Gregg Rolie
Gregg Rolie (born June 17, 1947 in Seattle , Washington) is an American keyboardist, organist and singer. He was a founding member of the bands Santana, Journey , The Storm and Abraxas Pool and currently leads the Gregg Rolie Band.
Career as a musician
In 1965, Rolie played at a Serra High School high school dance in San Mateo, California with the band William Penn and his Pals .
At the end of 1966 he joined Carlos Santana in order to found the Santana Blues Band with other musicians , whose name was later shortened to Santana . Rolie contributed to the first wave of Santana's success (including Samba Pa Ti ). He performed with Santana at the Woodstock Festival (Woodstock Music and Art Festival) and appeared on several hit albums (e.g. Abraxas , 1971, and Caravanserai , 1972). Eventually, however, Rolie left the band due to persistent disagreements over musical direction in late 1971. He went to Seattle, opened a restaurant with his father, but it didn't do well.
Rolie was hired in 1973 to join the new band of ex-Santana guitarist Neal Schon ; this band was called Journey . In addition to Rolie, the band consisted of Schon, Aynsley Dunbar, George Tickner and Ross Valory. The albums Journey , Look into the Future , Infinity and Departure were created . At the beginning of the band's history he was lead singer and keyboard player, but when Steve Perry joined, he was increasingly pushed into the background vocals.
After leaving Journey in 1980, Rolie released several solo albums, including the 1985 self-titled album Gregg Rolie . This album contains the song I Wanna Go Back , which later became a hit with Eddie Money . For this album Rolie was supported by Carlos Santana, Peter Wolf, Neal Schon and Craig Chaquico. A second solo album Gringo was released in 1987.
In 1991, Rolie formed The Storm with Steve Smith, Ross Valory, Josh Ramos and Kevan Chalfant, whose voice resembles that of Steve Perry . Her self-titled album came in at number three on the Billboard album charts, while the release I've Got A Lot To Learn About Love made it to the top ten of the singles chart. Despite this initial success, the second album, recorded in 1993, was a slow hit as the music industry turned to audience tastes for rap and alternative music. It was only published to a limited extent in 1996. In the second half of the 1990s, Rolie and Neal, along with other Santana band members, formed the band Abraxas Pool , which had a number of live performances in California and in 1997 released the album of the same name. With the release of the Santana album Supernatural in 1999, this solo band project fell into oblivion again. In 2001 Rolie released another solo album called Roots .
Rolie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Santana's band .
Charitable commitment
Rolie promotes the musical education of children. In 2005, he signed as an official supporter of the Little Kids Rock nonprofit, which provides tools and free lessons for children in public schools across the United States. He is an honorary member and director on the board of the organization.
Discography
solo
Studio albums:
- Gregg Rolie
- Gringo
- Roots
- Five Days (mini album)
- Sonic Ranch
Live albums:
- Live at the Iridium (with Alan Haynes)
With Journey
Studio albums:
- Journey
- Look into the future
- Next
- Infinity
- evolution
- Departure
- Dream After Dream
Live albums:
- Captured
Compilations:
- In the beginning
- Greatest hits
- The ballad
- Time3
- The Essential Journey
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Rolie, Gregg |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rock singer and keyboard player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 17, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Seattle , Washington, USA |