Week of February 15,1997
'Stone The Crows!', shouted legendary manager Peter Grant, when he firstheard this splendid young Scottish band roaring into action. Although itwas the Londoner's favourite Cockney expression, he wasn't a man to be easilyimpressed. After all, he was the manager ofLed Zeppelin, the mostsuccessful heavy rock band in history. Yet there was something earthy andappealing about the Crows that excited his enthusiasm and support.
Rockfans too were enthralled by the band, founded by guitarist Leslie Harveyand featuring the passionate vocal style of dynamic singerMaggie Bell. Their blues-based rock was imbued withthat extra power and authentic flavour that sprang from their tough Glasgowegianroots.
Every new group expects to conquer the world, andStone The Crowswere no exception. ButMaggie Bell and Leslie Harveyhad both been working long and hard before their latest venture finally tookshape, way back in 1969. They deserved the success that finally came theirway.
As teenagers Maggie and Leslie had worked together in a local group. Maggie(born Glasgow, January 12, 1945) came from a musical family who supportedher ambitions. Leslie was the younger brother of singer Alex Harvey who ledtheSensational Alex HarveyBand (SAHB).
Maggie was just 17 years old when she started singing professionally in thecity’s
LocarnoBallroom. Maggie soon found herself earning œ70 a week singing pop hitsof the day under the spotlights. It was a much better life than earning apittance as a window dresser. "It was big bucks!" remembers Maggie.
"I used to sing with a 15 piece big band on a revolving stage, and as thestage came round for the second set, there would be a rock band playing.I didn't really dig singing all the Shirley Bassey and Dionne Warwick songs,so after a year and a half I went over and joined the rock band!"
In 1967 Maggie teamed up with a couple of brass players, Bill and Bobby Patrick,for a tour of American airforce bases in Germany. "It was hard work and weplayed five hours a night, seven nights a week. But it was a great experienceand helped me to get my music together and learn my craft. I stayed therefor two years."
The guitar player in the band was her old mate Leslie Harvey. "We'd met evenbefore I sang at the Locarno. He had a group called the Kenning Park Ramblers.That was in the days when his older brother Alex was doing the Star Clubin Hamburg. Leslie was just a youngster like myself and we used to go toall these far away, obscure gigs around Scotland.
Anyway we all went to Germany and earned enough to buy ourselves a reel toreel Revox tape recorder!" The assassination of Martin Luther King in Americaled to a tense situation on all the U.S. bases and foreigners found themselves'off limits.' The musicians returned to Scotland and the scene was set forthe formation of a new band that eventually becameStone The Crows.
In 1968Maggie and Leslie formed Power, which became a regular attraction at theBurns Howff bar in Glasgow. "We heard about a couple of guys who were reallygood musicians. John McGinnis was the keyboard player and Jimmy Dewar wasbass player and singer. He later went to work withRobin Trower whenhe leftStone The Crows."
Leslie and Maggie went along to join in a Saturday afternoon session at theBurns Howff with John and Jimmy. It went so well they decided to form a grouptogether. Power was an instant success and this set up lasted quite a whileas Maggie, Leslie, John and Jimmy gained a strong local following.
Then Leslie was invited to tour America with another Scots outfit calledCartoone, when their guitar player dropped out at the last minute. Lesliewas brought in by manager Mark London and spent two months touring the States.During his trip he jammed with TheAllman Brothers band and his wholemusical perspective was altered. Remembers Maggie: "He came back a totallydifferent person, with long hair and littleJohn Lennon glasses anda fringed suede jacket. He had a new stratocaster too!"
Leslie sat down with his old friends and told them they should stop playing'covers' at the Burns Howff and start to write their own songs. "That's whenwe all started to write music. We changed everything from our look to ourpolitics." Mark London then announced he wanted to bring Peter Grant up tohear them.
"Led Zeppelin were just starting to happen. Peter came up in a biglimo with his partner Richard Cole. Peter liked what he heard but I foundout later they didn't really know if I could sing. The band had been so loudthey couldn't hear me at the gig. When I opened up my mouth in the studiothat night they all come over and said ‘Fabulous voice!’"
In late 1969 Peter and Mark London signed Power and became their managers.At the same time the band changed its name to Stone The Crows
andbrought in drummer Colin Allen (Ex-Zoot Money's Big Roll Band andJohn Mayall’s Bluesbreakers).
"Peter picked our new name. When he said: 'Cor blimey, stone the crows' wethought - what a name! But it stuck and people remember it." 'Stone TheCrows' (Polydor) was produced by Mark London and released in 1970. JimmyDewar shared some vocal duties with Maggie and co-wrote the material. "Werecorded the album in Advision studios, London, with Jimmy Dewar and JohnMcGinnis. Jimmy was a great singer and he sounded a bit like David ClaytonThomas ofBlood, Sweat & Tears. We shared the vocals on that albumand we made a great team."
One of their first collective pieces was opening cut 'The Touch Of YourLoving Hand.' Says Maggie: "That was a really melodic piece and couldhave been done by a big band. It's a song that could still be performed todayand wouldn't seem out of place. It was done in the style ofRay CharlesorRoberta Flack. There is a great guitar solo on this by Leslie."'Raining In Your Heart' was by Jimmy Dewar and it was quite an uptempo thing with lots of breaks and cymbal crashes."
Most of the album material was a regular part of their stage set includingthe bluesy 'Blind Man.' Maggie re-recorded this in November, 1996during sessions for the 'History Of The British Blues' an album producedby Pete Brown.Jack Bruce,Peter Green,MickTaylorandBig Jim Sullivan are all on the album intended as atribute to the late blues harp playerCyril Davies.
Says Maggie: 'Blind Man' is a traditional song that Josh White usedto perform. It's a real blues song. One of the reasons I got into black musicwas from listening to Josh White."
Another 'cover' on 'Stone The Crows' isThe Beatles' 'FoolOn The Hill' and explains Maggie: "I always wanted to do this becauseit's got great lyrics. We didn't really do it like theBeatles but I rememberPetula Clark once said it was the finest version she'd ever heard!"
'I Saw America' is a massive epic that covered side two of the originalvinyl album. It was born out of the band's first trip to America and wasintended as a tribute to that great country. Some U.S. record executive howeverthought it was a rather odd idea.
Maggie: "It's in four parts and starts off with the different States we visited,from the Deep South to California. Musically we tried to describe how wefelt about the different places. It's like a musical travelogue! Other membersof the band had been to the States before, but it was my first trip. It wasa strange situation though, because the American record people said: ‘butwhy do you want to write a song about America?’ They seemed to thinkonly Americans should write about their country!"
Album sales weren't huge but as Maggie says: "It did all right and enabledus to make another couple of albums."
Aftertheir second effort 'Ode To John Law' (1970), John McGinnis and JimmyDewar quit and were replaced by Steve Thompson (bass) and Ronnie Leahy(keyboards).
The next album 'Teenage Licks' (1971), proved to be their most successfuland from then onStone The Crows played all the major rock festivals.Maggie won the Best Female Vocalist award in the annual Melody Maker readerspoll and with her raunchy, sincere style she was hailed by many critics asthe natural successor toJanis Joplin. Things were looking good, thenjust when it seemed international stardom beckoned, Leslie Harvey waselectrocuted and died on stage, before a gig at Swansea's Top Rank Ballroom.It happened during a sound check when Les touched a 'live' mike and his guitarat the same time. The band were devastated and never really recovered fromthe blow. But for the moment, they decided to carry on.
Peter Green fromFleetwood Mac wasa possible replacement. He spent some time rehearsing with them for a majorrock festival. Two days before the show he rang to say he couldn't make it.Steve Howe ofYes helped out, then another young Scottish guitarist,Jimmy Mcculloch came in to help finish off the fourth album 'Ontinuous
Performance'(1972). Jimmy did his best but the heart had gone out of the group, and theyfinally broke up in 1973. Jimmy went on to play withPaulMcCartney'sWings while Colin Allen, their drummer, joinedFocus.Maggie released two well received solo albums produced by Jerry Wexler,'Queen Of The Night,'(1973), and 'Suicide Sal’ (1975).
Maggie Bell now lives in Rotterdam, Holland, and is still singing and recording.In 1995 she did a tour of Scotland with the oldAlex Harvey Band whichwent down a storm. She also toured withChrisFarlowe for three years. "I have been keeping busy. I could nevergive this business up!" She says.
"Stone The Crowswere a great band and we had some wonderful timeson the road. We toured withRoxy Music,David Bowie andMarc Bolan, and in the Stateswe played alongsideFrank Zappa,Edgar Winterand theMC5.
"Stone The Crows hadn’t really written anything before we didour first album, so I think our music was very good for the times. When youconsider it was all done 25 years ago, it doesn't sound too bad!"
CHRIS WELCH, London, 1997
Taken from the Repertoire reissue of "" (REP 4626-Y)
WhenMaggie Bell's groupStone The Crowsbroke up in 1973 it was time for Britain's finest female singer to launchher solo career. Since her earliest days in Glasgow, the Scots lass withthe soulful voice had been impressing audiences with her powerful and passionatestyle. She was used to singing with bands, but now she was thrust into thespotlight on her own. It meant more freedom, but more responsibilities, andit wasn't always an easy task. She set to work on two albums (produced bythe legendary Jerry
Wexler),'Queen Of The Night' (1973) and 'Suicide Sal' (1975), bothnow re-issued by Repertoire.They gave her the chance to choose her favourite material and work with thefinest musicians. Among the artists on 'Queen Of The Night' were ReggieYoung and Cornell Dupree (lead guitars), John Hughey (pedal Steel) , ChuckRainey (bass) and Steve Gadd (drums). The Sweet Inspiration provided backgroundvocals. Critics and fans praised the results, and she set out on the roadto promote the albums. There would be some problems along the way, as Maggielater discovered, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.
Maggie Bell was born in Glasgow (January 12, 1945) and came from a musicalfamily. As a teenager she sang with local dance bands, then went to Germanyin the mid-sixties to sing at US airforce bases. Returning to Scotland, sheand the band's guitarist Leslie Harvey, formed a new group calledPower which later becameStone The Crows.They were managed by Mark London and Peter Grant, the man behindLedZeppelin. After Leslie was accidentally electrocuted on stage in 1972,the heart went out of the group. They worked for a while with fellow Scotsguitarist Jimmy McCulloch, but broke up after a year. Explains Maggie: "WhenLeslie died, it was never the same. The band continued for a while, thenwe agreed it was the end of an era. Colin Allen, our drummer, was offereda job withFocus and Jimmy joinedWings.Meanwhile, Peter Grant and Mark London said they would help me to make asolo album.
The funny thing about 'Queen Of The Night' is that I made two previousalbums for Atlantic in New York - one with Felix Pappalardi ofMountain and the other with Felix Cavaliere of theYoung Rascals- which were never released." Maggie is frank about the reasons: "The recordcompany said they weren't good enough. I was quite upset about that! To thisday I believe it was wonderful stuff. I think it was down to a load of politics."
Luther Vandross did the vocal backings and there were many other top notchplayers involved with these projects. "But it wasn't to be and at this pointJerry Wexler stepped in. He told Atlantic, 'She can sing. I'd like to takeover and see if I can make an album with her. And if you don't like it youcan burn the tapes!' So we went ahead and made a good album. What more canI say? Jerry had worked withAretha FranklinandRay Charles.Just about everybody." Wexler and Bell sat down together and listened toover two hundred songs in the search for suitable material. "He's very meticulousabout picking the right song. It was the most important time in my lifemusically. It was to be my first solo album and it had to be right! We goton very well socially and of course, he had worked withLulu andDusty Springfield as well. He said that he couldn't believe how whensome people get a chance to make an album they really dedicate themselves,while others couldn't care less. Jerry tells everyone to do their homework,including the musicians and arrangers, and that it makes it better for everyone.I learned all the lyrics before I went into the studio. No pieces of paperallowed! He said that's what madeAretha Franklin andTina Turnerso great. They really learned their songs. If you read from cue sheets itdetracts from the music. You have to learn your craft." Maggie spent twomonths preparing the eleven songs on 'Queen Of The Night' before thefirst note was sung in the studio. The album kicks off in fine style with'Caddo Queen' which has a real Confederate rock flavour. One of thesongs 'Oh, My My' was written byRingo Starr and Maggiecould have had a hit with her version - ifRingo hadn't brought out hisown a week earlier. (It got to Number Five in the US chart in March, 1974.)The title song was written by Ronnie Leahy, the keyboard player withStone The Crows. "I always had it in mind todo that song," says Maggie.
"‘Trade Winds’ was another great song that has been coveredby many people after I
didit, includingRandy Crawford. It was written by Ralph McDonald, oneof the finest percussion players in America."
Another one of her favourites is 'A Woman Left Lonely.' "That's areal woman's song and it was also covered byRita Coolidge. It's acountry and western thing, a style I'd never done before in my life."
Maggie has always lovedJohn Prine's music and she aired his composition'Souvenirs' hotly pursued byJ.J.Cale's 'After Midnight',a song also associated withEric Clapton. "We did a Latin Americantreatment on our version with lots of percussion. 'The Other Side'was done in a kind of Mae West style. 'Hey Mister - can you help me! I'mlooking for a ride over to the other side.' It's got a very American, razzmatazzfeel."
After all her hard work Maggie was rewarded by rave reviews. "It was wonderful.People likeBette Midler said it was the best solo album from a femaleartist she'd ever heard, and it got great notices in the American magazines.There was even an article about me in Time Magazine! The record got to NumberTen in the charts, so it did really well." She put a new band together withJoe Jammer from Chicago and did a couple of tours of the States joinedbyThunder Thighs, who did the 'doop de doops' onLou Reed's'Take A Walk On The Wild Side.'
"Everyone thought they were three black American girls, but one was Jewish,one was Irish and the other was English - from Shepherds Bush! They werea great bunch of girls and it was one of the best tours I'd done in my life."
Maggie remembers doing some dates withEarth, Wind & Fire in theDeep South, when the group were at the height of their fame. "I had to openthe show and the audiences were all sitting there with their mouths hangingopen and doing nuthin'." She hit on an idea to break down their resistanceand asked her road manager to make a wooden screen. "I told him that I wantedto sing the first song behind the screen and then come on stage just to seewhat the response was like. Well, the response was unbelievable! You seethey couldn't accept a white woman from Scotland singing the blues. 'Scotland?Where's Scotland - is that near Alaska?' But we used the screen and thenit was OK - ha, ha!"Maggie Belltoured Germany in 1975 to promote'Queen Of The Night' and the response was so good she was encouragedto record her second excellent album 'Suicide Sal'. After some yearsof touring she settled down with her family and concentrated on acting rolesand writing music for films and TV during the Eighties. In recent times shehas returned to the road, working with the oldAlex Harvey Band andalso singing alongside veteran soul manChrisFarlowe. "I like to keep busy," says Maggie. "I could never give thisbusiness up!"
CHRIS WELCH, London, 1997
Taken from the Repertoire reissue of "" (REP 4661-Y)
Stone the Crows1969Ode to John Law1970Teenage Licks1971'Ontinuous Performance1972
Queen of the Night1974Suicide Sal1975