Cyril Davies All-Stars • C.C. Rider

 

 

The Cyril Davies All-Stars were a fantastic group of British musicians who played together in the early 1960s, including Mick Jagger and Bill Wyman. They played Blues music, inspired by the great American Blues great like Leadbelly and Robert Johnson. The band went looking for a lead singer, and in 1963 brought in Long John Baldry. The band at times struggled due to personality differences, but never with the music. And though Baldry was openly gay at a time when it was still illegal in the UK, it has never been listed as one of the reasons bickering took place. Here is the Cyril Davies All-Stars singing "C.C. Rider" with Long John Baldry on lead vocals. The song was written by Ma Rainey and Lena Arant, and first recorded by Rainey in 1924. I should mention that Ma Rainey was said to be one of the first great LGBT singers, writing and performing songs about her love for women.

In that first video, Davies was featured on the harmonica, but in this second clip, when the band was playing "Got My Mojo Working", Cyril stepped up to take the lead vocals. Baldry can be seen playing the tambourine and singing background vocals. Also included in both clips was the group of background singers known as the Velvets, a group of ladies from South Africa. The song was written by Preston foster in 1956, but made popular by Muddy Waters in 1957. Enjoy "Got My Mojo Working".

By the end of 1964, Cyril Davies passed away, and Baldry took over control of the band. This included added an additional vocalist to the line-up, a young Rod Stewart. After the band broke up in 1966, Baldry formed Bluesology, with a young Reginald Dwight on keyboards and Elton Dean, later of Soft Machine, as well as Caleb Quaye on guitar. Later Dwight adopted the name Elton John, his first name from Dean and his surname from Baldry. It was said Baldry helped Elton John to come to terms with his homosexuality, and is the man about whom John wrote his great song, "Someone Saved My Life Tonight".

Saturday Rocks - The Animals

Formed in 1962 in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, the original line-up of the group was Eric Burdon on vocals, Alan Price on organ and keyboards, Hilton Valentine on guitar, John Steel on drums, and Bryan "Chas" Chandler on bass. Their wild stage act got them the nickname "animals" and it stuck, and soon The Animals were born. By 1964, they had moved to London and were getting noticed with their strong covers of American R&B and Blues singers like Nina Simone and John Lee Hooker. The timing was just right, as the British Invasion was kicking in full-force in the US, and the band was signed by Columbia Records and on their way. They jumped into the studio and released their self-titled debut in September 1964. From that album sprang their first #1 hit, a traditional blues song, House of the Rising Sun. Although it was covered by many, the Animals were the most successful cover, in terms of sales.



In 1965, they released the Animal Tracks. Interestingly enough, there are two entirely different collections with the same name. The UK version was a collection of blues & rockabilly covers, while the US version included rock and pop singles. The US version of course had the hit Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, which made it to #15 on the US Pop chart.



The first cut off the Animal Tracks (US) was the iconic We Gotta Get Out of This Place, which made it to #13 on the Billboard Pop chart. The song has gone on to be covered by some of the big names in the last few decades, from Bruce Springsteen to Bon Jovi to Ann Wilson.



Close behind that success, the band released yet another song that is part of rock history. It's My Life had great success in the UK and Canada, but in the US, it only made it to #23 on the chart. However, it had a long, successful run on album-oriented rock stations, who loved the gritty feel.



Finally, in the summer of 1966, the Animals came apart and the new line-up was called Eric Burden & the Animals. The scored big on the charts with the song See See Rider, a rock/blues song that went to #10 on the Billboard Pop chart.



However, not long after this, in the fall of 1996, the group disbanded, and Eric Burden staked a claim to a solo career. So, in just two years of making music on the big stage, the group had added greatly to the rich history of rock music.