|
 |
 |
Stone the Crows |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Info: Biography, Pictures, Discography of all CDs & DVDs |
|
| This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.Please improve this article if you can.Stone The Crows was a band formed in Glasgow in late 1969.History
The band was formed after Maggie Bell was introduced to Les Harvey by his elder brother, Alex Harvey.After playing together in the Kinning Park Ramblers, they rejoined in a band Power, later renamed Stone The Crows, after Led Zeppelin's manager, Peter Grant, heard them and took them on.Les Harvey, guitar (born Leslie Harvey, in 1945, in the Gorbals, Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland died 2 May 1972).Zoot Money's Big Roll Band and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers)
Jim Dewar, bass (born James Dewer, 12 October 1942, in Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland).The tragic death of Les Harvey (electrocuted by a live microphone on stage at Swansea's Top Rank Suite in May 1972) almost led to the breakup of the band.Thunderclap Newman prodigy Jimmy McCulloch as lead guitarist.Stone the Crows broke up in June 1973.The New Musical Express Book of Rock, W.All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.Please revisit our site soon to catch up on all the latest news, gigs, new songs, photo's and a whole lot more.Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.It was while on stage with Stone the Crows at Swansea Top Rank in 1972 that he was killed, electrocuted by touching a unearthed microphone with wet hands.In the sixties Les Harvey was asked to join The Animals by Alan Price but chose to stay with his brother Alex in the Alex Harvey Soul Band.This article about a Scottish musician is a stub.You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.This page was last modified 19:21, 26 November 2007.Please feel free
to contact us if you
have any questions about our work.Copyright 2003 Stone The Crows.Peter Grant, when he first
heard this splendid young Scottish band roaring into action.After all, he was the manager of Led Zeppelin, the most
successful heavy rock band in history.Rock
fans too were enthralled by the band, founded by guitarist Leslie Harvey
and featuring the passionate vocal style of dynamic singer
Maggie Bell.Every new group expects to conquer the world, and Stone The Crows
were no exception.As teenagers Maggie and Leslie had worked together in a local group.It was a much better life than earning a
pittance as a window dresser.In 1967 Maggie teamed up with a couple of brass players, Bill and Bobby Patrick,
for a tour of American airforce bases in Germany.But it was a great experience
and helped me to get my music together and learn my craft.Leslie was just a youngster like myself and we used to go to
all these far away, obscure gigs around Scotland.The musicians returned to Scotland and the scene was set for
the formation of a new band that eventually became Stone The Crows.In 1968
Maggie and Leslie formed Power, which became a regular attraction at the
Burns Howff bar in Glasgow.He later went to work with Robin Trower when
he left Stone The Crows."It went so well they decided to form a group
together.Power was an instant success and this set up lasted quite a while
as Maggie, Leslie, John and Jimmy gained a strong local following.He had a new stratocaster too!"Leslie sat down with his old friends and told them they should stop playing
'covers' at the Burns Howff and start to write their own songs.We changed everything from our look to our
politics.""Led Zeppelin were just starting to happen.In late 1969 Peter and Mark London signed Power and became their managers.But it stuck and people remember it."Stone The
Crows' (Polydor) was produced by Mark London and released in 1970."We
recorded the album in Advision studios, London, with Jimmy Dewar and John
McGinnis.It's a song that could still be performed today
and wouldn't seem out of place.Raining In Your Heart' was by Jimmy Dewar and it was quite an up
tempo thing with lots of breaks and cymbal crashes."Most of the album material was a regular part of their stage set including
the bluesy 'Blind Man.November, 1996
during sessions for the 'History Of The British Blues' an album produced
by Pete Brown.Another 'cover' on 'Stone The Crows' is The Beatles' 'Fool
On The Hill' and explains Maggie: "I always wanted to do this because
it's got great lyrics.Saw America' is a massive epic that covered side two of the original
vinyl album.It was born out of the band's first trip to America and was
intended as a tribute to that great country.Maggie: "It's in four parts and starts off with the different States we visited,
from the Deep South to California.Other members
of the band had been to the States before, but it was my first trip.After
their second effort 'Ode To John Law' (1970), John McGinnis and Jimmy
Dewar quit and were replaced by Steve Thompson (bass) and Ronnie Leahy
(keyboards).The next album 'Teenage Licks' (1971), proved to be their most successful
and from then on Stone The Crows played all the major rock festivals.Maggie won the Best Female Vocalist award in the annual Melody Maker readers
poll and with her raunchy, sincere style she was hailed by many critics as
the natural successor to Janis Joplin.Things were looking good, then
just when it seemed international stardom beckoned, Leslie Harvey was
electrocuted and died on stage, before a gig at Swansea's Top Rank Ballroom.It happened during a sound check when Les touched a 'live' mike and his guitar
at the same time.But for the moment, they decided to carry on.Peter Green from
Fleetwood Mac was
a possible replacement.Two days before the show he rang to say he couldn't make it.Steve Howe of Yes helped out, then another young Scottish guitarist,
Jimmy Mcculloch came in to help finish off the fourth album 'Ontinuous
Performance'
(1972).Jimmy did his best but the heart had gone out of the group, and they
finally broke up in 1973.Jimmy went on to play with Paul McCartney's
Wings while Colin Allen, their drummer, joined Focus.Maggie Bell now lives in Rotterdam, Holland, and is still singing and recording.In 1995 she did a tour of Scotland with the old Alex Harvey Band which
went down a storm."Stone The Crows were a great band and we had some wonderful times
on the road.When you
consider it was all done 25 years ago, it doesn't sound too bad!"When Maggie Bell's group Stone The Crows
broke up in 1973 it was time for Britain's finest female singer to launch
her solo career.Since her earliest days in Glasgow, the Scots lass with
the soulful voice had been impressing audiences with her powerful and passionate
style.She was used to singing with bands, but now she was thrust into the
spotlight on her own.It meant more freedom, but more responsibilities, and
it wasn't always an easy task.Among the artists on 'Queen Of The Night' were Reggie
Young and Cornell Dupree (lead guitars), John Hughey (pedal Steel) , Chuck
Rainey (bass) and Steve Gadd (drums).Critics and fans praised the results, and she set out on the road
to promote the albums.Returning to Scotland, she
and the band's guitarist Leslie Harvey, formed a new group called
Power which later became Stone The Crows.After Leslie was accidentally electrocuted on stage in 1972,
the heart went out of the group.They worked for a while with fellow Scots
guitarist Jimmy McCulloch, but broke up after a year.Colin Allen, our drummer, was offered
a job with Focus and Jimmy joined
Wings.Maggie is frank about the reasons: "The record
company said they weren't good enough.Luther Vandross did the vocal backings and there were many other top notch
players involved with these projects."But it wasn't to be and at this point
Jerry Wexler stepped in.Wexler and Bell sat down together and listened to
over two hundred songs in the search for suitable material."He's very meticulous
about picking the right song.He said that he couldn't believe how when
some people get a chance to make an album they really dedicate themselves,
while others couldn't care less.Jerry tells everyone to do their homework,
including the musicians and arrangers, and that it makes it better for everyone.He said that's what made Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner
so great.If you read from cue sheets it
detracts from the music.You have to learn your craft."Maggie spent two
months preparing the eleven songs on 'Queen Of The Night' before the
first note was sung in the studio.The album kicks off in fine style with
'Caddo Queen' which has a real Confederate rock flavour.Ringo hadn't brought out his
own a week earlier.The title song was written by Ronnie Leahy, the keyboard player with
Stone The Crows.It was written by Ralph McDonald, one
of the finest percussion players in America."I'm
looking for a ride over to the other side.It's got a very American, razzmatazz
feel."People like Bette Midler said it was the best solo album from a female
artist she'd ever heard, and it got great notices in the American magazines.There was even an article about me in Time Magazine!She put a new band together with
Joe Jammer from Chicago and did a couple of tours of the States joined
by Thunder Thighs, who did the 'doop de doops' on Lou Reed's
'Take A Walk On The Wild Side.Fire in the
Deep South, when the group were at the height of their fame.She hit on an idea to break down their resistance
and asked her road manager to make a wooden screen.Well, the response was unbelievable!Maggie Bell toured Germany in 1975 to promote
'Queen Of The Night' and the response was so good she was encouraged
to record her second excellent album 'Suicide Sal'.This soundtrack shamelessly courts kids and parents alike with
perversely fun results: How else to explain how Tom Waits, Eddie
Murphy, Dashboard Confessional, David Bowie, Eels and Lipps, Inc.Even Pete "Yawn" Yorn
manages not to ruin the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fal...This product and other products of OpinionLab, Inc.O_GoT(' Tell us what you think of Rollingstone. |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
