iron lung for a year, and walked with the aid of crutches. Later, due to post-polio syndrome exacerbated by an accident, Felder relied on a wheelchair. Pomus was homeschooled for much of elementary and junior high school. He had a high IQ, and excelled at the insult challenge among teens and young men, " playing the dozens". He also was facile at creating his own lyrics for blues songs of the day. He became a fan of the blues after hear ...
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Gamble And Huff
Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production duo credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as Philly sound) of the 1970s. In addition to forming their own label, Philadelphia International Records, Gamble and Huff have written and produced 175 gold and platinum records, earning them an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the non-performer category in March 2008. History Early years Gamble's childhood in Philadelphia shaped his adult life: he recorded himself on various arcade recording machines, assisted the morning show DJs on WDAS, operated a record store, and sang with The Romeos. In 1964, before there was "Gamble & Huff" there was "Gamble & Ross". Gamble was discovered and managed by Jerry Ross when Gamble was only 17 years old and they collaborated for many years. Gamble teamed up with Leon Huff (keyboards) ...
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AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Musical ensemble, bands. Initiated in 1991, the database was first made available on the Internet in 1994. AllMusic is owned by RhythmOne. History AllMusic was launched as ''All-Music Guide'' by Michael Erlewine, a "compulsive archivist, noted astrologer, Buddhist scholar, and musician". He became interested in using computers for his astrological work in the mid-1970s and founded a software company, Matrix, in 1977. In the early 1990s, as compact discs (CDs) replaced LP record, LPs and cassette (format), cassettes as the dominant format for recorded music, Erlewine purchased what he thought was a CD of early recordings by Little Richard. After buying it, he discovered it was a "flaccid latter-day rehash". Frustrated with the labeling, he res ...
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Fantasy Records
Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its investors, but in more recent years the label has been known for its recordings of comedian Lenny Bruce, jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, the last recordings made on the Wurlitzer organ in the San Francisco Fox Theatre before the theatre was demolished, organist Korla Pandit, the 1960s rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, bandleader Woody Herman, and disco and R&B singer Sylvester. Formation In 1949, Jack Sheedy, owner of a San Francisco-based record label called Coronet, was talked into making the first recording of an octet and a trio featuring Dave Brubeck (not to be confused with either the Australian Coronet Records or the New York City-based Coronet Records of the late 1950s). Sheedy's Coronet Records had recorded area Dixieland b ...
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