| Punky Meadows | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Edwin Lionel Meadows |
| Born | 6 February 1950 Washington, D.C., United States |
| Genres | Hard rock Heavy metal Progressive rock Glam rock |
| Occupations | Musician, Businessman |
| Instruments | Guitar, Vocals |
| Years active | 1964–1990 |
| Labels | Casablanca |
| Associated acts | The Intruders English Setters The Cherry People BUX Angel |
Punky Meadows (born Edwin Lionel Meadows on February 6, 1950) is an American guitarist known for his glam image as a member of the band Angel.
Contents |
Punky Meadows grew up in Washington, D.C., the oldest of four boys, in the Barnaby Terrace neighborhood which produced guitar legends Danny Gatton, Roy Clark, and Link Wray. He attended Draper Elementary and Hart Junior High Schools, the latter where he started playing guitar in his first band, the Intruders.[1]
The Cherry People formed in Southeast Washington, D.C. during the British Invasion of 1964 and changed their name from the Intruders to the English Setters to the Cherry People, all the while establishing themselves as the city’s hardest working and most talented band. From 1964 to 1972 the band revolved around founding members Chris Grimes (born July 17, 1948), Doug Grimes (born April 24, 1951), and Punky Meadows (born February 6, 1950), with a number of personnel changes taking place from 1972 until the band’s demise in June 1975. The Cherry People’s origins go back to the Barnaby Terrace neighborhood of Southeast Washington D.C. where original members Chris and Doug Grimes, Punky Meadows, and Larry Gray were raised on the Beatles and the early wave of the British Invasion. In 1964 these four youngsters formed their first band, the Intruders.
Later he formed the English Setters, a Beatles-sounding band that opened for the Yardbirds, Neil Diamond, and the Young Rascals, all while he was still in high school.[1] In 1967, The English Setters changed their sound and changed their name to the Cherry People, and were later signed to a record deal by Heritage Records.[1] Meadows himself says that the record company promoted them as a "poor man's Monkees".[1] They toured briefly in 1968, appearing at Caesar's Palace and on American Bandstand.
After Cherry People disbanded, Meadows and Mickie Jones formed Daddy Warbux, later BUX, which released one album.[2] Angel formed after the two met Gregg Giuffria and then Barry Brandt and Frank Dimino, choosing the name "Angel" after the song by Jimi Hendrix,[1] of whom Meadows was a fan.
Angel released studio albums from 1975 to 1979 and the live album Live Without a Net in 1980, and disbanded not long thereafter after not achieving mass critical or popular success. Meadows, however, both during his tenure with the band and thereafter was invited to join Kiss, Aerosmith, and the New York Dolls, all of which he turned down.[1]
The band possessed a strong glam image that was said to be the antithesis of Kiss's,[2] while Meadows himself became the most strongly associated with the glam persona, so much so that Frank Zappa ridiculed his trademark pout and hair in the song "Punky's Whips". Meadows, however, was "flattered" and eventually ended up onstage during a Zappa concert in his Angel costume.[1]
While the band had (and still has) a number of fan sites, a fan of Meadows has a site devoted exclusively to him called the "Punky Meadows Shrine".[3]
Meadows has retired from the music business, and for 13 years owned and ran a tanning salon in Oakton, VA.[1]
Tragedy b/w If She's All Right (March 1966)
Someday You'll See b/w It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog (July 1966)
Wake Up b/w She's in Love (January 1967)
Albums and Singles
The Cherry People (1968)
And Suddenly b/w Imagination (1968)
I'm The One Who Loves You b/w Gotta Get Back (To the Good Life) (1968)
Sea and Me b/w Come on Over (1972)
We Came to Play (Recorded in 1974, Released in 1976)
Angel (1975)
Helluva Band (1976)
On Earth As It Is In Heaven (1977)
White Hot (1978)
Sinful (1979)
Live Without a Net (1980)
An Anthology (1992)
In the Beginning (1999) Plays lead guitar on "Hero" and "Set Me Free"
Angel: The Collection (2000)
Angel: The Singles Collection Volume 1 (2006)
Angel: The Singles Collection Volume 2 (2006)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||