Savoy Brown
Encyclopedia
Savoy Brown, originally known as the Savoy Brown Blues Band, are a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 blues rock band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

, formed in 1965, in Battersea
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...

, South West London
South West (London sub region)
The South West is a sub-region of the London Plan corresponding to the London Boroughs of London Borough of , Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Merton, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton and Wandsworth. The sub region was established in 2008. The south west has a population of 1,600,000 and is the location...

. Part of the late 1960s blues rock movement, Savoy Brown never achieved as much success in their homeland as they did in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, where they promoted their albums with non-stop touring.

Career

The band was formed and led by 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...

 Kim Simmonds
Kim Simmonds
Kim Simmonds is a Welsh guitarist, now residing in New York and best known as leader and founding member of the blues/rock band Savoy Brown.-Career:...

, whose dominating personality led to a myriad of personnel changes. Others have attributed the constant lineup adjustments to the "creative accountancy" employed by the band's manager, Harry Simmonds, brother of Kim.

The original line-up included singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

 Bryce Portius, keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...

 Bob Hall
Bob Hall (boogie-woogie pianist)
Robert 'Bob' Hall , is a leading English boogie-woogie pianist. A long-time collaborator of Alexis Korner, he also performed regularly with bottleneck bluesman Dave Kelly and his sister, Jo Ann Kelly.-Career:...

, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...

 Ray Chappell, drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 Leo Manning and harmonica player John O'Leary (O'Leary appeared on record with the band on its initial recordings for Mike Vernon's Purdah label). Portius was one of the first black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...

 blues musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

s to be a part of a British 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...

. This line-up appeared on the band's 1967 debut album, Shake Down
Shake Down (album)
Shake Down is the debut studio album by the British rock band Savoy Brown. It was released in 1967 and is mainly an album of covers, featuring three songs penned by blues singer Willie Dixon. In addition to Dixon, the band covers John Lee Hooker and B.B...

, a collection of blues covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

. Two albums followed in 1968, Getting to the Point
Getting to the Point (album)
Getting to the Point is the second studio album by the British rock band Savoy Brown. It marks the debut of a vastly different lineup, still led by Kim Simmonds but fronted by new vocalist Chris Youlden....

, and Blue Matter
Blue Matter (album)
Blue Matter is the third album by the band Savoy Brown. Teaming up once again with producer Mike Vernon, it finds them experimenting even more within the blues framework. Several tracks feature piano as well as trombone.This album featured a mix of live and studio recordings...

.

In 1969 a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

, "Train to Nowhere", was released with a vastly different line-up, including singer Chris Youlden
Chris Youlden
Chris Youlden is an English blues singer; from 1967 until 1970 the singer with the British blues band, Savoy Brown.Since those days he has released several solo albums, as detailed below....

, who, with Simmons, took over primary songwriting duties for the band, on A Step Further
A Step Further (album)
A Step Further is the fourth album by the band Savoy Brown.It was released by Parrot in 1969.Side Two recorded live at The Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, London on Monday 12th May, 1969.-Side One:# "Made Up My Mind" – 2:56...

 that year. It was viewed by some as the last gasp of the blues scene in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. They developed a loyal core following in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, due to songs such as "I'm Tired", a driving, melodic song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 from the album. They were one of the bands that UK Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

 (US London/Parrot) stuck with through the lean times until they started selling records (it took four or five albums until they started to sell in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

) In the late 1960s and 1970s, the band managed to penetrate the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

. Superstardom perpetually evaded them, perhaps in part because of their frequent line-up changes, but despite that, Hellbound Train
Hellbound Train (album)
Hellbound Train is the eighth album by the band Savoy Brown.It was released by Parrot in 1972.-Track listing:# "Doin' Fine" # "Lost and Lonely Child" # "I'll Make Everything Alright" # "Troubled by these Days and Times"...

 (1972) was a Top 40 album for them in the U.S. In January 1974, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 music magazine, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

 reported that Stan Webb
Stan Webb
Stan Webb is the frontman and lead guitarist with the blues band, Chicken Shack.-Career:...

 was joining Savoy Brown, following the break-up of Chicken Shack
Chicken Shack
Chicken Shack are a British blues band, founded in the mid-1960s by Stan Webb , Andy Silvester , and Alan Morley , who were later joined by Christine Perfect in 1968.-Career:...

.

While the band is still active today, touring the world and recording regularly, only Simmonds has stayed since the beginning. 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...

 "Lonesome" Dave Peverett
Dave Peverett
David Peverett or Lonesome Dave was a British musician. He is best known as the original singer and rhythm guitarist of Foghat, which he founded following his tenure in Savoy Brown....

, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...

 Tony Stevens
Tony Stevens
Tony Stevens is an English musician, best known as the bassist with the bands Foghat and Savoy Brown.- Career :...

, and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 Roger Earl
Roger Earl
Roger Earl is the drummer of the band Foghat, famed for their relentless touring and strong live performances...

 went on to form Foghat
Foghat
Foghat are a British rock band that had their peak success in the mid- to late-1970s. Their style can be described as "blues-rock," or boogie-rock dominated by electric and electric slide guitar. The band has achieved five gold records...

. Original member and 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...

 player John O'Leary is still active on the British blues circuit with his band Sugarkane. Another singer, Dave Walker
Dave Walker
David Walker is a singer and guitarist for a number of bands; notably Savoy Brown and Fleetwood Mac. He shortened his name to Dave Walker...

, would later join Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...

 and Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...

. Their bassists included Andy Pyle
Andy Pyle
Andy Pyle is an English bass guitarist. He played with The Kinks from 1976–1978. Prior to that, he was in Blodwyn Pig and Savoy Brown...

, who played with Mick Abrahams
Mick Abrahams
Michael Timothy 'Mick' Abrahams was the original guitarist for Jethro Tull. He recorded the album This Was with the band in 1968, but conflicts between Abrahams and Ian Anderson over the musical direction of the band led Abrahams to leave once the album was finished...

 from Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...

 in Blodwyn Pig
Blodwyn Pig
Blodwyn Pig were a British blues–rock group founded by guitarist–vocalist–songwriter Mick Abrahams, after he left Jethro Tull in 1968 due to a falling-out with Tull leader Ian Anderson.-Career:...

 then later with The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...

 and Gary Moore
Gary Moore
Robert William Gary Moore , better known simply as Gary Moore, was a Northern Irish musician from Belfast, best recognised as a blues rock guitarist and singer....

. Andy Silvester
Andy Silvester
Andrew Frederick 'Andy' Sylvester is a bassist and multi-instrumentalist. Sylvester has played in various bands during his career, most notably as co-founder of both Chicken Shack and Big Town Playboys as well as a tenure in the British blues band Savoy Brown and Los Angeles based soft rock...

 had played with Wha-Koo
Wha-Koo
Wha-Koo was an American rock band best known for their 1978 single, "You're Such a Fabulous Dancer", an international hit from their critically acclaimed album, "Berkshire".-History:...

 and Chicken Shack. Savoy Brown also provided an outlet for keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...

 and guitarist Paul Raymond
Paul Raymond (musician)
Paul Martin Raymond is an English keyboardist/guitarist.Raymond began his musical career as a keyboardist/vocalist for the band, Plastic Penny, in 1967. He left after the band split up in 1968. He replaced Christine Perfect in British blues band Chicken Shack when she left to join Fleetwood Mac...

, who later went on to join UFO
UFO (band)
UFO are an English heavy metal and hard rock band, who were formed in 1969. UFO became a transitional group between early hard rock and heavy metal and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal...

.

Savoy Brown contributed the song "A Man Alone" for the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

 to the movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 Kickboxer 2
Kickboxer 2
Kickboxer 2: The Road Back is a 1991 film as the first in what became a series of sequels to the 1989 film KickboxerThough Jean-Claude Van Damme was in the original as Kurt Sloan, he was not in this sequel as the action follows Kurt Sloan's brother David , who had to fight against Tiger Tong Po,...

.

In 2008, "Train to Nowhere" was used in, and figured as a clue, in the TV series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

 CSI: NY
CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...

, in Season 4, Episode 10 - “The Thing About Heroes”.

Their first album for Blind Pig Records
Blind Pig Records
Blind Pig Records is an American blues record label.Blind Pig was formed in 1977 in Ann Arbor, Michigan by Jerry Del Giudice, owner of the Blind Pig Cafe, and his friend Edward Chmelewski. The label is now based in San Francisco...

, Strange Days, was released in 2003. The band released their most recent record Steel in 2007.

Albums

  • Shake Down
    Shake Down (album)
    Shake Down is the debut studio album by the British rock band Savoy Brown. It was released in 1967 and is mainly an album of covers, featuring three songs penned by blues singer Willie Dixon. In addition to Dixon, the band covers John Lee Hooker and B.B...

     – 1967
  • Getting to the Point
    Getting to the Point (album)
    Getting to the Point is the second studio album by the British rock band Savoy Brown. It marks the debut of a vastly different lineup, still led by Kim Simmonds but fronted by new vocalist Chris Youlden....

     – 1968
  • Blue Matter
    Blue Matter (album)
    Blue Matter is the third album by the band Savoy Brown. Teaming up once again with producer Mike Vernon, it finds them experimenting even more within the blues framework. Several tracks feature piano as well as trombone.This album featured a mix of live and studio recordings...

     – 1969 - U.S.
    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...

     #182
  • A Step Further
    A Step Further (album)
    A Step Further is the fourth album by the band Savoy Brown.It was released by Parrot in 1969.Side Two recorded live at The Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, London on Monday 12th May, 1969.-Side One:# "Made Up My Mind" – 2:56...

     – 1969 - U.S. #71
  • Raw Sienna
    Raw Sienna (album)
    Raw Sienna is the fifth album by the band Savoy Brown.It was released by Parrot in 1969 in USA, and by Decca in the UK 1970 in both mono and stereo -Track listing:# "A Hard Way to Go"# "That Same Feelin'"# "Master Hare"...

     – 1969 - U.S. #121
  • Looking In
    Looking In (album)
    Looking In is the sixth album by the band Savoy Brown.It was released by Parrot in 1970.-Track listing:Side 1# "Gypsy" 0:57 # "Poor Girl" 4:04 # "Money Can't Save Your Soul" 5:34...

     – 1970 - UK
    UK Albums Chart
    The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

     #50; U.S. #39
  • Street Corner Talking
    Street Corner Talking
    Street Corner Talking is the seventh studio album by the band Savoy Brown. Released by Parrot in 1971, it was the first album released by the band since the departure of Lonesome Dave Peverett, Roger Earl, and Tone Stevens who all went on to form the band Foghat. This left Kim Simmonds as the only...

     – 1971 - U.S. #75
  • Hellbound Train
    Hellbound Train (album)
    Hellbound Train is the eighth album by the band Savoy Brown.It was released by Parrot in 1972.-Track listing:# "Doin' Fine" # "Lost and Lonely Child" # "I'll Make Everything Alright" # "Troubled by these Days and Times"...

    – 1972 - U.S. #34
  • Lion's Share – 1973 - U.S. #151
  • Jack the Toad – 1973 - U.S. #84
  • Boogie Brothers – 1974 - U.S. #101
  • Wire Fire – 1975 - U.S. #153
  • Skin 'n' Bone – 1976 - U.S. #206
  • Savage Return – 1978 - U.S. #208
  • Rock 'n' Roll Warriors – 1981 - U.S. #185
  • Greatest Hits - Live in Concert – 1981
  • Just Live (recorded 1970) – 1981
  • Live in Central Park (recorded 1972) – 1985 (Relix Records RRLP 2014)
  • Slow Train – 1986 (Relix Records RRLP 2023)
  • Make Me Sweat – 1988
  • Kings of Boogie – 1989
  • Live and Kickin – 1990
  • Let It Ride – 1992
  • Bring It Home – 1994
  • Live at the Record Plant (recorded 1975) – 1998
  • The Bottom Line Encore Collection (live, recorded 1981) – 1999
  • The Blues Keep Me Holding On – 1999
  • Looking from the Outside - Live '69 & '70 – 2000
  • Jack the Toad - Live 70/72 – 2000
  • Strange Dreams – 2003
  • You Should Have Been There – 2005
  • Steel – 2007
  • Too Much Of A Good Thing - 2009
  • Voodoo Moon - 2011

Membership timeline

(†) denotes member is deceased.
Year Lead Vocals Guitars Bass Drums 2nd Guitar Keyboards Harmonica Percussion Saxophone Backing Vocals
1965 Brice Portius Kim Simmonds Ray Chappell Leo Manning Trevor Jeavons John O'Leary
1965–1967 Bob Hall
1967 Martin Stone
1967 Chris Youlden Bob Brunning (†)
1967–1968 Hughie Flint Dave Peverett (†)
1968 Rivers Jobe (†) Roger Earl
1968–1970 Tony Stevens
1970–1971 Dave Peverett Kim Simmonds
1971–1972 Dave Walker Andy Sylvester Dave Bidwell Paul Raymond Paul Raymond Kim Simmonds
1972 Andy Pyle
1972–1973 Kim Simmonds, Jackie Lynton Dave Bidwell, Ron Berg Barry Murray, Frank Ricotti Stan Sulzmann Sue Glover, Sunny Leslie, Jackie Lynton
1973–1974 Kim Simmonds, Miller Anderson, Stan Webb Jimmy Leverton Eric Dillon Miller Anderson, Stan Webb
1974–1975 Kim Simmonds Andy Rae Dave Bidwell, Tom Farnell Paul Raymond Paul Raymond
1975–1976 Ian Ellis Tom Farnell
1976–1978
1978–1985 Ralph Mormon John Humphrey Keith Boyce Barry Paul Steve Lynch
1985 Kim Simmonds, Speedo Jones Chris Romanelli Kim Simmonds, Speedo Jones
1985–1986 Jimmy Kunes Jimmy Dagnesi Al Macomber
1986–1988 Dave Walker, Kim Simmonds Les Baker, Robert Martin, Bobby Sexton Shmutza-Hideous
1988–1989 Dave Walker Robert Martin, Bobby Sexton Steve Klong
1989–1990 Dave Walker, Kim Simmonds Lou Kaplan Pete Mendillo Rick Jewett Paul Aronson
1990–1991 Loren Kraft Pete Mendillo, Steve Behrendt Jeff Adams
1991–1992 Kim Simmonds, Pete McMahon, Phil McCormack, Joe Whiting Andy Ramirez Joe Pierleoni Kim Simmonds, Pete McMahon
1992–1994 Pete McMahon, Dave Peverett Jim Heyl Dave Olson Hubert Sumlin Pete McMahon
1994–1999 Nathaniel Peterson Leo Lyons, Nathaniel Peterson Tom Compton, Roger Earl Duke Robillard David Maxwell Paul Oscher
1999–2003 Kim Simmonds Gerry Sorrentino Dennis Cotton David Malachowski Mark Nanni
2003–2005
2005–2007 Dennis Cotton, Mario Staiano Ron Keck
2007–2009 Mario Staiano
2009–present Joe Whiting Pat DeSalvo Garnet Grimm Joe Whiting

External links

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