The early rock and rollers faced a bit of a challenge as they aged. The genre inherently is that of young people — or at least was at its inception. Those who survived had to answer some basic questions: Can rock and roll be a career? Just how does a rocker grow old gracefully?
Some retired, perhaps making cameos when the cash reserves ran low. Others said, simply, that it indeed is a fine career. They loved what they were doing so much that they just kept going and going. Now we are at the other end of it all. These people are pushing their mid-70s. After all, the genre got rolling barely two decades after the end of World War II. That’s a long time ago.
Savoy Brown is one of these bands. It never achieved the fame in the United States that it enjoys in Great Britain. It is, however, an institution — as the profile at its website rightly points out.
The institution of this institution is lead guitarist Kim Simmonds. He is a founding member of the band, which dates from 1966, and the only one who never left. The first album, “Shakedown,” was released in 1967. The profile goes through the list of personnel changes, which simply is a parade of names to most folks. It’s interesting to note that the rapidly of changes is great even for a rock act. The most noteworthy is that in 1970 three band members (Dave Peverett, Tony Stevens and Roger Earl) left to form Foghat.
Simmonds comes across as a humble and good natured guy in an interview earlier this month in Parade. He put out two records in 2017. “Witchy Feelin’ ” is a Savoy Brown record and “Jazzin’ on the Blues” is an acoustic instrumental album. (The interviewer didn’t ask what Simmonds has against the letter G.) The band released “City Night” in June, 2019.
It is interesting to see what these initial rock players do with their long lives if they are lucky enough to have them. Simmonds comes across as a man who is happy with the career track that was set in the mid-1960s.
In 2014, Anne Erickson of The Lansing State Journal asked Kim Simmonds why he still was drawn to the blues: “It’s always been the blues. On the surface, everything has changed, but really, absolutely nothing has changed. Underneath everything, it’s still the same thing. People are looking for music that speaks to them in a deeper way.” Ranker rated “Street Corner Talking,” “Looking In” and “Hellbound Train” as the band’s best albums. Click here for “Street Corner Talking” at iTunes. Click here or on the image for the album at Amazon.I had the opportunity to discuss Duke Ellington a few weeks ago with Jeff Claassen, an Assistant Professor of Harmony at the Berklee School of Music. It was interesting that one of the things that most impresses him about Duke was his ability to keep a band working for 50 years. That thought came back to me when Simmonds addressed a half century of Savoy Brown. Simmonds said that he didn’t think of the band as a “brand.” Rather it was that he started it and it “fell to him” to see it through. He told Varga that he is glad that he did.
It can be a bit disconcerting to see what in essence are old (mostly) men on stage rocking out. The reality is, however, that it is a natural progression. They no longer are kids, but to them — and the people who pay good money to see them — the music still means a lot. What precisely that meaning is undoubtedly has changed over the decades. But that meaning still is there is a sign that it indeed is art.
Here is one fan’s take on the band’s best songs. Above is “Poor Girl.” Below is “Living on the Bayou” which is from “Witchy Feelin’ ” Clearly, Simmonds still can play and loves what he does for a living.
Ranker and The Lansing State Journal were cited in the blue box.
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