Bruce Turgon
Encyclopedia
Bruce Turgon is an American bass guitarist, guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer who has played in several bands throughout his career, including Foreigner
, The Lou Gramm Band
, Shadow King
, Steve Stevens
, Warrior
, Black Sheep
, and Showcase.
. A multi-instrumentalist, Turgon started playing in elementary school, and after high school, became a member of Showcase, competing in the same market as the Gramm-fronted band Poor Heart. In late 1971, he joined Black Sheep with Lou, which built a steady regional following over the next two years. In 1974, the Gramm-Turgon written EP Stick Around was released on Chrysalis
, which later led the group to be signed to Capitol. The band released two albums in 1974, and was enroute to major success when an equipment accident in 1975 caused Black Sheep to lose the support act slot for KISS
that year. Bruce then left NY state for Los Angeles, eventually writing, recording and touring with bands like Billy Thorpe, Nick Gilder, Prism and Warrior as well as performing around the L.A. area with his own bands. In 1987, Bruce co-wrote the song My Way along with Paul Stanley and Desmond Child for the platinum Kiss album Crazy Nights
.
was released, that included the top ten hit "Just Between You and Me" and "True Blue Love", and reached the Top 40. Also contributed, was a song to the soundtrack for the 1987 film The Lost Boys
, titled "Lost in the Shadows". In 2003, Gramm attempted to rejuvenate his solo career with a band that included Turgon on bass, Rocket Richotte on guitar, Kevin Neal on drums, John Purdell on keyboards (who suddenly died very early during the tour), and Gary Corbett
on keyboards. Following the death of both Gramm's father and mother, this initial lineup decided it best to take different paths.
. The band featured Steve Stevens on guitar, Perry McCarty on vocals (formerly in Warrior with Bruce), Gregg Gerson on drums, Phil Ashley on keyboards, and Bruce on bass guitar. The album was Steve Stevens first solo recording and featured the video Atomic Playboys in which Bruce did perform (playing bass).
(Dio, Whitesnake, Riverdogs, & Def Leppard) and drummer Kevin Valentine (Godz, The Lou Gramm Band, KISS, & Neverland). They released a self-titled album in 1991 and contributed one song (One Dream) to the film Highlander II: The Quickening (starring Sean Connery & Christopher Lambert). Bruce co-wrote nine of the ten tracks on the debut album, as well as handling multiple instrument, arrangement and programming duties. The impressive video I Want You did received some play on MTV, and although plans were made for a tour, they performed only once, at the Astoria Theater in London, England, on December 13, 1991. Shortly afterward, Vivian Campbell announced he was leaving Shadow King to join Def Leppard
. Although replacements were considered, the band members eventually went their separate ways. Reportedly, Lou Gramm guested with Def Leppard on stage in 1992, shortly after Vivian Campbell joined them.
, Bruce was hired for the bass position now vacated by the departing Rick Wills. Bringing new energy to the band, three new songs were recorded for the compilation, The Very Best of ... and Beyond. These songs included Soul Doctor, Prisoner of Love, and With Heaven On Our Side. Foreigner then released their eighth studio album, Mr. Moonlight in 1995, with several songs co-written by Bruce, including the single Until The End of Time. Several tours followed that re-established Foreigner back into the Classic Rock spotlight, and once again proved the band to be a successful touring act.
on lead guitar. Ex-Montrose
member Denny Carmassi
was the drummer for all tracks. Bruce recently worked on a collaboration album with Redding, CA electronic musician Craig Padilla
. The collaboration is titled Places of Power and the new CD Now Is The Hour was released on January 23, 2009 on the Blistering Records label.
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
, The Lou Gramm Band
Lou Gramm
Lou Gramm is an American rock vocalist and songwriter best known for his role as the lead vocalist and co-writer of many of the songs for the rock band Foreigner. He also had a successful solo career...
, Shadow King
Shadow King (band)
Shadow King was a rock band. Members included now former Foreigner lead singer Lou Gramm, former Sweet Savage, Dio, Whitesnake, Riverdogs, guitarist Vivian Campbell, Lou Gramm's former Black Sheep and then future Foreigner bandmate bass player Bruce Turgon, and drummer Kevin Valentine.Vivian...
, Steve Stevens
Steve Stevens
Steve Stevens is an American guitarist and songwriter.He is best known for playing for other artists and less known for his critically acclaimed solo efforts , collaborations Steve Stevens (born as Steven Schneider on May 5, 1959, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist and songwriter.He...
, Warrior
Warrior (band)
-History:Warrior is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1982.As was the case with contemporaries Ratt and Rough Cutt, the group's core - guitarists Joe Floyd and Tommy Asakawa, bassist Rick Bennett and vocalist Parramore McCarty - was made up of San Diego, CA...
, Black Sheep
Black Sheep (rock band)
Black Sheep, a Rochester, New York-based 1970s United States rock music band, was one of vocalist Lou Gramm's early working bands...
, and Showcase.
Biography
Turgon was born and raised in Leroy, NY, near the suburban Rochester hometown of future band-mate, singer Lou GrammLou Gramm
Lou Gramm is an American rock vocalist and songwriter best known for his role as the lead vocalist and co-writer of many of the songs for the rock band Foreigner. He also had a successful solo career...
. A multi-instrumentalist, Turgon started playing in elementary school, and after high school, became a member of Showcase, competing in the same market as the Gramm-fronted band Poor Heart. In late 1971, he joined Black Sheep with Lou, which built a steady regional following over the next two years. In 1974, the Gramm-Turgon written EP Stick Around was released on Chrysalis
Chrysalis Records
Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
, which later led the group to be signed to Capitol. The band released two albums in 1974, and was enroute to major success when an equipment accident in 1975 caused Black Sheep to lose the support act slot for KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
that year. Bruce then left NY state for Los Angeles, eventually writing, recording and touring with bands like Billy Thorpe, Nick Gilder, Prism and Warrior as well as performing around the L.A. area with his own bands. In 1987, Bruce co-wrote the song My Way along with Paul Stanley and Desmond Child for the platinum Kiss album Crazy Nights
Crazy Nights
Crazy Nights is the 14th studio album by American band Kiss. The album was recorded in June 1987 and officially released on September 18, 1987 by Mercury and Vertigo in Europe. The album featured keyboards which was another departure in their music style changing from their Lick It...
.
The Lou Gramm Band
Eventually, Bruce's long association with his friend Gramm led to the writing and recording of Gramm’s first solo effort Ready or Not, yielding the hit single, "Midnight Blue". The album charted at number 27 in the United States. The single "Midnight Blue" was number one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. Eventually a second solo effort, Long Hard LookLong Hard Look
Long Hard Look is the second solo album from Lou Gramm, released in 1989 .-Track listing:#"Angel With A Dirty Face" - 5:14#"Just Between You and Me" - 4:56#"Broken Dreams" - 5:54...
was released, that included the top ten hit "Just Between You and Me" and "True Blue Love", and reached the Top 40. Also contributed, was a song to the soundtrack for the 1987 film The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys is a 1987 American teen comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Alex Winter, Jamison Newlander, and Barnard Hughes....
, titled "Lost in the Shadows". In 2003, Gramm attempted to rejuvenate his solo career with a band that included Turgon on bass, Rocket Richotte on guitar, Kevin Neal on drums, John Purdell on keyboards (who suddenly died very early during the tour), and Gary Corbett
Gary Corbett
Gary Corbett is a Grammy Award winning American keyboardist, composer and producer most famous for playing in the band Cinderella....
on keyboards. Following the death of both Gramm's father and mother, this initial lineup decided it best to take different paths.
Steve Stevens Atomic Playboys
In between the recording of Gramm’s second album, Long Hard Look and its subsequent tour, Bruce also toured with Steve Stevens in support of his 1989 solo album Atomic PlayboysAtomic Playboys
-Personnel:*Steve Stevens – vocals, electric guitar, classical guitar, bass guitar , production*Perry McCarty – vocals*Phil Ashley – keyboard, preamplifier*Thommy Price – drums *Anton Fig – drums...
. The band featured Steve Stevens on guitar, Perry McCarty on vocals (formerly in Warrior with Bruce), Gregg Gerson on drums, Phil Ashley on keyboards, and Bruce on bass guitar. The album was Steve Stevens first solo recording and featured the video Atomic Playboys in which Bruce did perform (playing bass).
Shadow King
In 1991, Turgon and Gramm formed the short-lived Shadow King, along with guitarist Vivian CampbellVivian Campbell
Vivian Patrick Campbell is a Northern Irish rock guitarist who is a member of Def Leppard and was, from May 2010 to November 2011, a member of Thin Lizzy. Prior to joining Def Leppard in April 1992, he had been a member of Whitesnake, Sweet Savage, Trinity, Riverdogs, and Shadow King...
(Dio, Whitesnake, Riverdogs, & Def Leppard) and drummer Kevin Valentine (Godz, The Lou Gramm Band, KISS, & Neverland). They released a self-titled album in 1991 and contributed one song (One Dream) to the film Highlander II: The Quickening (starring Sean Connery & Christopher Lambert). Bruce co-wrote nine of the ten tracks on the debut album, as well as handling multiple instrument, arrangement and programming duties. The impressive video I Want You did received some play on MTV, and although plans were made for a tour, they performed only once, at the Astoria Theater in London, England, on December 13, 1991. Shortly afterward, Vivian Campbell announced he was leaving Shadow King to join Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
. Although replacements were considered, the band members eventually went their separate ways. Reportedly, Lou Gramm guested with Def Leppard on stage in 1992, shortly after Vivian Campbell joined them.
Foreigner era
In 1992, when Gramm rejoined ForeignerForeigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
, Bruce was hired for the bass position now vacated by the departing Rick Wills. Bringing new energy to the band, three new songs were recorded for the compilation, The Very Best of ... and Beyond. These songs included Soul Doctor, Prisoner of Love, and With Heaven On Our Side. Foreigner then released their eighth studio album, Mr. Moonlight in 1995, with several songs co-written by Bruce, including the single Until The End of Time. Several tours followed that re-established Foreigner back into the Classic Rock spotlight, and once again proved the band to be a successful touring act.
Projects and solo efforts
Over the last 10 years, Bruce has become increasingly involved in TV, movie and documentary soundtrack work, contributing to shows on HBO, Showtime, PBS , and Warren Miller Films. In late 2005, he finally released his first solo album, Outside Looking In featuring the outstanding tracks Living A Lie, Any Other Time, and the title track Outside Looking In featuring Ronnie MontroseRonnie Montrose
Ronnie Montrose, is an Amercian rock guitarist who has headed his own bands as well as performing with a variety of musicians, including Sammy Hagar, Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison, The Beau Brummels, Boz Scaggs, Beaver & Krause, Gary Wright, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Dan Hartman, Edgar...
on lead guitar. Ex-Montrose
Montrose (band)
Montrose was a California-based hard rock band. The band originally featured Ronnie Montrose on guitar and future solo artist and former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar...
member Denny Carmassi
Denny Carmassi
Denny Carmassi is an American drummer.Carmassi was a member of the first four line-ups of the band Montrose. After Montrose, he played with his former Montrose bandmate Sammy Hagar as a solo artist, and with his former Montrose bandmates Ronnie Montrose and Jim Alcivar in the band Gamma.He also...
was the drummer for all tracks. Bruce recently worked on a collaboration album with Redding, CA electronic musician Craig Padilla
Craig Padilla
Craig Padilla is an American ambient musician and film score composer, actor, and video producer from Redding, California.Since the mid-90's he has released more than a dozen albums with music primarily inspired by the Berlin School of electronic music and space music on the labels Space For Music,...
. The collaboration is titled Places of Power and the new CD Now Is The Hour was released on January 23, 2009 on the Blistering Records label.
Lou Gramm
- Ready or Not (1987)
- The Lost BoysThe Lost BoysThe Lost Boys is a 1987 American teen comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Alex Winter, Jamison Newlander, and Barnard Hughes....
(film soundtrack; contributed one song, "Lost in the Shadows") (1987) - Long Hard LookLong Hard LookLong Hard Look is the second solo album from Lou Gramm, released in 1989 .-Track listing:#"Angel With A Dirty Face" - 5:14#"Just Between You and Me" - 4:56#"Broken Dreams" - 5:54...
(1989)
Shadow King
- Shadow King (1991)
- Highlander II: The QuickeningHighlander II: The QuickeningHighlander II: The Quickening is the second installment to the Highlander film series, released on January 31, 1991.-Plot:In August 1994, news broadcasts announce that the ozone layer is fading, and will be completely gone in a matter of months. In Africa, millions have perished from the effects of...
(film soundtrack; contributed one song, "One Dream") (1991)