Mother's Finest is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band founded in

Atlanta, Georgia 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 ...

, by the vocal duo of Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy and Glenn "Doc" Murdock in 1970 when the pair met up with guitarist Gary "Moses Mo" Moore and bassist Jerry "Wyzard" Seay. Their music is a blend of funky rhythms, heavy rock guitars and expressive soul/R&B-style vocals. The group charted with the singles "Fire" (No. 93 Pop Singles), "Baby Love" (No. 79 Black Singles, No. 58 Pop Singles), "Don't Wanna Come Back" (No. 54 Black Singles), "Love Changes" (No. 26 Black Singles), and "Piece of the Rock" in the mid- to late 1970s.

History

Mother's Finest issued its debut album ''

Mother's Finest Mother's Finest is an American rock band founded in Atlanta, Georgia, by the vocal duo of Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy and Glenn "Doc" Murdock in 1970 when the pair met up with guitarist Gary "Moses Mo" Moore and bassist Jerry "Wyzard" Seay. Thei ...

'' in 1972 on

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

; a second album for RCA remained unreleased until it surfaced as bonus tracks on the 2010 Wounded Bird re-issue of ''Mother's Finest.'' The group signed a new contract with Epic Records and released its sophomore effort, also titled ''Mother's Finest'', in 1976, stirring up controversy with the ironic "Niggizz Can't Sang Rock 'n' Roll." Riding a wave of success, the band's next three albums, ''

Another Mother Further ''Another Mother Further'' is the third full-length studio album by Atlanta funk-rock group Mother's Finest. It was released in 1977 on Epic Records and co-produced by Tom Werman. It managed to chart one single, "Piece of the Rock". "Truth'll S ...

'' (1977), ''Mother Factor'' (1978) and ''Mother's Finest Live'' (1979), all went gold, helped along by heavy touring opening for the likes of

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock ...

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

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, Aerosmith and AC/DC. In 1978, the band set out for Europe and took part in the

Rockpalast ''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and jazz ...

concert series at the

Grugahalle The Grugahalle is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at the edge of the Botanischer Garten Grugapark in Essen, Germany. Opened on 25 October 1958, its seating capacity is about 7,700 people and about 10,000 for unseated events. The building w ...

in Essen, produced by Germany's WDR television and broadcast to various countries. With only one concert Mother's Finest put themselves on the map all over Europe where the band still has a dedicated following. The legendary 1978 show was finally released on CD and DVD in 2012 as ''Mother's Finest – Live At Rockpalast 1978 & 2003'' which also includes the band's 2003 "Rockpalast" appearance at Satzvey Castle. After four albums for Epic/CBS in the 70's, the band signed with Atlantic Records for its heaviest album to date, 1981's ''Iron Age''. That same year Joyce Kennedy guested with

Molly Hatchet Molly Hatchet is an American rock band formed in 1971 by guitarist Dave Hlubek in Jacksonville, Florida. They were a popular band during the late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s among the southern rock and hard rock communities. The band released ...

on the song "Respect Me in the Morning" from the ''

Take No Prisoners The phrase no quarter was generally used during military conflict to imply combatants would not be taken prisoner, but killed. According to some modern American dictionaries, a person who is given no quarter is "not treated kindly" or "treated ...

'' album. Mother's Finest went on hiatus after 1983's ''One Mother to Another'', with vocalist Joyce Kennedy pursuing a solo career, releasing the soul/R&B-styled ''Lookin' for Trouble'' album on

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

in 1984. She scored a Billboard Top 40 hit with "The First Time I Made Love," a duet with

Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne (born March 9, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and lyricist. He is the former drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/soul group L.T.D., with whom he began his musical career in 1970. Biography Earl ...

. A year later, Joyce recorded the song "Didn't I Tell You?" for the soundtrack of the film ''

The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The ...

''. Drummer Barry Borden, who had joined Molly Hatchet on the '' No Guts...No Glory'' album, teamed up with guitarist Moses Mo in the band Illusion, resulting in a pair of albums, ''Illusion'' (1985) and ''I Like It Loud'' (1986), on

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

. Borden would later join The Outlaws for a pair of albums and has been a member of

The Marshall Tucker Band The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country, and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. W ...

since the late 1990s. Meanwhile, bassist Wyzard toured with Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks behind her 1983 album '' The Wild Heart,'' including an appearance on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

''. Eventually, he and brother/drummer Harold Seay, who had replaced Barry Borden on ''One Mother to Another,'' joined Rick Medlocke in a revamped Blackfoot line-up and appeared on 1987's ''Rick Medlocke and Blackfoot'' album. Mother's Finest re-formed for 1989's ''Looks Could Kill'' on

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

/ EMI Records, with only drummer Barry Borden missing from the classic line-up. He was replaced by Joyce Kennedy and Glenn Murdock's son, Dion Derek Murdock. In 1990, the band released its second live album, ''Subluxation'', on RCA/BMG, albeit only in Europe. It was the first album to feature guitarist John "Red Devil" Hayes, formerly of Atlanta's PG-13, hired in place of the departing Moses Mo. The band moved over to Scotti Bros. for 1992's ''

Black Radio Won't Play This Record ''Black Radio Won't Play This Record'' is an album by the American band Mother's Finest, released in 1992. The title of the album comes from a comment made by a Scotti Brothers executive. The band supported the album with a North American tour. Th ...

'', a heavy

Thom Panunzio Thom Panunzio is a music producer and engineer. His career began in 1974 at the Record Plant Studios NYC, working with John Lennon. Later, he became a staff engineer at the Record Plant, and later at The Hit Factory. Panunzio worked often wit ...

produced

funk metal Funk metal (also known as thrash-funk or punk-funk) is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music (often thrash metal) with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, ...

affair, recorded with the help of former

Sound Barrier The sound barrier or sonic barrier is the large increase in aerodynamic drag and other undesirable effects experienced by an aircraft or other object when it approaches the speed of sound. When aircraft first approached the speed of sound, th ...

member Tracey "Spacey T" Singleton on guitar. The band continued to tour heavily, especially in Europe, but did not release another studio CD until 2004's ''Meta-Funk'n-Physical,'' an experimental, hip hop- and electronic beats-oriented effort. In 1997, drummer Dion Murdock lent his services to Kingdom Come and appeared on their '' Master Seven'' album. In 1999, Wyzard, Moses Mo and longtime Mother's Finest touring keyboardist Pascal Kravetz joined multi-national band Carl Carlton & The Songdogs, releasing a handful of albums along the way. In 2002, Moses Mo issued his solo album, ''Cartoon You,'' which features contributions from Glenn Murdock, Joyce Kennedy and Wyzard, along with several other members of the extended Mother's Finest family, Kerry Denton, Harold Seay, Johnnetta Johnson and Pascal Kravetz. In 2008, Wyzard released his solo album, ''Primal Incantation,'' featuring brother Harold Seay on drums. Beginning in 2004, Joyce Kennedy was seen on the international ''Daughters of Soul'' tour along with

Sandra St. Victor Sandra Kay Matthews, known professionally as Sandra St. Victor, is a Dallas-born singer-songwriter most known for her work as lead singer of The Family Stand and their international hit single "Ghetto Heaven". She attended the now famous Booke ...

Nona Hendryx Nona Bernis Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, and author. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady ...

Lalah Hathaway Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway (born December 16, 1968) is an American singer. In 1990 Hathaway released her first album titled ''Lalah Hathaway''. After releasing another album, titled '' A Moment'' (1994), it debuted at number 34 on the To ...

(daughter of Donny Hathaway), Indira Khan (daughter of Chaka Khan), and Simone (daughter of

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

). Nona Hendryx would cover Mother's Finest's "Truth'll Set You Free" off ''Another Mother Further'' with her group Labelle on their 2008 album ''

Back to Now ''Back to Now'' is the seventh and latest studio album by American female vocal group Labelle, released on October 21, 2008. The album is the group's first in over thirty years though they had sung on songs together on occasion. Labelle memb ...

''. In 2010, fellow Georgia rockers

Jackyl Jackyl is an American rock band formed in 1991. Their sound has also been described as heavy metal and southern metal. Their self-titled debut album has sold more than a million copies in the United States with hit singles like "Down on Me ...

, featuring

Darryl McDaniels Darryl Matthews McDaniels (born May 31, 1964), better known by his stage name DMC, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Run-DMC, and is considered one of the pioneers of hip hop culture. Early life McDaniels gre ...

from

Run-D.M.C. Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

, paid homage to Mother's Finest with a cover of "Like a Negro" from ''Black Radio Won't Play This Record'' and also shot a vide

Jackyl frontman

Jesse James Dupree Jesse James Dupree (born Jesse Dupree; September 22, 1962) is an American musician, television personality, and businessman. He is the lead singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter in the rock band Jackyl, founded in 1991. As a solo performer ...

had previously been in the band PG-13 with John Hayes in the late 1980s and called on Hayes to play guitar on his 2000 solo album, ''

Foot Fetish Foot fetishism, also known as foot partialism or podophilia, is a pronounced sexual interest in feet. It is the most common form of sexual fetishism for otherwise non-sexual objects or body parts. Characteristics and related fetishes Foot f ...

'', with Hayes and fellow Mother's Finest members, Wyzard and Dion Derek Murdock, all contributing to the songwriting. Dupree, Hayes, Wyzard and Murdock had earlier played together under the name Dent. The band recorded an album for

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...

, which was ultimately shelved by the label and remains unreleased. On September 16, 2011, Mother's Finest was inducted into the

Georgia Music Hall of Fame The Georgia Music Hall of Fame was a hall of fame to recognize music performers and music industry professionals from or connected to the state of Georgia. It began with efforts of the state's lieutenant governor Zell Miller to attract the music ...

. In July 2013, Mother's Finest launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a new studio album. In November 2014, it was announced that the band had signed a European record deal with SPV/Steamhammer for their new studio, ''Goody 2 Shoes & The Filthy Beast'', set for a spring 2015 release. An advance single, "Shut Up", was issued on St. Nicholas Day, December 6, 2014 "as a present to all their European fans." In November 2015, Australian label Raven Records re-issued the band's 4 albums for Epic Records, ''Mother's Finest'' ('76), ''Another Mother Further'' ('77), ''Mother Factor'' ('78) and ''Live'' ('79) as a 2-disc package. British label SoulMusic Records would issue the 2-disc ''Love Changes: The Anthology 1972–1983'' set in March 2017, including 2 songs from the band's 1972 debut album for RCA and a further 6 cuts from the second unreleased RCA album. These eight songs had previously been available on CD as bonus tracks on the now out-of-print Wounded Bird Records re-issue of the 1976 ''Mother's Finest'' album. On April 14, 2017, British label Rock Candy Records re-issued a re-mastered version of Mother's Finest's 1981 scorcher ''Iron Age'', including a 16-page full color booklet, 4000-word essay about the making of the album, new interviews and enhanced artwork.

Members

Original line-up

*Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

and percussion *Glenn "Doc" Murdock –

and percussion *Jerry "Wyzard" Seay – bass *Gary "Moses Mo" Moore –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Mike Keck –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Sanford "Pepe" Daniels – Drums

Classic line-up

*Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy – vocals *Glenn "Doc" Murdock – vocals *Jerry "Wyzard" Seay – bass *Gary "Moses Mo" Moore –

*Mike Keck –

*Barry "B.B. Queen" Borden – drums

1990 Looks Could Kill tour line-up

*Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy – vocals *Glenn "Doc" Murdock – vocals *Jerry "Wyzard" Seay – bass *Gary "Moses Mo" Moore – guitar *Dion MurdockWorked the Looks can Kill Tour – drums *T Lavitz – keyboards

1993 world tour line-up

*Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy – vocals *Glenn "Doc" Murdock – vocals *Jerry "Wyzard" Seay – bass *John "Red Devil" Hayes – guitar *Dion Murdock – drums *Ace Baker – keyboards

2004 line-up

*Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy – vocals *Glenn "Doc" Murdock – vocals *Jerry "Wyzard" Seay – bass *Gary "Moses Mo" Moore – guitar *John "Red Devil" Hayes – guitar *Kerry "Lovingood" Denton – drums *Johnnetta "JJ" Johnson –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

2014 line-up

*Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy – vocals *Glenn "Doc" Murdock – vocals *Jerry "Wyzard" Seay – bass *Gary "Moses Mo" Moore – guitar *John "Red Devil" Hayes – guitar *Dion Derek Murdock – drums

2018 line-up

*Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy – vocals *Glenn "Doc" Murdock – vocals *Jerry "Wyzard" Seay – bass *Gary "Moses Mo" Moore – guitar *John "Red Devil" Hayes – guitar *Dion Derek Murdock – drums *Carly Gibson – backing vocals *Sami Michelsen – backing vocals

Current line-up

*Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy – vocals *Glenn "Doc" Murdock – vocals *Juan Van Dunk – bass *Gary "Moses Mo" Moore – guitar *John "Red Devil" Hayes – guitar *Dion Derek Murdock – drums *Carly Gibson – backing vocals *Sami Michelsen – backing vocals

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (1972),

*''Mother's Finest'' (1976), Epic *''

'' (1977), Epic *''Mother Factor'' (1978), Epic *''Live'' (1979), Epic *''Iron Age'' (1981),

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

*''One Mother to Another'' (1983), Epic *''Looks Could Kill'' (1989),

*''Subluxation'' (1990), RCA – live album *''

'' (1992), Scotti Bros. *''Meta-Funk'n Physical'' (2003), UTR Music *''Right Here, Right Now: Live at Villa Berg'' (2005), MTM Music *''MF 4D'' (2011), U*ME/US*We – live album *''Mother's Finest – Live at Rockpalast 1978 & 2003'' (2012), MIG *''Goody 2 Shoes & The Filthy Beasts'' (2015), SPV/Steamhammer

Compilations

*''Rock Your Soul'' (1996), Sony Special Products *''The Very Best of Mother's Finest: Not Yer Mother's Funk'' (1997),

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles an ...

*''Baby Love'' (1998), Kiosk *''Definitive Collection'' (1998), Sony International *''Burning Love: Best'' (2000), Cedar *''Love Changes: The Anthology 1972–1983'' (2017), SoulMusic Records

DVD

*''Mother's Finest – Live at Rockpalast 1978 & 2003'' (2012), MIG

Portraits of band members

2011-05-26 Mothers Finest, Kubana, Siegburg, IMG 6738, Joyce Kennedy.jpg, Joyce Kennedy 2011-05-26 Mothers Finest, Kubana, Siegburg, Glenn Murdock, IMG 6791.jpg, Glenn Murdock 2011-05-26 Mothers Finest, Kubana, Siegburg, IMG 7020, John Hayes.jpg, John Hayes 2011-05-26 Mothers Finest, Kubana, Siegburg, IMG 7045, Jerry Seay.jpg, Jerry "Wyzard" Seay 2011-05-26 Mothers Finest, Kubana, Siegburg, IMG 6995, Dion Derek Murdock.jpg, Dion Derek Murdock 2011-05-26 Mothers Finest, Kubana, Siegburg, IMG 6889, Gary 'Moses Mo' Moore.jpg, Gary "Moses Mo" Moore

References

External links

Mother's Finest websiteMother's Finest Facebook page
* {{Authority control African-American heavy metal musical groups African-American hard rock musical groups American funk metal musical groups Funk rock musical groups Musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state) Scotti Brothers Records artists 1972 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)