Illinois Speed Press
Encyclopedia
Illinois Speed Press was an American
rock band
formed - originally, in 1965, as The Rovin' Kind - in Chicago
, later relocating to California
. The band was formed by Paul Cotton
- later of Poco
- and Kal David
. According to Allmusic, their sound "combined elements of R&B and country music
in a powerful double-lead-guitar attack." Cotton and David have occasionally reunited in recent years to perform together under the name.
in Harvey, Illinois
in 1958, including Norman Paul Cotton (then known as Norm "King" Cotton) and Keith Anderson. They became The Mus-Twangs in 1961, primarily an instrumental outfit who released a single, "Marie" on the local Nero label, which was picked up for national distribution by Smash, a subsidiary of Mercury Records
. The band next became The Starfires, and Cotton also performed around 1963 as a member of the Carol Vega Trio. Around the same time, Kal David (b. David Raskin) fronted another band in Chicago, The Exceptions, who also included Peter Cetera
(later of Chicago
).
In early 1965, Cotton formed a new group, The Gentrys, with bassist Frank Bartell and drummer Fred Page (b. Frederick Pappalardo). They were soon joined by Kal David and keyboard player Mike Anthony, and later that year they changed their name to The Rovin' Kind to avoid confusion with the Memphis
band who had a hit
with "Keep On Dancing". They released their first single, "Everybody", on the Contrapoint label, and recorded several further singles for the Roulette
and Dunwich labels. In 1966 they won a regional "battle of the bands" contest and, as a prize, appeared on American Bandstand
. In 1967, Bartell left and was replaced by Keith Anderson. Back in Chicago, The Rovin' Kind became the house band at the Whisky A Go Go, where they were seen by producer James William Guercio, who signed them to a contract with the Columbia Records
subsidiary label Epic
, and persuaded them to change their name to Illinois Speed Press in February 1968. Norm Cotton changed his stage name to Paul Cotton at the same time, and the band moved to Los Angeles
.
With its twin guitar sound, the band played a mixture of rock and roll
, soul
and country music
. In 1968 they performed regularly at the Whisky a Go Go
in Hollywood, and at the first Newport Pop Festival
, held in Costa Mesa, California
, also recording their first single, "Right On Time". Anderson was then fired, and replaced by Rob Lewine before the band recorded their first album, The Illinois Speed Press, which was produced by Guercio and released in early 1969. Columbia simultaneously released albums by Chicago Transit Authority
, The Flock, and Aorta
, and marketed them together as part of a so-called "Chicago Sound". All four debut albums entered the Billboard
Top 200 album chart
, The Illinois Speed Press reaching #144.
Before the album's release, Guercio fired Page, Anthony, and later Lewine; Page died shortly afterwards. They were replaced for performances by Jimmy Rogers (bass) and Rick Allen (drums), but the band recorded their second album, Duet, essentially as a duo of Cotton and David, supported by studio musicians including Joe Osborne (bass), Hal Blaine
(drums) and Michael Lloyd (keyboards). The album was released in spring 1970, but shortly afterwards Kal David left to form The Fabulous Rhinestones with bassist Harvey Brooks
. Cotton was then approached by Richie Furay
to join Poco
as a replacement for Jim Messina, which he did a few months later.
In 2009, Cotton and David reunited for some performances as Illinois Speed Press.
and Gary Rossington
to form Lynyrd Skynyrd
. The band's two original albums, together with bonus tracks, were reissued on CD in 2003.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
formed - originally, in 1965, as The Rovin' Kind - in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, later relocating to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The band was formed by Paul Cotton
Paul Cotton (musician)
Paul Cotton is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, most notable as a member of the band Poco and as the writer of the international hit song from that band, "The Heart of the Night".-History:Most of Paul Cotton's music career has been as songwriter, guitarist and singer for the band Poco...
- later of Poco
Poco
Poco is an Southern California country rock band originally formed by Richie Furay and Jim Messina following the demise of Buffalo Springfield in 1968. The title of their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, is a reference to the break-up of Buffalo Springfield. Highly influential and creative,...
- and Kal David
Kal David
Kal David is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, whose 50-year musical career in Illinois, New York and California extended through various phases, including a highly-regarded stint with Columbia Records in early 1970s....
. According to Allmusic, their sound "combined elements of R&B and country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
in a powerful double-lead-guitar attack." Cotton and David have occasionally reunited in recent years to perform together under the name.
History
The Capitols were a local group formed by schoolmates at Thornton Township High SchoolThornton Township High School
Thornton Township High School, often simply referred to as Thornton is a public high school founded in 1899. The school is located in Harvey, Illinois one of the south suburbs of the city of Chicago, Illinois. The school is one of three schools administered by Thornton Township High Schools...
in Harvey, Illinois
Harvey, Illinois
Harvey is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, near Chicago. The population was 30,000 at the 2000 census.Harvey is bordered by Dixmoor, Riverdale and Blue Island to the north, Posen and Markham to the west, South Holland, Phoenix, and Dolton to the east, and East Hazel Crest to the...
in 1958, including Norman Paul Cotton (then known as Norm "King" Cotton) and Keith Anderson. They became The Mus-Twangs in 1961, primarily an instrumental outfit who released a single, "Marie" on the local Nero label, which was picked up for national distribution by Smash, a subsidiary of Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
. The band next became The Starfires, and Cotton also performed around 1963 as a member of the Carol Vega Trio. Around the same time, Kal David (b. David Raskin) fronted another band in Chicago, The Exceptions, who also included Peter Cetera
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
(later of Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
).
In early 1965, Cotton formed a new group, The Gentrys, with bassist Frank Bartell and drummer Fred Page (b. Frederick Pappalardo). They were soon joined by Kal David and keyboard player Mike Anthony, and later that year they changed their name to The Rovin' Kind to avoid confusion with the Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
band who had a hit
The Gentrys
The Gentrys were an American band of the 1960s and early 1970s best known for their 1965 hit "Keep on Dancing"...
with "Keep On Dancing". They released their first single, "Everybody", on the Contrapoint label, and recorded several further singles for the Roulette
Roulette Records
Roulette Records is an American record label, which was founded in late 1956, by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Khals, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed as director...
and Dunwich labels. In 1966 they won a regional "battle of the bands" contest and, as a prize, appeared on American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
. In 1967, Bartell left and was replaced by Keith Anderson. Back in Chicago, The Rovin' Kind became the house band at the Whisky A Go Go, where they were seen by producer James William Guercio, who signed them to a contract with the Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
subsidiary label Epic
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
, and persuaded them to change their name to Illinois Speed Press in February 1968. Norm Cotton changed his stage name to Paul Cotton at the same time, and the band moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
With its twin guitar sound, the band played a mixture of rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
. In 1968 they performed regularly at the Whisky a Go Go
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go is a nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip.-History:...
in Hollywood, and at the first Newport Pop Festival
Newport Pop Festival
The Newport Pop Festival, held in Costa Mesa, California, August 3–4, 1968, was the first music concert ever to have more than 100,000 paid attendees....
, held in Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light...
, also recording their first single, "Right On Time". Anderson was then fired, and replaced by Rob Lewine before the band recorded their first album, The Illinois Speed Press, which was produced by Guercio and released in early 1969. Columbia simultaneously released albums by Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, The Flock, and Aorta
Aorta (band)
Aorta were an American psychedelic rock band from Chicago who recorded two albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s.-History:The band developed from a soul, pop and rock'n'roll group who had originally formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1962 as Kal David and the Exceptions. Its members were Kal David...
, and marketed them together as part of a so-called "Chicago Sound". All four debut albums entered the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top 200 album chart
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, The Illinois Speed Press reaching #144.
Before the album's release, Guercio fired Page, Anthony, and later Lewine; Page died shortly afterwards. They were replaced for performances by Jimmy Rogers (bass) and Rick Allen (drums), but the band recorded their second album, Duet, essentially as a duo of Cotton and David, supported by studio musicians including Joe Osborne (bass), Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine is an American drummer and session musician. He is most known for his work with the Wrecking Crew in California. Blaine played on numerous hits by popular groups, including Elvis Presley, John Denver, the Ronettes, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, the Beach Boys, Nancy Sinatra, and...
(drums) and Michael Lloyd (keyboards). The album was released in spring 1970, but shortly afterwards Kal David left to form The Fabulous Rhinestones with bassist Harvey Brooks
Harvey Brooks
Harvey Brooks is an American bassist. He has played in many styles of music...
. Cotton was then approached by Richie Furay
Richie Furay
Richie Furay is an American singer, songwriter, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member who is best known for forming the bands Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, and Dewey Martin, and Poco with Jim Messina, Rusty Young, George Grantham and Randy Meisner...
to join Poco
Poco
Poco is an Southern California country rock band originally formed by Richie Furay and Jim Messina following the demise of Buffalo Springfield in 1968. The title of their first album, Pickin' Up the Pieces, is a reference to the break-up of Buffalo Springfield. Highly influential and creative,...
as a replacement for Jim Messina, which he did a few months later.
In 2009, Cotton and David reunited for some performances as Illinois Speed Press.
Legacy
The musical style and dual lead guitar format of Illinois Speed Press have been credited as inspiring Ronnie Van ZantRonnie Van Zant
Ronald Wayne "Ronnie" Van Zant was an American lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and a founding member of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd...
and Gary Rossington
Gary Rossington
Gary Robert Rossington is a founding member of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He plays lead and rhythm guitar. He is also a founding member of The Rossington-Collins Band along with former Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmate, the late Allen Collins...
to form Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
. The band's two original albums, together with bonus tracks, were reissued on CD in 2003.
Singles
- "Right On Time"/"Night People", Roulette 4687, 1969
- "Get In The Wind"/"Get In The Wind, Pt. II", Columbia 4-44564, 1969
- "Sadly Out Of Place"/"Country Dumplin'", Columbia 4-45756, 1970