Darryl Rhoades (born June 7, 1950) is an American musician and comedian.

Early life and education

Rhoades is from

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, Kentucky. He attended high school in

Forest Park, Georgia Forest Park is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. It is located approximately nine miles (14 km) south of Atlanta and is part of the Atlanta–Sandy Springs– Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 cens ...

, a suburb south of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Career

Rhoades' musical career began in 1968 when he was a senior in high school as the drummer in a

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. Ne ...

, Celestial Voluptuous Banana, that played the Catacombs and

Piedmont Park Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's ...

along with other bands such as the

Hampton Grease Band The Hampton Grease Band was an American rock band, beginning as a blues rock group in the late 1960s in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. They performed with several major bands in this period, including Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers. The ...

. By 1975 he had formed the Hahavishnu Orchestra, a 12-piece musical

comedy troupe A comedy troupe is a group of comedians and associated personnel who work together to perform comedy as entertainment. The term is often used interchangeably with comedy group, and the troupe may specialize in a specific genre or style of comedy ...

which performed nationally until 1978. The music of the Orchestra is often compared to

The Fugs The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver (musician), Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy ...

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

and even

The Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their eponymous 1975 debut album included the single "White Punks on Dope," while their 1983 single "She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the early day ...

. The group's name is

wordplay Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phone ...

on the name of John McLaughlin's 1970s

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

group

The Mahavishnu Orchestra The Mahavishnu Orchestra were a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 a ...

. During this period,

Kurt Loder Kurtis Loder (born May 5, 1945) is an American entertainment critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at ''Rolling Stone'', during a tenure that ''Reason'' later called "legendary". He has contribute ...

(of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' and later also

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

) was quoted proclaiming Rhoades as "one of the most savagely gifted writer/performers in the country today". On New Year's Eve 1977, Rhoades and the orchestra appeared on the ''James Brown Future Shock'' television show on fledgling WTBS. In January 1978, Rhoades performed with the opening act for the American debut of the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

. Rhoades' first LP, ''Burgers From Heaven'', was released in 1979. Its title song appears in the

Jim Varney James Albert Varney Jr. (June 15, 1949 – February 10, 2000) was an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his broadly comedic role as Ernest P. Worrell, for which he won a Daytime Emmy Award, as well as appearing in films and ...

film, ''

Fast Food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredien ...

'' (1988). Rhoades performed the title song on the now cult classic

Bill Tush William "Bill" John Tush, III (born October 16, 1948) is an American news journalist and humorist. In high school, Tush showed an early interest in broadcast performance and started working in radio professionally while a Junior in High school. Tu ...

WTBS late-night comedy sketch show '' Tush'' during 1980–81 in the early days of cable television. The music was performed as the Idolators on

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...

as the ring music for wrestler

Austin Idol Michael McCord (born October 26, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Austin Idol. He is best known for his appearances in the Mid-South with the Continental Wrestling Association, in particular his rec ...

. The Outlaws recorded a cover of Rhoades' "The Lights Are On (But Nobody's Home)" on the 1979 album '' In The Eye of the Storm''. Although the period 1981–1984 is obscure for Rhoades, by 1985, he assembled The Men from Glad and released his second LP, ''Better Dead Than Mellow''. In 1989, Rhoades began his comedy career. In 1991 he released ''Before and After His Time'', a compilation of his first three albums. In 1992 he released his fifth album, ''Cowpokin' & Udder Love Songs'', which received airplay across the US. Working continuously and receiving airplay from syndicated radio shows such as '' The Dr. Demento Show">Dr._Demento.html" ;"title="The Dr. Demento">The Dr. Demento Show'' and ''The John Boy & Billy Big Show'' helped to create a large fanbase, leaving little time for Rhoades to perform with musical groups. He performs on rare occasions as the drummer for The Electrifyin' Sissies, which include record producer

Brendan O'Brien Brendan O'Brien may refer to: *Brendan O'Brien (bishop) (born 1943), Roman Catholic archbishop of Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Brendan O'Brien (cricketer) (born 1942), Irish former cricketer *Brendan O'Brien (journalist), senior Irish journalist on R ...

, Rick Richards from the

Georgia Satellites The Georgia Satellites are an American Southern rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. They achieved mainstream success with their 1986 self-titled debut album, featuring their best-known single " Keep Your Hands to Yourself", which peaked at No. 2 o ...

, and radio personality/rock historian Rex Patton. In 1994 he released his sixth LP, ''The Lean Years 1950–1994''. The album received even more airplay with his infamous ''U Suck Beer'' commercials which have become his trademark in his stand-up performances. In April 1999 he released his seventh LP titled ''Radio Daze...The Shroud of Tourin. This CD is a parody of radio deejays from all over the US, with satire of bad gospel music, commercials, and unfunny morning radio shows. Close to 40 different performers appear on the album. In May 2001, Rhoades released ''Rhoades....All Over The Map'', his eighth comedy and music recording. As its title alludes, the album contains various musical styles such as

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

, heavy metal,

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

and more. Also, on this CD are versions of a couple of his songs recorded live in a rare radio interview and recorded live stand-up from the Punchline comedy club in Atlanta. In 2008, Rhoades released his eleventh CD ''Weapons of Mass Deception'' which features

Peter Stroud Peter Stroud is a US guitarist best known for his work with Sheryl Crow, Don Henley, Pete Droge, and Sarah McLachlan. He is cofounder of 65amps, a company manufacturing guitar amplifiers. Biography Peter Stroud was born in Greensboro, North Ca ...

and Tim Smith (

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...

Band),

Rick Richards The Georgia Satellites are an American Southern rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. They achieved mainstream success with their 1986 self-titled debut album, featuring their best-known single " Keep Your Hands to Yourself", which peaked at No. 2 o ...

(

Col. Bruce Hampton Bruce Hampton (born Gustav Valentine Berglund III; April 30, 1947 – May 1, 2017) was an American musician. He was a key figure in the Atlanta, Georgia music scene, mentoring numerous other musicians who became national stars. His own musical ...

(multiple legendary groups and the film '' Slingblade'') Deborah Reece (former

Randall Bramblett Randall Bramblett (born 1948) is an American musician and singer-songwriter, whose career as a solo artist, session player, and touring musician, has spanned more than three decades. He has worked with Gregg Allman, Bonnie Raitt, Goose Creek S ...

band member) and other southern musicians. On September 12, 2009, Rhoades regrouped many of the original members of the Hahavishnu Orchestra for a celebration at the

Variety Playhouse The Variety Playhouse (originally known as the Euclid Theatre) is a music venue in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is located on Euclid Avenue and features a variety of music acts including rock, indie, electronic, funk, country, folk, bl ...

in Atlanta. Also in 2009, Rhoades played drums in the Santa Fe scenes in the 2010 academy winning movie, ''

Crazy Heart ''Crazy Heart'' is a 2009 American drama film, written and directed by Scott Cooper, in his feature directorial debut. Based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb, the film centers on a down-and-out country music singer-songwriter ( ...

''. In 2014 Rhoades released another album, ''Teenagers in Heat'', that is part sketch comedy, part social satire, part rock 'n' roll scrapbook.

Discography

* ''Burgers From Heaven'', 1980 * ''Better Dead Than Mellow'', 1985 * ''No Glove / No Love'', 1988 * ''Before & After His Time'' (compilation), 1991 * ''Cowpokin & Udder Love Songs'', 1992 * ''The Lean Years 1950–1994'', 1994 * ''Radio Daze...The Shroud of Tourin, 1999 * ''Rhoades...All Over The Map'', 2001 * ''The Shadow You Cast (Depends on Where You Stand)'', 2003 * ''Raparations'', 2005 * ''Weapons of Mass Deception'', 2008 * ''Teenagers in Heat'', 2015

Also recorded with

* Reverend Billy C. Wirtz *

Chip Taylor Chip Taylor (born James Wesley Voight; March 21, 1940) is an American songwriter and singer noted for writing "Angel of the Morning" and " Wild Thing". Early life Taylor was born on March 21, 1940, in Yonkers, New York. He is the brother of a ...

& The Idolators

References

External links