As one of rock 'n roll's most distinctive vocalists, Paul Rodgers first came to
prominence in 1968 as a member of the seminal blues group Free, a youthful Rodgers had struggled to
establish a foothold within London's highly competitive music scene. He was ready to return home before an
act of fate reversed his fortunes. "I came down from Middlesbrough, the industrial heartland of the
North East of England, with a band called the Roadrunners", remembers Rodgers. "We changed our
name to the Wild Flowers. We had come to London to hit the big time and promptly starved! We were on the
road to a gig that was going to pay thirty quid - which was really big money for us - but we had forgotten
to put oil in the engine and it seized up on the way. That was the final straw. Everybody got out of the van
and started hitching home. I was actually on my way home with them, but I suddenly thought, 'You know, I
don't want to go back home'. So I walked across the road and started hitching back the other way. That was
the 'crossroads' for my career.
Determined to establish himself, Rodgers returned to London and formed the blues band Brown Sugar. Soon
after the group began, his dynamic voice was recognized by guitarist Paul Kossoff. Kossoff jammed with
Rodgers and Brown Sugar at the Fickle Pickle, a pub in London's Finsbury Park. Kossoff was so impressed that
he and Rodgers decided to create a new entity. Joined by drummer Simon Kirke, Kossoff's partner in Black Cat
Bones, and bassist Andy Fraser, fresh from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, this new group was named Free by
noted British blues pioneer Alexis Korner.
Beginning in 1968's 'Tons of Sobs' and extending through 1973's
'Heartbreaker', Free joined Cream and Led Zeppelin as leaders of the British blues revival. Free's winning
combination of blues, ballads and rock won them wide praise and an international following. That popularity
continues today, as 'All Right Now', the group's signature song, was recently recognize by ASCAP for
garnering more than one million radio plays in the United States alone.
When Free disbanded in 1973, Rodgers formed Bad Company with Mott the Hoople
guitarist Mick Ralphs. Together they auditioned players and settled on former King Crimson bassist Boz
Burrell and drummer Simon Kirke. Paul approached Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant who signed the group to
Zeppelin's newly formed Swan Song Records and Rodgers came up with the name 'Bad Company'. His idea was met
with resistance from the band, management and the record company. Rodgers stuck to his guns and so Bad
Company it was. 'Bad Company', their 1974 debut album, enjoyed international success. "'Bad Company'
took off like a rocket in the US," remembers Rodgers. "When we started our first US tour, the
album was ninety-nine in the charts. By the time we worked our way across America it hit number one".
One of the most popular of all rock bands, Rodgers' six multi-platinum albums
with Bad Company have spawned such enduring radio classics as 'Rock 'n Roll Fantasy', 'Shooting Star', 'Run
With The Pack', and 'Rock Steady', all written by Paul Rodgers. A note of interest, on 'Rock 'n Roll
Fantasy' Paul played all of the guitar parts. The group's popular greatest hits compilation '10 From 6'
remains an essential primer for fans throughout the world.
Since leaving Bad Company, Rodgers has maintained a high profile. Following
'Cut Loose' his 1983 solo effort, Rodgers formed The Firm, a popular partnership with former Led Zeppelin
guitarist Jimmy Page. Rodgers and Page had first collaborated on the Bill Wyman organized 'Willie And The
Poor Boys' album. That successful union led to their joint billing on the US leg of the historic ARMS tour.
At the tour's conclusion, the two formed The Firm with bassist Tony Franklin and former AC/DC drummer Chris
Slade. Fuelled by the popularity of such singles as 'Radioactive', 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' and 'All The
King's Horses', 'The Firm' and 'Mean Business', the group's two albums, enjoyed international success. Most
fans know that Paul wrote 'Radioactive', not many know that he played the guitar solo.
'The Law', Rodgers' next creative venture, represented a partnership with
former Small Faces and Who drummer Kenney Jones. The duo scored with such songs as 'Laying Down The Law',
especially in America, where the track earned coveted number one ranking on Billboard's AOR chart. Rodgers
proceeded The Law with the Grammy nominated solo album 'Muddy Water Blues'. Issued in 1993, 'Muddy Water
Blues' showcased Paul's blues roots and debt to Muddy Waters, one of his primary influences. Backed by an
array of guitarists whose ranks included Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, Dave Gilmour, and Brian May, Rodgers paid
homage to the many songs whose gritty emotion had informed his sound and style.
In addition to Muddy Waters, Rodgers also took time to acknowledge the influence of Jimi Hendrix. A
collaboration with Guns 'n Roses guitarist Slash, Hendrix's own Band of Gypsys Buddy Miles and Billy Cox,
led to 'I Don't Live Today', one of the highlights of 'Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix', the acclaimed
tribute to the late guitarist. Accompanied by former Journey guitarist Neil Schon, Rodgers made a further
demonstration of his love for Hendrix's music, issuing 'The Hendrix Set', a live album showcasing his unique
interpretations of some of the late guitarist's finest songs.
In 1995, Rodgers assembled a band consisting of guitarist Geoff Whitehorn (Paul McCartney, Roger Daltry) On
bass was Jaz Lochrie (Go West), On drums was Jim Copley (Jeff Beck, Seal.)
Rodgers worked the new band live for eighteen months before recording his
1997 C.D. 'Now'. In that time the band performed to ecstatic acclaim in twenty territories ranging from the
USA, Canada, Russia, South America, throughout Europe to Japan and more unusual territories such as Romania,
Bulgaria, Israel and Greece.
Rodgers 6th solo CD "Electric" was released internationally 2000 on
CMC/Sanctuary, JVC & SPV. In it's debut week the single "Drifters" was radio's #1 Most Added
FMQB Hot Trax, #2 Most Added R&R Rock and #3 Most Added on Album Net Power Cuts. Beating out Bon
Jovi,Deftones,Bush & ACDC."Drifters" remained in the Top Ten on Billboards MH Rock Charts for
6 weeks. A worldwide tour with his solo band followed including England,USA,Scotland & Australia.
2001: May 7, Bad Company and Styx performed together at the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in Cleveland before a record sold out crowd. (Tickets sold out in an unprecedented 3 1/2
minutes!). Three days later, the bands kicked off their exclusive co-headline 40-date US tour. In August,
$100,000 from the tour was donated to the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame's Education Fund. After September 11,
Styx's Tommy Shaw inspired two sold out benefit concerts to aid the NY Port Authority. Bad Company joined in
and helped raise over $600,000!
2002: January 17, the band kicked off a sold out exclusive 7-date US
"Live CD/DVD Tour." For the first time, Bad Company, with original members Paul Rodgers and Simon
Kirke, along with Dave Colwell (guitar) and Jaz Lochrie (bass) recorded a live CD and DVD/VHS
"MERCHANTS OF COOL" that was released internationally on Sanctuary Records. The new single,
"Joe Fabulous" penned by Rodgers, was followed by the "Joe Fabulous Tour", a 35-date
world Tour spanning from the US to the UK. In fact, their reception was so great they sold out most of their
shows in the UK!
On Oct 1st, Paul Rodgers performed for England's Prime Minister, Tony Blair who described Rodgers as his
"Favourite singer of all time". On Nov 23 Rodgers solo concert featuring a special guest
appearance by Harmonica great Lee Oskar played to a sold-out crowd at the Emerald Queen Casino.
2015 Rodgers planned to spend the year writing for the next album however, due to strong fan demand for a
solo tour he will be playing 20 exclusive dates in the US & Canada through the summer.
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