NRBQ
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NRBQ is an American rock band. The abbreviation "NRBQ" stands for New Rhythm and Blues Quartet (originally Quintet).
The band's music, a blend of everything from rockabilly to Beatles-influenced pop to Thelonious Monk-inspired jazz, has attracted fans as diverse as Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Keith Richards and Penn and Teller. NRBQ songs have inspired cover versions by Bonnie Raitt, Los Lobos, and Dave Edmunds, among many others. In addition, they served as the unofficial "house band" for The Simpsons for the season 10-12 period in which NRBQ fan Mike Scully was head writer and executive producer, contributing several songs and even appearing in animated form during one episode. They have also appeared in feature films, including 28 Days and Day Of The Dead.
However, the aforementioned acclaim has never resulted in commercial success. The band has made only one appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in its nearly forty-year recording career ("Get That Gasoline Blues" reached #70 in 1974.) More than once, NRBQ has garnered a major-label record deal, only to be dropped after one or two albums due to poor sales. The situation is largely due to the impossibility of defining the band in terms of any single pre-existing musical category, but the band's eccentric sense of humor, while beloved by fans, hasn't helped their commercial potential, either. Over the years, the group has played festival sets while wearing pajamas, hired professional wrestler Captain Lou Albano as their manager, and exploded Cabbage Patch Dolls on stage.
[edit] History
NRBQ formed in 1967 in Miami, Florida, coming together from the remnants of several other bands. The original members were keyboardist Terry Adams, guitarist Steve Ferguson, singer Frank Gadler, drummer Tom Staley, and bassist Joey Spampinato (originally known by the stage name of Jody St. Nicholas). In addition to their instrumental prowess, everyone sang lead vocals at various times. The group relocated to the northeastern US and gained attention in local clubs. They were signed to Columbia Records in 1969, and released their self-titled debut album the same year. The record featured cover versions of everyone from Eddie Cochran to Sun Ra, along with a number of similarly wide-ranging original songs. The following year, the group collaborated with rockabilly legend Carl Perkins on an album titled Boppin' The Blues.
However, before NRBQ could finish their third album, Columbia dropped the group, unhappy with their lack of chart performance. Over the next three years, the band would experience heavy turnover, with the departure of Ferguson, Gadler, and Staley, and the arrival of two new members: guitarist/singer Al Anderson and drummer Tom Ardolino. (Ardolino had been a fan of the band for several years, corresponding and trading tapes with Terry Adams. One night, when Tom Staley was too sick to return for an encore, Terry invited Ardolino to fill in. He did such a good job that Al Anderson didn't notice the substitution until he glanced back well into the encore. When Staley later decided to leave the band for good, Ardolino was the natural choice to replace him.) The Adams/Spampinato/Anderson/Ardolino quartet would stay together for twenty years (from 1974 until 1994), and was often augmented by the Whole Wheat Horns, consisting of tenor saxophonist Keith Spring and trombonist Donn Adams, Terry's older brother.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, NRBQ recorded a number of albums, mostly on Rounder Records or the band's own label, Red Rooster Records. The band also garnered a reputation for unpredictable live shows, since it eschewed the use of setlists. A former staple of the group's gigs was "The Magic Box", a mysteriously-painted crate into which fans could drop slips of papers with requests on them. The band would play whatever songs they drew out of the box. Over the years, the results ranged from the Beach Boys' "Caroline No", to the Christmas standard "Jingle Bells".
The band would receive another shot at major-label stardom in 1983, with the release of Grooves In Orbit on Bearsville Records. However, a feud developed between the group and label owner Albert Grossman, and Grossman refused to let the band out of its exclusive contract. As a result, NRBQ couldn't record any new material for several years, until Grossman died in 1986. Fortunately, the contract did allow the band to release archival material on their own label.
In 1989, free from the Bearsville contract, the band got another one-album major-label deal with Virgin Records. Wild Weekend became the first NRBQ album to reach the charts since their 1969 debut, but it wasn't enough for Virgin to extend the deal.
The early 1990s saw appearances by various NRBQ members on albums by Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, and Johnnie Johnson. In addition, Ardolino became active in the rediscovery and release of musical recordings in the "song poem" genre.
The band's long-time lineup came to an end in 1994, as Al Anderson left to pursue a songwriting career in Nashville. He was replaced by Joey Spampinato's younger brother Johnny, a member of The Incredible Casuals. The band's recording and concert career continued unabated, including the release of a children's album, 1997's You're Nice People You Are, and the creation of their new label, Edisun Records.
On April 30th and May 1st of 2004, the group celebrated its 35th anniversary with concerts at the Calvin Theater in Northampton, Massachusetts. The shows featured every former and current member of the band, as Ferguson, Gadler, Staley, and Anderson came back for a mammoth NRBQ reunion.
Near the end of 2004, NRBQ went on hiatus when Adams came down with a severe case of tendonitis in his hands. During this time, Ardolino and the Spampinato brothers started playing shows as a trio, under the name Baby Macaroni. (Many years earlier, NRBQ had performed under this name during a brief period when they were trying different names for the band. Other names used included "Billy The Kid" and "The Marlboro Men.") After a number of months, Adams would recover well enough to tour with former drummer Staley and Japanese rockabilly group the Hot Shots.
In June, 2006, Adams and Ferguson released the album "Louisville Sluggers" (with Ardolino on drums, Pete Toigo on bass, and other supporting musicians), and this album's lineup performed some live shows in the US and Japan as "The Terry Adams - Steve Ferguson Quartet". In a September 2006 appearance on Bob Brainen's show on WFMU, Adams addressed the ongoing NRBQ hiatus (now at almost two years), indicating that "some members" of the group had "different priorities" from his own. He stressed that fans shouldn't see him as "replacing" NRBQ with the Adams-Ferguson Quartet, but he was also reluctant to characterize the new band as a "side project".
Also in September 2006 came the release of a SpongeBob SquarePants album, "The Best Day Ever," which included backing music by all four NRBQ members, as well as Al Anderson. The album, a collection of '60s-influenced pop/rock produced by Andy Paley, and co-written by Paley and the voice of SpongeBob, Tom Kenny, also included such musical luminaries as Brian Wilson, Tommy Ramone, James Burton, Flaco Jimenez and Philadelphia DJ Jerry "The Geator" Blavat.
[edit] Album Discography
- NRBQ (Columbia) 1969
- Boppin’ the Blues (w/Carl Perkins) (Columbia) 1970
- Scraps (Kama Sutra) 1972
- Workshop (Kama Sutra) 1973
- All Hopped Up (Red Rooster) 1977
- At Yankee Stadium (Mercury) 1978
- Kick Me Hard (Red Rooster/Rounder) 1979
- Tiddlywinks (Rounder/Red Rooster) 1980
- Grooves in Orbit (Bearsville) 1983
- Tapdancin’ Bats (Rounder/Red Rooster) 1984
- She Sings, They Play (w/Skeeter Davis) (Rounder/Red Rooster) 1985
- Lou and the Q (w/Captain Lou Albano) (Rounder/Red Rooster) 1986
- RC Cola and a Moon Pie (Rounder/Red Rooster) 1986
- Uncommon Denominators (Rounder-era compilation covering '72 through '84) (Rounder) 1987
- God Bless Us All (live album) (Rounder) 1987
- Diggin’ Uncle Q (live album) (Rounder) 1988
- Kick Me Hard- the Deluxe Edition (reissue, w/8 bonus tracks) (Rounder) 1989
- Wild Weekend (Virgin) 1989
- Peek-A-Boo (multi-label compilation covering '69 through '89) (Rhino) 1990
- Stay with We (compilation of Columbia years, w/unreleased songs) (Columbia/Legacy) 1993
- Message for the Mess Age (Rhino) 1994
- Tokyo (live album) (Rounder) 1996
- You’re Nice People You Are (Rounder) 1997
- Tapdancin' Bats - The Anniversary Edition (reissue, w/4 bonus tracks) (Rounder) 1998
- You Gotta Be Loose (live album) (Rounder) 1998
- Ridin’ in My Car (reissue of All Hopped Up, w/unreleased songs) 1999
- NRBQ (sometimes known as "The Yellow Album") (Rounder) 1999
- Scraps (reissue, remastered, w/3 bonus tracks) (Rounder) 2000
- Atsa My Band (Edisun) 2002
- Live At The Wax Museum (previously unreleased concert from '82) (Edisun) 2003
- Dummy (Edisun) 2004
- Transmissions (2-disc Japan-only compilation featuring about 40% unissued material) (Caraway) 2004
- Froggy's Favorites Vol. 1 (compilation of unreleased live tracks 1979-1999) (Edisun) 2006
- Ludlow Garage 1970 (previously unreleased concert from '70) (Sundazed) 2006