Nick Gravenites
Encyclopedia
Nicholas George Gravenites (ɡrævɨˈnaɪtɨs; born October 2, 1938, Chicago
, Illinois
), with stage name
s like Nick "The Greek" Gravenites and Gravy, is a blues, rock
and folk
singer–songwriter
, and is best known for his work with Janis Joplin
, Mike Bloomfield
and several influential bands and names of the generation springing from the 1960s and 1970s. He currently resides in Occidental, California
.
, Gravenites is "the original San Francisco connection for the Chicago
crowd." Gravenites is credited as a "musical handyman" helping such San Francisco bands as Quicksilver Messenger Service
and Janis Joplin's first solo group, the Kosmic Blues Band. Gravenites also worked extensively with John Cipollina
after producing the first Quicksilver Messenger Service
album. He and Cipollina formed the Nick Gravenites–John Cipollina Band which toured a lot in Europe.
When the band Big Brother and the Holding Company reformed from 1969 to 1972 (without Janis Joplin), Nick was the lead singer.
Gravenites was also a songwriter for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band
, which consisted of Elvin Bishop
, Paul Butterfield
, Sam Lay
and Michael Bloomfield
, then formed The Electric Flag with Butterfield guitarist Mike Bloomfield
. Gravenites is also responsible for writing the score for The Trip
, produced the music for the movie Steelyard Blues
. He produced the pop hit "One Toke Over the Line" for Brewer & Shipley
and the album Right Place, Wrong Time
for Otis Rush
, for which he was nominated for a Grammy Award
. Together with John Kahn
, Gravenites produced the album 'Not mellowed with Age' by Southern Comfort (CBS S 64125 - 1970). Over the years, Gravenites would often use pianist Pete Sears
in his band "Animal Mind", including on his 1980 Blue Star album on which Sears played keyboards and bass. They also played together in front of 100,000 people on Earth Day 1990 at Crissy Field, San Francisco. Sears also joined him for a tour of Greece.
He still performs live in northern California. Gravenites was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame
in 2003 for his song "Born In Chicago". He recently toured with the Chicago Blues Reunion and a new Electric Flag Band.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
), with stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
s like Nick "The Greek" Gravenites and Gravy, is a blues, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singer–songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, and is best known for his work with Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
, Mike Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
and several influential bands and names of the generation springing from the 1960s and 1970s. He currently resides in Occidental, California
Occidental, California
Occidental is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,115 at the 2010 census, down from 1,272 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Occidental is located at...
.
Career
According to author and pop music critic Joel SelvinJoel Selvin
Joel Selvin is a San Francisco-based music critic and author known for his weekly column in the San Francisco Chronicle which ran from 1972 to 2009. Selvin has written books covering various aspects of pop music and has interviewed a large number of musical artists...
, Gravenites is "the original San Francisco connection for the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
crowd." Gravenites is credited as a "musical handyman" helping such San Francisco bands as Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band, formed in 1965 in San Francisco.-Introduction:Quicksilver Messenger Service gained wide popularity in the Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe and several of their albums ranked...
and Janis Joplin's first solo group, the Kosmic Blues Band. Gravenites also worked extensively with John Cipollina
John Cipollina
John Cipollina was a guitarist best known for his role as a founder and the lead guitarist of the prominent San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service...
after producing the first Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band, formed in 1965 in San Francisco.-Introduction:Quicksilver Messenger Service gained wide popularity in the Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe and several of their albums ranked...
album. He and Cipollina formed the Nick Gravenites–John Cipollina Band which toured a lot in Europe.
When the band Big Brother and the Holding Company reformed from 1969 to 1972 (without Janis Joplin), Nick was the lead singer.
Gravenites was also a songwriter for the Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield was an American blues vocalist and harmonica player, who founded the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the early 1960s and performed at the original Woodstock Festival...
, which consisted of Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop is an American blues and rock and roll musician and guitarist.-Career:Bishop was born in Glendale, California, and grew up on a farm near Elliott, Iowa. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was ten years old...
, Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield
Paul Butterfield was an American blues vocalist and harmonica player, who founded the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the early 1960s and performed at the original Woodstock Festival...
, Sam Lay
Sam Lay
Sam Lay is an American drummer and vocalist, who has been performing since the late 1950s.-Life and career:...
and Michael Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
, then formed The Electric Flag with Butterfield guitarist Mike Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
. Gravenites is also responsible for writing the score for The Trip
The Trip (1967 film)
The Trip is a cult film released by American International Pictures, directed by Roger Corman, written by Jack Nicholson, and shot on location in and around Los Angeles, including on top of Kirkwood in Laurel Canyon, Hollywood Hills, and near Big Sur, California in 1966...
, produced the music for the movie Steelyard Blues
Steelyard Blues
Steelyard Blues is a 1973 comedy crime film starring Donald Sutherland, Jane Fonda and Peter Boyle. It concerns the lives of a group of misfits trying to find a happier life against the norms of society. Sutherland plays an ex-con with a passion for demolition derbies. He has wrecked almost every...
. He produced the pop hit "One Toke Over the Line" for Brewer & Shipley
Brewer & Shipley
Brewer & Shipley were an American folk rock music duo of the late 1960s through 1970s, consisting of singer-songwriters Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley. They were known for their intricate guitar work, vocal harmonies and socially conscious lyrics. Their greatest success was the song "One Toke Over the...
and the album Right Place, Wrong Time
Right Place, Wrong Time (album)
Right Place, Wrong Time Is a 1976 album by blues singer and guitarist Otis Rush. Although regarded as one of his finest recordings, the album was not issued until five years after it was recorded.-Background:...
for Otis Rush
Otis Rush
Otis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes...
, for which he was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
. Together with John Kahn
John Kahn
John Kahn was an American rock bass player. For a period of about twenty five years Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead.-Biography:...
, Gravenites produced the album 'Not mellowed with Age' by Southern Comfort (CBS S 64125 - 1970). Over the years, Gravenites would often use pianist Pete Sears
Pete Sears
Peter 'Pete' Sears is an English rock musician. In a career spanning more than four decades he has been a member of many bands and has moved through a variety of musical genres, from early R&B, psychedelic improvisational rock of the 1960s, folk, country music, arena rock in the 1970s, and blues...
in his band "Animal Mind", including on his 1980 Blue Star album on which Sears played keyboards and bass. They also played together in front of 100,000 people on Earth Day 1990 at Crissy Field, San Francisco. Sears also joined him for a tour of Greece.
He still performs live in northern California. Gravenites was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame
Blues Hall of Fame
The Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker...
in 2003 for his song "Born In Chicago". He recently toured with the Chicago Blues Reunion and a new Electric Flag Band.
Albums
- 1968 Long Time Comin The Electric Flag
- 1969 My Labours
- 1970 Be A BrotherBe a BrotherBe a Brother is an album by Big Brother and the Holding Company, released in 1970. It was their first album after Janis Joplin´s departure...
Big Brother and the Holding Company - 1972 Joplin In Concert
- 1973 Steelyard Blues OST
- 1980 Blue Star (Line Records)
- 1982 Monkey Medicine The Nick Gravenites John Cipollina Band
- 1991 Live At The Rodon Nick Gravenites and John Cipollina (Music Box)
- 1996 Don't Feed The Animals
- 1999 Kill My Brain
- 2005 Buried Alive In The Blues (live)