We've all heard stories about supergroups that were rumored to be forming, only to fall apart before anything interesting happened. Here are three of the greatest might-have-beens in rock history.
1. The Ladders
Lineup:
To begin this story, you need to know about Klaus Voormann. He was an old friend of The Beatles, having met them in Hamburg in 1960 (long before they were famous). He was a graphic designer; the most famous album cover he designed was the Beatles' Revolver. He was also a bassist, playing in Manfred Mann's band in the 1960s as well as random session work.
The Beatles officially broke up on April 10, 1970 (though they had been falling apart for at least a year before this). At the time, Paul McCartney was the "bad guy" in the band - he had done some things to screw up their business and legal affairs, so the other three Beatles wanted nothing to do with him. However, the other three (John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) were still on good terms amongst themselves.
Given the above facts, it was rumored that the three ex-Beatles would recruit their old friend Klaus and form a new band called The Ladders - effectively, continuing The Beatles without McCartney. Here's what Wikipedia says about it (in their article about Klaus Voormann):
"After the breakup of The Beatles, there were rumours of The Beatles reforming as The Ladders, with Voormann on bass as a replacement for Paul McCartney. An announcement to this effect filtered out of the Apple offices in 1971, but was ultimately withdrawn before it got very far. This lineup (Voormann, Lennon, Harrison and Starr) did perform in various combinations ... Starr's album [Ringo, 1973] features the Lennon-penned hit single "I'm The Greatest" which is the only song in which all four musicians appear together, joined by Billy Preston."
It's worth noting that Billy Preston, a talented keyboard player, was also close to the Beatles, appearing on the song "Get Back". There were some rumors that, had the Beatles continued, Preston might have joined as the fifth Beatle. It's not unreasonable to speculate that, had The Ladders really got going, Preston might have joined that band.
Bottom line: It was almost The Beatles, Part II - but without McCartney's silly, sappy, syrupy songs. This outfit would likely have had a rawer, harder rocking edge on much of their material.
2. HELP
Lineup:
Progressive rock fans will recognize the latter three-quarters of this band as Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). What's not quite as well-known is that they almost had a guitarist. Not just any guitarist, but the guy who (at that time) was probably the greatest guitarist on the planet: Jimi Hendrix.
Keith Emerson and Greg Lake - each already famous from prior bands like The Nice and King Crimson - had already decided to form a new band. Meanwhile, Hendrix was wrapping up his Band Of Gypsys project and looking for something new. Emerson and Lake contacted Hendrix's drummer, Mitch Mitchell, about joining. He declined, but passed the idea on to Hendrix. Here's how Greg Lake tells the story:
"Yeah, that story is indeed true, to some degree...Mitch Mitchell had told Jimi about us and he said he wanted to explore the idea. Even after Mitch was long out of the picture and we had already settled on Carl, talk about working with Jimi continued. We were supposed to get together and jam with him around August or September of 1970, but he died before we could put it together."
Bottom line: Three of the most skilled progressive rockers ever, plus the psychedelia and soul of Hendrix ... the result could have been strange and exciting.
3. XYZ
Lineup:
In 1981, two world-famous bands had just broken up. Led Zeppelin had decided not to continue after the death of John Bonham. Yes had split after the dismal failure of the Drama album. Squire and White started a new band with Jimmy Page and began some recording sessions. The band's name, XYZ, stood for Ex-Yes and Zeppelin.
Soon, they decided they wanted Plant as their singer. They called him down to the studio to hear the tracks. However, Plant declined to join the band, saying the music was too complex. This makes sense, given Plant's well-known love of blues and roots-rock - not exactly what you'd expect from the rhythm section of Yes.
After Plant decided not to join, Page abandoned the project. Squire and White recruited other musicians and called their new band Cinema. When Jon Anderson (the singer from Yes) joined Cinema a couple of years later, they changed their name back to Yes.
The demos recorded by XYZ are reportedly available as extremely rare bootlegs. If you want to hear what it might have sounded like, get a copy of the astoundingly good 1997 Yes song "Mind Drive", large parts of which were taken from the XYZ songs.
Bottom line: It would have been great to see the Plant/Page songwriting team continue, but something about the wildly different styles of Yes and Zeppelin suggests that this project would have been doomed to break up eventually anyway.
An invitation:
There are many more almost-supergroup stories in the history of rock music. I know of several others, though the caliber of musicians in these three almost-bands sets them above the rest. In time, I may post about more such almost-supergroups. But first, I'd like to hear some similar stories from the rest of you. I'm sure that you guys know about groups like this which I've never heard of. So assemble your data and share what might have been with the rest of us!
1. The Ladders
Lineup:
- John Lennon, guitar and lead vocals
- George Harrison, guitar and lead vocals
- Billy Preston, keyboards
- Klaus Voormann, bass
- Ringo Starr, drums and lead vocals
To begin this story, you need to know about Klaus Voormann. He was an old friend of The Beatles, having met them in Hamburg in 1960 (long before they were famous). He was a graphic designer; the most famous album cover he designed was the Beatles' Revolver. He was also a bassist, playing in Manfred Mann's band in the 1960s as well as random session work.
The Beatles officially broke up on April 10, 1970 (though they had been falling apart for at least a year before this). At the time, Paul McCartney was the "bad guy" in the band - he had done some things to screw up their business and legal affairs, so the other three Beatles wanted nothing to do with him. However, the other three (John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) were still on good terms amongst themselves.
Given the above facts, it was rumored that the three ex-Beatles would recruit their old friend Klaus and form a new band called The Ladders - effectively, continuing The Beatles without McCartney. Here's what Wikipedia says about it (in their article about Klaus Voormann):
"After the breakup of The Beatles, there were rumours of The Beatles reforming as The Ladders, with Voormann on bass as a replacement for Paul McCartney. An announcement to this effect filtered out of the Apple offices in 1971, but was ultimately withdrawn before it got very far. This lineup (Voormann, Lennon, Harrison and Starr) did perform in various combinations ... Starr's album [Ringo, 1973] features the Lennon-penned hit single "I'm The Greatest" which is the only song in which all four musicians appear together, joined by Billy Preston."
It's worth noting that Billy Preston, a talented keyboard player, was also close to the Beatles, appearing on the song "Get Back". There were some rumors that, had the Beatles continued, Preston might have joined as the fifth Beatle. It's not unreasonable to speculate that, had The Ladders really got going, Preston might have joined that band.
Bottom line: It was almost The Beatles, Part II - but without McCartney's silly, sappy, syrupy songs. This outfit would likely have had a rawer, harder rocking edge on much of their material.
2. HELP
Lineup:
- Jimi Hendrix, guitar and lead vocals
- Keith Emerson, keyboards
- Greg Lake, bass and lead vocals
- Carl Palmer, drums
Progressive rock fans will recognize the latter three-quarters of this band as Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP). What's not quite as well-known is that they almost had a guitarist. Not just any guitarist, but the guy who (at that time) was probably the greatest guitarist on the planet: Jimi Hendrix.
Keith Emerson and Greg Lake - each already famous from prior bands like The Nice and King Crimson - had already decided to form a new band. Meanwhile, Hendrix was wrapping up his Band Of Gypsys project and looking for something new. Emerson and Lake contacted Hendrix's drummer, Mitch Mitchell, about joining. He declined, but passed the idea on to Hendrix. Here's how Greg Lake tells the story:
"Yeah, that story is indeed true, to some degree...Mitch Mitchell had told Jimi about us and he said he wanted to explore the idea. Even after Mitch was long out of the picture and we had already settled on Carl, talk about working with Jimi continued. We were supposed to get together and jam with him around August or September of 1970, but he died before we could put it together."
Bottom line: Three of the most skilled progressive rockers ever, plus the psychedelia and soul of Hendrix ... the result could have been strange and exciting.
3. XYZ
Lineup:
- Robert Plant, lead vocals
- Jimmy Page, guitar
- Chris Squire, bass
- Alan White, drums
In 1981, two world-famous bands had just broken up. Led Zeppelin had decided not to continue after the death of John Bonham. Yes had split after the dismal failure of the Drama album. Squire and White started a new band with Jimmy Page and began some recording sessions. The band's name, XYZ, stood for Ex-Yes and Zeppelin.
Soon, they decided they wanted Plant as their singer. They called him down to the studio to hear the tracks. However, Plant declined to join the band, saying the music was too complex. This makes sense, given Plant's well-known love of blues and roots-rock - not exactly what you'd expect from the rhythm section of Yes.
After Plant decided not to join, Page abandoned the project. Squire and White recruited other musicians and called their new band Cinema. When Jon Anderson (the singer from Yes) joined Cinema a couple of years later, they changed their name back to Yes.
The demos recorded by XYZ are reportedly available as extremely rare bootlegs. If you want to hear what it might have sounded like, get a copy of the astoundingly good 1997 Yes song "Mind Drive", large parts of which were taken from the XYZ songs.
Bottom line: It would have been great to see the Plant/Page songwriting team continue, but something about the wildly different styles of Yes and Zeppelin suggests that this project would have been doomed to break up eventually anyway.
An invitation:
There are many more almost-supergroup stories in the history of rock music. I know of several others, though the caliber of musicians in these three almost-bands sets them above the rest. In time, I may post about more such almost-supergroups. But first, I'd like to hear some similar stories from the rest of you. I'm sure that you guys know about groups like this which I've never heard of. So assemble your data and share what might have been with the rest of us!
