After thinking on it briefly, the band liked the unusual nature of it and has kept the name. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Head East's Mike Somerville Dies after Illness", Heavy Harmonies page (Partial Discography), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Head_East&oldid=1151082703, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from December 2010, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction. Its been an interesting life.. Head East charted higher with their next single, "Love Me Tonight," which made #54 US, but "Never Been Any Reason" is by far their most popular song, showing incredible endurance. I was just a long-haired hippie and had never fired a gun Boyd and his current bandmates are celebrating that milestone later this month with back-to-back 50th anniversary shows on Jan. 24-25 at the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville. He started piano lessons at an early age, and went on to play trumpet in the school band. The retired faculty member in the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Social Work was also a founding member of the legendary rock band Head East. Having been up all night sitting in the front yard consuming acid, the roadie said that when the sun rose, it turned into a giant talking head and told him the band's new name should be "Head East". ", A monthly update on our latest interviews, stories and added songs. Schlitt recently joined more than a dozen classic contemporary Christian music artists, includingPhil Keaggy,Jaci Velasquez,Rick Cua,Bruce Carroll,The Katinas, Big Tent Revival, Guardian, Wes King, Al Denson, Tammy Trent, Geoff Moore, Clay Crosse, and others who shared their music and special memories during the CCM United Music, Moments, and Memories concert event held at the historic Franklin Theatre in downtown Franklin, Tennessee. ", Head East exploded onto the music scene in 1974 when its self-produced debut album,Flat as a Pancake, started generating regional airplay. Head East was a hard rock quintet originally from south central Illinois, then Champaign, Illinois, USA. In addition to his solo concerts, Schlitt joined The Jay Sekulow Band for performances at various events, including a Darrell Waltrip NASCAR benefit concert and a televised American Center for Law and Justicebenefit concert. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. "The Way We Were" was the first of five Hot 100 #1 singles recorded by Barbra Streisand. Pictured (L to R): Steve Huston, original member; Darren Walker, current lead singer; John Schlitt, original member; and Greg Manahan, current bassist. Boyd and Huston recruited Mark Boatman, Tony Gross, and Dan Odum to record U.S. 1 (October 1980), Head East's last album to reach the charts and last newly recorded release on A&M; it was a minor chart entry. Piper and Flota on guitar were from southern Illinois and popular One was serving his country in Vietnam. Head East is an American rock band formed in East Central Illinois. They met and formed the band while John, Roger, and Larry were studying at the University of Illinois, Steve was at Eastern Illinois University 45 miles away and Danny was not in college. Visit our official website at https://www.head-east.com/ Head East Official We are updating our release dates twice a week. The induction took place over three days, with ceremonies, presentations, meet and greets and performances by the 2011 inductees. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, who Martin would open for on tour, were his backing band on the song. Another tick-borne disease is on the rise in the U.S. Ukrainian soldiers get targeted by rockets while digging trenches near Bakhmut. The band was founded by vocalist John Schlitt, guitarist Danny Piper, keyboardist Roger Boyd, bassist Larry Boyd, and drummer Steve Huston. worked in a record store, said Flota. venues. It is often considered Head East's signature song, [1] peaking at number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100, and continues to be played on classic rock radio stations in the US, generations after it was released. Feel free to contribute! Schlitt's reunion performance with Head East follows on the heels of a busy year, which has seen the celebrated vocalist performing at events throughout the country and across the ocean. (1979), but at the end of the year, Birney and Somerville left the group while Schlitt joined the Christian rock group Petra. Brian John Schlitt went on to sing for the band Petra. 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[3] Neither album achieved the success of their debut album. The comedian Steve Martin had a hit in 1978 with "King Tut." Schlitt was the lead singer for Head East from 1972-1980, during which time the band released six albums, with their first, Flat as a Pancake (A&M Records, 1975) reaching Platinum status empowered by Never Been Any Reason, which has now become a staple of classic rock radio. Flota return from his military service and rejoined Head East in 97 talking about this. into testing for the job, so I did, and the rest is history, said I joined. They are best known for their 1975 hit "Never Been Any Reason", which remains a staple of AOR stations. [1] In a 2011 interview, founding member Steve Huston claimed that soon after sunrise one morning in 1969, Baxter Twilight woke the band members in their communal home/practice facility. During more than three decades in the music business, Schlitt has earned multiple Gold Records, Grammys and Dove Awards. The two lead voices that share lines back and forth during the song are drummer Steve Huston and lead vocalist John Schlitt. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame as the lead singer of Petra, one of the most successful Christian rock bands of all time. [9] As part of the induction concert, several former and current members united onstage to perform, including Steve Huston and John Schlitt. "Never Been Any Reason" is the debut single by Head East from their debut album Flat as a Pancake. After Cher revived "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)" in 1990, Salt-N-Pepa released "Shoop" and Whitney Houston had a #1 hit with "Exhale (Shoop Shoop).". A top New York studio musician, Ralph played guitar on many '60s hits, including "Lightnin' Strikes," "A Lover's Concerto" and "I Am A Rock.". The special one-night-only performance during the Iowa Rock n Roll Music Associations 2011 Hall of Fame coincided with Schlitts induction into the states Hall of Fame and marked the first time in 30 years that the musicians were on stage together. This was written by Mike Somerville, who was the band's lead guitarist from 1973-1980, and again from 1994-2003. . From Head East's first concert on Aug. 6, 1969, at the Golden Gauntlet in Carbondale, Illinois, Boyd has remained loyal to the band he helped found. Vernon, Ill., was divorced in 1999 The band members were presented with plaques honoring their talent, dedication, longevity and major impact on the Iowa music scene, where the band frequently played throughout the 70s. Continue with Recommended Cookies. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Please subscribe to keep reading. Clear Lake, in Des Moines and at the Roof Garden in Okoboji as Head East went through several lineups and musical approaches before consolidating in St. Louis in the early '70s as a hard rock quintet consisting of John Schlitt (vocals), Mike Somerville (guitar), Roger Boyd (keyboards), Dan Birney (bass), and Steve Huston (drums), all alumni of the University of Illinois. All user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. The double-LP Head East Live! Some of them were Onward and Upward (1982) on Allegiance Records and Choice of Weapons (1988) released on Dark Heart Records, the latter album featuring Kurt Hansen taking on bass and vocal duties. I was shot once in [5] The album reached gold status by 1978 and would remain their most popular album, spawning another hit in the song "Love Me Tonight", which peaked at number 54. Manage Settings Head East was a hard rock quintet originally from south central Illinois, then Champaign, Illinois, USA. Email: podcasts@lee.net. All rights reserved. John Schlitt, legendary recording artist and Gospel Music Hall of Famer, best known as the lead singer for award-winning Christian band Petra during the era when the band won its four Grammy Awards and 10 Dove Awards, recently reunited with the popular 70s mainstream rock band Head East. The band achieved peak popularity and success during the 1970s, but later fell into obscurity. He fronted The Union of Sinners and Saints, featuring Billy Smiley (Whiteheart) and Jason Fowler, during the band's Storyteller tour, and joined fellow Petra alum Bob Hartman for a Scandinavian tour, among other events. It was composed by the band's guitarist, Mike Somerville. [3] Both the last line of each verse and the choruses feature multi-part vocal harmonies sung by all the members of the band. " A multitude of little superfluous precautions engender here a population of deputies and sub-officials, each of whom acquits himself with an air of importance and a . Vernon for about $50 per night that was good money for ! police officer for 25 years. The band was founded by vocalist John Schlitt, guitarist Danny Piper, keyboardist Roger Boyd, bassist Larry Boyd, and drummer Steve Huston. SP 6007; Vinyl LP). [4] Several midwest album rock radio stations, chief among them KSHE 95, St. Louis and KY-102 in Kansas City and others, began airing songs from the album as well. Flota sees as part of his life so far. Head East Format: Audio CD 184 ratings -8% $1567 List Price: $16.99 Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns See all 6 formats and editions Streaming Unlimited MP3 $9.49 Listen with our Free App Audio CD $15.67 2 Used from $13.79 12 New from $13.82 Vinyl $7.20 7 Used from $7.20 Includes FREE MP3 version of this album. Head East is currently a 5-piece band consisting of Roger Boyd (keyboards & vocals), Greg Manahan (bass, lead guitar & vocals), Glen Bridger (lead guitar & vocals), Eddy Jones (drums & vocals), and Darrin Walker (lead vocals & bass). For more information about Schlitt, visitjohnwschlitt.com. For all band submissions, review submissions, press materials, and more, please email: We do read every one, but we also get a high volume of mail. She is the only artist ever to receive an Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy as well as record a #1 single and album. The song was featured in the 1993 film Dazed and Confused, and later in the 2005 film Sahara. It's copper-clad windows and sturdy brick were a backdrop to countle. Head East Band Member Page Band Members ROGER BOYD Keyboards & Vocals Roger grew up in Carlyle, Illinois. By the time Choice of Weapons was recorded, Steve Huston had departed the band to become a recording studio engineer, in Indianola, Iowa in the early 1990s, leaving Boyd as the only original member. Flota reunited with Head East a few times over the years, once The band continued with little success, releasing albums on small labels. It took us from being a regional band to being a national act. The song features keyboardist Roger Boyd's double-tracked Minimoog solos throughout the song. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Mark operated his own recording studio in the early nineties, and produced recordings for many area groups. I received great feedback from them down the road about how the exercise helped them in their work.. Summarize this article for a 10 years old. He and his wife, Rita, who also earned her bachelors and masters degrees at SIUE in 1978 and 1991, respectively, created the endowed Rita E. Boyd Scholarship in Nursing through the SIUE School of Nursing (SON). About the show Streamed & Screened is a podcast about movies and TV hosted by Bruce Miller, a longtime entertainment reporter who is now the editor of the Sioux City . by Head East on Amazon Music. with fans in Iowa, playing many locations in the Hawkeye State. Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? Head East is an American rock band formed in East Central Illinois. [4], The band's original guitarist and songwriter Mike Somerville (born Michael A. Somerville on August 15, 1952 in Peoria, Illinois) died on February 28, 2020, at age 67.[7][8]. Mark was born in Kansas, but his family relocated to North Carolina, Texas, and New York before finally settling in the Kansas City, Missouri area. Music Festival announces full 2023 lineup, The Ongoing Concept shares Feel Again video, announces tour dates, Out now: Invent Animate unleashes new album, Heavener, The Devil Wears Prada announces Color Decay deluxe edition with 10 more tracks, shares Reaching video, Invent Animate shares music video for new song, Without a Whisper. According to Boyd, these two careers fulfilled two of his lifelong dreams. [2] However, other members of the band dispute Huston's story about the naming. provided me with a good career later in life, said Flota. guitar player for Head East. Tags : John Schlitt petra head east john schlitt news. This lineup of John Schlitt (vocals), Mike Somerville (guitars), Roger Boyd (keyboards), Dan Birney (bass) and Steve Huston (drums) would last through four more studio albums and a double-LP live album when in 1980 Schlitt, Birney and Somerville left the band although Somerville would return for 1994 through 2003. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, UPDATE: Kirk Apartments destroyed in huge downtown fire, Downtown landmark arose on site of previous fire, Police also vital at Kirk Apartment scene, Medical board charges ex-MercyOne heart surgeon with incompetence, harmful practices, Mason City breaks ground on Highline Trail, City will work with Kirk Apartments owner in the aftermath, The fire last time: A history of Kirkland Flats, Kirk Apartments, Mason City native, entrepreneur John Pappajohn dies at age 94, High school track and field: Five area athletes to watch at the 2023 Drake Relays, Chris Lovell named chief operating officer at CL Tel, Iowa restaurant inspection update: Dead rodents, yellow slime and dodgy hotdogs, 2023 Drake Relays notebook: Reese Brownlee breaks Clear Lake record in girls' 400-meter run, Newman holds ground blessing for $15 million capital campaign, Local residents recall business titan John Pappajohn, More extreme heat waves are expected as the world gets warmer, Student misbehavior rises further since the return of in-person classes, study says. at a DARE concert in which the band performed and again at the Iowa By the mid-80s, John Schlitt, had joined Petra, a christian rock band when lead singer Greg X. Volz left the band. cause I never did any of those things, said Flota. Today, he is the only remaining member of the original band, but he is the force that has kept the band a relevant part of the classic rock music scene for the past 50 years. The former peaked at number 96 on the US Hot 100 charts. He enjoyed playing guitar and keyboard in his elementary school years, but dedicated himself to guitar when he was 15.
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