West, Bruce & Laing (WBL) were a Scottish–American

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quartet ...

super-group formed in 1972 by Leslie West (guitar and vocals; formerly of

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

), Jack Bruce (bass, harp, keyboards and vocals; ex-

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

), and Corky Laing (drums and vocals; ex-Mountain). The band released two studio albums, ''

Why Dontcha ''Why Dontcha'' is the first studio album by power trio West, Bruce and Laing. The album features "The Doctor", which received heavy FM radio airplay upon the album's release and became a signature song in live performance for the band. Other ...

'' (1972) and ''

Whatever Turns You On ''You Can't Do That on Television'' is a Canadian sketch comedy television series that first aired locally in 1979 before airing in the United States in 1981. It featured pre-teen and teenage actors in a sketch comedy format similar to that of ...

'' (1973), during their active tenure. Their disbanding was officially announced in early 1974 prior to the release of their third and last album, ''

Live 'n' Kickin' ''Live 'n' Kickin is a live album by the power trio West, Bruce and Laing, released in 1974. It was the band's third and final album, as their disbanding was announced shortly before its release. The album is noteworthy in that three of its f ...

''. In 2009 West and Laing briefly relaunched the band, with Jack Bruce's son Malcolm substituting for his father on bass. This incarnation of the band toured the UK and North America under the name 'West, Bruce Jr. and Laing'.

Formation and record deal

The trio agreed to work together in

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 ...

in January 1972 near the end of Mountain’s 1971–72 European tour supporting their album '' Flowers of Evil'' (1971), after Mountain’s bassist/vocalist/producer Felix Pappalardi announced he would leave the band at the tour’s end. (Pappalardi had, by late 1971, become addicted to

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

.) Jack Bruce knew Pappalardi well; Pappalardi had produced all but one of Cream's albums, and occasionally also performed with them in the studio. Subsequently, as Mountain's producer, Pappalardi would fashion his new band's sound after that of Cream, in particular scoring a 1970 hit with a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of Bruce’s song "

Theme for an Imaginary Western "Theme for an Imaginary Western" is a song written by Jack Bruce and Pete Brown. The song is sometimes referred to as "Theme from an Imaginary Western". It has been performed by many artists, including Mountain, Jack Bruce, Leslie West, Colosseum ...

" (from Bruce's 1969 album ''

Songs for a Tailor ''Songs for a Tailor'' is the 1969 debut solo album by the Scottish musician, composer and singer Jack Bruce, who was already famous at the time of its release for his work with the supergroup Cream. Originally released on the Polydor label in ...

'', which Pappalardi produced). Bruce was thus viewed as a natural "replacement" for Pappalardi in West and Laing’s post-Mountain venture, with several record companies and management organizations expressing interest in signing the new band. West and Laing’s manager Bud Prager, and Bruce’s manager Robert Stigwood, jockeyed for influence with WBL, with Prager ultimately establishing the more dominant position by brokering a USD 1 million, three-album contract (over $5 million in present-day dollars) for the band with CBS/

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

– a large artist signing for the day. As part of the deal, Prager arranged for WBL’s records to be distributed by CBS under his and Pappalardi's Windfall Records imprint, and for Mountain’s back catalog of albums to be reissued by CBS/Windfall. CBS Records' head at the time,

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

, would be quoted as saying that the negotiations for WBL "showed record-company competition at its fiercest."

Touring success and first album

Mostly leveraging material from Cream’s and Mountain’s back catalogs, West, Bruce & Laing began touring almost immediately after Mountain's disbanding, completing a 30-date North American tour even before their record deal with CBS was finalized. The band remained a hot live commodity throughout 1972; notably, a November 1972 WBL show at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

sold out 6,000 seats within four hours. Upon signing with CBS, WBL began work on their first album, ''

'' (November 1972). The album took longer than expected to complete, in part from inefficiency due to drug use by the band and their production team; upon its delivery to the label, CBS was dissatisfied with the album's quality and did not heavily promote it. In spite of this, however, ''Why Dontcha'' performed respectably in the marketplace, peaking at #26 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 advertise ...

album chart and staying on the chart for twenty weeks.

Turmoil, second album and dissolution

WBL continued to tour North America and Europe extensively during late 1972 and early 1973 in support of ''Why Dontcha''. However, the band's heavy drug use hurt their performances, and apparently at times even influenced their tour schedule. Corky Laing would later note: The band took a break from touring in the spring of 1973 to record a second studio album, ''

'', in London. The sessions became contentious – they became "really nasty because of the smack" according to the album's co-producer Andy Johns – with West and Laing electing to return home to New York before mixdown was complete. The album was released in July 1973, peaking at #87 on the Billboard chart. The ''Whatever Turns You On'' sessions would be the last time West, Bruce & Laing would work together.Shapiro, Harry. ''Jack Bruce: Composing Himself – The Authorised Biography'', p. 164. However, news of the band’s breakup would be publicly withheld until early 1974, with the band’s posthumous live album ''

'' released shortly thereafter.

Post-breakup

Following the breakup of WBL, in late 1973 West and Laing briefly toured as Leslie West's Wild West Show. Following this, West reunited with Felix Pappalardi in a new line-up of Mountain. This band would work together through 1974, with Corky Laing ultimately joining as well. West and Laing would again reform Mountain in 1985 (without Pappalardi, who died in 1983), and sporadically played together in the band until 2010. Jack Bruce resumed a solo career after WBL's demise; his later career highlights included collaborations with guitarist

Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trowe ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

percussionist/producer

Kip Hanrahan Kip Hanrahan (born December 9, 1954) is an American jazz music impresario, record producer and percussionist. Personal life Hanrahan was born in a Puerto Rican neighborhood in the Bronx to an Irish-Jewish family. His father left when he was 6 m ...

, as well as a 2005 reunion with Cream. Bruce died in 2014. In 2009 West and Laing teamed up with Jack Bruce's son, Malcolm Bruce, and toured as West, Bruce Jr. and Laing. This group was advertised by some venues as a reformation of West, Bruce & Laing, with Malcolm described as "filling in" for his father on the tour. Leslie West died in 2020, leaving Corky Laing as WBL's only surviving member.

Discography

References

External links

*
Mountainrockband.com

West, Bruce & Laing discography, album releases & credits
at

Discogs.com Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the l ...

West, Bruce & Laing albums to be listened
as stream at Play.Spotify.com {{Authority control 1972 establishments in England 1974 disestablishments in England American blues musical groups British musical trios British supergroups Rock music supergroups Columbia Records artists Musical groups established in 1972 Musical groups disestablished in 1974