Zephyr was an American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band formed in 1969 in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

by guitarist

Tommy Bolin Thomas Richard Bolin (August 1, 1951 – December 4, 1976) was an American guitarist and songwriter who played with Zephyr (from 1969 to 1971), The James Gang (from 1973 to 1974), and Deep Purple (from 1975 to 1976), in addition to maintaining ...

, keyboardist John Faris, bass guitarist David Givens, drummer Robbie Chamberlin, and vocalist Candy Givens. The band's first release, ''Zephyr'' (sometimes referred to as the bathtub album), on ABC/Probe reached #48 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart on March 14, 1970. Zephyr made an appearance on American Bandstand on 1/31/70 lip syncing to "Cross the River". Although the charismatic performances by Candy Givens were the focal point for the band, the flashy guitar work of Bolin is what the band is best remembered for. When Bolin left after the band's second release ''Going Back to Colorado'', he was replaced by

Jock Bartley Firefall is an American country rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts, former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock Bartley, who had been Tommy Bolin's replacement in Zephyr. The ban ...

, and the band recorded the album ''Sunset Ride'', their second for Warner Brothers Records. On ''Sunset Ride'', Candy Givens displayed her gifts as a singer, composer, and harmonica player. The album was produced by David Givens, who wrote most of the songs. As a result of his stint with Zephyr, Bartley went on to a successful career with

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...

and

Firefall Firefall is an American country rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts, former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock Bartley, who had been Tommy Bolin's replacement in Zephyr. The band' ...

. Drummer Michael Wooten went on to play for several years with

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

and was a founding member of the jam band

Leftover Salmon Leftover Salmon is an American jam band from Boulder, Colorado, formed in 1989. The band's music is a blend of bluegrass, rock, country, and Cajun/Zydeco. Over their thirty years as a band Salmon have released seven studio albums and three li ...

. Various versions of Zephyr continued to play in Colorado until Candy Givens died of a drug and alcohol overdose in Boulder on 27 January 1984 at the age of 37. The release of "Heartbeat" in 1982 was promoted with a music video that incorporated early examples of computer animation combined with live action. Other Zephyr members include Otis Taylor, who played bass during the mid-1970s, Kenny Wilkins (drums), John Oliver drums, guitarist Zack Smith (founder of the band Scandal), and

Eddie Turner Eddie "Devil Boy" Turner is a blues guitarist born in Cuba and raised in Chicago. A former member of the Otis Taylor band, he is currently signed to Toronto's NorthernBlues Music. Turner began to play the guitar when he was twelve. He attend ...

, who played guitar in the last version of the band during the early 1980s. Candy and David Givens, Bolin, and Faris were founding members of the Legendary 4Nikators. Taylor and Turner were later additions to band. Taylor was noted for playing motorcycle on stage during "Leader of the Pack" and performing in a kilt and Turner for his renditions 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 ...

songs. In 2014, David Givens and record producer Greg Hampton released a limited edition boxed set that included a remastered version of the "bathtub" album, two albums of live material (most of it previously unreleased), and a booklet with liner notes by Givens and photos from his private collection. The band was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2019.

Discography

* ''

Zephyr In European tradition, a zephyr is a light wind or a west wind, named after Zephyrus, the Greek god or personification of the west wind. Zephyr may also refer to: Arts and media Fiction Fiction media * ''Zephyr'' (film), a 2010 Turkish ...

'' (1969) * ''Going Back to Colorado'' (1971) * ''Sunset Ride'' (1972) * ''Zephyr Heartbeat'' (1982)

Live albums

* ''Zephyr Live At Art's Bar And Grill May 2, 1973'' (1997)

Compilations

* ''Zephyr'' (2002) * ZEPHYR Going Back To Colorado Sunset Ride (2015 BGO Records)

External links

MusicChain - Zephyr

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zephyr (Band) Culture of Boulder, Colorado Rock music groups from Colorado American hard rock musical groups American blues rock musical groups