Paul Bernard Rodgers
, (born 17 December 1949) is an English rock singer-songwriter best known for being a member of Free and Bad Company. Both bands experienced international success in the 1970s. Before establishing a career as a solo artist, he was also a member of The Firm and The Law. He has recently toured and recorded with Queen. Rodgers goes by the nickname "The Voice". [1] [2]
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PAUL RODGERS TICKETS
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1960s: Free
Rodgers was born in the northern English town of
Middlesbrough. He played bass
[3] (he later moved onto vocals) in local band The Roadrunners, which just before leaving Middlesbrough for the London music scene changed its name to The Wildflowers. Other members of this band were
Micky Moody (later of
Whitesnake) and
Bruce Thomas (later of
Elvis Costello and The Attractions). Rodgers appeared on the British music scene in 1968 as singer/songwriter for bluesy rockers
Free. In 1970, they shot up the international radio charts with "
All Right Now", which Rodgers wrote with the group's bassist
Andy Fraser. It was a number one hit in more than 20 territories and recognised by
ASCAP in 1990 for receiving more than a million radio plays in the US alone. The song played a pivotal role in introducing Rodgers's stylistic metier, while helping to establish the sound of the British blues/rock invasion. At the time, Free and
Led Zeppelin were the biggest grossing British acts. Free released four top five albums with a combination of
blues,
ballads and
rock. The Multi Million Award was given to Paul Rodgers in 2000 by the British Music Industry when "All Right Now" passed two million radio plays in the UK.
Free disbanded in early 1973. Other members of Free had a band called Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu, and Rabbit which recorded one album for Island. Rodgers had nothing to do with this group. Free reunited for an album called Free at Last ('72) and then most of the members of Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit formed the band which did "Wishing Well (1973)."
1970s: Bad Company
Rodgers formed his next band,
Bad Company, with
Mick Ralphs, former guitarist of
Mott the Hoople. Rodgers said: "Mick and I were trying to come up with names for the band. When I called him and said 'Bad Company', he dropped the phone."
Bad Company toured successfully from 1973 to 1982, and had several hits such as "Feel Like Making Love", "Can't Get Enough", "
Shooting Star", "Bad Company", and "Run With The Pack". Rodgers also showcased his instrumental talents on several tracks: "Bad Company" and "Run With The Pack" featured him on piano; "Rock And Roll Fantasy" on guitar; and on the ballad "Seagull" Rodgers played all of the instruments. Bad Company earned six platinum albums until Rodgers left in 1982 at the height of their fame to spend time with his young family.
1980s
In the early 1980s, it was rumoured that Rodgers would sing with
The Rossington-Collins Band (made of up the survivors of
Lynyrd Skynyrd), but the pairing never came off citing that he was way too big to play with and his ego was not up to the current line up
In October 1983, Rodgers released his first solo LP
Cut Loose
. He composed all of the music and played all of the instruments. The album peaked at a disappointing number 135 on the Billboard's Pop Albums chart.
When his friend
Jimmy Page started to come around to his house, guitar in hand and
Led Zeppelin at an end, the duo's first live pairing was on the US ARMS (Action Research into Multiple Sclerosis) Tour (rock music's first big charity fundraiser) which had first been mooted by
Eric Clapton and, besides Rodgers and Page, would include
Jeff Beck,
Joe Cocker,
Steve Winwood and others. The inspiration behind ARMS had been former Small Faces/Faces member
Ronnie Lane 's own struggle with M.S. This led to Rodgers and Page's further teaming in the group
The Firm , which resulted in two albums and two tours. Both Firm world tours managed only average attendance. Despite being panned by critics
The Firm's two albums,
The Firm
and
Mean Business
, achieved moderate sales success and produced the radio hits "Radioactive" on which Rodgers played the guitar solo, "Satisfaction Guaranteed", and, in the UK, "All The King's Horses".
1990s
The Law, Rodgers's 1991 musical venture with former The Who and Faces drummer
Kenney Jones, produced
Billboard's number one
AOR chart hit "Laying Down The Law" written by Rodgers, but the album peaked at number 126 on the Billboard's Pop Albums chart. A never-released second album can be found on the bootleg market. The album is often referred to as
The Law II
.
Rodgers acknowledged the influence of
Jimi Hendrix by collaborating with Slash, Hendrix's Band Of Gypsys (Buddy Miles and Billy Cox) and recorded the track "I Don't Live Today", on the Hendrix tribute album
In From The Storm
. Then Rodgers teamed with
Journey guitarist
Neal Schon and released
The Hendrix Set
, a live 5-track CD, recorded in 1993 with Rodgers' interpretations of Hendrix songs. A Canadian and US tour followed.
His Grammy-nominated solo CD,
Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters
was released in 1993. Rodgers wrote the title track and was backed by guitarists
Brian May,
Gary Moore,
David Gilmour,
Jeff Beck,
Steve Miller,
Buddy Guy,
Richie Sambora, Brian Setzer, Slash & Trevor Rabin to name a few.
For
Woodstock's 25th anniversary in 1994, Rodgers pulled together drummer
Jason Bonham, bassist
Andy Fraser (from Free), guitarists
Slash and Schon at the last moment to perform as the Paul Rodgers Rock and Blues Revue.
In 1995 he formed a new band consisting of
Jaz Lochrie on bass, Jimmy Copley on drums and Geoff Whitehorn on guitar. The band (The Paul Rodgers Band) toured extensively in Europe, USA and in the UK until 1998 and spawned three albums - Now, Live and Electric.
New studio album of 1997,
Now to be re-released as a part of his first double CD set,
Now and Live
charted internationally in the top 30. The
single "Soul Of Love" remained in rotation on more than 86 US radio stations for six months. His 1997 world tour included
Russia,
Japan,
Canada, USA, UK,
Germany,
France,
Romania,
Bulgaria,
Israel,
Brazil,
Greece and
Argentina.
Rodgers and
Bad Company hit
Billboard's US
BDS charts with the number one single "Hey, Hey" in 1999, one of four new tracks off Bad Company's
The Original Bad Company Anthology
. The second single release, Rodgers's "Hammer Of Love", reached number two. For the first time in 20 years, all the original members of Bad Company toured the USA.
2000-present
Rodgers focused on his solo career in 2000 and released
Electric
, his 6th solo CD. In its debut week, the
single "Drifters" was US rock radio's number one on the
Most Added FMQB Hot Trax
list, number two on
Most Added R&R Rock
and number three on
Most Added Album Net Power Cuts
. "Drifters" remained in the top 10 for eight weeks on
Billboard's Rock charts. That year, he played sold-out concerts in
England,
Scotland,
Australia,
United States and
Canada. After his appearance on TV's
Late Show with David Letterman
in
New York, he met and jammed with
B.B. King. Rodgers said:
"The thrill was definitely not gone... for me. B.B. is a blues giant."
That same year, Paul Rodgers,
Jimmie Vaughan,
Levon Helm, bluesmen
Hubert Sumlin,
Johnnie Johnson,
James Cotton and others performed a sold out concert in
Cleveland as a
Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters
.
The spring of 2001, Rodgers returned to Australia, England and Scotland for the second run of sold-out shows. That summer he toured the US with
Bad Company.
Paul Rodgers and
Bad Company released their first live CD and DVD
Merchants of Cool
in 2002. It included all the hits and a new single "Joe Fabulous" penned by Rodgers which hit number one at Classic Rock Radio and Top 20 on
mainstream rock radio in the USA. In its debut week, the DVD sales sound scanned at number three Canada, and number four in the US. The Joe Fabulous Tour kicked off in the USA and sold out in the UK. While in
London, Rodgers performed with
Jeff Beck at the
Royal Festival Hall. Rodgers was invited by long-time fan
Tony Blair to perform at the
Labour Party Conference. "I had the entire Labour Party singing the chorus of "Wishing Well", a song I wrote and shared with
Free, ...'love in a peaceful world'. 'Love in a peaceful world'... over and over and over hoping the words would sink in but we went to war" recalled Rodgers. Twice in 2002, Rodgers performed on
Britain's TV show
Top of the Pops 2
.
In 2003, Rodgers toured as a solo artist for the first time in two years playing 25 exclusive US dates. In his solo band are guitarist Howard Leese (Heart), bassist
Lynn Sorensen and drummer
Jeff Kathan. BBC TV/radio host
Jools Holland invited Rodgers to record "I Told The Truth" for Holland's album
Small World Big Band
. The CD also featured
Eric Clapton,
Ronnie Wood,
Peter Gabriel,
Michael McDonald,
Ringo Starr and others. This led to Rodgers performing two sold-out nights at London's
Royal Albert Hall with Holland and his 18-piece rhythm and blues orchestra, and several UK TV appearances.He also appeared with Jeff Beck, performing some songs from Beck's back catalogue (along with several other notable musicians, including John Mclaughlin, Roger Waters and the White Stripes) for part of a week-long series of charity concerts put on by Jeff Beck at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
In autumn 2004, Rodgers took part in an all-star line-up of some of the world's greatest guitarists and thousands of fans gathered at London's
Wembley Arena to celebrate the 50th birthday of the
Fender Stratocaster guitar. In 2005, he took part in the 50th anniversary celebration of the
Four Tops.
Early in 2004, Rodgers joined
Mitch Mitchell and
Billy Cox (Hendrix's Cry of Love),
Buddy Guy,
Joe Satriani, Kid Rock's
Kenny Olson, Alice in Chain's
Jerry Cantrell,
Double Trouble, Indigenous,
Kenny Wayne Shepherd and blues legend
Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters) and performed three sold-out shows in
Seattle,
Portland and
San Francisco as "Experience Hendrix". Once again, Rodgers only played 25 concerts in the USA and Canada. He performed at Wembley for the fiftieth anniversary celebration for the
Fender Stratocaster, along with
David Gilmour who played Strat #001,
Ronnie Wood,
Brian May,
Joe Walsh,
Gary Moore, Rodgers sang and played a custom designed Jaguar Fender Strat. Rodgers was invited by
The Four Tops to be part of their fiftieth anniversary TV/DVD concert celebration at Motown's Opera House and performed alongside
Aretha Franklin, Dennis Edwards & The Temptations Revue,
Sam Moore,
Mary Wilson,
Ashford and Simpson and The Four Tops. "The call from THE TOPS' Duke Fakir just about knocked me out. I've been a fan since I was a boy and had no idea that they even knew I existed!" exclaimed Rodgers. For years the media and fellow musicians have referred to Rodgers as "The Voice"'. But The Four Tops' Duke Fakir says, "Paul Rodgers is the soul of Rock!"
In late 2004, after a successful live television performance, two of the four members of the British rock group
Queen proposed a collaboration with Rodgers, in which he would sing lead vocals on a European tour. Rodgers thus joined
Brian May and
Roger Taylor (former bassist
John Deacon retired in the late 1990s), with the group billed as
Queen + Paul Rodgers and they subsequently toured worldwide in 2005 and 2006. The participants clearly stated, including on
Brian May's own website, "that Rodgers would be "featured with" Queen as: "Queen + Paul Rodgers", not replacing the late
Freddie Mercury". The group subsequently released a live album with songs from Queen, Bad Company and Free, called
Return of the Champions
, and a DVD of the same name. Both featured live recordings from their
Sheffield Hallam FM Arena concert on 9 May 2005. The DVD features "
Imagine" from
Hyde Park. "For one glorious summer" opined music critic Sean Michaels "we were all Paul Rodgers".
[4]. Another DVD was released in 2006 from a live performance in Japan, called
Super Live in Japan
.
Queen + Paul Rodgers also released a single featuring "
Reaching Out", "
Tie Your Mother Down" and "
Fat Bottomed Girls".
The summer of 2006 saw Rodgers again focused on his solo career with a world tour, which commenced in Austin Texas,
U.S. in June, then on to
Japan, finishing in
Glasgow,
Scotland, in October 2006.
On 15 August 2006, Brian May confirmed through his website that "Queen + Paul Rodgers" will begin producing a new studio album beginning in October, to be recorded at Roger Taylor's home.
In April 2007 Rodgers released a live album of his 2006 tour, recorded in Glasgow, Scotland 13 October 2006, with a DVD of the same show released the following month.
On 27-28 December 2007, Rodgers surprised many by joining the
Trans-Siberian Orchestra during their Winter 2007 Tour in
Houston,
Texas and
Dallas, Texas. Unannounced, he joined the band at the end of their show to sing "Bad Company" and "All Right Now".
Rogers was a judge for the 6th and 7th annual
Independent Music Awards to support independent artists.
[5]
On 27 June 2008 Rodgers and Queen performed at the Concert for
Nelson Mandela to celebrate Mandela's 90th birthday.
On 14 May 2009, Paul announced he was ending his 5 year long collaboration with Queen, although did not rule out the possibility of working with them again.
Personal life
Paul Rodgers married Machiko Wada in 1971, and has two children by that marriage,
Steve and
Jasmine. The two children are also musicians and singers who formed a band,
Bôa, in the 1990s. Paul and Machiko divorced in 1996.
On 26 September 2007, Paul married former Miss Canada, exercise physiologist and artist
Cynthia Kereluk in a surprise outdoor wedding ceremony on their 10th anniversary in Canada's
Okanagan Valley.
[6]
Discography
Solo
- Cut Loose
(1983)
- Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters
(1993)
- The Hendrix Set
(live EP, 1993)
- Live: The Loreley Tapes
(live album, 1996)
- Now
(1997)
- Now and Live
(2CD compilation, 1997)
- Electric
(2000)
- Live in Glasgow
(2007)
Free
- Tons Of Sobs
(1968)
- Free
(1969)
- Fire and Water
(1970)
- Highway
(1970)
- Free Live!
(live album, 1971)
- Free At Last
(1972)
- Heartbreaker
(1973)
- The Free Story
(1973)
- The Best Of Free
(1991)
Bad Company
- Bad Company
(1974)
- Straight Shooter
(1975)
- Run With the Pack
(1976)
- Burnin' Sky
(1977)
- Desolation Angels
(1979)
- Rough Diamonds
(1982)
- The Original Bad Company Anthology
(compilation CD, 1999, produced by Paul Rodgers for Bad Company)
- Merchants of Cool
(2002)
The Firm with Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
- The Firm
(1985)
- Mean Business
(1986)
- The Firm Live at Hammersmith 1984
(DVD, 1984, limited release video)
- Five From the Firm
(DVD, 1986)
The Law with Kenney Jones of The Who
- ''The Law
- ''The Law II (Unreleased)
Queen + Paul Rodgers
Live Albums
- Return of the Champions
(CD/LP/DVD, 2005)
- Super Live in Japan
(DVD, 2006; Japan only)
- Live in Ukraine
(CD/DVD, 2009)
Studio Albums
- ''The Cosmos Rocks (CD 2008)
Singles
- Reachin' Out/Tie Your Mother Down
(CD Single, 2005, Europe only)
- Say It's Not True
(Download/CD Single, 2007)
- C-lebrity
(Download/CD Single, 2008)
Other Albums
- The A-Z of Queen, Volume 1
(2 DVD Tracks Only)
References
- Queen and Paul Rodgers: The Cosmos Rocks. ''In the news''. Published 10 September 2008.
- Paul Rodgers. Imdb.com. Accessed March 11, 2009.
- Micky Moody - Rock´n Roll Guitar
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/mar/20/news1
- Independent Music Awards - Past Judges
- Paul Rodgers News