Starcastle is an American
progressive rock band from
Champaign, Illinois, United States. Formed in 1969, the group played many shows under the names Pegasus and Mad John Fever before eventually settling on Starcastle. They inked their first record deal with
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
in 1974,
and received extensive airplay and frequently played in the
St. Louis area. The original lineup included former
REO Speedwagon
REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. The ...
vocalist
Terry Luttrell
Terry Luttrell (born 1947 Champaign, Illinois) is an American rock singer/musician best known as lead vocalist for both REO Speedwagon (1968–1972) and Starcastle (1973–1979).
Bands
Luttrell had played guitar with a local Champaign band, Ter ...
and computing author/programmer
Herb Schildt
Herbert Schildt is an American computing author, programmer and musician. He has written books about various programming languages. He was also a founding member of the progressive rock band Starcastle.
Life
Schildt holds both graduate and un ...
, while the mid-1980s lineup would briefly include guitarist Mark McGee, who went on to join
Vicious Rumors. They released four albums on both the Epic
and CBS labels. The band's debut album ''
Starcastle
Starcastle is an American progressive rock band from Champaign, Illinois, United States. Formed in 1969, the group played many shows under the names Pegasus and Mad John Fever before eventually settling on Starcastle. They inked their first reco ...
'' sold well, garnering worldwide airplay.
Their later albums ''Fountains of Light'', ''Citadel'', and ''Real to Reel'' did not sell as well as the first and they were often criticized for sounding too musically similar to
Yes
Yes or YES may refer to:
* An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no
Education
* YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US
* YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...
.
They were opening acts for such bands as
Jethro Tull,
Gentle Giant,
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
,
Kansas,
Boston,
Rush
Rush(es) may refer to:
Places
United States
* Rush, Colorado
* Rush, Kentucky
* Rush, New York
* Rush City, Minnesota
* Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois
* Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream
* Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...
,
Journey, and others. After several line-up changes, the band went on a ten-year hiatus from 1987.
In 2002, Gary Strater, Steve Tassler and Steve Hagler all released solo albums on the band's own Sunsinger label. This led to work on the band's final album ''
Song of Times'', before Gary Strater's death on September 19, 2004, from pancreatic cancer. ''Song of Times'' was released in 2007.
In November 2018, the band's official website announced the release of ''
Alchemy'', an archive release of studio and live material from the band's 1980s line-up. Additionally, their website announced a new line-up of the band consisting of George Harp (vocals) and Bruce Botts (guitar), both of whom were in the 1980s line-up.
Players
Past
* Gary Strater – Bass,
Moog Taurus, Backing Vocals
(1969–1987, 1997–2004; died 2004)
* Matt Stewart – Guitar, Backing Vocals
(1969–1981, 1997–2006)
* Steve Hagler – Guitar, Backing Vocals
(1969–1980, 2006)
* Steve Tassler – Drums, Backing Vocals
(1969–1980, 2006)
*
Herb Schildt
Herbert Schildt is an American computing author, programmer and musician. He has written books about various programming languages. He was also a founding member of the progressive rock band Starcastle.
Life
Schildt holds both graduate and un ...
– Keyboards
(1969–1978, 1997–2006)
*
Terry Luttrell
Terry Luttrell (born 1947 Champaign, Illinois) is an American rock singer/musician best known as lead vocalist for both REO Speedwagon (1968–1972) and Starcastle (1973–1979).
Bands
Luttrell had played guitar with a local Champaign band, Ter ...
– Lead Vocals
(1973–1978, 2006)
* Ralph Goldheim ("Caribou Ralph") – Lead Vocals, Keyboards
(1979–1981)
* Bruce Botts – Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
(1982–2019)
* Scott McKenzie – Drums, Backing Vocals
(1982–1987)
* Mark McGee – Guitar
(1985–1986)
* George Harp - Lead Vocals
(1982- 1986 - 2015-2019)
Timeline
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id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:guitar value:green legend:Guitars
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bar:George text:George Harp
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bar:Gary text:Gary Strater
bar:Matt text:Matt Stewart
bar:SteveH text:Steve Hagler
bar:Bruce text:Bruce Botts
bar:Mark text:Mark McGee
bar:SteveT text:Steve Tassler
bar:Mauro text:Mauro Magellan
bar:Scott text:Scott McKenzie
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width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
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bar:SteveH from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 color:keys
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width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Terry from:01/01/1973 till:12/01/1978 color:vocals
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bar:Terry from:01/01/2004 till:12/31/2006 color:vocals
bar:George from:11/01/2018 till:end color:vocals
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bar:Gary from:01/01/1997 till:12/31/2004 color:bass
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bar:Herb from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/2006 color:keys
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bar:SteveH from:01/01/1969 till:01/01/1980 color:guitar
bar:Bruce from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1985 color:guitar
bar:Mark from:01/01/1985 till:01/01/1986 color:guitar
bar:Matt from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/2007 color:guitar
bar:Bruce from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/2007 color:guitar
bar:SteveH from:01/01/2004 till:12/31/2006 color:guitar
bar:Bruce from:11/01/2018 till:end color:guitar
bar:SteveT from:01/01/1969 till:01/01/1980 color:drums
bar:SteveT from:01/01/2004 till:12/31/2006 color:drums
bar:Mauro from:01/01/1980 till:01/01/1981 color:drums
bar:Scott from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1987 color:drums
LineData =
at:02/01/1976 color:lines1 layer:back
at:01/01/1977 color:lines1 layer:back
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at:10/21/1978 color:lines1 layer:back
at:01/01/2007 color:lines1 layer:back
Discography
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Musical groups from Champaign, Illinois
Progressive rock musical groups from Illinois