Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band
| Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Soul |
| Years active | 1965–1968, 2005–present |
| Labels | Piccadilly Pye Castle Marble Arch |
| Associated acts | Geno Washington, Vinegar Joe |
| Website | Geno Washington Website |
| Past members | 1967–1968 Geno Washington Pete Gage Lionel Kingham Buddy Beadle Geoff Pullum aka Jeff Wright John Roberts Herb Prestidge |
Geno Washington & the Ram Jam Band were an English-based soul band, active from 1965 to 1968.
Contents
Career
The Ram Jam Band were formed around 1964 by Pete Gage and Geoff Pullum. Before taking on Geno Washington, whom Pete knew from performing the Bentwaters USAF Base, they had Jamaican Blue Beat singer by the name of Errol Dixon front the band as they embarked on the London club circuit. Pete approached Geno to finance his demobbing to the States and to return to front the band as it seemed essential to have an American to perform US soul rather than the West Indian alternatives in London at that time.
Geno Washington was a US airman stationed in East Anglia who became well known for his impromptu performances in London nightclubs. In 1965, guitarist Pete Gage needed a singer to front his new band and replace the previous singer Errol Dixon, and asked Washington to join. When Washington was discharged from the US Airforce, he became the band's frontman. Their first single featuring Geno, "Shake, Shake, Senora" / "Akinla" released on Columbia had sunk without a trace.
They released two live albums. Hand Clappin, Foot Stompin, Funky-Butt ... Live! was released in 1966, reached no.5 on the UK albums chart, and remained in the charts for 38 weeks. It was followed up by Hipster Flipsters Finger Poppin' Daddies in 1967, which reached no.8 on the chart.[1] They also had some moderate hit singles released by the Pye label: "Water", "Hi Hi Hazel", "Que Sera Sera" and "Michael (The Lover)".
They managed to build up a strong following with the crowds and due to their touring and engergetic performances. Like their Pye label mates and rivals, Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, they became popular with the mod scene.
The band broke up in the autumn of 1969 and the band members went their own ways while Geno Washington continued as a solo artist before returning to the United States. Keyboard player Geoffrey K. Pullum became an academic linguist, and is today a professor at the University of Edinburgh and a linguistics blogger at the Language Log and Lingua Franca websites.[2]
Washington temporarily reformed the band between February and June 1971 with new band members Dave Watts (organ), Mo Foster (bass), Mike Jopp (guitar) and Grant Serpell (drums)
The band's name came from the Ram Jam Inn, an old coaching inn on the A1 (Great North Road) at Stretton, near Oakham, Rutland.[3]
Since 2005, Geno Washington and The Ram Jam Band have been constantly playing shows. The current version of the band is: Geno Washington (Lead Vocals); Geoff Hemsley (Drums); Steve Bingham (Bass and Backing Vocals); Stuart Dixon (Guitar and Backing Vocals); Alan Whetton (Tenor Sax); and Allesandro Carnevali (Tenor Sax).[4]
Former members
- Geno Washington, lead vocals
- Pete Gage, guitar
- Lionel Kingham, saxophone
- Buddy Beadle, saxophone
- Geoff Pullum aka Jeff Wright, organ
- John Roberts, bass
- Pete Carney, bass
- Herb Prestidge, drums
- Clive Burrows, saxophone
- Paul Turner, bass guitar
- Keith O'Connell, Hammond Organ (1968 - 1969)
- Early Les Blues-line-up
- Tony Coe, Double bass
- later replaced by John Game, bass guitar
- Colin Gilbert, Piano/Keyboards
- Morton Lewis,Guitar
- Gerry Gillings,Drums
Discography
Singles
- "Shake, Shake, Senora" / "Akinla", Columbia 7621, 1965 (Ram Jam Band only)
- "Water" / "Understanding", Piccadilly 7N 35312, UK No. 39, May 1966
- "Hi Hi Hazel" / "Beach Bash", Piccadilly 7N 35329, UK No. 45, July 1966
- "Que Sera Sera" / "All I Need", Piccadilly 7N 35346, UK No. 43, October 1966
- "Michael (The Lover)" / "Gotta Hold on to My Love", Piccadilly 7N 35359, UK No. 39, December 1966
- "Always" / "If You Knew" / "She Shot A Hole in My Soul" / "I've Been Hurt by Love", Piccadilly 7N 35392, 1967
- "Tell It Like It Is"/"Girl I Want To Marry You", Piccadilly 7N 35403, 1967
- "Different Strokes"/"You Got Me Hummin'", Pye 7N 17425, 1967
- "I Can't Quit Her"/"Put Out The Fire Baby", Pye 7N 17570, 1968
- "I Can't Let You Go"/"Bring It To Me Baby", Pye 7N 17649, 1968
- "My Little Chickadee"/"Seven Eleven", Pye 7N 17745, 1969[5][6]
EPs
- Hi Piccadilly NEP.34054 – 1966
- Different Strokes Pye 7N.17425 – 1967
- Small Package of Hipsters Pye NEP.24302 -1968
- Que Sera Sera Flashback FBEP.103 – 1980[3]
Albums
- Hand Clappin' Foot Stompin' Funky-Butt ... Live! – Piccadilly NPL 38026 – 1966
- Shake A Tail Feather – Piccadilly NPL.38029 – 1967
- Hipster Flipsters, Finger Poppin' Daddies – Piccadilly NPL.38032 – 1967
- Running Wild – Pye NSPL.18219 – 1968
- Sifters, Shifters, Finger Clicking Mamas – Marble Arch MAL 816 (Mono) / MALS 816 (Stereo) – 1968
- Uptight – Marble Arch MALS 1162 – 1969
- Golden Hour of Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band – Golden Hour GSH 594 – 1975
- Hand Clappin' Foot Stompin' Funky-Butt ... Live! (Reissue) – PYE NSPL 18618 – 1980
CD
- Hip Shakin' Soul Breakin' Earthquakin' Live – PYE PYC 4018 – 1988
- Hand Clappin Foot Stompin' Funky Butt Live – Repertoire REP 4189-WZ – 1991
- Hipsters Flipsters, Finger Poppin' Daddies! – Repertoire REP 4190-WZ – 1991
- Geno Washington VS. Jimmy James ... No Holds Barred Sequel NEX CD 169
- Hand Clappin' Foot Stompin' Funky-Butt ... Live! & Hipsters Flipsters, Finger Poppin' Daddies! – C5 CD 581 – 1995
- Geno – Spectrum 5507692
- My Bombers, Mey Dexy's, My Highs (The Sixties Studio Sessions) – Sequel MEMCD 973 – 1998
- Geno! Geno! Geno! ... Live in the 60's – Sequel NXTCD 295 – 1998
- Foot Stompin' Soul – Castle 1304 – 2006[5][6]
- Geno Washington and The Ram Jam Band Live at The Half Moon Putney – PQFMusic/Pete Quaife Foundation – 2014
References
- ↑ Geno Washington, Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 October 2014
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Geno_Washington_And_The_Ram_Jam_Band_CD" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[full citation needed]
- ↑ Acid Jazz website Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band – on Acid Jazz Records
