Thursday, May 28, 2009

Jango Song Of The Day-Free


Artist:Free
Song:All Right Now
Album:20th Century Masters: The Millenium Collection: The Best Of Free





Free came out of the British blues rock boom of the late 60s. All Right Now was their one big hit. Their albums didn't sell well and that resulted in friction within the band so they didn't last long. Free started when guitarist Paul Kossoff (born Sept. 14, 1950 in London) and drummer Simon Kirke (born Aug. 27, 1949 in London) were members of the blues rock group Black Cat Bones in 1968. They wanted to start their own group and spotted singer Paul Rodgers (born Dec. 17, 1949 in Middlesborough, England) singing with the group Brown Sugar. They brought in bassist Andy Fraser (born July 3, 1952 in West London) from John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. British blues legend Alexis Korner helped put the band together and even named them Free. They signed with Island Records and though their 1968 debut album Tons Of Sobs was critically acclaimed, it didn't sell. They tried a more mainstream rock approach with the 1969 album Free but that didn't sell either. Finally Free had a hit with All Right Now from their 1970 album Fire And Water. It was a top five hit. But Rodgers and Fraser weren't getting along and Kossoff was a drug addict so they split up in 1971. Rodgers and Kirke started Bad Company and Fraser started Sharks with guitarist Chris Spedding. Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler. Free would reform briefly in 1975 but then Kossoff died on Mar. 19, 1976 at age 25 and that was the end. In recent years, Paul Rodgers has worked with members of Queen. So Free didn't live up to their potential but All Right Now is a memorable song. This budget comp is perfect for most music fans. Here's Free performing All Right Now on Top Of The Pops 1971.

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