Johnny Echols
Encyclopedia
Johnny Echols is an American singer/songwriter and guitarist. He has played in bands with performers such as Little Richard
, Billy Preston
and Jimi Hendrix
, and was the guitarist on many recording sessions with Miles Davis
. He is chiefly known as the lead guitar player of the psychedelic rock band Love
, that he co-founded as a teenager with his childhood friend Arthur Lee
.
The parents of Johnny Echols and Arthur Lee were school teachers in Memphis, Tennessee
, where the boys were born. Both families moved to Los Angeles
where Echols received guitar lessons from a neighbour who happened to be the guitar player of The Coasters
. At Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, he teamed up with basketball star Arthur Lee, who had become an excellent organ player, Allan Talbert who played saxophone, and Roland Davis on drums. Soon, another classmate, who also played keyboards, Billy Preston, joined the group and Lee moved to lead singer. This group, called the LAGs, which is short for L.A. Group, had more talent than most of the adult bands playing around town.
The LAGs wore false mustaches to look as if they were of legal age. They were playing at local Los Angeles clubs when they were approached by an aggressive manager who began booking them under the names of various groups who were well known for hit records. Once, they were playing a dance under the name of The Coasters when a teacher from Dorsey High came up and said something to the effect of: “I know you John Echols. You boys aren’t The Coasters, but you’re doing such a terrific job that I’m not going to mention it to anyone.”
By 1963, Echols, lying about his age, had already obtained his family’s permission and travelled to England with Little Richard’s band. Thereafter, he and Arthur Lee played with Billy Preston and Jimmy James (the future Jimi Hendrix) as the house band at LA’s California Club.
Johnny Echols, along with Arthur Lee and rhythm guitar player Bryan Maclean
, assisted in writing and arranging several of the songs for the band Love, and was crucial in their guitar driven sound. He was on their first three albums before Arthur Lee
disbanded the line-up after poor sales in the US. Unknown to Lee, who disdained performing outside the Los Angeles area, the quality of the first three albums, especially that of Forever Changes
, had already garnered a substantial fan base throughout Europe. In 2005, the association of European disc jockeys voted Forever Changes the number one rock album of all time.
Echols has lived in Sedona, Arizona for the last 15 years and continues to play and write music.
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
, Billy Preston
Billy Preston
William Everett "Billy" Preston was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later finding fame as a solo artist with hits such as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from...
and Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, and was the guitarist on many recording sessions with Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
. He is chiefly known as the lead guitar player of the psychedelic rock band Love
Love (band)
Love was an American rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were led by singer/songwriter Arthur Lee and lead guitarist Johnny Echols...
, that he co-founded as a teenager with his childhood friend Arthur Lee
Arthur Lee (musician)
Arthur Lee was the frontman, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of the Los Angeles rock band Love, best known for the critically acclaimed 1967 album, Forever Changes.-Early years:...
.
The parents of Johnny Echols and Arthur Lee were school teachers in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, where the boys were born. Both families moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
where Echols received guitar lessons from a neighbour who happened to be the guitar player of The Coasters
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood", their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller...
. At Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, he teamed up with basketball star Arthur Lee, who had become an excellent organ player, Allan Talbert who played saxophone, and Roland Davis on drums. Soon, another classmate, who also played keyboards, Billy Preston, joined the group and Lee moved to lead singer. This group, called the LAGs, which is short for L.A. Group, had more talent than most of the adult bands playing around town.
The LAGs wore false mustaches to look as if they were of legal age. They were playing at local Los Angeles clubs when they were approached by an aggressive manager who began booking them under the names of various groups who were well known for hit records. Once, they were playing a dance under the name of The Coasters when a teacher from Dorsey High came up and said something to the effect of: “I know you John Echols. You boys aren’t The Coasters, but you’re doing such a terrific job that I’m not going to mention it to anyone.”
By 1963, Echols, lying about his age, had already obtained his family’s permission and travelled to England with Little Richard’s band. Thereafter, he and Arthur Lee played with Billy Preston and Jimmy James (the future Jimi Hendrix) as the house band at LA’s California Club.
Johnny Echols, along with Arthur Lee and rhythm guitar player Bryan Maclean
Bryan MacLean
Bryan MacLean was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, most known for his work with the influential rock band Love. His famous compositions for Love include "Alone Again Or" and "Old Man".-Early life:...
, assisted in writing and arranging several of the songs for the band Love, and was crucial in their guitar driven sound. He was on their first three albums before Arthur Lee
Arthur Lee (musician)
Arthur Lee was the frontman, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist of the Los Angeles rock band Love, best known for the critically acclaimed 1967 album, Forever Changes.-Early years:...
disbanded the line-up after poor sales in the US. Unknown to Lee, who disdained performing outside the Los Angeles area, the quality of the first three albums, especially that of Forever Changes
Forever Changes
Forever Changes is the third album by American rock band Love, released by Elektra Records in November 1967. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Forever Changes 40th in its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time...
, had already garnered a substantial fan base throughout Europe. In 2005, the association of European disc jockeys voted Forever Changes the number one rock album of all time.
Echols has lived in Sedona, Arizona for the last 15 years and continues to play and write music.