Bobby and the Midnites
Encyclopedia
Bobby and the Midnites was a rock group led by Bob Weir
of the Grateful Dead
. The band was Weir's main side project during the first half of the 1980s. They released two albums, but were better known for their live concerts than for their work in the recording studio. With a rhythm section
that included jazz veterans Billy Cobham
and, for a time, Alphonso Johnson
, Bobby and the Midnites played rock music that was influenced by jazz-rock fusion
.
and singer Bobby Cochran
, formerly of Steppenwolf
. The other was keyboardist
and singer Brent Mydland
, who in the interim had joined the Grateful Dead. Matthew Kelly
was another "Midnite" who had already played in a band with Weir — Kingfish
, which Kelly and Dave Torbert
had founded in 1973, and which Weir had played in full time from 1974 to 1976. Kelly played guitar, harmonica
, and congas. Tim Bogert
, who had previously been in Vanilla Fudge
and Beck, Bogert & Appice
, was recruited to play bass guitar
. The Midnites' drummer was Billy Cobham, a highly regarded jazz and fusion musician who had played with Miles Davis
and the Mahavishnu Orchestra
, among others.
The first Bobby and the Midnites concert was at the Golden Bear
, in Huntington Beach, California
, on June 30, 1980. The band played a number of live dates from mid-1980 to early 1981. Then Alphonso Johnson replaced Bogert on bass. Johnson had been in Weather Report
, and had played with Cobham in the CBS All-Stars. This slightly revised configuration of Bobby and the Midnites recorded the band's self-titled first album.
The Midnites did not play live again until the following year. Brent Mydland and Matthew Kelly had left the lineup, and Dave Garland had joined. Garland sang and played keyboards and saxophone
. Starting in January 1982, this group toured extensively when the Grateful Dead were not on the road. A 60 minute concert video of this Midnites lineup was released on VHS
in 1991.
On November 27, 1982, Bobby and the Midnites performed in Montego Bay
at the Jamaica World Music Festival. They were one of many acts, including the Grateful Dead, the Clash
, the B-52's
, the English Beat
, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers
, Toots & the Maytals
, Peter Tosh
, and Aretha Franklin
. The Midnites' set occurred after midnight of November 26, in the early hours of November 27. They played songs such as "Man Smart, Woman Smarter", "Heaven Help The Fool", "Thunder and Lighting", and "Book of Rules". Billy Cobham was given an introduction by the festival MC, and took an extended drum solo leading into "Josephine".
In March 1983, the band had its final change of personnel, when Kenny Gradney
, formerly of Little Feat
, replaced Johnson on bass. The band continued touring, playing many live dates, and in 1984 released a second studio album. The last Bobby and the Midnites concert was at the Rio, in Valley Stream, New York
, on September 30, 1984.
After Bobby and the Midnites, Bob Weir's next non-Grateful Dead musical appearances were with Kingfish, sitting in on a number of concerts in 1984 and again in 1986. Weir also played several solo acoustic
shows in 1985.
Bob Weir
Bob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
of the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
. The band was Weir's main side project during the first half of the 1980s. They released two albums, but were better known for their live concerts than for their work in the recording studio. With a rhythm section
Rhythm section
A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...
that included jazz veterans Billy Cobham
Billy Cobham
William C. Cobham is a Panamanian American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader, who has called Switzerland home since the late 1970s....
and, for a time, Alphonso Johnson
Alphonso Johnson
Alphonso Johnson is an American jazz bassist who has been influential since the early 1970s.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Johnson started off as an upright bass player, but switched to the electric bass in his late teens. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, Johnson showed...
, Bobby and the Midnites played rock music that was influenced by jazz-rock fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
.
History of the Band
In 1978, Bob Weir had led a side project called the Bob Weir Band that played a number of concerts. Besides Weir himself, two members of the Bob Weir Band were in Bobby and the Midnites. One was guitaristElectric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
and singer Bobby Cochran
Bobby Cochran
Bobby Cochran is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has worked with many bands, including Steppenwolf, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Leon Russell, and Bobby and the Midnites.-External links:*, official website of Bobby Cochran...
, formerly of Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf (band)
Steppenwolf are a Canadian-American rock group that was prominent in the late 1960s. The group was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by vocalist John Kay, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Rushton Moreve, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton after the dissolution of Toronto group The...
. The other was keyboardist
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and singer Brent Mydland
Brent Mydland
Brent Mydland was the fourth keyboardist to play for the American rock band the Grateful Dead. He was with the band for eleven years, longer than any other keyboardist.- Early life :...
, who in the interim had joined the Grateful Dead. Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly (musician)
Matthew Kelly, also known as Matt Kelly, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He plays guitar and harmonica. Kelly is best known for being the leader of the rock band Kingfish, and for his association with Bob Weir and the Grateful Dead....
was another "Midnite" who had already played in a band with Weir — Kingfish
Kingfish (band)
Kingfish is an American rock band led by Matthew Kelly, a musician, singer, and songwriter who plays guitar and harmonica. Kelly co-founded Kingfish in 1973 with New Riders of the Purple Sage bass player Dave Torbert and fellow San Francisco Bay Area musicians Robbie Hoddinott, Chris Herold, and...
, which Kelly and Dave Torbert
Dave Torbert
Dave Torbert was a Bay Area musician, best known for his associations with the Grateful Dead and the New Riders of the Purple Sage. He played bass for the latter group, replacing Phil Lesh during the sessions for their first album...
had founded in 1973, and which Weir had played in full time from 1974 to 1976. Kelly played guitar, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, and congas. Tim Bogert
Tim Bogert
John Voorhis "Tim" Bogert III is an American musician. He graduated from Ridgefield Memorial High School in his hometown in 1963...
, who had previously been in Vanilla Fudge
Vanilla Fudge
Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band. The band's original lineup – vocalist/organist Mark Stein, bassist/vocalist Tim Bogert, lead guitarist/vocalist Vince Martell, and drummer/vocalist Carmine Appice – recorded five albums during the years 1966–69, before disbanding in 1970...
and Beck, Bogert & Appice
Beck, Bogert & Appice
Beck, Bogert & Appice was a hard rock supergroup and power trio formed by guitarist Jeff Beck and evolving from The Jeff Beck Group. the line up included bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice who were both previously in Vanilla Fudge and Cactus....
, was recruited to play bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. The Midnites' drummer was Billy Cobham, a highly regarded jazz and fusion musician who had played with Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
and the Mahavishnu Orchestra
The Mahavishnu Orchestra
The Mahavishnu Orchestra was a jazz fusion group, led by John McLaughlin, that debuted in 1971, dissolved in 1976 and reunited from 1984 to 1987.-First Mahavishnu Orchestra:...
, among others.
The first Bobby and the Midnites concert was at the Golden Bear
Golden Bear (nightclub)
The Golden Bear was a nightclub in Huntington Beach, California from 1923 to 1986. It was located on Pacific Coast Highway just south of Main Street...
, in Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 189,992; making it the largest beach city in Orange County in terms of population...
, on June 30, 1980. The band played a number of live dates from mid-1980 to early 1981. Then Alphonso Johnson replaced Bogert on bass. Johnson had been in Weather Report
Weather Report
Weather Report was an American jazz-rock band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The band was co-led by the Austrian-born keyboard player Joe Zawinul and the American saxophonist Wayne Shorter...
, and had played with Cobham in the CBS All-Stars. This slightly revised configuration of Bobby and the Midnites recorded the band's self-titled first album.
The Midnites did not play live again until the following year. Brent Mydland and Matthew Kelly had left the lineup, and Dave Garland had joined. Garland sang and played keyboards and saxophone
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
. Starting in January 1982, this group toured extensively when the Grateful Dead were not on the road. A 60 minute concert video of this Midnites lineup was released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in 1991.
On November 27, 1982, Bobby and the Midnites performed in Montego Bay
Montego Bay
Montego Bay is the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the fourth by population .It is a tourist destination with duty free shopping, cruise line terminal and the beaches...
at the Jamaica World Music Festival. They were one of many acts, including the Grateful Dead, the Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, the B-52's
The B-52's
The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
, the English Beat
The Beat (band)
The Beat are a 2 Tone ska revival band founded in England in 1978. Their songs fuse ska, pop, soul, reggae and punk rock, and their lyrics deal with themes of love, unity and sociopolitical topics....
, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers was a reggae group composed of Ziggy Marley, Stephen Marley, Sharon Marley and Cedella Marley, all children of Bob Marley.-Albums:*Play the Game Right *Children Playing...
, Toots & the Maytals
Toots & the Maytals
Toots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and reggae vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music...
, Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh , was a Jamaican reggae musician who was a core member of the band The Wailers , and who afterward had a successful solo career as well as being a promoter of Rastafari.Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica, an illegitimate child to a mother too young...
, and Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
. The Midnites' set occurred after midnight of November 26, in the early hours of November 27. They played songs such as "Man Smart, Woman Smarter", "Heaven Help The Fool", "Thunder and Lighting", and "Book of Rules". Billy Cobham was given an introduction by the festival MC, and took an extended drum solo leading into "Josephine".
In March 1983, the band had its final change of personnel, when Kenny Gradney
Kenny Gradney
Kenny Gradney, a native of New Orleans, is a member of the band Little Feat. He joined after their second album, replacing founding bassist Roy Estrada in 1972....
, formerly of Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
, replaced Johnson on bass. The band continued touring, playing many live dates, and in 1984 released a second studio album. The last Bobby and the Midnites concert was at the Rio, in Valley Stream, New York
Valley Stream, New York
Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population in the village of Valley Stream was 37,511 at the 2010 census...
, on September 30, 1984.
After Bobby and the Midnites, Bob Weir's next non-Grateful Dead musical appearances were with Kingfish, sitting in on a number of concerts in 1984 and again in 1986. Weir also played several solo acoustic
Steel-string acoustic guitar
A steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
shows in 1985.
Albums
- Bobby and the Midnites (1981)
- Where the Beat Meets the StreetWhere the Beat Meets the StreetWhere the Beat Meets the Street is the second studio album by Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist Bob Weir and his side-project, Bobby and the Midnites...
(1984)
Personnel
Following are the lineups for Bobby and the Midnites' live performances.| June 30, 1980 – January 31, 1981 |
|
|---|---|
| January 12, 1982 – March 10, 1983 |
|
| March 22, 1983 – September 30, 1984 |
|