Paul Kossoff
Encyclopedia
Paul Francis Kossoff was an English rock
guitarist
best known as a member of the band
Free
.
Kossoff was ranked 51st in Rolling Stone magazine list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"
. Kossoff started playing guitar in the mid 1960s, and became a professional at age 15 when he was a founding member of Black Cat Bones
. The band played with touring blues piano player Champion Jack Dupree
, did many supporting shows for Fleetwood Mac
and other gigs with Fleetwood Mac cofounder Peter Green
. Kossoff would jam and spend hours discussing blues playing and players. Kossoff's bandmate in Black Cat Bones was drummer Simon Kirke
, and the two would go on to play on Champion Jack Dupree's April 1968 album When You Feel the Feeling you was Feeling.
(vocals) and Andy Fraser
(bass) to form Free. They did the "Transit" circuit for two years and recorded two albums: Tons of Sobs
(1968) and Free
(1969). Both albums showcased the band's blues and soul influenced sound, a style which was in contrast to some of their progressive
and heavier counterparts at the time.
Success came in 1970 when their third album, Fire and Water (1970), spawned the massive hit "All Right Now
". The band played the Isle of Wight
festival to both audience and critical acclaim. Sellout tours in the United Kingdom
, Europe
, and Japan
followed, but after the release of the next album, Highway (1970), band pressures led to a split.
The live album Free Live, recorded in 1970, was released in 1971 as a farewell record.
While Rodgers and Fraser pursued unsuccessful solo projects, Kossoff and Kirke teamed up with Texan
keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick and Japan
ese bass player Tetsu Yamauchi
to release the 1971 album Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit
.
Free reformed and released the album Free at Last
(1972). Following its release Fraser decided he had had enough and quit to form Sharks. Free drafted Tetsu and Rabbit for Free's 1973 album Heartbreaker
(1973) after which the group disbanded.
Rodgers and Kirke went on to form the successful Bad Company
while Kossoff released a solo album, Back Street Crawler (1973). He then accompanied John Martyn on a 1975 tour before assembling a group called Back Street Crawler
.
Back Street Crawler released two albums: The Band Plays On
in 1975 and 2nd Street
in 1976. Recordings from one of their UK concerts in 1975 were also released under the title Live at Croydon Fairfield Halls 15/6/75. When Free supported Blind Faith
in the United States
(1969), Eric Clapton
was impressed enough to ask Kossoff to demonstrate his vibrato technique to him.
Kossoff's guitar playing was also much in demand for session work
and he contributed solos on several albums including: Jim Capaldi
's Oh How We Danced
(1972), Martha Veléz
's Fiends and Angels (1969); Blondel
's Mulgrave Street (1974); Uncle Dog
's Old Hat (1972), Michael Gately's Gately's Cafe (1971) and Mike Vernon
's 1971 album Bring It Back Home.
He also played on four demos by Ken Hensley
(eventually released on the 1994 album titled From Time to Time) and three tracks which appear on the CD
-only issue of John Martyn's Live At Leeds album from 1975.
An unreleased guitar solo also surfaced in 2006 on the title track to the album All One by David Elliot who recorded with Paul Kossoff in the 70s.
On Jim Capaldi's 1975 solo album, Short Cut Draw Blood
, two songs were reputedly written about Kossoff: "Seagull" and "Boy with a Problem". Kossoff played lead guitar on the latter.
A 16-track career retrospective, Koss
, was issued in 1977.
The late 1990s saw a renewed interest in Kossoff, and another career retrospective was released, 1997's 14-track Blue Soul (actually a reissue of a double vinyl release from the mid 1980s of the same name), as well as the five-disc Free box set Songs of Yesterday, and a Free biography
entitled Heavy Load: The Story of Free.
to New York
on 19 March 1976, Kossoff died from drug-related heart problems
. He was cremated and interred at the Golders Green Crematorium
. His epitaph reads "All Right Now".
Following Kossoff's death his father, actor David Kossoff, established the Paul Kossoff Foundation which aimed to present the realities of drug addiction to children. Kossoff's father spent the remainder of his life campaigning against drugs, touring a one-man stage performance about the death of Paul and its effect on the family.
The following albums were issued after the band ceased recording:
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...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
best known as a member of the band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
Free
Free (band)
Free were an English rock band, formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums; lead guitarist Paul Kossoff died from a...
.
Kossoff was ranked 51st in Rolling Stone magazine list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"
Early days
Kossoff was the son of the British actor of Russian-Jewish descent David KossoffDavid Kossoff
David Kossoff was a British actor. Following the death of his son Paul, a rock musician, he became an anti-drug campaigner...
. Kossoff started playing guitar in the mid 1960s, and became a professional at age 15 when he was a founding member of Black Cat Bones
Black Cat Bones
Black Cat Bones was a British heavy blues rock group from London.The band is perhaps best known for having had Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke in its lineup, both of whom later joined Free in 1968...
. The band played with touring blues piano player Champion Jack Dupree
Champion Jack Dupree
William Thomas Dupree, best known as Champion Jack Dupree, was an American blues pianist. His birth date is disputed, given as July 4, July 10, and July 23, in the years 1908, 1909, or 1910. He died on January 21, 1992.-Biography:...
, did many supporting shows for Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
and other gigs with Fleetwood Mac cofounder Peter Green
Peter Green (musician)
Peter Green is a British blues-rock guitarist and the founder of the band Fleetwood Mac...
. Kossoff would jam and spend hours discussing blues playing and players. Kossoff's bandmate in Black Cat Bones was drummer Simon Kirke
Simon Kirke
Simon Kirke is an English rock drummer best known as a member of Free and Bad Company.-Biography:...
, and the two would go on to play on Champion Jack Dupree's April 1968 album When You Feel the Feeling you was Feeling.
Free
In April 1968 Kossoff and Kirke teamed up with Paul RodgersPaul Rodgers
Paul Bernard Rodgers is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has recently toured and recorded with...
(vocals) and Andy Fraser
Andy Fraser
Andy Fraser is an English songwriter and bass guitarist whose career has lasted over forty years and includes a notable period as one of the founding members, in 1968, at age 15, of the rock band Free.-Peak years :...
(bass) to form Free. They did the "Transit" circuit for two years and recorded two albums: Tons of Sobs
Tons of Sobs
Tons of Sobs is the debut album by English blues rock band Free, released on 14 March 1969. While the album failed to chart in the UK and reached #197 in the US, Free are still cited as one of the definitive bands of the British blues boom of the late 1960s even though this is the only album of...
(1968) and Free
Free (Free album)
Free is the second album by English rock group Free, recorded and released in 1969. The band had spent time touring after their debut album Tons of Sobs the previous year, and there is a marked difference in the musicianship of the band as well as Paul Rodgers's voice...
(1969). Both albums showcased the band's blues and soul influenced sound, a style which was in contrast to some of their progressive
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
and heavier counterparts at the time.
Success came in 1970 when their third album, Fire and Water (1970), spawned the massive hit "All Right Now
All Right Now
"All Right Now" is a rock single by the English rock band Free. The song, released in mid-1970, hit #2 on the UK singles chart and #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. "All Right Now" originally appeared on the album Fire And Water, which Free recorded on the Island Records label, formed...
". The band played the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
festival to both audience and critical acclaim. Sellout tours in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
followed, but after the release of the next album, Highway (1970), band pressures led to a split.
The live album Free Live, recorded in 1970, was released in 1971 as a farewell record.
While Rodgers and Fraser pursued unsuccessful solo projects, Kossoff and Kirke teamed up with Texan
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese bass player Tetsu Yamauchi
Tetsu Yamauchi
Tetsu Yamauchi aka is a Japanese bass guitarist.Yamauchi was born in 1946 in Fukuoka. In the late 1960s, he played with the band Samurai. His involvement with Samurai led to him working as a session musician in both Tokyo and London...
to release the 1971 album Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit
Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit
Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit is the 1972 rock album made by guitarist Paul Kossoff, drummer Simon Kirke, bassist Tetsu Yamauchi and keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick. Recorded after Free disbanded when "Highway" flopped, drummer Kirke elected to remain with guitar player Paul Kossoff...
.
Free reformed and released the album Free at Last
Free at Last (Free album)
- Extra tracks :# "Burnin' " 5.57# "Honky Tonk Women" 3.13# "Magic Ship" 5.28# "Little Bit of Love" 2.37# "Guardian of the Universe" 6.07...
(1972). Following its release Fraser decided he had had enough and quit to form Sharks. Free drafted Tetsu and Rabbit for Free's 1973 album Heartbreaker
Heartbreaker (Free album)
Heartbreaker is the seventh and final album by English rock group Free, that provided them with one of their most successful singles, "Wishing Well"...
(1973) after which the group disbanded.
Rodgers and Kirke went on to form the successful Bad Company
Bad Company
Bad Company were an English rock supergroup founded in 1973, consisting of two former Free band members — singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke — as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who, in years prior, was a key component of...
while Kossoff released a solo album, Back Street Crawler (1973). He then accompanied John Martyn on a 1975 tour before assembling a group called Back Street Crawler
Back Street Crawler (band)
Back Street Crawler was a group of blues and rock musicians founded by guitarist Paul Kossoff , signing to Atlantic Records in 1975. The band took the name from Kossoff's solo album, Back Street Crawler.- History :...
.
Back Street Crawler released two albums: The Band Plays On
The Band Plays On (Back Street Crawler album)
The Band Plays On is the debut album from Back Street Crawler, fronted by ex-Free guitarist Paul Kossoff. Keyboard player Mike Montgomery composed six songs and co-wrote two others on the album, in addition to singing lead vocals on "All the Girls Are Crazy" and "Survivor"...
in 1975 and 2nd Street
2nd Street
2nd Street is a 1976 album by Back Street Crawler and was released on the Atco Records label.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Terry Wilson Slesser – lead vocals*Paul Kossoff – lead guitar*Terry Wilson – bass, acoustic and electric guitars...
in 1976. Recordings from one of their UK concerts in 1975 were also released under the title Live at Croydon Fairfield Halls 15/6/75. When Free supported Blind Faith
Blind Faith
Blind Faith were an English blues-rock band that consisted of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Ric Grech. The band, which was one of the first "super-groups", released their only album, Blind Faith, in August 1969...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(1969), Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
was impressed enough to ask Kossoff to demonstrate his vibrato technique to him.
Kossoff's guitar playing was also much in demand for session work
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
and he contributed solos on several albums including: Jim Capaldi
Jim Capaldi
Nicola James "Jim" Capaldi was an English musician and songwriter. His musical career lasted more than four decades. He co-founded Traffic in Birmingham with Steve Winwood, and the band's psychedelic rock was influential in Britain and the United States...
's Oh How We Danced
Oh How We Danced
Oh How We Danced is the debut studio album by the British musician Jim Capaldi.The album was recorded while Traffic was on hiatus due to Steve Winwood's struggles with peritonitis, and released by Island Records in 1972...
(1972), Martha Veléz
Martha Veléz
Martha Carmen Josephine Hernandéz Rosario de Veléz is an American singer and actress of Puerto Rican descent. Veléz is the former wife of famous trumpet player Keith Johnson. Her son is performance artist,writer/poet, singer, Taj Johnson. Taj appeared as series regular for two years on Parker...
's Fiends and Angels (1969); Blondel
Blondel
Blondel de Nesle - either Jean I of Nesle or his son Jean II of Nesle - was a French trouvère....
's Mulgrave Street (1974); Uncle Dog
Uncle Dog
Uncle Dog is a band that released an album and single in 1972.Members of Uncle Dog were:*Carol Grimes - vocals*Phillip Crooks - guitar*Sam Mitchell - guitar*John Porter - guitar, bass*David Skinner - keyboards, vocals...
's Old Hat (1972), Michael Gately's Gately's Cafe (1971) and Mike Vernon
Mike Vernon (producer)
Mike Vernon is an English record producer. He produced albums for British blues artists and groups during the late 1960s, working with the Bluesbreakers, David Bowie, Duster Bennett, Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, John Mayall, Christine McVie and...
's 1971 album Bring It Back Home.
He also played on four demos by Ken Hensley
Ken Hensley
Kenneth William David Hensley is a keyboard player , guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer best known for his work with Uriah Heep during the 1970s....
(eventually released on the 1994 album titled From Time to Time) and three tracks which appear on the CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
-only issue of John Martyn's Live At Leeds album from 1975.
An unreleased guitar solo also surfaced in 2006 on the title track to the album All One by David Elliot who recorded with Paul Kossoff in the 70s.
On Jim Capaldi's 1975 solo album, Short Cut Draw Blood
Short Cut Draw Blood
Rolling Stone called the album slightly uneven but a promising step forward. Their review approved of both the session musicians and the arrangements, and was particularly complimentary towards his cover of "Love Hurts", saying "he brings a sense of pain very different from Roy Orbison's...
, two songs were reputedly written about Kossoff: "Seagull" and "Boy with a Problem". Kossoff played lead guitar on the latter.
A 16-track career retrospective, Koss
Koss (album)
Koss is a 1977 album by Paul Kossoff and was released on the DJM Records label.-Track listing:# "The Worm" - Fraser, Rodgers# "Songs of Yesterday"# "Mr...
, was issued in 1977.
The late 1990s saw a renewed interest in Kossoff, and another career retrospective was released, 1997's 14-track Blue Soul (actually a reissue of a double vinyl release from the mid 1980s of the same name), as well as the five-disc Free box set Songs of Yesterday, and a Free biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
entitled Heavy Load: The Story of Free.
Death
Kossoff's unhappiness with the end of Free and his drug addictions contributed to a drastic decline in the guitarist's health. On a flight from Los AngelesLos 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...
to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on 19 March 1976, Kossoff died from drug-related heart problems
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
. He was cremated and interred at the Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....
. His epitaph reads "All Right Now".
Following Kossoff's death his father, actor David Kossoff, established the Paul Kossoff Foundation which aimed to present the realities of drug addiction to children. Kossoff's father spent the remainder of his life campaigning against drugs, touring a one-man stage performance about the death of Paul and its effect on the family.
Free
- Tons of SobsTons of SobsTons of Sobs is the debut album by English blues rock band Free, released on 14 March 1969. While the album failed to chart in the UK and reached #197 in the US, Free are still cited as one of the definitive bands of the British blues boom of the late 1960s even though this is the only album of...
(1969) - FreeFree (Free album)Free is the second album by English rock group Free, recorded and released in 1969. The band had spent time touring after their debut album Tons of Sobs the previous year, and there is a marked difference in the musicianship of the band as well as Paul Rodgers's voice...
(1969) - Fire and Water (1970)
- Highway (1970)
- Free Live!Free Live!Free Live! was the fifth album by English rock band Free, and their first live album. It was rush-released by Island Records to commemorate the band, who had broken up in April 1971...
(1971) (live) - Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and RabbitKossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and RabbitKossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit is the 1972 rock album made by guitarist Paul Kossoff, drummer Simon Kirke, bassist Tetsu Yamauchi and keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick. Recorded after Free disbanded when "Highway" flopped, drummer Kirke elected to remain with guitar player Paul Kossoff...
(1971) - Free at LastFree at Last (Free album)- Extra tracks :# "Burnin' " 5.57# "Honky Tonk Women" 3.13# "Magic Ship" 5.28# "Little Bit of Love" 2.37# "Guardian of the Universe" 6.07...
(1972) - HeartbreakerHeartbreaker (Free album)Heartbreaker is the seventh and final album by English rock group Free, that provided them with one of their most successful singles, "Wishing Well"...
(1973)
The following albums were issued after the band ceased recording:
- The Free Story (1974)
- The Best of Free (1975)
- Free and Easy, Rough and Ready (1976)
- Completely Free (1982)
- All Right Now: The Best of Free (1991)
- Molten Gold: The Anthology (1994) (2 disc set)
- Free: All Right Now (1999)
- Songs of Yesterday (2000) (5 disc box set)
- Chronicles (2005) (2 disc set)
Solo
- Back Street CrawlerBack Street Crawler (Paul Kossoff album)Back Street Crawler is 1st solo album by Paul Kossoff. The same year as Free's demise, Kossoff was able to pull himself together, moderating his drug addiction, enough to record a solo album, Back Street Crawler, which surprisingly featured contributions from his former Free bandmates as well as...
(1973) - KossKoss (album)Koss is a 1977 album by Paul Kossoff and was released on the DJM Records label.-Track listing:# "The Worm" - Fraser, Rodgers# "Songs of Yesterday"# "Mr...
(1977)
Back Street Crawler
- The Band Plays OnThe Band Plays On (Back Street Crawler album)The Band Plays On is the debut album from Back Street Crawler, fronted by ex-Free guitarist Paul Kossoff. Keyboard player Mike Montgomery composed six songs and co-wrote two others on the album, in addition to singing lead vocals on "All the Girls Are Crazy" and "Survivor"...
(1975) - 2nd Street2nd Street2nd Street is a 1976 album by Back Street Crawler and was released on the Atco Records label.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Terry Wilson Slesser – lead vocals*Paul Kossoff – lead guitar*Terry Wilson – bass, acoustic and electric guitars...
(1976) - Live at Croydon Fairfield Halls 15/6/75