[2/28/2012
Steppers Song Of The Day] A Love of Your Own by The Average White Band #stepperssongoftheday Their
self-effacing name to the contrary, Average White Band was
anything but; one of the few white groups to cross the "color line" and
achieve success and credibility playing funk, with their tight, fiery
sound also belying their Scottish heritage, evoking American R&B hotbeds
like Detroit, Memphis, and Philadelphia instead.
Average White Band (alsoAWB) is a Scottish funk
and R&B band, who had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and
1980.
They are best known for their million selling song, "Pick Up the
Pieces" and their album Cut the Cake. The band name was
initially proposed by Bonnie Bramlett. They have influenced
others such as the Brand New Heavies, and been sampled by various
musicians including the Beastie Boys, TLC, The Beatnuts, Too Short,
Ice Cube, Eric B. & Rakim, Nas and A Tribe Called Quest, as
well as Arrested Development - in turn making them the fifteenth
most sampled act in history.
As of 2010, and almost forty years after their formation, they continue
to perform. Singer/bassist Alan Gorrie, guitarists Hamish
Stuart and Onnie McIntyre, tenor saxophonist Malcolm
Duncan, keyboardist/saxophonist Roger Ball, and drummer
Robbie McIntosh comprised the original Average White Band lineup.
Veterans of numerous Scottish soul and jazz groups, they made their
debut in 1973 as the opening act at Eric Clapton's Rainbow
Theatre comeback gig, soon issuing their debut LP, Show Your Hand,
to little notice. After adopting the abbreviated moniker AWB, a
year later the band issued their self-titled sophomore effort, topping
the American pop charts with the Arif Mardin-produced instrumental "Pick
Up the Pieces." The record's mammoth success was nevertheless
tempered by the September 23, 1974 death of McIntosh, who died at a
Hollywood party after overdosing on heroin. More Below
Ex-Bloodstone drummer Steve Ferrone replaced McIntosh for
AWB's third album, 1975's Cut the Cake, which scored a Top Ten
hit with its title track as well as two other chart entries, "If I
Ever Lose This Heaven" and "School Boy Crush." (Put It
Where You Want It, issued later that same year, was simply a
retitled and repackaged Show Your Hand.)
With 1976's Soul Searching, the group reclaimed the full Average White
Band name, scoring their final Top 40 hit with "Queen of My Soul."
Following the live Person to Person, they issued Benny & Us,
a collaboration with soul legend Ben E. King. However, after
subsequent outings, including 1978's Warmer Communications, 1979's
Feel No Fret, and 1980's Shine, failed to recapture the
energy of AWB's peak, the group dissolved in 1982, with Ferrone later
joining Duran Duran and Stuart recording with Paul McCartney.
Gorrie, Ball, and McIntyre reformed Average White Band in
1989, tapping vocalist Alex Ligertwood for their comeback effort
Aftershock. Oft-sampled by hip-hop producers throughout the
1990s, the group continued touring prior to releasing Soul Tattoo
in 1996. The live album, Face to Face, followed three years
later.
Somewhat incongruously, given their Scottish roots, the six piece took
the influences of their R&B heroes - people like Marvin Gaye, James
Brown, Donny Hathaway and others - and developed their own
'authentic' sound which was eagerly adopted by black audiences in the US
and elsewhere.
Average White Band - A Love Of Your Own
Average White Band - Cloudy
Average White Band - If I Ever Lose This Heaven
Average White Band - I'm The One
Average White Band - Love of Your Own
Average White Band - Queen Of My Soul
Average White Band - School Boy Crush
Average White Band - Stop The Rain
Average White Band - Your Love Is A Miracle
Sources: Wikipedia , whosampled.com, averagewhiteband.com, Steppers Music Group,
Freebase.com (Jason Ankeny)
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Their
self-effacing name to the contrary, Average White Band was
anything but; one of the few white groups to cross the "color line" and
achieve success and credibility playing funk, with their tight, fiery
sound also belying their Scottish heritage, evoking American R&B hotbeds
like Detroit, Memphis, and Philadelphia instead.
