Eelco Gelling
Encyclopedia
Eelco Gelling is a Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

 blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

. He and Jan Akkerman
Jan Akkerman
Jan Akkerman is a Dutch guitarist. Akkerman is a distinctive guitarist, constantly experimenting with new equipment and guitars. Akkerman's distinctive guitar sound is characterised by his pioneering use of volume swells which produce a smooth, fluty, sustained tone, and other complex techniques...

 are stated as the two top notch guitar players from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. Gelling played with Cuby + Blizzards (which he co-founded together with Harry Muskee
Harry Muskee
Harry "Cuby" Muskee was the singer of the blues band Cuby + Blizzards, which he co-founded with Eelco Gelling.Muskee was born in Assen, and died in Rolde aged 70.-Biography:...

) till 1976. Then he joined Golden Earring
Golden Earring
Golden Earring are a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as the Golden Earrings . They had international chart success with the songs "Radar Love" in 1973, "Twilight Zone" in 1982, and "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984. In their home country, they had over 40 hits and made over 30 gold and...

 where he played for several years. He first appeared as a full fledged member on "Contraband" (released in the U.S. under ther title "Mad Love"). Eelco's haunting slide work is highlighted on the tracks "Sueleen" and "Bombay". While out on tour the grouped recorded it first live album "Golden Earring Live". Eelco helps the group deliver many of there classics icluding an extended version of the groups smash hit "Radar Love". Gelling also plays on the groups "Grab It For A second" album. During a tour in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 he left the band, after discussions about the music style and after his favorite guitar (a Gibson Les Paul Custom
Gibson Les Paul Custom
The Gibson Les Paul Custom is a higher end variation of the Gibson Les Paul guitar. It was developed in 1954 after Gibson had introduced the Les Paul model in 1952.-Notable Les Paul Custom players:...

) was stolen from a cab in New York, he quit Golden Earring and went back to the Netherlands.
He played in several bands and after a few years started his own, the Eelco Gelling Band. On 25 June 2010 the Eelco Gelling Band performed for the last time, since then the band continued as Kroppo's Blues Band, without Gelling.

The period with Cuby + Blizzards (1966 - 1974)

During his time with Cuby + Blizzards the band became famous in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and well-known in the UK. They played and toured with Eddie Boyd
Eddie Boyd
Edward Riley Boyd known as Eddie Boyd was an American blues piano player, born on Stovall's Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States.-Life and career:...

 and Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner was a blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a Founding Father of British Blues"...

. In 1966 they toured with John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...

 and when Mayall came over to the Netherlands to stay for a couple of days, he asked Gelling to join the Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are a pioneering English blues band, led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall, OBE. Mayall used the band name between 1963 and 1967, but then dropped it for some fifteen years. However, in 1982 a 'Return of the Bluesbreakers' was announced and...

. Gelling did not agree and stayed with Cuby + Blizzards. The band recorded their last album in 1974, named Het Afscheidsconcert (The Farewell Concert). The band stopped, but was reunited in 1976 for a short period to record two more albums Kid Blue and Old times, Good times. In the early '90s C+B was re-formed, without Gelling.

Links

Homepage Eelco Gelling Band (WebCite archive) Discografie Cuby + Blizzards (WebCite archive)
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