Punky Meadows (born Edwin Lionel Meadows Jr. on February 6, 1950) is an American guitarist best known as a member of the band

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

between 1975 and 1980, and for his

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

image.

Background and early career

Meadows grew up in the Barnaby Terrace neighborhood of southeast Washington, D.C as the oldest of four brothers. He attended Draper Elementary and Hart Junior High Schools, the latter where he started playing guitar.http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/article/13024284/angel-on-his-shoulder Interview with Punky Meadows in the Washington City Paper Barnaby Terrace also produced guitar icons

Danny Gatton Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. (September 4, 1945 – October 4, 1994) was an American virtuoso guitarist who combined blues, rockabilly, jazz, and country to create a musical style he called "redneck jazz". Career Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. was born in ...

Roy Clark Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer, musician, and television presenter. He is best known for having hosted '' Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark wa ...

, and

Link Wray Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. His 1958 Instrumental rock, instrumental single "Rumble (instrumental), Rumble", reached the ...

. In 1964 Meadows and three others formed their first band, the Intruders. The band included Chris Grimes (born 1948), Doug Grimes (born 1951) and Larry Gray. All grew up listening to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and other

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

bands. The group later became the English Setters, and opened for

the Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

, and the Young Rascals, while still in high school. In 1967, the English Setters changed their sound and changed their name to The Cherry People, and were signed to a record deal by Heritage Records. Meadows says that the record company promoted them as a "poor man's

Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees'' television series, they were one o ...

". They toured the United States briefly in 1968, appearing at

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

and on ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

''.

Angel

After Cherry People disbanded, Meadows and Mickie Jones formed Daddy Warbux, later BUX, which released one album.http://www.rocknrollhell.com/angel/ Rock N Roll Hell Angel entry

formed after the two met

Gregg Giuffria Gregg Giuffria (born July 28, 1951) is an American rock musician and businessman. He was the keyboardist for AOR bands Angel, House of Lords, and Giuffria. Career Giuffria is originally from Gulfport, Mississippi, where he graduated from hi ...

and then Barry Brandt and Frank Dimino, choosing the name "Angel" after the song by

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

, of whom Meadows was a fan. Angel released studio albums from 1975 to 1979 and the live album ''Live Without a Net'' in 1980, and disbanded not long thereafter after not achieving mass critical or popular success, except in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Meadows, however, both during his tenure with the band and thereafter was invited to join

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

, and the

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...

, all of which he turned down. The band's glam rock image was said to be the antithesis of

, and Meadows became the most strongly associated with the persona, so much so that

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

ridiculed his trademark pout and hair in the song "Punky's Whips". The song was first released on '' Zappa In New York'' in 1977, but was pulled from most early copies because of a controversy over the lyrics and a legal dispute. Despite the controversy, Meadows was "flattered" and eventually ended up onstage during a Zappa concert in his Angel costume.

Life after Angel

Meadows had retired from the music business, and for 13 years owned and ran a tanning salon in

Oakton, Virginia Oakton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 36,732 at the 2020 census. Located in Northern Virginia, its center is west of Washington, D.C. Geography Oakton is located in central Fa ...

Punky Meadows solo career (2015–present)

In 2015, Meadows announced a return to the music business. He released the solo album "Fallen Angel" on May 20, 2016, by Mainman Records. The album was written and produced by Punky Meadows and best friend Danny "Farrow" Anniello. Live shows followed. Billboard listed the album at #6 in the Top 100 New Artists, #25 in Top 100 Rock Albums, #32 in Top Independent Albums, and #133 in the Billboard Top 200 physical sales. The album was also released in Europe on Escape Music and in Japan on Rubicon Records. Personnel on the album: Punky Meadows – lead guitar, rhythm guitar Danny Farrow – rhythm guitar, vocals Felix Robinson – bass guitar Chandler Mogel – lead vocals Bob Pantella – drums Charlie Calv – keyboards

Discography

The Intruders 1964–1965

The English Setters 1965–1967

*''Tragedy b/w If She's All Right'' (March 1966) *''Someday You'll See b/w It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog'' (July 1966) *''Wake Up b/w She's in Love'' (January 1967)

The Cherry People 1967–1972

Albums and singles *''The Cherry People'' (1968) *''And Suddenly b/w Imagination'' (1968) *''I'm The One Who Loves You b/w Gotta Get Back (To the Good Life)'' (1968) *''Sea and Me b/w Come on Over'' (1972)

BUX 1972–1974

*'' We Came to Play'' (Recorded in 1974, Released in 1976)

Angel 1975–present

*''

'' (1975) *'' Helluva Band'' (1976) *''

On Earth as It Is in Heaven ''On Earth as It Is in Heaven'' is the third album by the rock band Angel. It is the last album with Mickie Jones who had been the band's bassist since its formation. It was produced by Eddie Kramer and recorded in an actual castle in the Holly ...

'' (1977) *''

White Hot The white hot is a variation on the hot dog found primarily in the Rochester, New York area, as well as other parts of Western New York and Central New York. It is composed of a combination of uncured and unsmoked pork, beef, and veal; the lack ...

'' (1978) *''

Sinful In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...

'' (1979) *'' Live Without a Net'' (1980) *'' An Anthology'' (1992) *''In the Beginning'' (1999), plays lead guitar on "Hero" and "Set Me Free" *'' Angel: The Collection'' (2000) *'' Angel: The Singles Collection Volume 1'' (2006) *'' Angel: The Singles Collection Volume 2'' (2006) *''Angel: Risen'' (2019) *''Angel: Once Upon a Time'' (2023)

Punky Meadows

*''Fallen Angel'' (2016)

References

External links

Punky Meadows' entry at Artist Direct

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meadows, Punky 1950 births Living people American heavy metal guitarists Guitarists from Washington, D.C. Angel (band) members 20th-century American guitarists People from Oakton, Virginia