Carson (band)
| Carson | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Carson County Band |
| Origin | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Genres | Blues-rock, boogie rock |
| Years active | 1970–1973 |
| Labels | Rebel, Havoc, EMI, Harvest |
| Associated acts | The Dingoes, Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs |
| Past members | see personnel list below |
Carson was an Australian blues-rock and boogie rock band, which formed in January 1970 in Melbourne as Carson County Band. They had a top 30 hit single on the Go-Set National Top 40 with "Boogie" in September 1972. The group released their debut studio album, Blown, in November on EMI and Harvest Records, which peaked at No. 14 on the Go-Set Top 20 Albums. Their performance at the second Sunbury Pop Festival in late January 1973 was issued as a live album, On the Air, in April but the group had already disbanded.
Founding member, John Capek had left by late 1970 and relocated to North America by 1973 where he worked as a composer (often with Marc Jordan), record producer and keyboardist both in Toronto, Canada and in Los Angeles, United States. His replacement in Carson, Broderick Smith, formed country rockers, The Dingoes in 1973 and also had a successful solo career.
History
Carson formed in Melbourne in January 1970 as Carson County Band and, influenced by United States group Canned Heat, performed blues-rock and boogie rock.[1] Founders of Carson County Band were John Capek on piano, vocals and keyboards (ex-Leo and Friends), Ian Ferguson on bass guitar and vocals, Greg "Sleepy" Lawrie on slide guitar and dobro (Creatures, Chocolate), and Tony Lunt on drums.[2] Their debut single, "On the Highway", was issued in May on Rebel Records.[3] In October they dropped the County Band from the name to avoid being confused as a country music group. Capek left at the end of the year to join King Harvest and eventually moved to North America.[1] He worked as a composer (often with Marc Jordan), record producer and keyboardist both in Toronto, Canada and in Los Angeles.[1][3]
Broderick Smith (Adderley Smith Blues Band) replaced Capek, providing vocals and harmonica.[3] Ian Winter also joined on guitar.[2] The group released a second single, "Travelling South" in August on Havoc Records, Ferguson had already left in July to be replaced successively by Barry Sullivan and then Garry Clarke.[1] Mal Logan on keyboards joined later that year.[3] Carson performed at the first Sunbury Pop Festival in late January 1972.[1] On the Easter weekend, 31 March – 2 April, they played two sets at the Mulwala Pop Festival, supporting head-liners Canned Heat and Stephen Stills.[4]
Smith spent part of 1972 recording solo material.[1] Meanwhile Carson, with Smith returned, issued their next single "Boogie" in September, which reached No. 30 on the Go-Set National Top 40.[1][5] This was followed in November by their debut album, Blown on Harvest Records produced by Rod Coe, which reached No. 14 on Go-Set Top 20 Albums.[2][5]
Carson performed at the second Sunbury Pop Festival, on the Australia Day long weekend in late January 1973.[6] Band members Winter and Ferguson left soon after and by February, Carson had disbanded.[3] A live recording of their Sunbury set, On the Air was released in April 1973.[3] Smith was a founding member of country rockers, The Dingoes and later had a successful solo career.[1][3]
Personnel
- John Capek – piano, vocals, keyboards (1970)
- Mal Capewell – saxophone (1972–1973)
- Gary Clarke – bass guitar (1971–1973)
- Ian Ferguson – bass guitar, vocals (1970–1971)
- Greg Lawrie – slide guitar, dobro (1970–1973)
- Mal Logan – keyboards (1971–1973)
- Tony Lunt – drums (1970–1973)
- Broderick Smith – vocals, harmonica (1971–1973)
- Barry Sullivan – bass guitar (1971–1973)
- Ian Winter – guitar (1971–1973)
Discography
Albums
- Blown (November 1972) EMI, Harvest Records
- On the Air (live album, April 1973) EMI, Harvest Records
Singles
- "On the Highway" (1970)
- "Travelling South" (1971)
- "Boogie" (1972)
References
- General
- McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Whammo Homepage". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 5 April 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2011. Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
- Spencer, Chris; Zbig Nowara, Paul McHenry with notes by Ed Nimmervoll (2002) [1987]. The Who's Who of Australian Rock. Noble Park, Vic: Five Mile Press. ISBN 1-86503-891-1. [7] Note: [on-line] version of The Who's Who of Australian Rock was established at White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007 and was expanded from the 2002 edition. As from, September 2010 the [on-line] version shows an 'Internal Service Error' and was no longer available.
- Specific
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 McFarlane, 'Carson' entry. Archived from the original on 23 August 2004. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Holmgren, Magnus. "Carson". Australian Rock Database. Magnus Holmgren. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Kimball, Duncan; McHenry, Paul (2002). "Carson". Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
- ↑ Kimball, Duncan; McHenry, Paul (2002). "Rock Isle (Mulwala) Festival, Albury NSW, April 1972". Milesago: Australasian Music and Popular Culture 1964–1975. Ice Productions. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Search results for "Carson"". Go-Set (Waverley Press). Retrieved 28 April 2011. Note: Go-Set published its national charts from October 1966 until August 1974.
- ↑ Nimmervoll, Ed. "Carson". Howlspace. White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
- ↑ "Who's Who of Australian Rock / Compiled by Chris Spencer, Zbig Nowara & Paul McHenry". catalogue. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 April 2011.