''Forgotten Songs and Unsung Heroes'' is the first solo album by German-Canadian musician John Kay. It was released on

Dunhill Records Dunhill Records was started in 1964 by Lou Adler, Jay Lasker, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts as Dunhill Productions to release the music of Johnny Rivers on Imperial Records. It became a record label the following year and was distributed b ...

in 1972. Kay was well known as the lead singer of the band Steppenwolf. His first solo album contained a mixture of rock songs and country songs, including a number of covers. Kay toured in support of the album on the 1972 Steppenwolf European farewell tour. The John Kay band was the support band and would play a short set before Steppenwolf came on. Steppenwolf members George Biondo (bass/vocals) and Kent Henry (lead guitar) played in both The John Kay Band and Steppenwolf during the tour.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called the album "a serious attempt by Kay to break away from the hard rock persona he established with Steppenwolf ... that he pulls it off is impressive." ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' praised Kay's "cool" cover of " I'm Moving On." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' called the album "an affirmation of the talent that was overshadowed by teppenwolf'sflashy pyrotechnics."

Track listing

All tracks composed by John Kay; except where indicated #"Many a Mile" (

Patrick Sky Patrick Sky (born Patrick Linch; October 2, 1940May 26, 2021) was an American musician, folk singer, songwriter, and record producer. He was noted for his album ''Songs That Made America Famous'' (1973). He was of Irish and Native American anc ...

) #"Walk Beside Me" #"You Win Again" (

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

) #"To Be Alive" #"Bold Marauder" (

Richard Fariña Richard George Fariña (Spanish IPA: ) (March 8, 1937 – April 30, 1966) was an American folksinger, songwriter, poet and novelist. Early years and education Fariña was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of an Irish mother, T ...

) #"Two of a Kind" #"

Walkin' Blues "Walkin' Blues" or "Walking Blues" is a blues standard written and recorded by American Delta blues musician Son House in 1930. Although unissued at the time, it was part of House's repertoire and other musicians, including Robert Johnson and ...

" (

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

) #"Somebody" #" I'm Moving On" (

Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian-American country music artist. Most popular in the 1950s, he had a career that spanned more than 50 years, he recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on t ...

)

Charts

Personnel

*John Kay - vocals, guitars *

Kent Henry Kent Henry Plischke (April 5, 1948 – March 18, 2009), known as Kent Henry, was an American guitarist and songwriter best known for his contributions to Steppenwolf and Blues Image.UncreditedKent Henry: Guitarist with Steppenwolf and Blues Imag ...

- lead guitar *Hugh O'Sullivan - keyboards *

George Biondo George Michael Biondo (born September 3, 1945) is a musician who served as bass guitarist of the Canadian rock band Steppenwolf from April 1970 to October 1976. Born in New York, Biondo has been based in Southern California throughout a career ...

- bass *

Pentti Glan Pentti "Whitey" Glan (July 8, 1946 – November 7, 2017) was a Finnish-Canadian rock drummer, best known for his work with Alice Cooper and Lou Reed. Musical career Glan's first serious band was the Canadian soul band The Rogues (later called ...

- drums with: *

Mars Bonfire Dennis Edmonton (born Dennis Eugene McCrohan; 21 April 1943), also known by the stage name Mars Bonfire, is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter, best known for writing the hit song "Born to Be Wild" for Steppenwolf. Career Born Dennis Euge ...

- lead guitar on "I'm Moving On" *

Richard Podolor Richard Allen Podolor (January 7, 1936 – March 9, 2022) was an American musician, record producer and songwriter. His career started as a session musician in the 1950s, and he was best known as the producer of Three Dog Night. Life and caree ...

- guitar, organ, mandolin, percussion *Alexandra Sliwin, Joan Sliwin, Marsha Temmer ;Technical *Bill Cooper - engineer *Tom Gundelfinger - art direction, design, photography

References

1972 albums Albums produced by Richard Podolor Dunhill Records albums {{1970s-rock-album-stub