Ulrich Roth
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| Uli Jon Roth | |
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| Born | December 18, 1954 in Düsseldorf, Germany |
| Alias(es) | Ulrich Roth, Uli Roth |
| Genre(s) | Rock music / Classical |
| Affiliation(s) | Scorpions Electric Sun Sky of Avalon G3 Legends of Rock |
| Label(s) | SPV |
| Notable guitars | Custom "Sky Guitar" |
| Years active | 1968 - present |
| Official site | Official website |
Ulrich Roth (born December 18, 1954 in Düsseldorf, Germany), also known as Uli Jon Roth, is an electric guitarist and early contributor to the neo-classical metal genre.
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[edit] Career
In the early 1970s, Roth formed a band called Dawn Road. In 1973 he left to join the Scorpions, replacing guitarist Michael Schenker (brother of Scorpions guitarist Rudolph) who had left to join UFO. Michael had a reputation as a highly skilled technical player; Scorpions disbanded after he left the group. The "new" Scorpions were, in effect, a merger between the four members of Dawn Road, (Uli Jon Roth, Achim Kirschning, Francis Buchholz, Jürgen Rosenthal) and the two remaining Scorpions members, Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine. During his tenure as lead guitarist and a main songwriter for the Scorpions, the band released five very influential records, including the live album Tokyo Tapes, which sold nearly one million copies and went gold in several countries.
Some later Scorpion releases with Roth began to exhibit a stylistic split in songwriting. Roth-composed songs were influenced by the style of Jimi Hendrix, but songs involving Rudolph Schenker as composer leaned towards straight hard rock and pop hard rock. This split reflected Roth's growing dissatisfaction with his role in the band. He began investigating spiritually oriented subjects in his private life, like his influence Jimi Hendrix did towards the latter half of his career. Roth left the Scorpions in 1978.
Roth formed his own band named Electric Sun which released three albums. The first, Earthquake(1979), was dedicated to the spirit of Jimi Hendrix and featured cover art by artist Monika Danneman, Jimi Hendrix's former girlfriend who had been with him when he died in 1970. A second album released two years later, Fire Wind (1981), was dedicated to Anwar el-Sadat (the assassinated former leader of Egypt who had tried to make peace in the Middle East), featured a song called "Enola Gay" which was about the atomic bombing of Japan, and cover art by Monika Danneman.
Interviews with some original Scorpions members after the release of these albums demonstrated how far the two parties had grown apart. The guitarist who replaced Roth told the press that he thought Roth was "lost" musically[citation needed]. This may have referred to the commercial success Roth had stepped away from that the Scorpions were still experiencing. Roth's records were released on the much smaller German Metronome Musik label. Roth's move into deeper spiritual and political subjects was opposite that of the Scorpion's foray into more "good-time" subjects accompanied by MTV-style videos showing the band at parties and in 1980's era settings. The two band's public images were starkly different: the Scorpions favored skin tight leotard style clothing typical of the 80's while Roth leaned more towards a Hendrix-influenced style of dress.
The last Electric Sun album Beyond the Astral Skies, dedicated to Martin Luther-King and to fans, was released in 1985.
In the 1980's he commissioned construction of custom guitars with additional frets (32), called "Sky guitars, as used on his last Electric Sun album. With these instruments, he later entered a new phase of creative work with symphony orchestras in Europe on music infuenced by great classical composers.
The untimely death of Roth's girlfriend and spiritual partner Monika Danneman April 5 1996 was reported a suicide; she had just lost a legal battle with a former Hendrix girlfriend and was due to be described in a book about the last days of Hendrix in a negative light. However, Roth publicly stated his opinion that her passing had been the result of foul play[citation needed]. Roth dedicated later works to the memory of Ms. Danneman.
Roth appeared in concert at Castle Donnington in 2001 with original Scorpions lead guitarist Michael Schenker, and critics noted the healthy appearance of Roth and his mastery of his material, but described Schenker as past his prime. These reviews ended comments of Roth being "lost" musically by his former Scorpion bandmates, now that Roth had developed into a polished and successful artist while the commercial pop success of his former band had faded.
[edit] Discography
[edit] With Scorpions
- Fly to the Rainbow (1974) - Guitar, vocals
- In Trance (1975) - Guitar, vocals
- Virgin Killer (1976) - Guitar, vocals
- Taken by Force (1977) - Guitar, vocals
- Tokyo Tapes (live recording, 1978) - Guitar, vocals
[edit] With Electric Sun
- Earthquake (1979) - Guitar, vocals
- Fire Wind (1981) - Guitar, vocals
- Beyond the Astral Skies (1985) - Lead/harmony vocals, guitar, keyboard, bass
[edit] Others
Since the 1980s, Roth has written four symphonies, two concertos and numerous songs including:
- 1987 - Sky Concerto
- 1991 - Aquila Suite - 12 Arpeggio Concert Etudes for Solo Piano
- 1991 - Jimi Hendrix TV special on German TV - Rockpalast - Musical Director
- 1992 - Europa ex Favilla - Symphony
- 1993 - Symphonic Rock For Europe for German TV - Composer and Musical Director
- 1994 - Hiroshima de Profundis - Symphony
- 1996 - Sky of Avalon - Prologue to the Symphonic Legends - Jose Carreras TV Charity appearance
- 1996/97/98 - Requiem for an Angel - dedicated to the memory of deceased girlfriend and artist Monika Dannemann
- 1998 - G3 Concert Tour in Europe with Joe Satriani and Michael Schenker
- 2000 - Transcendental Sky Guitar Vol. I & II
- 2000 - Performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons & Detmold Chamber Orchestra
- 2001 - Japan Tour, European Tour
- 2004 - Toured U.S.A. - first tour since 1985
- 2004 - 2006 Toured Europe
- 2005 - September - Scorpions reunion with Uli in France
- 2006 - Toured U.S.A. - first tour as headliner since 1985
- 2006 - Sky Academy at UCLA - Uli taught his approach to the guitar. Uli, Jon Roth and friends concerts were part of the Academy. Uli performed with guests including Jeff Scott Soto, Chris Impellitteri, Joe Stump, Graham Bonnet, Robbie Krieger and many others.
- 2006 - July. Scorpions Reunion at Wacken Festival in Germany
[edit] Historical Performances DVD
- The Electric Sun Years Vol. I & II
- Legends of Rock at Castle Donington
- 2003 - Metamorphosis of Vivaldi's Four Seasons
[edit] External links
- The Official Uli Jon Roth Website
- Edenwaith Uli Jon Roth Website
- Authorized Uli Jon Roth Website
- Sky Academy Website
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| Founding Members |
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| Joe Satriani | Steve Vai |
| Invited Guitar Players: Eric Johnson | Adrian Legg | Kenny Wayne Shepherd Robert Fripp | Michael Schenker | Uli Jon Roth | John Petrucci | Yngwie Malmsteen | Paul Gilbert |
| Discography |
| Albums and DVDs: G3: Live in Concert | G3: Rockin' in the Free World | G3: Live in Denver | G3: Live in Tokyo |
