Punky Meadows (born Edwin Lionel Meadows Jr. on February 6, 1950) is an American guitarist best known for his

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

image and as a member of the band

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

between 1975 and 1980.

Background and early career

Meadows grew up in the Barnaby Terrace neighborhood of southeast Washington, D.C as the oldest of four brothers. He attended Draper Elementary and Hart Junior High Schools, the latter where he started playing guitar.http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/news/article/13024284/angel-on-his-shoulder Interview with Punky Meadows in the Washington City Paper Barnaby Terrace also produced guitar icons

Danny Gatton Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. (September 4, 1945 – October 4, 1994) was an American virtuoso guitarist who combined blues, rockabilly, jazz, and country to create a musical style he called "redneck jazz". Career Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. was born in ...

Roy Clark Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer and musician. He is best known for having hosted ''Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark was an important and influen ...

, and

Link Wray Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. ''Rolling Stone'' placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 ...

. In 1964 Meadows and three others formed their first band, the Intruders. The band included Chris Grimes (born 1948), Doug Grimes (born 1951) and Larry Gray. All grew up listening to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and other

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...

bands. The group later became the English Setters, and opened for

the Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell ...

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

, and the

Young Rascals Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

, while still in high school. In 1967, the English Setters changed their sound and changed their name to

The Cherry People The Cherry People were a psychedelic pop and later hard rock music group from Washington, D.C., United States. Their track "And Suddenly" reached no.45 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts in 1969. History The English Setters changed its name to T ...

, and were signed to a record deal by Heritage Records. Meadows says that the record company promoted them as a "poor man's

Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conce ...

". They toured the United States briefly in 1968, appearing at

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesars P ...

and on ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

''.

Angel

After Cherry People disbanded, Meadows and Mickie Jones formed Daddy Warbux, later

BUX BUX is a Blue chip (stock market), blue chip stock market index consisting up to 25 (currently 16) major Hungary, Hungarian companies trading on the Budapest Stock Exchange. Prices are taken from the electronic Xetra (trading system), Xetra trad ...

, which released one album.http://www.rocknrollhell.com/angel/ Rock N Roll Hell Angel entry

formed after the two met

Gregg Giuffria Gregg Giuffria (born July 28, 1951) is an American rock musician and businessman. He was the keyboardist for AOR bands Angel, House of Lords, and Giuffria. Career Giuffria is originally from Gulfport, Mississippi, graduating from high scho ...

and then Barry Brandt and Frank Dimino, choosing the name "Angel" after the song by

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

, of whom Meadows was a fan. Angel released studio albums from 1975 to 1979 and the live album ''Live Without a Net'' in 1980, and disbanded not long thereafter after not achieving mass critical or popular success, except in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Meadows, however, both during his tenure with the band and thereafter was invited to join

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

, and the

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...

, all of which he turned down. The band's glam rock image was said to be the antithesis of

, and Meadows became the most strongly associated with the persona, so much so that

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 ...

ridiculed his trademark pout and hair in the song "Punky's Whips". Meadows, however, was "flattered" and eventually ended up onstage during a Zappa concert in his Angel costume.

Life after Angel

Meadows had retired from the music business, and for 13 years owned and ran a

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Oakton, Virginia Oakton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 36,732 at the 2020 census. Located in Northern Virginia, its center is west of Washington, D.C. Geography Oakton is located in central Fairf ...

Punky Meadows solo career (2015–present)

In 2015, Meadows announced a return to the music business. He released the solo album "Fallen Angel" on May 20, 2016, by Mainman Records. The album was written and produced by Punky Meadows and best friend Danny "Farrow" Anniello. Live shows followed. Billboard listed the album at #6 in the Top 100 New Artists, #25 in Top 100 Rock Albums, #32 in Top Independent Albums, and #133 in the Billboard Top 200 physical sales. The album was also released in Europe on Escape Music and in Japan on Rubicon Records. Personnel on the album: Punky Meadows – lead guitar, rhythm guitar Danny Farrow – rhythm guitar, vocals Felix Robinson – bass guitar Chandler Mogel – lead vocals Bob Pantella – drums Charlie Calv – keyboards

Discography

The Intruders 1964–1965

The English Setters 1965–1967

*''Tragedy b/w If She's All Right'' (March 1966) *''Someday You'll See b/w It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog'' (July 1966) *''Wake Up b/w She's in Love'' (January 1967)

The Cherry People 1967–1972

Albums and singles *''The Cherry People'' (1968) *''And Suddenly b/w Imagination'' (1968) *''I'm The One Who Loves You b/w Gotta Get Back (To the Good Life)'' (1968) *''Sea and Me b/w Come on Over'' (1972)

BUX 1972–1974

*'' We Came to Play'' (Recorded in 1974, Released in 1976)

Angel 1975–1981

*''

'' (1975) *''

Helluva Band ''Helluva Band'' is the second album by the rock band Angel. Track listing #"Feelin' Right" – 4:42 (Frank DiMino, Punky Meadows, Gregg Giuffria) #"The Fortune" – 8:40 (DiMino, Meadows, Giuffria) #"Anyway You Want It" – 2:52 (DiMino, Meado ...

'' (1976) *''On Earth As It Is in Heaven'' (1977) *''

White Hot The white hot is a variation on the hot dog found primarily in the Rochester, NY area, as well as other parts of Western New York and Central New York. It is composed of a combination of uncured and unsmoked pork, beef, and veal; the lack of sm ...

'' (1978) *''

Sinful In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

'' (1979) *'' Live Without a Net'' (1980) *'' An Anthology'' (1992) *''In the Beginning'' (1999), plays lead guitar on "Hero" and "Set Me Free" *'' Angel: The Collection'' (2000) *'' Angel: The Singles Collection Volume 1'' (2006) *'' Angel: The Singles Collection Volume 2'' (2006) *''Angel: Risen'' (2019)

Punky Meadows

*''Fallen Angel'' (2016)

References

External links

Official Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meadows, Punky 1950 births Living people American heavy metal guitarists Guitarists from Washington, D.C. Angel (band) members 20th-century American guitarists People from Oakton, Virginia