Jess Roden (born 28 December 1947) is an English rock

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

Biography

Roden's first band was The Raiders followed by The Shakedown Sound which also included the guitarist Kevyn Gammond, and keyboard player August Eadon (a.k.a. Gus Yeadon). In 1966, he joined The Alan Bown Set as their new lead singer. Although their records rarely charted, Roden and the band did pick up a considerable fan base in London, and belatedly became a minor

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

on the

Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

scene, with the release of their single "Emergency 999". He remained with the Alan Bown through the late 1960s, but left after recording the album '' The Alan Bown!'' His vocals were re-recorded by his replacement Robert Palmer for the UK release of the album, although Roden's original vocals remained on the US release. Roden later appeared as a backing vocalist to Palmer on his 1983 appearance on ''

The Tube The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

''. In 1970, Roden returned to Worcestershire and formed

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed of horse, male or female, with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for ro ...

, who toured extensively with

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

' label-mates

Traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

, Free, Mott the Hoople, Fotheringay, and

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

, but left after two albums to embark on a solo album. During this period, he also sang on ''

Wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

'', the third Mott the Hoople album; sang and played on albums by Carol Grimes,

Jim Capaldi Nicola James Capaldi (2 August 1944 – 28 January 2005) was an English singer-songwriter and drummer. His musical career spanned more than four decades. He co-founded the progressive rock band Traffic in 1967 with Steve Winwood with whom he c ...

, and

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer-songwriter who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as " guably the pre-eminent British folk-rock sin ...

; and sang lead vocals on

Keef Hartley Keith "Keef" Hartley (8 April 1944 – 26 November 2011)
was an English drummer and bandleader. He fronted his own b ...

's 1973 album '' Lancashire Hustler''. His solo album plans were sidelined when, in the same year, he was asked to team up with ex-

Doors A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide secu ...

John Densmore John Paul Densmore (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the Rock music, rock band the Doors and as such is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He appeared on every recording made by the band, ...

and

Robby Krieger Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946) is an American guitarist and founding member of the rock band the Doors. Krieger wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including the hits " Light My Fire", " Love Me Two Times", " Touch Me", and " ...

in The Butts Band, together with Phil Chen (bass) and Roy Davies (keyboards). Their first album was recorded in London and Kingston, Jamaica and released in the United States on

Blue Thumb Records Blue Thumb Records was an American record label founded in 1968 by Bob Krasnow and former A&M Records executives Tommy LiPuma and Don Graham. Blue Thumb's last record was released in 1978. In 1995, the label was revived and remained active u ...

and

(rest of the world). The Butts Band played a short US tour including multiple dates at New York's Max's Kansas City, a handful of British dates including opening for

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

at London's Finsbury Park Astoria, later The Rainbow Theatre as well as recording one session for BBC TV's ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music series broadcast by the BBC. It was devised by producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough, and aired on BBC2 from ...

'', after which Roden, Chen, and Davies left the group. Roden finally emerged as a solo artist in the mid-1970s on Island Records with his 1974 self-titled solo album. It was recorded at

Olympic Studios Olympic Studios was a British independent recording studio based on Church Road, Barnes, Church Road, Barnes, London, Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st ...

and

Basing Street Studios Basing Street Studios was a recording studio in a former 17th century chapel at 8–10 Basing Street, in Notting Hill, London, England. Originally established in 1969 as Island Studios by Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, the studi ...

in London, as well as at Sea-Saint Studios in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Louisiana. This record included contributions from

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descr ...

and

The Meters The Meters (later The Funky Meters) are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their o ...

from the US sessions and in London,

John Bundrick John Douglas "Rabbit" Bundrick (born November 21, 1948) is an American keyboardist and vocalist. He is best known for his work with The Who and associations with others including Eric Burdon, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Roger Waters, Free and ...

and

Mick Weaver Mick Weaver (born 16 June 1944, Bolton, Lancashire, England) is an English session musician, best known for his playing of the Hammond B3 organ. Career Weaver's band performed as Wynder K. Frog and became popular on the student union and club ...

(keyboards), Steve Webb (guitar), Richard Bailey, and

Simon Kirke Simon Frederick St George Kirke (born 28 July 1949) is an English musician who was the co-founder, drummer, and only continuous member of the rock Supergroup (music), supergroup Bad Company. Prior to forming Bad Company he was the drummer and ...

(drums). He then formed The Jess Roden Band (originally Iguana – based in Southampton). The initial album sessions were with Steve Smith (and featured

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

), but these were eventually discarded in favour of producer Geoff Haslam, with whom the group's first two studio albums were recorded – ''Keep Your Hat On'' and ''Play It Dirty, Play It Class''. A major touring draw, the band never achieved significant record sales and disbanded in early 1977. This was after the release of their live album, ''Blowin'', which was recorded during capacity shows at Birmingham Town Hall and Leicester University in late 1976. Their final show was, however, also recorded and later issued as ''Live at the BBC''. Following the ending of the JRB, Roden relocated to New York City and cut two further solo albums for Island (''The Player Not The Game'' and ''Stonechaser'') after which his association with Island ended. He formed The Rivits with Peter Wood (who had co-written " Year of the Cat" with

Al Stewart Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs wi ...

), for one album, ''Multiplay''; the album was released by Antilles in North America and via Island for the rest of the world. The Rivits played two UK shows only, one in Stamford in Lincolnshire, the other at The Venue in Victoria, London. During initial sessions for a second Rivits album that had begun to be recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, Roden sang back-up vocals for

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...

' '' Pull Up to the Bumper''. With the sessions incomplete (Woods had to leave to re-join Pink Floyd's band of musicians for The Wall tour) and on returning to New York, Roden and Island parted for the final time. He began a new career as a graphic artist while, at the same time, recording ''Seven Windows'', an album that was produced by Steve Dwire (who had played bass on The Rivits' album) and A. T. Michael MacDonald that featured the cream of New York-based session players / arrangers (including Elliot Randall, Mark Egan, Jack Waldman, Rob Mounsey, Michael Dawe,

Lou Marini Louis Eugene Marini Jr. (born May 13, 1945), known as "Blue Lou" Marini, is an American saxophonist, arranger, and composer. He is best known for his work in jazz, rock, blues, and soul music, as well as his association with The Blues Brother ...

, and Paul Buckmaster). Just before the album was released, Roden returned to live and work in the UK. Combining graphic art with music, he recorded two albums with a new band, The Humans (named by Jim Capaldi) with a line-up that featured Gary Grainger, Bill Burke and Nick Graham; the group also recorded with

and

. After the release of both records and due to work commitments, Roden's live appearances became increasingly rare, with occasional performances with the SAS band that featured

Roy Wood Roy Wood (born 8 November 1946) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. Wood formed the Move in 1965, and ...

, Roger Taylor,

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

, and

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. H ...

. In 2009, Lemon Recordings (a subsidiary of Cherry Red) issued a 'Best Of...' and, a year later, BGO issued both Bronco albums as a single CD package. During the winter of 2009, deep archive research began into a full-scale anthology – designed to encompass Roden's entire musical career. During this process, well over 800 pieces of music were logged (and in the vast majority of instances, digitised for the first time) from which a career-defining anthology has been compiled. The set, ''Hidden Masters: The Jess Roden Anthology'' – which includes over 50% of previously unheard material – was issued as a limited edition, first pressing of 950 copies, 6-CD set by Hidden Masters in 2013.

Select discography

Solo

*''Jess Roden'' (1974) *''The Player Not the Game'' (1977) *''Stonechaser'' (1980)

The Jess Roden Band

*''Keep Your Hat On'' (1976) *''Play It Dirty, Play It Class'' (1976) *''Blowin (1977) *''Live at the BBC'' (released 1993)

Alan Bown

*''London Swings – Live at the Marquee'' (1967) One side of an album also featuring Jimmy James & The Vagabonds *''Emergency 999'' (CD which collects all early Alan Bown singles featuring Roden) *''Outward Bown First Album'' (1968) *''The Alan Bown!'' (1969) (US edition only)

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed of horse, male or female, with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for ro ...

*''Country Home'' (1970) *''Ace of Sunlight'' (1971)

Butts Band Butts Band was a British and American group formed by ex-Doors members John Densmore and Robby Krieger, active from 1973 to 1975. The band released two albums and, with the exception of Krieger and Densmore, they consisted of different band pe ...

*''

Butts Band Butts Band was a British and American group formed by ex-Doors members John Densmore and Robby Krieger, active from 1973 to 1975. The band released two albums and, with the exception of Krieger and Densmore, they consisted of different band pe ...

'' (1973)

The Rivits

*''Multiplay'' (1980)

Seven Windows

*''Seven Windows'' (1986)

The Humans

*''Jess Roden and The Humans'' (1995) *''Live at The Robin 1996'' (2004)

Compilations

*''Jess Roden – The Best Of...'' (2009) CD via Lemon (a subsidiary of Cherry Red) *''Bronco – Country Home & Ace of Sunlight'' Both albums reissued as a 2for1 by BGO Records (November 2010) *''Outward Bown'' (2012) – CD reissue via Grapefruit (a subsidiary of Cherry Red) *''Hidden Masters , The Jess Roden Anthology'' – a hand-numbered, 94-track, 6-CD box set, 12" hard-back book format limited edition (bonus 6th CD only available with the 1st edition); exclusive availability via HiddenMasters.net. First edition (pressing) limited to 950 copies.

Other appearances

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

– " Magic Bus" (backing vocals) (1968) * Mott the Hoople – ''

'' (backing vocals) (1971) *

Keef Hartley Keith "Keef" Hartley (8 April 1944 – 26 November 2011)
was an English drummer and bandleader. He fronted his own b ...

– '' Lancashire Hustler'' (lead vocals) (1973) *

Paul Kossoff Paul Francis Kossoff (14 September 1950 – 19 March 1976) was an English guitarist, best known as the co-founder and guitarist of the rock band Free (band), Free. In 2010, he was ranked number 51 in ''Rolling Stone''s list of the "100 Greatest ...

– '' Back Street Crawler'' (Roden sang lead on "I'm Ready" and harmony with Paul Rodgers on "Molten Gold") (1973) * Carol Grimes – ''Warm Blood'' (backing vocals) (1974) *

– '' Short Cut Draw Blood'' (guitarist) (1975) * Stomu Yamashta – '' Go Too'' (1977) *

– ''

Rendezvous Rendezvous or rendez-vous may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Rendezvous'' (1923 film), a silent film adventure melodrama * ''Rendezvous'' (1930 film), a German musical directed by Carl Boese * ''Rendezvous ...

'' (backing vocals) (1977) *

– '' Nightclubbing'' (backing vocals) (1981) * Seven Windows – ''Seven Windows'' (1986) * Peter Green – ''Rattlesnake Guitar: The Music of Peter Green'' (Roden sang on two tracks "Crying Won't Bring You Back" and "Merry Go Round") (1995) * Luther Grosvenor – ''Floodgates'' (Roden sang on two tracks "I Wanna Be Free" and "Fire Down Below") (1996) * SAS Band – (Roden sang on " That's The Way God Planned It") (1998) *

– '' A Boxful of Treasures'' (includes "Losing Game" –

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

with Roden) (2004)

References

External links

Official website
*
Unsung Heroes No 1: Jess Roden
A blog commentary that has turned into an informal Jess Roden discussion group.
website for Steve Webb, guitarist with the Jess Roden Band
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roden, Jess 1947 births Living people People from Kidderminster English rock singers English male singers English rock guitarists Island Records artists English male guitarists The Alan Bown Set members Bronco (English band) members