Geronimo Black was a short-lived
hard rock band founded in 1972 by drummer
Jimmy Carl Black
James Carl Inkanish, Jr. (February 1, 1938 – November 1, 2008), known professionally as Jimmy Carl Black, was a drummer and vocalist for The Mothers of Invention.
Background and early career: 1960s–1990s
Born in El Paso, Texas, Black was o ...
. He named the group for his youngest son Geronimo.
The performers included members of other bands, principally from
Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention
The Mothers of Invention (also known as The Mothers) was an American rock band from California. Formed in 1964, their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows.
Originally an R&B band ...
:
* Jimmy Carl Black, drummer, from The Mothers of Invention
* Andy Cahan, keyboards, previously worked with
Dr. John
Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B.
Active as a session musician from ...
* Tjay Cantrelli (John Barberis),
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
, previously from the band
Love
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...
*
Bunk Gardner
Bunk Gardner (born John Leon Guarnera; May 2, 1933 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American musician who most notably played for the original version of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention until the group disbanded in 1969. He plays woodwinds and tenor ...
(John Leon Guarnera), horns, from The Mothers of Invention
*
Buzz Gardner (Charles Guarnera), horns, from The Mothers of Invention
* Tom Leavey, bass
*
Denny Walley
Denny Walley is an American guitarist who was born in Pennsylvania 4 February 1943. He is known for working with Frank Zappa in the 1970s and '80s.
Career
Denny Walley spent much of his childhood in New York City before his family moved to La ...
, guitar, member of
Captain Beefheart's Magic Band and also worked with Frank Zappa (1975-1979)
The group recorded an album for the
Uni Records
Uni Records (short for the label's legal name Universal City Records and rendered as UNI) was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinctive UNi logo, was established in 1966 in music, 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen ...
label at
Sound City Studios
Sound City Studios is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, known as one of the most successful in popular music. The complex opened in 1969 in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles. The facility had previously been a production facto ...
in Los Angeles in 1972. The
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
was
Keith Olsen
Keith Alan Olsen (May 12, 1945 – March 9, 2020) was an American record producer and sound engineer, who worked with Magnum, Rick Springfield, Fleetwood Mac, Ozzy Osbourne, the Grateful Dead, Whitesnake, Pat Benatar, Heart, Santana, Saga, ...
who later went on to produce
Fleetwood Mac's ''Rumors'' album.
After their manager
Russ Regan
Russ Regan (born Harold Rustigian; October 15, 1928 in Sanger, California – May 27, 2018 in Palm Springs, California) was an American record executive who was President of both UNI Records and 20th Century Records and was vice-president of ...
stopped working with the group, according to guitarist Denny Walley,
''no one... really knew what to do with the band in the company or how to promote us and they were really afraid of us. We were rowdy, drank a lot, did everything a lot. We were pretty uncontrollable and they wound up banning us from even coming onto the lot and that was the end of the record deal.
After the band broke up, they briefly reformed to record a later album entitled ''Welcome Back, Geronimo Black'' for the Helios label. This album included ex-Magic Band guitarist Gerry McGee.
A later version of the group also recorded the album by "Geronimo Black Two", formed in 2003 by Jimmy's sons, Geronimo and James D. Black, which released a
CD under their father's Inkanish Records label.
In 2019, Munster Records released Freak Out Phantasia, a collection of unreleased live and studio recordings.
Discography
*''Geronimo Black'' (1972, Uni)
# Low Ridin' Man (Black, Cantrelli)
#Siesta (Cahan, Contrelli, Gardner)
#Other Man (Leavy, Walley)
#L.A. County Jail '59 C/S (Cantrelli)
#Let Us Live (Cahan)
#Bullwhip (Cantrelli)
#Quakers Earthquake (Cahan)
#Gone (Walley, Leavy)
#An American National Anthem (Moreno, Black)
#'59 Chevy (single B-side - bonus track on CD re-issue)
* ''Welcome Back Geronimo Black'' (1980, Helios)
* ''Freak Out Phantasia'' (2019, Munster)
References
*
*
*
External links
*
Geronimo Black- AllMusic.com
Feenstra.co.uk- Short review of Geronimo Black Two
American hard rock musical groups
Musical groups established in 1972
{{US-rock-band-stub