The Honeydrippers were an English rock and roll band of the 1980s, deriving their name from

Roosevelt Sykes Roosevelt Sykes (January 31, 1906July 17, 1983) was an American blues musician, also known as "the Honeydripper". Career Sykes was born the son of a musician in Elmar, Arkansas. "Just a little old sawmill town", Sykes said of his birthplace. The ...

, an American blues singer also known as "Honeydripper". Former

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are cit ...

lead singer

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

formed the group in 1981 to satisfy his long-time goal of having a rock band with a heavy rhythm and blues basis. Formed originally in Worcestershire, the band was also composed of fellow former Led Zeppelin member

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 music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various ...

;

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 fo ...

(a former Yardbirds member like Page); and other friends and well-known studio musicians including original Judas Priest guitarist Ernest Chataway. The band released only one recording, an EP titled '' The Honeydrippers: Volume One'', on 12 November 1984. The Honeydrippers peaked at number 3 in early 1985 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot 100 with a remake of the

Phil Phillips John Philip Baptiste (March 14, 1926 – March 14, 2020), known as Phil Phillips, was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1959 song, " Sea of Love". Biography Baptiste was encouraged to pursue a career as a singer after a scho ...

' tune " Sea of Love", and hit number 25 with "

Rockin' at Midnight "Good Rocking Tonight" is a jump blues song originally released in 1947 by its writer, Roy Brown and was covered by many recording artists (sometimes as Good Rockin' Tonight). The song includes the memorable refrain, "Well I heard the news, th ...

", originally a Roy Brown recording and a rewrite of "

Good Rockin' Tonight "Good Rocking Tonight" is a jump blues song originally released in 1947 by its writer, Roy Brown and was covered by many recording artists (sometimes as Good Rockin' Tonight). The song includes the memorable refrain, "Well I heard the news, th ...

." With the EP's success, Plant stated that a full album would be recorded, but it never was.

Members

Original lineup (1981) *

– vocals *

Andy Silvester Andrew Frederick Silvester (born 16 June 1947, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England) is a British bassist and multi-instrumentalist. Silvester has played in various bands during his career, most notably as co-founder of both Chicken Shack an ...

– guitar *Kevin O'Neill – drums *Ricky Cool –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

*Jim Hickman – bass *Keith Evans –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to ...

*Wayne Terry – bass *

Robbie Blunt Robert William Blunt (born 4 March 1951) is a rock guitarist who has worked with a variety of bands, most notably with Robert Plant's solo band in the 1980s. Since leaving Plant's band in the mid 1980s, Blunt has provided session work for a numb ...

– guitar '' The Honeydrippers: Volume One'' lineup (1984) *

– vocals *

– guitars *

– guitars * Paul Shaffer – keyboard * Nile Rodgers – guitar, co-producer * Wayne Pedzwater – bass *

Dave Weckl Dave Weckl (born January 8, 1960 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American jazz fusion drummer and the leader of the Dave Weckl Band. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2000. Biography Weckl started playing his first set ...

– drums *

Brian Setzer Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...

– guitar (guest appearance) * Keith "Bev" Smith – drums

Discography

*'' The Honeydrippers: Volume One'' (1984), US number 5,

US R&B The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

number 67, UK number 56

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Honeydrippers, The Atlantic Records artists British rock music groups Jimmy Page Robert Plant Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1985 Rock music supergroups