Ballin' Jack (stylised as Ballin'jack) was an American horn rock group formed in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
,
Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
in 1969 by
Luther Rabb (bass and vocals) and Ronnie Hammon (drums). They had a minor
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...
in 1970 with "Super Highway", which hit #93 on the
Billboard Top 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), on ...
.
[Answers.co]
– Artist: Ballin' Jack
/ref>
Career
Rabb and Hammon were inspired by the success of their childhood friend Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
. They added Glenn Thomas on guitar, and on the horns, Jim Coile and Tim McFarland. They moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, and lived in a mansion home-studio near the Sunset Strip. Hendrix asked the group to come along with him on his 1970 "Cry Of Love" tour.
From 1969 to 1974 Ballin' Jack headlined up and down the West Coast. They went on nationwide US tours warming up for many of the bands at venues like the Fillmore East
The Fillmore East was Promoter (entertainment), rock promoter Bill Graham (promoter), Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue near 6th Street (Manhattan), East 6th Street on the Lower East Side section of Manhattan, ...
and West
West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
. They were on the bill of several large music festival
A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...
s of the era. When they played the Troubadour
A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''.
The tr ...
in Los Angeles in 1972, Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
was the opening act. Ballin' Jack also played in Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, where they were well received.
By 1975, the band had decided to break up. Luther Rabb later toured with Santana
Santana may refer to:
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* Volkswagen Santana, an automobile
* Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles
* Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer
* Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp
** Santana 20
** Santan ...
, and both he and Ronnie Hammon later joined War
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
.
Jim Coile (born January 22, 1948, in Kirkland, Washington
Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in King County and the twelfth largest city in the state of Washington. ...
) died tragically on June 20, 2019, at age 71.
Legacy
Their song "Found a Child" from their first album was featured on the sampler album
A sampler or promotional compilation is a type of compilation album generally offered at a reduced price to showcase an artist or a selection of artists signed to a particular record label. The format became popular in the late 1960s as record labe ...
''Together!''.
Several of their songs have been covered or sampled by other artists, including:
* "Found a Child" – prominently sampled on the Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
-winning 1989 rap hit " Bust a Move" by Young MC
Marvin Young (born May 10, 1967), better known by his stage name Young M.C., is an American rapper, singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit " Bust a Move". His debut album '' Stone Cold Rhymin found international acclaim. Young h ...
.
* "Found a Child" – covered by Funktuation on their EP "Talk" in 2005.
* "Found a Child" – covered by Cane And Able on their album "Cane And Able" in 1970.
* "Never Let 'Em Say" – sampled by The Beastie Boys
The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...
in the rap song " Shadrach", from the 1989 album, ''Paul's Boutique
''Paul's Boutique'' is the second studio album by the American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989, by Capitol Records. Produced by the Beastie Boys and the Dust Brothers, the album's composition makes extensive use of samples ...
''.Gang Starr
Gang Starr was an American Hip-hop, hip hop duo, consisting of Houston-born record producer DJ Premier and Boston-based rapper Guru (rapper), Guru.
Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2003, and is considered a widely influential MC-and-pr ...
* "Never Let 'em Say" – sampled by Double X Posse
Double X Posse, also known as Double XX Posse, was an American 1990s hip hop group from Jersey City, New Jersey. Their debut album '' Put Ya Boots On'' (1992), spawned two successful singles. The first and most successful, titled "Not Gonna be Ab ...
in their hit 1992 single "Not Gonna Be Able To Do It"
Personnel
* Luther Rabb (bass, vocals) (1942–2006)
* Ronnie Hammon (drums)
* Glenn Thomas (guitar, mandolin)
* Jim Coile (sax, flute, clarinet) (died 2019)
* Tim McFarland (trombone, piano, backing vocals (Sep. 20, 1945 – May 26, 2011)
* Jim Walters (trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals) (deceased)
* Billy McPherson (sax) (- Nov. 19, 2011)
* King Errison (percussion, keyboards)
Discography
Albums
*'' Ballin' Jack'' (Columbia, 1970, C 30344)
*'' Buzzard Luck'' (Columbia, 1972, KC 31468)
*'' Special Pride'' (Mercury, 1973, SRM 1–672)
*''Live And In Color
''Live and In Color'' is a direct-to-video film recorded by The Reverend Horton Heat at Deep Ellum live in Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the Li ...
'' (Mercury, 1974, SRM-1-700)
Singles
*1970 Found A Child / Never Let 'Em Say (Columbia, 4-45348)
* 1970 Super Highway / Only a Tear (Columbia 4-45312) (#93, Billboard, #102 Cash Box)
*1970 Hold On / Ballin' The Jack (Columbia, 4-45464)
*1972 (Come 'Round Here) I'm the One You Need / Playin' The Game (Columbia, 4-45698)
*1973 Try To Relax / Thunder (Mercury, 73401)
*1973 This Song / Sunday Morning (Mercury, 73429-Promo)
References
External links
Ballin' Jack
on Myspace
Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
Luther Rabb & Ballin' Jack – News Page
Horn Rock HeavenGig posters
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1969
Musical groups from Seattle
Musical groups disestablished in 1975