Paul Francis Kossoff (14 September 1950 – 19 March 1976) was an English guitarist, mainly known as the co-founder and guitarist for the rock band Free. He was ranked number 51 in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''s list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Early years

Kossoff was born on 14 September 1950 in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the son of Margaret (née Jenkins) and actor

David Kossoff David Kossoff (24 November 1919 – 23 March 2005) was a British actor. In 1954 he won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles for his appearance as Geza Szobek in '' The Young Lovers''. He played Alf Larkin in TV sit ...

. His uncle was the broadcaster

Alan Keith Alan Keith, OBE (born Alexander Kossoff; 19 October 1908 – 17 March 2003) was a British actor, disc jockey and radio presenter, noted for being the longest-serving and eldest presenter on British radio by the time of his death aged 94. Backg ...

and he was a cousin of the judge

Brian Keith Brian Keith (born Robert Alba Keith, November 14, 1921 – June 24, 1997) was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his six-decade career gained recognition for his work in films such as the Disney family film '' The Parent T ...

and the model

Linda Keith Linda Keith (born 1946) is a former British fashion model, best known for her work for ''Vogue'' magazine during the 1960s as well as her involvement in the rock music scene. Biography Linda Keith was born to Pearl Rebuck and Alan Keith, a Britis ...

. Aged nine Kossoff started classical guitar lessons with Blanche Monroe. His classical guitar training continued until he was fifteen. In December 1965 he saw

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 ...

with

John Mayall John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933) is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among it ...

's Bluesbreakers at The Refectory,

Golders Green Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...

, North West London. This encounter inspired him to purchase a

Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...

guitar. During 1966 Kossoff worked as a junior salesman at Selmer's Music Shop in

Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street) and then becomes Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direction of ...

. He received lessons from session guitarist Colin Falconer, who worked in the guitar department at Selmer's. In 1966 Kossoff joined the Chicago-style blues band

Black Cat Bones Black Cat Bones were a British heavy blues rock band that existed with various lineups from 1966 to 1971. The band had English musicians Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke in its lineup, both of whom later helped form Free in 1968 with Paul Rodge ...

. The band played with touring blues piano player

Champion Jack Dupree William Thomas "Champion Jack" Dupree (July 23, 1909 or July 4, 1910 – January 21, 1992) was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist and singer. His nickname was derived from his early career as a boxer. Biography Dupree was a New Orleans ...

, often supporting

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

and other gigs with Fleetwood Mac co-founder Peter Green. Kossoff's bandmate in Black Cat Bones was drummer

Simon Kirke Simon Frederick St George Kirke (born 28 July 1949) is an English rock drummer best known as a member of Free and Bad Company. He has been the only continuous member of Bad Company since their inception. Life and career Kirke was born in L ...

and the two went on to play on Champion Jack Dupree's April 1968 album ''When You Feel the Feeling You Was Feeling''.

Free

In April 1968, Kossoff and Kirke teamed up with

Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...

(vocals) and

Andy Fraser Andrew McIan Fraser (3 July 1952 – 16 March 2015) was a British musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist and co-composer for the rock band Free, which he helped found in 1968 when he was 15. He also founded the rock band Sharks ...

(bass) to form Free. They toured for two years, during which they recorded two albums: ''

Tons of Sobs ''Tons of Sobs'' is the debut studio album by the English rock band Free, released in the UK on 14 March 1969. While the album failed to chart in the UK, it reached number 197 in the US. Free are cited as one of the definitive bands of the Bri ...

'' (1968) and '' Free'' (1969). Both albums showcased the band's blues- and soul-influenced sound, a style that was in contrast to some of their progressive and heavier counterparts at the time. Success came in 1970 when their third album, '' Fire and Water'' (1970), spawned the hit "

All Right Now "All Right Now" is a song by English rock band Free. It originally appeared on the band's third album '' Fire and Water'' (1970), which Free recorded on the Island Records label, formed by Chris Blackwell. Released as the album's second single ...

". The band played the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

festival to both audience and critical acclaim and sellout tours in the United Kingdom, Europe and Japan followed. However, after the release of the next album, ''

Highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

'' (1970) and its relatively poor sales, band pressures led to a split. The live album ''

Free Live! ''Free Live!'' is the first live album by English rock band Free. It was rush-released by Island Records to commemorate the band, who had broken up in April 1971. Possibly because of the publicity caused by their breakup (which had also earne ...

'' was recorded in 1970 and released in 1971 as a farewell record. Kossoff and Kirke teamed up with

Texan Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

keyboard player

John "Rabbit" Bundrick John Douglas "Rabbit" Bundrick (born November 21, 1948 in Houston, Texas) is an American–English rock keyboardist. He is best known for his work with The Who and associations with others including Eric Burdon, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Roge ...

and Japanese bass player

Tetsu Yamauchi is a Japanese retired bass guitarist. In the 1970s, he was a member of several popular hard rock bands, including Free, where he replaced former bassist Andy Fraser before the band's final album ''Heartbreaker'', and the Faces, where he replace ...

to release the 1971 album '' Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit''. Rodgers and Fraser pursued unsuccessful solo projects. Free reformed and released the album '' Free at Last'' (1972). Following its release, Fraser decided he had had enough and quit to form Sharks. Free drafted Tetsu and Rabbit for the album ''

Heartbreaker Heartbreaker(s) or The Heart Breaker(s) may refer to: Film and television *''The Heart Breakers'', a 1916 film starring Andrew Arbuckle *''The Heart Breaker'', a 1925 film directed by Benjamin Stoloff * ''Heartbreaker'' (1983 film), an American f ...

'' (1973) after which the group disbanded.

Kossoff song-writing

Kossoff co-wrote several Free songs, including "Oh I Wept" and "Mr Big" on the '' Fire and Water'' album.

After Free

Rodgers and Kirke went on to form the successful

Bad Company Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell.Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also ...

. Kossoff released a solo album, '' Back Street Crawler'' (1973). He then accompanied

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

on a 1975 tour. Kossoff then assembled a group called Back Street Crawler, which released two albums: ''

The Band Plays On ''The Band Plays On'' is the debut album from Back Street Crawler, fronted by ex- Free guitarist Paul Kossoff. Keyboard player Mike Montgomery composed six songs and co-wrote two others on the album, in addition to singing lead vocals on "All t ...

'' in 1975 and '' 2nd Street'' in 1976. Recordings from one of the band's UK concerts in 1975 were first released in 1983 on the album '' Live at Croydon Fairfield Halls 15/6/75''. Kossoff's guitar playing was also much in demand for session work and he contributed solos on several albums including:

Martha Veléz Martha Veléz (born in New York City on August 25, 1945) is an American singer and actress of Puerto Rican descent. Biography Veléz started singing at age five and won an opera scholarship at age 12, as a mezzo-soprano. She studied for three ...

's ''Fiends and Angels'' (1969); Michael Gately's ''Gately's Cafe'' (1971) and Mike Vernon's 1971 album ''Bring It Back Home'';

Uncle Dog Uncle Dog is a band that released an album and single in 1972. Line-up Members of Uncle Dog were: * Carol Grimes - vocals *Terry Stannard - drums, percussion *Phillip Crooks - guitar *Sam Mitchell - guitar * John Porter - guitar, bass *David ...

's ''Old Hat'' (1972);

Jim Capaldi Nicola James Capaldi (2 August 1944 – 28 January 2005) was an English singer-songwriter and drummer. His musical career spanned more than four decades. He co-founded the progressive rock band Traffic in 1967 with Steve Winwood with whom he co ...

's ''

Oh How We Danced ''Oh How We Danced'' is the debut studio album by the British musician Jim Capaldi. The album was recorded while Traffic was on hiatus due to Steve Winwood's struggles with peritonitis and was released by Island Records in 1972. Like his contemp ...

'' (1972) and ''

Short Cut Draw Blood ''Short Cut Draw Blood'' is the third studio album by the British musician Jim Capaldi, released by Island Records in 1975. It marked a major turning point in Capaldi's career: it was his first album recorded after the breakup of Traffic, and mor ...

'' (1975); The Amazing Blondel's ''

Mulgrave Street ''Mulgrave Street'' is an album released by the band Amazing Blondel in 1974. It is their first album on the DJM Records label after leaving Island Records. The album featured performances by Free guitarist Paul Kossoff, Curved Air and Rox ...

'' (1974). He also played on four demos by

Ken Hensley Kenneth William David Hensley (24 August 1945 – 4 November 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, best known for his work with Uriah Heep during the 1970s. He wrote or co-wrote the majority of Uriah ...

(eventually released on the 1994 album titled ''From Time to Time'') and three tracks that appear on the CD-only issue of John Martyn's ''

Live at Leeds ''Live at Leeds'' is the first live album by English rock band The Who. It was recorded at the University of Leeds Refectory on 14 February 1970, and is their only live album that was released while the group were still actively recording and p ...

'' album from 1975.

Posthumous releases

In 1977 career retrospective ''

Koss KOSS (1380 AM, "NewsTalk 1380") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Lancaster, California and serves the Antelope Valley area. The station is owned by High Desert Broadcasting and broadcasts a news/talk format, featuring programm ...

'' was released and in 1986 ''Blue Soul''. The late 1990s saw a renewed interest in Kossoff and ''Blue Soul'' was re-released, as well as the five-disc Free

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

'' Songs of Yesterday.'' In 2006, an unreleased guitar solo surfaced on the title track to the album ''All One'' by David Elliot, who recorded with Kossoff in the 1970s. In 2011 a selection of early recordings Kossoff made with Black Cat Bones was released on the album ''Paul's Blues''.

Books

In 2000 a Free biography entitled ''Heavy Load: The Story of Free'' was published. 2017 saw publication of the Paul Kossoff biography entitled ''Paul Kossoff: All Right Now – The Guitars, The Gear, The Music.''

Personal life

Drug use

Kossoff used drugs from age 15.

has said "he clearly had a predisposition." He used

Mandrax Methaqualone is a hypnotic sedative. It was sold under the brand names Quaalude ( ) and Sopor among others, which contained 300 mg of methaqualone, and sold as a combination drug under the brand name Mandrax, which contained 250 mg met ...

among other drugs.

has said Kossoff was healthy and playing well in 1973 although this is disputed, but that he wonders about the company that Kossoff kept, and felt that "Koss was just too sensitive for this world." Kossoff's drug use made him unreliable in the latter stages of Free. Andy Fraser noted "he felt intimidated by those other guitarists, and when people began speaking of him in terms of Clapton and so on, it frightened him. Drugs were a defence, his excuse".

Death

Kossoff's unhappiness following the break-up of Free and his drug addictions contributed to a drastic decline in his health. In a BBC website page about the 1970 death of

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 ...

said that Kossoff idolised Hendrix and never really recovered from his death. Kossoff died on a flight from Los Angeles to New York City on 19 March 1976 from a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain p ...

after a blood clot in his leg moved to his lung, while touring America with Back Street Crawler. His body was returned to England and cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

in North West London. His epitaph in the Summerhouse there reads: "All right now".

Legacy

One of Kossoff's signature guitars, a 1957

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously ...

, was bought and sold after his death by English guitarist Dave Murray of the English heavy metal band

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

; he used it from 1978 to 1990. In 2012, one of his most famous and iconic guitars, a 1959

(the Kossoff Burst), was recreated and made into a limited edition reissue by

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

and named the 'Paul Kossoff 1959 Les Paul Standard'. In December 2015

Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought to ...

listed for auction a Gibson Les Paul Standard owned by Kossoff from 1970 to 1976. In April 2017 ''Guitar'' magazine featured the 'stripped' Gibson Les Paul that Kossoff played at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. Kossoff sold the guitar to Mike Gooch and in May 1994 it was sold for £12,000 at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

Selective discography

with Free

* ''

'' (1968) * '' Free'' (1969) * '' Fire and Water'' (1970) * ''

'' (1971) * ''

'' (1971) * '' Free at Last'' (1972) * ''

'' (1973) * ''Songs of Yesterday'' (Box-Set) (2000) * ''Free'' – ''Live at the BBC'' (2006)

Paul Kossoff, Simon Kirke, Tetsu Yamauchi, John "Rabbit" Bundrick

* ''

Kossoff Kirke Tetsu Rabbit ''Kossoff Kirke Tetsu Rabbit'' is an album by guitarist Paul Kossoff, drummer Simon Kirke, bassist Tetsu Yamauchi and keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick. The album was released in 1972. Background Recorded after Free disbanded, drummer Ki ...

'' (1972)

with Back Street Crawler

*''

'' (1975) *'' 2nd Street'' (1976) *'' Live at Croydon Fairfield Halls 15/6/75'' (1983) 2LP :(Note: after Kossoff's death, the band—now called simply 'Crawler'—made further albums)

Solo

*'' Back Street Crawler'' (1973) *''Koss'' (1977) 2-LP compilation *''Blue Soul'' (1986) 2-LP compilation

References

External links

Paul Kossoff website

Paul Kossoff book website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kossoff, Paul 1950 births 1976 deaths 20th-century English musicians English rock guitarists English blues guitarists English male guitarists English record producers English songwriters English people of Russian-Jewish descent English Jews Jewish English musicians English rock musicians English blues musicians Electric blues musicians Blues rock musicians British blues (genre) musicians British rhythm and blues boom musicians Lead guitarists People from Hampstead Musicians from London Free (band) members Drug-related deaths in the United States Golders Green Crematorium Island Records artists Back Street Crawler (band) members 20th-century British guitarists Kossoff family 20th-century British male musicians