Copperhead was an American rock and roll group founded by guitarist
John Cipollina
John Cipollina (August 24, 1943 – May 29, 1989) was a guitarist best known for his role as a founder and the lead guitarist of the prominent San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. After leaving Quicksilver he formed the band C ...
, after leaving the band
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. The band achieved wide popularity in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe, ...
in 1970.
Copperhead originally consisted of Cipollina on lead guitar,
Gary Phillips on vocals and second guitar and organ, Jim McPherson on vocals, piano and bass,
Pete Sears
Peter Roy Sears (born 27 May 1948) is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than six decades, he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock ...
on piano and bass, and David Weber on drums.
Copperhead was originally signed to the Just Sunshine recording label but, in 1972, (Sears left to fly back to England and record with
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
and play in a band with
Nicky Hopkins
Nicholas Christian Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. He performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, including on songs recorde ...
; bassist
Hutch Hutchinson
James "Hutch" Hutchinson (born January 24, 1953) is an American session bassist best known for his work with Bonnie Raitt. Though his work takes him nearly everywhere he primarily resides in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, and Haiku-Pauw ...
replaced him) it was signed to a major-label record deal by
Clive Davis
Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000.
From 1967 to 1 ...
at
and recorded its debut album entitled, ''Copperhead'', released in 1973. The first album was a commercial failure, and Columbia refused to release their second album and Copperhead disbanded.
Phillips died of cancer in 2007 at age 59.
References
External links
iTunes
Rock music groups from New York (state)
Columbia Records artists
Musical groups established in 1970
American musical quartets
Rock and roll music groups
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