The All-Stars were a short-lived English
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
combo active in the early-mid 1960s. Originally known as the Cyril Davies (R&B) All-Stars, their later recordings are often credited to the Immediate All-Stars due to their releases on
Immediate Records
Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder, and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene.
History
Immediate Records was started in 1965. Signed ...
. In 1999, the group reformed as the Carlo Little All-Stars.
History
The Cyril Davies R&B All-Stars
The All-Stars were initially formed as a backing band for vocalist and
blues harmonica
The Richter-tuned harmonica, or 10-hole harmonica (in Asia) or blues harp (in America), is the most widely known type of harmonica. It is a variety of diatonic harmonica, with ten holes which offer the player 19 notes (10 holes times a draw and ...
player
Cyril Davies
Cyril Davies (23 January 1932 – 7 January 1964) was an English blues musician, and one of the first blues harmonica players in England.
Biography
Born at St Mildred's, 15 Hawthorn Drive, Willowbank, Denham, Buckinghamshire, he was the son ...
after his departure from
Alexis Korner
Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major in ...
's
Blues Incorporated
Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, or simply Blues Incorporated, were an English blues band formed in London in 1961, led by Alexis Korner and including at various times Jack Bruce, Charlie Watts, Terry Cox, Davy Graham, Ginger Baker, Art Woo ...
in October 1962. The original lineup was tentatively named 'The Cyril Davies Blues Band' and was made up of former members of
Screaming Lord Sutch
Screaming Lord Sutch (10 November 1940 – 16 June 1999), who had his name legally changed from David Edward Sutch, was an English musician and perennial parliamentary candidate. He was the founder of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party an ...
's group,
the Savages, including
Nicky Hopkins
Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...
on piano,
Carlo Little
Carl O'Neil Little (17 December 1938 – 6 August 2005), better known by his stage name Carlo Little, was a rock and roll drummer, based in the London nightclub scene in the 1960s. He played in an early version of the Rolling Stones. Little ...
on drums and
Ricky Fenson
Ricky Fenson (also Rick Brown; born Richard Brown, 22 May 1945, in Chopwell, County Durham) is a British rock bass guitarist.
The Rolling Stones
He briefly played with an early version of The Rolling Stones before he was replaced by Bill Wym ...
(
aka
Aka, AKA or a.k.a. may refer to:
* "Also known as", used to introduce an alternative name
Languages
* Aka language (Sudan)
* Aka language, in the Central African Republic
* Hruso language, in India, also referred to as Aka
* a prefix in the n ...
Rick Brown) on bass. The band also featured
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
on guitar for a brief period, though he soon backed out to focus on his burgeoning career as a
session musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
and was replaced by Bernie Watson, another former member of the Savages.
![Cyril Davies All-Stars advert](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Cyril_Davies_All-Stars_advert.jpg)
In December 1962, Davies was in competition with Korner to recruit
Long John Baldry
John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including t ...
as a second lead vocalist. Baldry had previously performed with Blues Incorporated while Davies was still a member, with both vocalists being featured on the 1962 album ''
R&B from the Marquee
''R&B from the Marquee'' is an album by Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated released in November 1962 on Decca Records. Blues Incorporated was a British rhythm and blues band in the early 1960s. Although never very successful commercially, it ...
''. Following the formation of the All-Stars, Baldry played a few shows with each band before eventually committing to join Davies' camp in January 1963.
Around this time, Davies also added female backing singers to the lineup in the form of South African vocal group the Velvettes (not to be confused with
Motown
Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...
trio,
the Velvelettes
The Velvelettes were an American singing girl group, signed to Motown in the 1960s. Their biggest chart success occurred in 1964, when Norman Whitfield produced "Needle in a Haystack", which peaked at number 45 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, an ...
), who had emigrated to England after touring with the musical stage production ''
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
''.
[Confessions of a Sixties Drummer: The 1960s London R&B Scene](_blank)
at carlolittle.com (archived from 2015) The Velvettes were initially a quartet made up of
Peggy Phango
Peggy Phango (28 December 1928 – 7 August 1998) was a South African actress and singer, who from the 1960s was based in England.
Early life
Peggy Phango was born at Orlando, Soweto, Orlando, Transvaal Province, Transvaal, South Africa. She tra ...
, Hazel Futa, Patience Gcwabe and Eunice Mamsie Mthombeni, though Phango soon departed to pursue a solo career, leaving the rest of the group to join the All-Stars as a trio.
[Tom Vallance]
"Obituary: Peggy Phango"
''Independent'' (2 September 1998).
On 27 February, the All-Stars recorded their first single for
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...
: the original compositions "Country Line Special" and "Chicago Calling", released under the name 'Cyril Davies and His Rhythm and Blues All-Stars'.
However, Baldry and the Velvettes are not featured on these recordings.
![Long John Baldry photo 1972](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Long_John_Baldry_photo_1972.jpg)
In May 1963, illness forced the departure of Hopkins as he was hospitalised for several months.
Former Blues Incorporated pianist Keith Scott was recruited in his stead, but growing tensions between Davies and the other band members meant that Fenson, Watson and Little each soon left the group to be replaced by bassist Cliff Barton, guitarist
Geoff Bradford
Geoffrey Reginald William Bradford (18 July 1927 – 30 December 1994) was an English professional footballer who spent his entire career at Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England ...
and drummer
Micky Waller
Michael Waller (6 September 1941 – 29 April 2008) was an English drummer, who played with many of the biggest names on the UK rock and blues scene, after he became a professional musician in 1960. In addition to being a member, albeit sometim ...
.
In August, this lineup recorded the R&B All-Stars' second single for Pye: "Preachin' the Blues", a
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 ...
cover, and "Sweet Mary", a
Lead Belly
Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...
cover.
As with the previous recordings, Baldry and the Velvettes are not featured. Instead, backing vocals for "Preachin' the Blues" are provided by
Alex Bradford
Alex Bradford (January 23, 1927 – February 15, 1978) (professionally known as Professor Alex Bradford) was a multi-talented Gospel music, gospel composer, singer, arranger and choir director, who was an influence on artists such as Little Rich ...
and
Madeline Bell
Madeline Bell (born July 23, 1942) is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from America in the gospel show ''Black Nativity'' in 1962, with the v ...
.
Towards the end of 1963, Scott and Waller were themselves replaced by the group's final members
Johnny Parker and Bob Wackett.
Cyril Davies died on 7 January 1964 of
pleurisy
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...
and
endocarditis
Endocarditis is an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium. It usually involves the heart valves. Other structures that may be involved include the interventricular septum, the chordae tendineae, the mural endocardium, or the ...
.
Following this, Pye Records paid tribute to Davies by re-releasing the four tracks he had recorded for them as the EP ''The Sound of Cyril Davies and His Rhythm and Blues All-Stars''.
[''The Sound of Cyril Davies and His Rhythm and Blues All-Stars'' liner notes, Pye Records, 1964](_blank)
at cyrildavies.com
Baldry assumed the role of band leader, and with fellow All-Stars Barton, Bradford and Parker went on to perform as 'The Hoochie Coochie Men' together with
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...
on vocals and Ernie O'Malley on drums.
[Cyril Davies and the birth of the UK R&B scene](_blank)
at bluesinlondon.com (archived from 2017)
at cyrildavies.com Carlo Little also joined them briefly in June 1964, but soon left due to "a difference in musical opinion" between himself and Baldry.
The Hoochie Coochie Men released one album, ''
Long John's Blues'', before disbanding in October 1965. Baldry and Stewart went on to form
Steampacket
Steampacket (sometimes shown as Steam Packet) was a British blues band formed in 1965 by Long John Baldry with Rod Stewart, Julie Driscoll, and organist Brian Auger.
History
A musical revue rather than a single group, Steampacket was formed in ...
with former All-Stars Ricky Fenson and Micky Waller.
At least one further song is known to have been recorded by the All-Stars during Davies' lifetime: a cover of
Little Walter
Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...
's "Someday Baby", first issued by
Immediate Records
Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder, and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene.
History
Immediate Records was started in 1965. Signed ...
on the 1968 compilation album ''
Blues Anytime Vol. 3''. This track was credited to 'Cyril Davies and the All-Stars', although it is not clear when the recording was made, nor with which lineup.
In 1986 a sixth track was released: a cover of
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
's "
Not Fade Away" on the
Castle Communications
Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's producti ...
compilation album ''White Boy Blues Vol. 2'', again credited to 'Cyril Davies and the All-Stars'.
[Cliff Dane]
''White Boy Blues: Volume 2'' liner notes, Castle Communications, 1986
at FleetwoodMac.net
The All-Stars featuring Jeff Beck
By 1965,
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
had established himself as a prolific
session musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
and was signed to Immediate Records as an in-house producer. Around eighteen months after
Cyril Davies
Cyril Davies (23 January 1932 – 7 January 1964) was an English blues musician, and one of the first blues harmonica players in England.
Biography
Born at St Mildred's, 15 Hawthorn Drive, Willowbank, Denham, Buckinghamshire, he was the son ...
' death, Page brought together former All-Stars
Nicky Hopkins
Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...
,
Carlo Little
Carl O'Neil Little (17 December 1938 – 6 August 2005), better known by his stage name Carlo Little, was a rock and roll drummer, based in the London nightclub scene in the 1960s. He played in an early version of the Rolling Stones. Little ...
and Cliff Barton to record with him and his friend
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...
.
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
''Blues Anytime Vol. 3'' liner notes, Immediate Records, 1968
at cyrildavies.comJon Tiven
Jon Tiven (born January 3, 1955) is an American composer, guitarist, record producer, and music journalist. He has produced albums by Wilson Pickett, Frank Black and Don Covay as well as a series of tribute albums paying tribute to the songwriti ...
''White Boy Blues'' liner notes, Castle Communications, 1985
at FleetwoodMac.net Together they recorded five original tracks, with Hopkins taking the lead on "Piano Shuffle", Beck on "Chuckles" and "Steelin'", and Page on "Down in the Boots" and "L.A. Breakdown".
The first track from this session to be issued was "Steelin'", although its initial release was not credited to the group. London fashion photographer David Anthony (under the pseudonym 'Charles Dickens') had recorded a cover of
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
' "So Much in Love" for Immediate Records, and when this was released as a single in 1965 it featured "Steelin'" as its b-side under the title "Our Soul Brother TH", credited solely to Dickens. The rest of the tracks from this session would eventually get their first release in 1968, alongside "Steelin'", properly credited to 'The All-Stars featuring...' on the Immediate compilation album ''
Blues Anytime Vol. 3''.
Page, Clapton and the Immediate All-Stars
In June 1965,
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
invited
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
to join him in a
jam session
A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without exte ...
at his home studio on Miles Road in London, and the two guitarists recorded seven instrumental tracks together: "Choker", "Draggin' My Tail", "Freight Loader", "Miles Road", "Snake Drive", "Tribute to
Elmore" and "West Coast Idea". Page and Clapton were both of the opinion that the tracks they recorded were merely rehearsals rather than fully formed songs, but representatives of
Immediate Records
Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder, and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene.
History
Immediate Records was started in 1965. Signed ...
soon approached Page informing him that they legally owned the publishing rights to all recordings he made as per the terms of their contract. Page reluctantly gave them the recordings of the jam session in fear of a lawsuit and was asked to clean them up by adding
overdub
Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...
s, which he recorded that August at
Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned British independent commercial recording studio based in Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st century, including Jimi Hendr ...
with a new lineup of the All-Stars. This time, the group featured members of
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
:
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
,
Bill Wyman
William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...
,
Ian Stewart and
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021.
Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an i ...
(credited as Chris Winters),
facilitated by the Stones' manager at the time also being Immediate Records' co-founder,
Andrew Loog Oldham
Andrew Loog Oldham (born 29 January 1944) is an English record producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 to 1967, and was noted for his flamboyant style.
Early life
Loog Oldha ...
. This was seen by Clapton as a betrayal of confidence on Page's part, and greatly damaged the personal relationship between the two guitarists for years to follow.
[John Hamilton's Ultimate Eric Clapton Discography – 1965a](_blank)
at archive.org (archived from 2007).
Immediate Records first released these tracks alongside the All-Stars' previous recordings in 1968, spread out across their compilation albums ''
Blues Anytime Vol. 1–3''. The tracks were initially attributed simply to Eric Clapton, or 'Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page', although many subsequent releases have given the credit to 'The Immediate All-Stars'.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
Eric Clapton – ''The Blues Years'' review
at 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 ...
.Songs that have been credited to the Immediate All-Stars
at Allmusic.
The Carlo Little All-Stars
In late 1962, the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
were beginning to gain a following as a new band on the London blues scene. At the time, the band consisted of vocalist Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
, guitarists Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
and Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...
, and pianist Ian Stewart. The group played with a number of different bassists and drummers during this period, including members of the Cyril Davies All-Stars Carlo Little
Carl O'Neil Little (17 December 1938 – 6 August 2005), better known by his stage name Carlo Little, was a rock and roll drummer, based in the London nightclub scene in the 1960s. He played in an early version of the Rolling Stones. Little ...
and Ricky Fenson
Ricky Fenson (also Rick Brown; born Richard Brown, 22 May 1945, in Chopwell, County Durham) is a British rock bass guitarist.
The Rolling Stones
He briefly played with an early version of The Rolling Stones before he was replaced by Bill Wym ...
.Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
, ''Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'', Little, Brown and Company, 2010. Little and Fenson made a strong impression on the younger musicians, and were repeatedly asked to join the band, but the Stones at the time couldn't afford to match what they were earning with the All-Stars. After finally recruiting permanent bassist Bill Wyman
William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...
in December 1962 and drummer Charlie Watts
Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021.
Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an i ...
in January 1963, the Stones played a support slot for the All-Stars for about a month, with Little and Fenson continuing to occasionally fill in for Watts and Wyman whenever the latter two were unavailable to play.
Decades later, in March 1998, Little was interviewed by ''Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
*Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* MOJO HD, an American television network
* ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film
* '' ...
'' magazine about his time playing with the Rolling Stones, which led to several more interviews and a TV documentary being produced for Channel 5.[Confessions of a Sixties Drummer: The 1990s Revival](_blank)
at carlolittle.com (archived from 2014) Little flew to Paris for the documentary, where he was reunited with the Stones, meeting them backstage at one of their shows and being invited to attend Jagger's 55th birthday party at their hotel.
Capitalising on the attention and publicity he was now receiving, Little reformed the All-Stars in 1999 with Fenson on bass and including vocalist Art Wood
Arthur Wood (7 July 1937 – 3 November 2006) was a British blues, pop and rock singer, who led The Artwoods in the 1960s and subsequently became a graphic artist. He was the brother of Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones.
Life
Born in 1937, ...
, guitarist Alex Chanter, Eddie Armer playing harmonica and Johnny Casanova on keyboards.[Confessions of a Sixties Drummer: 2000's - Never Stop Rockin'](_blank)
at carlolittle.com (archived from 2014) They recorded an album together in 2001, named ''Never Stop Rockin, which also featured Ronnie Wood
Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group.
Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a nu ...
, Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...
, Long John Baldry
John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including t ...
, Matthew Fisher and the Chanter Sisters
The Chanter Sisters are sisters Irene and Doreen Chanter who perform both as a duo, and as backing for other singers. They released three albums and a number of singles from the mid to late 1970s.
Background
Irene and Doreen began record ...
, though this remained unreleased for several years.[Confessions of a Sixties Drummer: Discography](_blank)
at carlolittle.com (archived from 2012)
Carlo Little died of lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
on 6 August 2005. The Carlo Little All-Stars' album ''Never Stop Rockin was released posthumously by Angel Air Records
Angel Air is an English independent record label established in February 1997, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 1960s and 1970s (and latterly new albums from known artists up to the 21st century) ...
in January 2009.
Personnel
1962–1964
;Cyril Davies and the R&B All-Stars
:''Note: Dates represented here are approximate, accurate only to within a month.''
*Cyril Davies
Cyril Davies (23 January 1932 – 7 January 1964) was an English blues musician, and one of the first blues harmonica players in England.
Biography
Born at St Mildred's, 15 Hawthorn Drive, Willowbank, Denham, Buckinghamshire, he was the son ...
– vocals, harmonica
*Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
– guitar
*Nicky Hopkins
Nicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. Hopkins performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, most notably ...
– piano
*Ricky Fenson
Ricky Fenson (also Rick Brown; born Richard Brown, 22 May 1945, in Chopwell, County Durham) is a British rock bass guitarist.
The Rolling Stones
He briefly played with an early version of The Rolling Stones before he was replaced by Bill Wym ...
, aka
Aka, AKA or a.k.a. may refer to:
* "Also known as", used to introduce an alternative name
Languages
* Aka language (Sudan)
* Aka language, in the Central African Republic
* Hruso language, in India, also referred to as Aka
* a prefix in the n ...
Rick Brown – bass
*Carlo Little
Carl O'Neil Little (17 December 1938 – 6 August 2005), better known by his stage name Carlo Little, was a rock and roll drummer, based in the London nightclub scene in the 1960s. He played in an early version of the Rolling Stones. Little ...
– drums
*Bernie Watson – guitar
*Long John Baldry
John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including t ...
– vocals
*The Velvettes – backing vocals
**Hazel Futa, Patience Gcwabe, Eunice Mamsie Mthombeni
*Keith Scott – piano
*Cliff Barton – bass
*Micky Waller
Michael Waller (6 September 1941 – 29 April 2008) was an English drummer, who played with many of the biggest names on the UK rock and blues scene, after he became a professional musician in 1960. In addition to being a member, albeit sometim ...
– drums
*Geoff Bradford
Geoffrey Reginald William Bradford (18 July 1927 – 30 December 1994) was an English professional footballer who spent his entire career at Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England ...
– guitar
* Johnny Parker – piano
*Bob Wackett – drums
;Timeline
ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20
PlotArea = left:100 bottom:80 top:0 right:15
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:15/10/1962 till:07/01/1964
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal # format:mm/yyyy
Colors =
id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:backing value:pink legend:Backing_vocals
id:harmonica value:yellow legend:Harmonica
id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar
id:piano value:purple legend:Piano
id:bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:drums value:orange legend:Drums
id:recording value:black legend:Known_recordings
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ScaleMinor = unit:month increment:1 start:01/11/1962
ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:01/01/1963
LineData =
at:27/02/1963 color:recording layer:back
at:15/08/1963 color:recording layer:back
BarData =
bar:Davies text:"Cyril Davies"
bar:Baldry text:"Long John Baldry"
bar:Velvettes text:"The Velvettes"
bar:Page text:"Jimmy Page"
bar:Watson text:"Bernie Watson"
bar:Bradford text:"Geoff Bradford"
bar:Hopkins text:"Nicky Hopkins"
bar:Scott text:"Keith Scott"
bar:Parker text:"Johnny Parker"
bar:Fenson text:"Ricky Fenson"
bar:Barton text:"Cliff Barton"
bar:Little text:"Carlo Little"
bar:Waller text:"Micky Waller"
bar:Wackett text:"Bob Wackett"
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width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Davies from:15/10/1962 till:07/01/1964 color:vocals
bar:Davies from:15/10/1962 till:07/01/1964 color:harmonica width:3
bar:Baldry from:01/01/1963 till:07/01/1964 color:vocals
bar:Velvettes from:01/01/1963 till:07/01/1964 color:backing
bar:Page from:15/10/1962 till:31/10/1962 color:guitar
bar:Watson from:01/11/1962 till:30/06/1963 color:guitar
bar:Bradford from:01/07/1963 till:07/01/1964 color:guitar
bar:Hopkins from:15/10/1962 till:30/04/1963 color:piano
bar:Scott from:01/05/1963 till:30/09/1963 color:piano
bar:Parker from:30/09/1963 till:07/01/1964 color:piano
bar:Fenson from:15/10/1962 till:31/05/1963 color:bass
bar:Barton from:01/06/1963 till:07/01/1964 color:bass
bar:Little from:15/10/1962 till:31/07/1963 color:drums
bar:Waller from:01/08/1963 till:31/10/1963 color:drums
bar:Wackett from:01/11/1963 till:07/01/1964 color:drums
1965
;The All-Stars featuring Jeff Beck
*Jimmy Page – guitar, production
*Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...
– guitar
*Nicky Hopkins – piano
*Cliff Barton – bass
*Carlo Little – drums
;The Immediate All-Stars
*Jimmy Page – guitar, production
*Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...
– guitar
*Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
– harmonica
* Ian Stewart – piano
*Bill Wyman
William George Wyman (né Perks; born 24 October 1936) is an English musician who achieved international fame as the bassist for the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1993. In 1989, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member ...
– bass
*Charlie Watts
Charles Robert Watts (2 June 1941 – 24 August 2021) was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021.
Originally trained as a graphic artist, Watts developed an i ...
, credited as Chris Winters – drums
1999–2002
;The Carlo Little All-Stars
*Carlo Little – drums, band leader
*Art Wood
Arthur Wood (7 July 1937 – 3 November 2006) was a British blues, pop and rock singer, who led The Artwoods in the 1960s and subsequently became a graphic artist. He was the brother of Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones.
Life
Born in 1937, ...
– vocals
*Alex Chanter – guitar, vocals
*Eddie Armer – harmonica
*Johnny Casanova – keyboards
*Ricky Fenson – bass
Discography
Pye Records
All releases credited to Cyril Davies and His Rhythm and Blues All-Stars.
Immediate Records
Listed here is only the initial release of each track recorded by the All-Stars. Following Immediate Records going out of business in 1970, these tracks have been released on many compilation albums by multiple record labels, major and independent.
;Castle Communications
It has been suggested that this track was in fact recorded by Dave Berry and the Cruisers and misattributed to Davies.
Angel Air Records
Carlo Little All-Stars.
References
External links
The All-Stars
at Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
{{Authority control
Jimmy Page
Eric Clapton
The Rolling Stones
The Yardbirds
Blues music supergroups
British supergroups
English blues musical groups
English blues rock musical groups
English session musicians
Musical groups from London
Musical groups established in 1962
Musical groups disestablished in 1965
Articles which contain graphical timelines
1962 establishments in England
1965 disestablishments in England