Ian Lloyd

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other persons named Ian Lloyd, see Ian Lloyd (disambiguation).

Ian Lloyd (born 1947) was the singer, bassist, and lyricist of the band Stories, whose single "Brother Louie" was No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. Lloyd later sang backup vocals for the band Foreigner, among others.

[edit] Stories

Although Lloyd was classically trained on both piano and violin, he first reached international acclaim as lead singer for the band Stories, formed with Michael Brown of The Left Banke in the early 70s. Lloyd sang lead on Stories' songs like "I'm Coming Home" (played as an anthem during the return of the Iranian hostages) as well as "Brother Louie" (featured in the 2006 film Guess Who).

Rolling Stone praised Lloyd's songwriting, saying he displayed "a lyricist's most essential gift -- the ability to produce a verbal approximation of the music's ambiance." [1]. He wrote songs for Elkie Brooks's 1975 album, Rich Man's Woman.

After a successful run, Stories disbanded and Lloyd pursued a solo career. His well-received albums include his 1976 self-titled debut, 1979's Goosebumps (which produced a Top 40 hit "Slip Away" written by Ric Ocasek of The Cars), Third Wave Civilization (1980), and Planet X (1997). His solo efforts never matched the commercial success of Stories.

[edit] Backing vocals

As a backup singer, Lloyd worked with numerous major recording artists, most notably Foreigner, who used Lloyd's vocals on hits like "Feels Like the First Time", "Cold as Ice", "Waiting for a Girl Like You", "Juke Box Hero", and "Double Vision". Lloyd can also be heard on Billy Joel’s "I Go to Extremes", as well as tracks by Yes, Peter Frampton, Survivor, and Ian McDonald (of King Crimson and Foreigner fame), to name a few.

Lloyd continues to reside in New York City. He has recently formed a new unit, the Ian Lloyd Band, who has begun performing in the New York area. In addition to their repertoire of Stories' music and Ian's solo tunes, they are currently playing tracks from O-de-PO his new album, which has yet to be released.