Ballin' Jack (stylised as Ballin'jack) was an American horn rock group formed in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington
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* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
in 1969 by
Luther Rabb
Luther James Rabb (September 7, 1942 – January 22, 2006) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter, from Seattle, Washington, who gained notoriety as the lead vocalist of the jazz rock group Ballin' Jack and in later years as a member ...
(bass and vocals) and Ronnie Hammon (drums). They had a minor
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...
in 1970 with "Super Highway", which hit #93 on the
Billboard Top 100.
[Answers.co]
– Artist: Ballin' Jack
/ref>
Career
Rabb and Hammon were inspired by the success of their childhood friend, Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
. They added Glenn Thomas on guitar, and on the horns, were Jim Coile and Tim McFarland. They moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, and lived in a mansion home-studio near the Sunset Strip. Hendrix asked the group to come along with him on his 1970 "Cry Of Love" tour.
Form 1969 to 1974 Ballin' Jack, headlined up and down the West Coast. They went on nationwide US tours warming up for many of the bands at venues like the Fillmore East and West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
. They were on the bill of several large music festival
A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...
s of the era. When they played the Troubadour
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...
in Los Angeles, in 1972, Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...
was the opening act. Ballin' Jack also played in Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, where they were well received.
By 1975, the band had decided to break up. Luther Rabb later toured with Santana
Santana may refer to:
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, and both he and Ronnie Hammon, later joined War.
Jim Coile (born on January 22, 1948, in Kirkland, Washington
Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in the county and the twelfth largest in the state.
The city's downto ...
) died tragically on June 20, 2019, at age 71.
Legacy
Their song "Found a Child" from their first album was featured on the Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
sampler album
A sampler or promotional compilation is a type of compilation album generally offered at a reduced price to showcase an artist or a selection of artists signed to a particular record label. The format became popular in the late 1960s as record labe ...
''Together!''.
Several of their songs have been covered or sampled by other artists, including:
* "Found a Child" – prominently sampled on the Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
-winning 1989 rap hit, " Bust a Move" by Young MC
Marvin Young (born May 10, 1967), better known by his stage name Young M.C., is a British-born American rapper, singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit " Bust a Move". His debut album ''Stone Cold Rhymin found international accla ...
.
* "Found a Child" – covered by Funktuation on their EP "Talk" in 2005.
* "Found a Child" – covered by Cane And Able on their album "Cane And Able" in 1970.
* "Never Let 'Em Say" – sampled by The Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...
in the rap song " Shadrach", from the 1989 album, '' Paul's Boutique''.Double X Posse
Double X Posse, also known as Double XX Posse, was an American 1990s hip hop group from Jersey City, New Jersey. Their debut album ''Put Ya Boots On'' (1992), spawned two successful singles. The first and most successful, titled "Not Gonna be Abl ...
in their hit 1992 single "Not Gonna Be Able To Do It"
Personnel
* Luther Rabb (bass, vocals) (1942–2006)
* Ronnie Hammon (drums)
* Glenn Thomas (guitar, mandolin)
* Jim Coile (sax, flute, clarinet) (died 2019)
* Tim McFarland (trombone, piano, backing vocals (Sep. 20, 1945 – May 26, 2011)
* Jim Walters (trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals) (deceased)
* Billy McPherson (sax) (- Nov. 19, 2011)
* King Errison (percussion, keyboards)
Discography
Albums
*''Ballin' Jack
Ballin' Jack (stylised as Ballin'jack) was an American horn rock group formed in Seattle, Washington in 1969 by Luther Rabb (bass and vocals) and Ronnie Hammon (drums). They had a minor hit in 1970 with "Super Highway", which hit #93 on the Billb ...
'' (Columbia, 1970, C 30344)
*''Buzzard Luck
Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey.
''Buteo'' species
* Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'')
* Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'')
* Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'')
* Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'')
* Easter ...
'' (Columbia, 1972, KC 31468)
*'' Special Pride'' (Mercury, 1973, SRM 1–672)
*'' Live And In Color'' (Mercury, 1974, SRM-1-700)
Singles
*Found A Child / Never Let 'Em Say (Columbia, 1970, 4-45348)
* Super Highway / Only a Tear
*Hold On (Columbia, 1971, 4-45464)
*(Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need / (Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need (Columbia, 1972, 4-45698)
*Try To Relax / Thunder (Mercury, 1973, 73401)
*This Song / Sunday Morning (Columbia, 4-45464)
Other
A short instrumental song called "Little Bit of Feeling" or "A Little Bit of Feeling", with rock guitar chords and horns, is said to have been played by Ballin' Jack in at least one of their concerts in January 1972 that was broadcast live on KDEO radio station that month in San Diego, California. No known recording exists of this song, or any recording of that concert.
References
External links
Ballin' Jack
on Myspace
Luther Rabb & Ballin' Jack – News Page
Horn Rock HeavenGig posters
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1969
Musical groups from Seattle
Musical groups disestablished in 1975