Bernie Leadon
Bernard Mathew "Bernie" Leadon III (* 19th July 1947 in Minneapolis , Minnesota ) is an American singer , guitarist , banjo - and dobro player and songwriter , who in the 1960s and 1970s, a member of the country-rock - bands Flying Burrito Brothers and The Eagles was.
Life
Leadon attended Gainesville High School in Gainesville , Florida . One of his classmates was Don Felder , who would later play with him in The Eagles . At the time, Felder was a member of The Continentals, which Stephen Stills also belonged to. Leadon took over from Stills on guitar. The band called themselves Maundy Quintet. In the high school yearbook in 1966, the Maundy Quintet featured another band, The Epics , whose singer was Tom Petty . Leadon's brother Tom played with Petty in another early Petty band, Mudcrutch .
In late 1964, Leadon played a few gigs with the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers , a Californian bluegrass band led by the later founding member of The Byrds , Chris Hillman . He completed the mid-1960s to the short-lived folk rock - Trio Hearts and Flowers on.
Dillard & Clark
→ Main article: Dillard and Clark
In 1968 he founded the group Dillard and Clark together with Gene Clark (formerly member of The Byrds ) and Doug Dillard (formerly member of The Dillards ) . Another member of the band was ex- Hearts and Flowers bassist David Jackson . On the first album The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark he was co-composer on most of the tracks, including Train Leaves Here This Morning , and later an integral part of the live program of the Eagles. On the follow-up album Through The Morning, Through The Night, he only took part in a few songs and had already left the band when the record was released. In an interview in 2003 he announced his departure with the fact that Dillard and Clark had included the singer Donna Washburn in the band in 1969 and assigned her the third harmony voice. It was said to have become “superfluous” (Rock Of Ages, Bernie Leadon Interview, 2003).
Flying Burrito Brothers
→ Main article: Flying Burrito Brothers
Leadon initially joined the backing band of Linda Ronstadt , The Corvettes . However, he soon left to join the Flying Burrito Brothers . He worked on the side of Gram Parsons , Chris Hillman, Chris Ethridge , Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Rick Roberts on three albums and in turn contributed his own songs.
Disappointed about the dominant role of the newly arrived Rick Roberts as a singer, he left the Burritos in 1971 to join Linda Rondstadt's backing band again. At that time, other members of this group were the singer and guitarist Glenn Frey and the drummer and singer Don Henley .
Eagles
→ Main article: Eagles
In 1972 Leadon, Frey and Henley decided to found their own band together with Randy Meisner (formerly bassist with Poco ): Eagles . In this they developed the country rock style of the Flying Burrito Brothers . Leadon worked on four albums (1972-1975) with and contributed titles such as My Man and Bitter Creek . The title Journey of the Sorcerer , which was used as the theme melody for the radio and television productions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , also comes from his pen.
Depleted by touring and studio engagements, Leadon left the band in December 1975 and was replaced by Joe Walsh .
1977 until today
In 1977 Leadon formed the Bernie Leadon Michael Georgiades band with Michael Georgiades , which only released one album with Natural Progressions before they broke up. In the 1980s he initially participated in various projects with Chris Hillman. He worked on his albums Morning Sky (1982) and Desert Rose (1984) and founded with him, Al Perkins , David Mansfield and Jerry Scheff the group Ever Call Ready , which was released on two albums in 1985 ( Ever Call Ready and Down Home Praise ) Bluegrass recorded with Christian texts.
Two years later he replaced John McEuen in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and was involved in their albums Hold On (1987), Workin 'Band (1988) and Will The Circle Be Unbroken Vol.2 (1989). In the 1990s he formed a novelty band called Run C&W , which specialized in performing country songs in the rap style. She released two albums: Into The Twangy First Century (1993) and Row Vs. Wade (1995). In 2003, Leadon recorded the solo album Mirror with Ethan Johns .
In his career he has made numerous recordings by other musicians, including Gram Parsons, Randy Newman , Barry McGuire , Kenny Rogers , Alabama , Rita Coolidge , Andy Fairweather-Low , Emmylou Harris , John Hiatt , David Crosby and Stevie Nicks . His contributions range from singing and guitar to pedal steel guitar to banjo, dobro and mandolin .
In 1998, on the occasion of his entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , he took to the stage again with all current and former members of the Eagles to perform Take It Easy and Hotel California together .
At the "History of the Eagles Tour 2013" he took part in some of the songs at the invitation of the band.
literature
- John Einarson with Chris Hillman : Hot Burritos: The True Story of the Flying Burrito Brothers , London, Jawbone 2008, ISBN 978-1-906002-16-9 .
Web links
- Bernie Leadon in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Bernie Leadon Official Homepage (English)
- Biography ( memento of November 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) at Billboard.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ History of the Eagles - The Story Of An American Band. DVD documentation, April 2013
- ↑ Eagles Tour will feature founding guitarist Benie Leadon . In: Rolling Stone, July 5, 2013
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Leadon, Bernie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Leadon III, Bernard Mathew (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American singer, guitarist, banjo and dobro player and songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 19, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Minneapolis , Minnesota |