Sassafras are a

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 from

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

first formed in 1970. They play a mix of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

and

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...

with the emphasis on vocal harmony. The use of twin guitar solos, played by original members Dai Shell and Ralph Evans, continues to be a distinctive feature of their music. The band holds the UK record for the group performing the greatest number of live gigs in a year.

History

The band was formed in South Wales in 1970 with guitarist Ralph Evans, bassist Ricky John Holt and drummer Rob Reynolds. David (Dai) Shell, a noted

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

guitarist, joined soon afterwards. The band signed to

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

’s AIR Productions in 1972 with a line-up completed by Terry Bennett on vocals and Robert 'Congo' Jones on drums. The band released their debut album, ''Expecting Company'', on

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

in 1973. The band toured America's larger venues with such headlining groups as

Ten Years After Ten Years After are a British rock group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, the band had eight consecutive Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart. In addition, they had twelve albums enter the US ''Billboar ...

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

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

, played at festivals and achieved good press coverage, but never found real commercial success. The band has been described as "a sort-of Welsh

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

hybrid, with soaring west-coast melodies and a real roadtrip rock feel". In the early 1970s they held the record for highest number of gigs in a single year, with their 332 beating

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

by one. The band were still performing in 202

Galloni, James and Ray Jones later joined Son of Man, led by George Jones, who play music by Man (band), Man, as well as their own compositions.

Personnel

* Dai Shelllead guitar * Ralph Evanslead guitar * Rob Reynoldsdrums * Ricky John Holtbass * Terry Bennettvocals.com * Steve Finn * Robert 'Congo' Jonesdrums * Ray Jonesbass guitar, vocals * Richard Gallonivocals * Garry Davisdrums * Marco Jameskeyboards * Chris Sharleydrumsr * Andy Colesdrums

Discography

Singles

*"Oh My (Don't It Make You Want To Cry)", 1974,

: 2058 497 *"Wheelin' 'N' Dealin'", 1975, Chrysalis: CHS 2063

Albums

*''Expecting Company'', 1973, Polydor: 2383 245 (reissued on CD, 2014,

Esoteric Recordings Esoteric Recordings is a UK independent record label specialising in 1970s progressive rock, folk, psychedelic, and jazz-rock reissues as part of Cherry Red Records. Its releases include both catalogue reissues and new works from artists who s ...

) *''Wheelin' 'N' Dealin, 1975,

Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

: CHR 1076 *''Riding High'', 1976, Chrysalis: CHR 1100 *''Sassafras Live'', 2002, Iberico Records: IB89001 *''Wheelin' 'N' Dealin' / Riding High'', 2005, Gott Discs: GOTTCD026 *''Expecting Company'', 2014, CD re-issue, Esoteric Recordings, plus two bonus tracks

DVDs

* ''Sassafras Live DVD'', 2002, Iberico Records

References

External links

Sassafras
at discogs.com
Busted Country Blues
at soundcloud.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sassafras Welsh rock music groups Musical groups established in 1970 1970 establishments in Wales Polydor Records artists Chrysalis Records artists