John "Charlie" Whitney
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Richard John Whitney (born June 24, 1944), AKA John "Charlie" Whitney, is a British rock guitarist and a former member of both Family and Streetwalkers. He has been alternatively credited as John Whitney and Charlie Whitney on various recordings.
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[edit] Early years
Whitney was born in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. Like many British teenagers in the 1950s, Whitney got into rock and roll, and while attending Leicester Art College in 1962, he formed his own band, the Farinas. The group, which featured Jim King on saxophone and vocals, Tim Kirchin on bass, and Harry Ovenall on drums, largely leaned toward rhythm and blues music, performing songs by Chuck Berry and The Coasters. The Farinas got to release a single, "You'd Better Stop," in August 1964.
Subsequent personnel changes, with Ric Grech replacing Tim Kirchin and Roger Chapman joining as the principal lead singer, turned the group into a heavier, more blues-oriented band. Renaming themselves the Roaring Sixties, they eventually took the name Family and replaced Ovenall with Rob Townsend on drums. The band issued its first single as Family in September 1967, and its debut album Music in a Doll's House followed in July 1968.
[edit] Family
Family gained a reputation as an underground progressive band for its heavy, experimental rock music, and Whitney became famous both for his cocky expression and his double-necked Gibson guitar. By 1970, with the release of their albums A Song For Me and Anyway and an unforgettable appearance at the third Isle of Wight Festival on August 28, 1970, Family was creating some of the fastest and loudest rock and the most intense acoustic music in the British underground scene.
Whitney's angular guitar passages on songs like "Drowned In Wine" and "Good News Bad News" were singled out by fans and critics as being essential to the Family sound. He and Chapman wrote most of Family's songs together as a team, though Whitney did compose two tracks, the instrumental "Summer '67" and the childlike folk song "Processions" (about a small boy enjoying a day at the seashore), by himself. Though Family proved to be popular in Great Britain and continental Europe, success in the U.S. eluded them, and by 1973 the group called it quits.
[edit] Streetwalkers
Whitney continued working with Chapman in Streetwalkers, the project they founded in 1974. The group, which included Bob Tench on guitar and future Iron Maiden member Nicko McBrain on drums, was more of a polished AOR band with elements of white soul than Family had been. Streetwalkers were never as big as Family, but their two best known albums, Downtown Flyers from 1975 and Red Card from 1976, are held in high regard by fans and critics alike. The group broke up in 1977, ending the Whitney-Chapman musical partnership after eleven years.
[edit] Later career
Charlie Whitney remained active in rock music, though not as visibly as Roger Chapman would in the 1980s and 1990s.
Whitney first reunited with Rob Townsend to form Axis Point in 1978. Axis Point included Eddie Hardin on piano and vocals and former Taste bassist Richard McCracken. When that group broke up in 1980, Whitney formed Los Racketeeros, a live unit that specialized in blues and bluegrass music. Los Racketeeros did not even record a debut album until 1995. Whitney issued a solo LP in 1999, and formerly played with the Whitney-Roberts Combo, a folk oriented group. He has reportedly moved to Greece. There are no current plans for Whitney and Chapman to join in another musical project.
[edit] References
| 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 |
