Keef Hartley

born on 8/4/1944 in Preston, Lancashire, United Kingdom

died on 27/11/2011

Keef Hartley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Keith "Keef" Hartley (8 April 1944 – 26 November 2011)[1] was an English drummer and bandleader. He fronted his own eponymous band, known as the Keef Hartley Band or the Keef Hartley Big Band, and played at Woodstock.[2] He was later a member of Dog Soldier, and variously worked with Rory Storm, The Artwoods and John Mayall.[1]

Biography

Keith Hartley was born in Preston, Lancashire. His career began as the replacement for Ringo Starr as a drummer for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpool-based band. Subsequently he played and recorded with The Artwoods, then achieved some notability as John Mayall's drummer (including his role as the only musician, other than Mayall, to play on Mayall's 1967 "solo" record The Blues Alone.[3] He then formed The Keef Hartley (Big) Band, mixing elements of jazz, blues, and rock and roll; the group played at Woodstock in 1969.

They released five albums, including Halfbreed and The Battle of North West Six (characterised by a reviewer for the Vancouver Sun as "an amazing display of virtuosity").[4] After that Hartley released a 'solo' album (Lancashire Hustler, 1973) and then he formed Dog Soldier with Miller Anderson (guitar), Paul Bliss (bass), Derek Griffiths (guitar) and Mel Simpson (keyboards). They released an eponymous album in 1975, which had a remastered release in early 2011 on CD on the Esoteric label.

In 2007, Hartley released a ghostwritten autobiography, Halfbreed (A Rock and Roll Journey That Happened Against All the Odds).[5] Hartley wrote about his life growing up in Preston, and his career as a drummer and bandleader, including the Keef Hartley Band's appearance at Woodstock.

Hartley died on 26 November 2011, aged 67, at Royal Preston Hospital in Preston.[1][2]

Discography

Keef Hartley Band

  • Halfbreed (1969)
  • The Battle of North West Six (1969)
  • The Time Is Near (August 1970) - UK #41[6]
  • Overdog (8 April 1971)
  • Seventy-Second Brave (1972)
  • Not Foolish Not Wise (1968-1972 / studio + live) (1999 / 2003)

Solo

  • Lancashire Hustler (1973)

Little Big Band

  • Little Big Band (live at Marquee Club) (1971)

Dog Soldier

  • Dog Soldier (1975) UAS 29769, recorded at Island Basing Street Studios, London, 18 November - 15 December 1974

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Thedeadrockstarsclub.com
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Preston drummer who played at Woodstock dies aged 67", Lancashire Evening Post, 1 December 2011.
  3. Lee Zimmerman, "Happy Birthday, John Mayall!" New Times Broward-Palm Beach, 29 November 2011.
  4. Al Rudis, "The Best of the British", Vancouver Sun, 25 May 1970, p.95.
  5. Gary Graff, "Woodstock at 40: Where are they now", Billboard, 30 July 2009.
  6. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums, 19th, London: Guinness World Records Limited.

External links

This page was last modified 10.04.2014 12:06:05

This article uses material from the article Keef Hartley from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.