Crow is an American

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

band that was first active from 1967 to 1972. They are best known for the song " Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games with Me)", which was notably covered by

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define ...

(on their debut album) and

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing voca ...

History

Crow was formed in 1967 by singer David Wagner, guitarist Dick Wiegand, bassist Larry Wiegand, keyboardist Kink Middlemist, and drummer Harry Nehls under the name South 40, which was used until the group went national. Nehls was replaced by Denny Craswell at that time.

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 ...

brought them in to record a demo in 1969; they passed, and Crow was signed to Amaret Records. In 1969, Crow's debut album ''Crow Music'' was recorded. The single "Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games With Me)" made the Top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 that fall, peaking at No. 19 the following January. ''Crow by Crow'' and ''Mosaic'' were the follow-up releases in 1970 and 1971, respectively. Several later singles managed to chart, although none reached the heights of "Evil Woman". Eventually, the band wanted to move to

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

, but Amaret would not release them from their

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

while retaining their name. Wagner left the group in 1971; the band replaced him with Mick Stanhope and attempted to move forward, but collapsed for good in 1972. David Wagner recorded a solo album for Amaret in late 1972 titled, '' d/b/a Crow''. They disbanded in 1972, but reformed again in 1980. This version of Crow included original lead vocalist David Wagner, John Richardson and Jeff Christensen on lead guitar/vocals, Denny Johnson on bass and Robby Belleville on drums. From September 1980 to July 1981, they recorded many sessions, which resulted in a new studio album titled ''Crow on the Run'' in 1982. This version of Crow disbanded in early 1982. In 1988, Crow reformed and they continued to play concerts all over the United States. All the members have won Minnesota Music Awards for their own individual instruments. In 2005, they were inducted into the Minnesota Rock/Country Hall of Fame and, in 2009, the Iowa Rock & Roll Music Hall of Fame. Crow still play occasionally in the Midwest with Dave Wagner on vocals.

Discography

Live albums

*1968 ''Live at Someplace Else'' – (as by South 40)

Studio albums

*1969 ''Crow Music'' *1970 ''Crow by Crow'' *1971 ''Mosaic'' *1972 ''d/b/a Crow'' (David Wagner – solo) *1981 ''Crow on the Run'' (Northwest U.S. release only)

Compilation albums

*1972 ''Best of Crow'' *1992 ''Evil Woman: The Best of Crow'' *2007 ''Classics: 1969–1972'' *2007 ''Before the Storm'' (David Wagner – solo) *2013 ''The Best of Crow'' All releases on Amaret, except for ''Live at Someplace Else'' (Metrobeat), ''Evil Woman: The Best of Crow'' (K-Tel/Era), ''Classics: 1969–1972'' (Noiseland Industries), ''The Best of Crow'' (

Sundazed Sundazed Music is an American independent record label based in Coxsackie, New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 2000, Sundazed had a staff of 15 and two mixing studios, including a vintage audio ...

) and ''Before the Storm'' (K-Tel).

Singles

*1969 "Time to Make a Turn"(US No. 123) *1969 " Evil Woman (Don't Play Your Games With Me)" (US No. 19) *1970 "Cottage Cheese"(US No. 56) *1970 "Slow Down" (US No. 103) *1970 "(Don't Try to Lay No Boogie Woogie on the) King of Rock N' Roll" (US No. 55) *1971 "Watching Can Waste Up Time" *1971 "Yellow Dawg" *1972 "Mobile Blues" (David Wagner – solo) *1972 "Cado Queen" (David Wagner – solo) All releases on Amaret.

Members

*David Wagner – vocals (1967–1971) *Dick Wiegand – guitar (1967–1972) *Larry Wiegand – bass (1967–1972) *Dave "Kink" Middlemist – keyboards (1967–1972) *Harry Nehls – drums (1967–1969) *Denny Craswell – drums (1969–1972) *Mike Mlazgar – drums (1969) *Mick Stanhope – vocals (1971–1972) *Chico Perez – percussion (1971–1972)

References

External links

"Official Web Site"
Official Web Site, retrieved ay 7, 2009
"Crow: page"
Scott Q's Midwest Music Tribute page to Crow, since 2001 * "Crow"by Jason Ankeny, "All Music", retrieved August 7, 2006.
"Minnesota's 50 Greatest Hits"
by Nate Patrin, "City Pages", June 8, 2005, retrieved February 23, 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Crow Rock music groups from Minnesota American blues rock musical groups Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups disestablished in 1972 1967 establishments in Minnesota Musical groups from the Twin Cities