Family | Artist
Family was an English rock band formed 1966 in Leicester, UK, by original lineup Charlie Whitney (guitar, bass, keyboards), Ric Grech (bass, violin, cello, vocals), Roger Chapman (vocals, percussion, sax), Jim King (sax, harmonica, vocals) and Harry Overnall (drums). Rob Townsend would soon become their permanent drummer, and Poli Palmer (keyboards, vibraphone, flute) and John Weider (bass, violin, guitar) joined in 1969. The band played a unique blend of progressive rock, hard rock, jazz, psych and folk, carried by Chapman's powerful vocals which were likened to a "bleating goat". Their characteristic sound was immediately apparent on their debut album, Music in a Doll's House, which was released in July 1968 and charted at number 35 in the UK to critical acclaim, thanks to strong support from BBC Radio's John Peel. Now widely acknowledged as a classic of British psychedelic rock, the album's highly original sound was characterised by Chapman's vocals, rooted in the blues and R&B, combined with several unusual instruments for a rock band, courtesy of the presence of multi-instrumentalists Grech and King, including saxophones, violin, cello, and harmonica. After the release of their second album Family Entertainment, the band undertook a tour of the United States in April 1969, but it was beset by problems. Halfway through the tour, Grech unexpectedly left the band to join the new supergroup Blind Faith, and was replaced by John Weider, previously of Eric Burdon and The Animals. Family finally split in 1973 having released eight consistently good albums. Standouts include Music in a Dolls House (1968), Entertainment (1969), A Song for Me (1970), Anyway (1970), Old Songs New Songs (1971), Fearless (1971), and Bandstand (1972). Family were particularly known for their live performances; one reviewer describing the band as "one of the wildest, most innovative groups of the underground rock scene", noting that they produced "some of the rawest, most intense performances on stage in rock history". After Family split in 1973 Roger Chapman carried on a successful solo career, plus he formed the duo Chapman-Whitney, and fronted the band Streetwalkers. Ric Grech was in the short-lived supergroup Blind Faith, and then joined Traffic.
Artist Website: familybandstand.com
Featured Albums: Family
Related Artists: Roger Chapman, Streetwalkers, Blind Faith, The Blues Band, Eclection, King Crimson, Blossom Toes, Cockney Rebel
