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 ha ...
band formed in 1969, and currently comprising Jimmy Kunes as lead singer, guitarist Paul Warren, drummer Carmine Appice, bassist Jimmy Caputo and Randy Pratt on harmonica.
History
Original line-up (1969–1972)
Cactus was initially conceived in late 1969 by former Vanilla Fudge members bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, after plans to team up with guitarist
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 ...
were canceled when Beck had an automobile accident and was out of the music scene for over a year.
In early 1970, Bogert and Appice brought in blues guitarist Jim McCarty from
Mitch Ryder
Mitch Ryder (born William Sherille Levise, Jr.; February 26, 1945) is an American musician who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades.
Career
Ryder formed his first band, Tempest, when he was at Warren High School, and th ...
's
Detroit Wheels
The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the defunct World Football League.
Founding
Soon after Gary Davidson announced the WFL's formation in October 1973, he was approached by a man named Bud Hucul about putting ...
and The
Buddy Miles Express
The Buddy Miles Express was a musical group fronted by American drummer/vocalist Buddy Miles. It was formed after the 1968 breakup of Miles's earlier group Electric Flag. They released four albums.
Background 1968
The Buddy Miles Express w ...
Cactus
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...
'' (1970), '' One Way... or Another'' (1971), and '' Restrictions'' (1971), before intraband troubles led to McCarty quitting at the end of 1971. Day was fired from the group shortly afterwards. The fourth and last original Cactus album, '' 'Ot 'n' Sweaty'' (1972), featured original rhythm section Bogert and Appice joined by Werner Fritzschings on guitar, Duane Hitchings on keyboards and Peter French (ex- Leaf Hound and Atomic Rooster) on vocals. Shortly before the final breakup, Guitarist Ricky Ramirez replaced Fritzschings.
After 1972 break-up
Beck, Bogert & Appice
After Cactus's dissolution in 1972, Bogert and Appice finally joined with Jeff Beck to form Beck, Bogert & Appice. After one studio album, the self-titled '' Beck, Bogert & Appice'' (1973) and one live album, '' Beck, Bogert & Appice Live (in Japan)'' (1973, released only in Japan), the band dissolved. Their second album remains unreleased to this day, along with recordings of the band's last concert at the Rainbow Theatre in London on January 26, 1974.
The Band Detroit
Having made a name for himself in Detroit's rock scene as a force to be reckoned with, Rusty Day worked to restore one of Detroit's most legendary bands, the Band Detroit, to the national stage. The Band Detroit was formed as an offshoot of the Detroit Wheels by members Steve Gaines, Ted "T-Mel" Smith, Nathaniel Peterson, Terry Emery, Bill Hodgeson, and others. The band's initial flame burned out quickly due to many different issues going on at once. A recording exists of Rusty Day, Steve Gaines, and the rest of the band performing in 1973 called ''The Band Detroit - The Driftwood Tapes''.
The New Cactus Band
The New Cactus Band, formed by Duane Hitchings, released one album, ''Son of Cactus'' (1973), which featured none of the original Cactus members.Mike Pinera, formerly of
Blues Image
Blues Image was an American rock band. They had a hit in 1970 with "Ride Captain Ride", which reached No. 4 on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM magazine charts.
Career
Blues Image was formed in Tampa, Florida in 1966 b ...
and Iron Butterfly, came in on guitar, along with Roland Robinson on bass and Jerry Norris on drums. The band then toured live in the Midwest and on the East Coast in mid 1973 with
Gregg Allman
Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman ...
bass player Charlie Souza. The New Cactus Band soon disbanded. Their sole album peaked at No. 183 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart.
In 1976, Rusty Day formed another version of Cactus in Longwood, Florida, where he had relocated. This version of Cactus featured Steve "Kahoutek" Dansby on guitar, John "Soybean Slim" Sauter (who later played on Ted Nugent's '' Weekend Warriors'') on bass guitar and Gary "Madman" Moffatt (who currently plays for
.38 Special
The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & ...
) on drums. This was the longest lasting 1970s line-up of the band, which ended around 1979. Although this lineup was rumored to have recorded some demos and possibly attempted to record an album, no studio recordings of Rusty Day's Cactus lineup from Florida have ever surfaced. A few live recordings, however, have circulated online.
On June 3, 1982, Rusty Day was murdered at his own house in Longwood, Florida. He and his son were shot to death by one or more unknown drug dealers. The case has never been solved and remains open.
Since 2006 re-forming
Cactus re-emerged in June 2006, in New York City: a radio broadcast on The Radiochick Show and their first show since 1972 at B.B. King's Blues Club in Times Square on June 3. This show was a warm up for the gig which sparked the reunion, an appearance at the Sweden Rock Festival in Norje,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
on June 9. The 2006 version of Cactus saw original members Appice, Bogert and McCarty reunited and joined by former Savoy Brown frontman Jimmy Kunes on vocals.
Randy Pratt
Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...
joined the band in New York and Sweden on harmonica. The group also released a new album, '' Cactus V'' (2006).
In 2008, McCarty left the band and was once again replaced by Werner Fritzchings. Elliot Dean Rubinson replaced Tim Bogert, who retired from touring due to health issues.
In 2011, McCarty returned to the band with Pete Bremy taking over on bass. Bremy also took over for Bogert in Vanilla Fudge and is the only non-original member who has played for both bands. The 2012 line-up was Jim McCarty, Carmine Appice, Jimmy Kunes, Pete Bremy and Randy Pratt.
In early 2016, Carmine Appice announced on his Twitter and Facebook pages that Cactus was coming out with a new album at the end of May that year, "Black Dawn". In early June, Jim McCarty was interviewed on a podcast show, and he said that due to some complications, the release date of ''Black Dawn'' had been held up and that it would definitely be out by September (which it was), when the band would be touring for the album, the first show of which would be called the Cactus CD Release Party. McCarty also revealed that the album contained eight brand new songs as well as two never before heard songs by the original band that had recently been unearthed by Carmine Appice.
In 2017, Jimmy Caputo was announced as the band's new bassist and Paul Warren (formerly with Rare Earth, Richard Marx and
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...
) was brought in on guitar, after Jim McCarty was forced to step away from touring due to health issues.
On January 13, 2021, Tim Bogert died at the age of 76, after a long battle with cancer.
Band members
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
* ''Tokyo Nights'' (2014)
DVD
* ''TKO Tokyo: Live in Japan'' (2014)
Compilation albums
Singles
None of the above listed singles charted in Billboard.
References
Bibliography
* ''The New Musical Express Book of Rock'', 1975, Star Books,