Family (band)

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This is about the British rock band Family. For other uses, see Family (disambiguation)

Family circa 1968:(L to R) John "Charlie" Whitney, Jim King, Rob Townsend, Ric Grech and Roger Chapman
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Family circa 1968:(L to R) John "Charlie" Whitney, Jim King, Rob Townsend, Ric Grech and Roger Chapman

Family were an English progressive rock band formed in 1966, originally comprising Roger Chapman on vocals, John "Charlie" Whitney on guitar, Jim King on sax, harmonica, vocals and tin whistle, Ric Grech on bass, violin and vocals and Rob Townsend on drums. While never a big success in the United States, Family were quite successful in the UK and best remembered for vocalist Chapman's "electric goat" vibrato and wild, manic stage persona.

Contents

[edit] History

Family officially began in 1966 in Leicester in the Midlands, England, although the basis for the band had actually been in existence since 1962 when they were known as The Farinas and subsequently The Roaring Sixties. The original Farinas line up featured guitarist Charlie Whitney, Tim Kirchin on bass and Harry Ovenall on drums with Jim King on lead vocals. Ric Grech replaced Kirchin on bass in 1965 and Roger Chapman joined around the same time on vocals. American producer Kim Fowley suggested the band change their name to The Family based on their penchant for wearing double-breasted suits giving themselves sort of a mafia appearance--a look they soon abandoned in favour of a more hippy or bohemian image. Shortly after becoming Family, drummer Harry Ovenall was asked to leave and was replaced by Rob Townsend.

Family's debut single Scene Through The Eye Of A Lens/Gypsy Woman was released by Liberty in the autumn of 1967. While the single received much praise from critics, it received very little airplay, due to its rather complex, uncommercial nature. Family's debut album Music in a Doll's House was finally released in July 1968; produced by former Traffic member Dave Mason. Mason also contributed one composition to the album Never Like This--the only song recorded by Family not written by a band member. Music in a Doll's House charted respectably in the UK and, like their debut single, received praise from the critics as well as getting considerable airplay from well-known British radio personality John Peel. The sound of this album was largely based around Roger Chapman's rather odd vocalizations, Rick Grech's classically trained violin playing and the jazzy reed and horn work of Jim King which, while very psychedelic in nature, sounded far more sophisticated and mature than a lot of other albums of the genre. Some criticised the album for being restrained in comparison to their wild live performances which had gained them a respectable cult following in their homeland. Family's 1969 follow-up Family Entertainment toned down the psychedelic experimentation of their previous offering, although it was equally eclectic and complex and featured their first UK hit "The Weaver's Answer".

With the UK success of Family's first two albums, they decided to try to conquer the US, although they were faced with many setbacks which all but killed any chance of a successful career in the States. Before their 1969 US tour, Ric Grech, whose violin playing had been very integral to Family's sound, unexpectedly left to join Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker in the supergroup Blind Faith and was replaced by former Eric Burdon and the Animals bassist John Weider. The biggest blow to Family's US career involved their first concert at Bill Graham's Fillmore East, sharing the bill with Ten Years After and The Nice in which Chapman, during his normal manic stage routine, lost control of his mike stand which came within inches of decapitating Graham. This nearly got Family pulled from the bill at the Fillmore, although they were spared as long as Chapman performed on stage with his arms pinned at his side. While Family and Graham reconciled their differences, Family's reputation in the US sadly never recovered from the incident. After the tour, Jim King was relieved of his position in the band due to "erratic behaviour" and was replaced by multi-instrumentalist John "Poli" Palmer on keyboards, vibes and flute.

With Family's 1970 release A Song For Me, they developed a more aggressive sound, dominated by Whitney's tight guitar lines and Palmer's keyboard and vibraphone work. Family's new line-up and sound gained them an even larger European following and they played at several major rock festivals including the 1970 Isle Of Wight music festival and Holland's Kralingen Festival. Both performances were documented in the festival documentary films Message To Love (there was no performance shown in this film, only a part of one song played as soundtrack) and Stomping Ground. Family's follow-up album Anyway featured a side of a live performance of new material at Fairfields Hall in Croydon, England, as well as a side of new studio recordings. In 1971 Weider left to join the band Stud and was replaced by former Mogul Thrash bassist John Wetton. Much like Grech in the original line-up of the band, Wetton also shared vocal duties with Chapman, and this line-up recorded the two albums Fearless (1971) and Bandstand(1972) which were both quite successful in both the UK and the States.

In mid-1972 Wetton left Family to join the newly re-formed King Crimson and was replaced by bassist Jim Cregan, and at the end of this year Poli Palmer also left the band and was replaced by keyboardist Tony Ashton, formerly of Ashton, Gardner and Dyke. In between Wetton's departure and Palmer's exit, Family toured the United States and Canada was the warmup act for Elton John; though far more successful than their eariler North American concert dates, it was not the breakthrough in the New World the band were looking for. In 1973 Family released It's Only a Movie which would be their last studio album. Family gave their final concert at Leicester Polytechnic on October 13th, 1973. Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney continued to record as the Streetwalkers which included former Jeff Beck vocalist Bob Tench.

Leicester author Mick White is currently working on a biography about Family which he hopes to have in the shops sometime late 2006 or early 2007 - as a bassist Mick White has worked with various members of Family including Charlie Whitney, Ric Grech and Harry Ovenall. The book has taken over ten years to get together, and Mick hopes it will provide an amusing and interesting read for Family fans and anyone else interested.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • Music in a Doll's House (Reprise, 1968)
  • Family Entertainment (Reprise, 1969)
  • A Song For Me (Reprise, 1970)
  • Anyway (Reprise, 1970)
  • Fearless (Reprise, 1971)
  • Bandstand (Reprise, 1972)
  • It's Only a Movie (Raft, 1973)
  • Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit, 1989)
  • BBC Radio 1 In Concert (Windsong, 1991)
  • Family Live (Mystic Records, 2003)
  • BBC Volume 1: 1968-1969 (Hux, 2004)
  • BBC Volume 2: 1970-1973 (Hux, 2004)

All albums after Song For Me released in the U.S. by United Artists Records.

[edit] Singles

  • Scene Through The Eye Of A Lens/Gypsy Woman (Liberty, 1967)
  • Me My Friend/Hey Mr. Policeman (Reprise, 1968)
  • Second Generation Woman/Hometown (Reprise, 1968)
  • No Mule's Fool/Friend Of Mine (Reprise, 1969)
  • Today/Song For Lots (Reprise, 1970)
  • Strange Band/The Weaver's Answer/Hung Up Down (Reprise, 1970)
  • In My Own Time/Seasons (Reprise, 1971)
  • Burlesque/The Rockin' R's (Reprise, 1972)
  • My Friend In The Sun/Glove (Reprise, 1973)
  • Boom Bang/Sweet Desiree (Raft, 1973)

The single In My Own Time was included in the U.S. version of Anyway (United Artists, 1971).

[edit] Compilations

  • Old Songs New Songs (Reprise, 1971)
  • Best Of Family (Reprise, 1974)
  • From The Archives (Teldec, 1980)
  • Best Of Family (Castle Communications, 1990)
  • A's & B's (Castle Communications, 1992)
  • A Family Selection (Castle Communications, 2000)

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Musicians

[edit] Session Musicians

  • Dave Mason: Keyboards, bass, guitar (on Music In A Dolls House)
  • Nicky Hopkins: Keyboards (on Family Entertainment)

[edit] Producers

[edit] External links

Family
Roger Chapman | John "Charlie" Whitney | Jim King | Ric Grech | Rob Townsend
Harry Ovenall | John Weider | John "Poli" Palmer | John Wetton | Jim Cregan | Tony Ashton
Discography
Studio albums: Music in a Doll's House | Family Entertainment | A Song For Me | Anyway | Fearless | Bandstand | It's Only a Movie
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